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Professional wrestling is the purest form of sport. At its essence, a world class athlete testing himself against a worthy opponent, within the confines of a simple set of rules, until the better man is determined.
But this assessment presumes that both men are committed professional athletes, first and foremost. So what are we to make of someone like Bray Wyatt who, while ostensibly a wrestler, seems less concerned with competing in a sports combat league and more infatuated with usurping the brainwaves of the public?
Wyatt seems to suffer from a sort of acute megalomania. This compels him to spread what he feels is a superior way of life to the masses. He's clearly done fine work indoctrinating his lieutenants, Luke Harper and Eric Rowan. Perhaps his plan was for each of them to recruit two people, and then each of those followers recruit another pair, and so on. Kind of a cultish pyramid scheme. The problem with this admittedly brilliant plot is that neither man possesses near the charisma of Wyatt. In fact, it's not entirely clear if Rowan can speak at all. So much for that idea!
Enter WWE, with it's vast network of distribution and tens of millions of devoted fans around the world. All of these wrestling supporters (including you and me!) are looking to fill a void in their lives. Some may even use their fandom as a way of being part of something bigger than themselves. Let's face it, the WWE Universe is the ideal petri dish for the Wyatt Family's message to thrive.
So Bray Wyatt joins the ranks of WWE superstars seeking airtime on the world's biggest stage. But the only way to keep the public's attention is to be featured prominently on television and at live events. And the only way to do that is to win matches. In this way, the Wrestler Wrankings is a method of measuring Wyatt's success in dominating the general public, in addition to the stated purpose of determining who is the best wrestler in the world in a given wrestling season.
Of course, Wyatt is also fostering a burgeoning youth movement, which seems be a big success judging soley by the size of their choir. But while children are undoubtably the future, they don't have much political or social capital until they reach voting age. Until then, keep your eyes on the Wrestler Wrankings!
OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA
ANY WIN = 2 POINTS
US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT
WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS
NON "BIG 4" PPV BONUS = 1.5X
SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = 2X BONUS
WRESTLEMANIA = 3X BONUS
The WWE season begins on the day after WrestleMania 30 and culminates with WrestleMania 31. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
Monday Night Raw -- 5/12/14
Main Event -- 5/14/14
Smackdown -- 5/16/14
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 6 *TOP TEN*
1. BAD NEWS BARRETT -- 21.5 points
2. Rusev -- 21 points
3. Sheamus -- 18 points
4. Cesaro -- 15 points
5. Rob Van Dam -- 14
6. Dolph Ziggler -- 11
7. Daniel Bryan -- 9.5
8. Big E -- 8.5
9. El Torito -- 7
10. Ryback -- 6
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!