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Compiling the Wrestler Wrankings every week can sometimes be a mundane task, with many of the usual suspects repeating their recent success, but sometimes trends develop that raise my eyebrow to levels normally reserved for select breeds of male brahman cattle.
This week, for instance, I can't help but notice that the summit of Wrankings mountain is strewn, exclusively, with foreign nationals. Here's my brief take on each one:
Sheamus (Ireland): The most reliable and successful star in recorded Wrestler Wrankings history needs no introduction here, of all places. He wins a remarkable percentage of his matches and hoards titles, both major and minor, like Donkey Kong does bananas.
Rusev (Russia): Maybe it's the international incident Lana caused over the international incident that occurred recently in the Ukraine, but Rusev has hit a minor speed bump on the bul'var of dominance on which he was cruising. Still, he's been the most dominant wrestler in the world this season.
Bad News Barrett (England): How ironic that the worst piece of news anyone (this side of Daniel Bryan) has received this season has been Barrett himself. His injury and subsequent career stasis reminds me of his plummet from the main event and WWE title picture that took place in Autumn of 2010. Still full of promise despite his deceptively advanced age of 33, Bad News remains primed for a nice career if he can ever maintain a consistent roster presence.
Cesaro (Switzerland): What more can be said about Cesaro that hasn't been said by his (apparently former) representation Paul Heyman? Cesaro has physical gifts that place him in the elite Mark Henry/John Cena level of power athlete. He has a good head on his shoulders as well, despite his unending attempts to twist it off. The last few weeks have cooled his momentum, but this is likely only the calm before the Hurricane Cesaro hits land.
So where does this bulwark of athletic prowess leave the state of American wrestling?
Despite his pedigree, toughness, and all around bad-assery, don't expect Kurt Angle to walk through the curtain to a chorus of "You Suck" chants anytime soon.
The answer may instead lie right under our noses in the form of WWE's resident Real American. Yes, Jack Swagger has always had the body and with the brains and mouth of Zeb Colter at his side it seems an imposing package. But he's never been able to put it all together. Until now, perhaps. Swagger's drubbing (in defeat, but still) of Russian monolith, Rusev at Battleground was an EYE OPENER! Rusev has run through a laundry list of increasingly tough competition including a recent trouncing of Big E, who has hung with the big boys of WWE on a few occasions.
How good the All-American-American-American-American-American has become is yet to be determined, but this reporter's eyes see the best hope for the future of wrestling in the USA.
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!
Battleground-- 7/20/14 (1.5x bonus included)
Monday Night Raw -- 7/21/14
Main Event -- 7/23/14
Smackdown -- 7/25/14
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 16 *TOP TEN*
1. SHEAMUS -- 50.5 points
2. Rusev -- 50 points
3. Bad News Barrett -- 37 points
T4. Cesaro -- 35.5 points
T4. Bo Dallas -- 35.5
6. John Cena-- 30
7. Big E -- 24
8. Seth Rollins -- 22
9. Dolph Ziggler -- 21.5
10. Roman Reigns -- 21
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!