Rusev and Sheamus Lead the Way in WWE

Professional wrestling is the world's purest form of sport. Of this, there can be no doubt. And what is a sport without standings? That's where the Wrestler Wrankings come in.

Each week in this space, the televised WWE action from RAW, Main Event, and Smackdown is scored according to a simple formula. All the scores are tallied and whoever has the most points from the time between and including the day after Wrestlemania until the following year's Wrestlemania is declared the winner of the coveted Wrankings Championship!

Sounds interesting, right? You want to know what the formula is now? Well ok!

Wrestlers are awarded 2 points for a win. Both participants in a title bout get bonus points. That's 3 points each for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match and 1 each for when the United States or Intercontinental Championship is at stake.

Pay Per View Shows also count in the Wrestler Wrankings, and with their extra prestige comes extra points. Any Wrankings points earned at Wrestlemania receive a 3x point multiplier. Points earned at Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series get a 2x bonus. Any other Pay Per View merits a 1.5x bonus.

That's it. There's the entire methodology for Wrestler Wrankings. It's a simple system to cut through all the superfluous fluff, pageantry, and controversy that pervades the sport. And while there is a place for that sort of thing in wrestling, it's important to focus on what's most important, the results of the action in the ring.

In commeration of the mid point of the 2014-15 wrestling season, let's review the entire Wrestler Wrankings as they currently stand, right after last week's complete results. Enjoy!

Night of Champions -- 9/21/14

John Cena - 7.5 points (WWE title bout, win)

Brock Lesnar - 4.5 points (WWE title bout, no win)

Sheamus - 4.5 points (US title bout, win)

Cesaro - 1.5 points (US title bout, no win)

Miz - 4.5 points (IC title bout, win)

Dolph Ziggler - 1.5 points (IC title bout, no win)

Rusev - 2 points (win)

Seth Rollins - 2 points (win)

Randy Orton - 2 points (win)

Monday Night Raw -- 9/22/14

Dolph Ziggler - 3 point (IC title bout, win)

Miz - 1 point (IC title bout, no win)

Rusev - 2 points (win)

John Cena - 2 points (win)

Dean Ambrose - 2 points (win)

Jack Swagger - 2 points (win)

Main Event -- 9/24/14

Kofi Kingston - 2 points (win)

Smackdown -- 9/26/14

Dolph Ziggler - 3 points (IC title bout, win)

Cesaro - 3 points (win, IC title bout, no win)

Dean Ambrose - 2 points (win)

Big Show - 2 points (win)

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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 26 *MID YEAR REVIEW*

1. Rusev - 75 points

2. Sheamus - 59 -- United States Champion

3. John Cena - 49.5

4. Seth Rollins - 47 -- Mr. Money in the Bank

T5. Dolph Ziggler - 46 -- Intercontinental Champion

T5. Cesaro - 46

7. Bo Dallas - 43.5

8. Roman Reigns - 41 -- inactive

9. Bad News Barrett - 37 -- inactive

10. Adam Rose - 29

11. Rob Van Dam - 25.5 -- inactive

12. Dean Ambrose - 25

13. Big E - 24

14. Jack Swagger - 23

15. Bray Wyatt - 21.5

16. Alberto Del Rio - 21 -- inactive

17. Randy Orton - 19

18. Miz - 17

19. Kane - 15.5

20. Chris Jericho - 15 -- inactive

21. Brock Lesnar - 14.5 -- WWE World Heavyweight Champion

22. El Torito - 14

T23. Ryback - 9.5 - inactive

T23. Daniel Bryan - 9.5 - inactive

T25. Goldust - 9

T25. Big Show - 9

T27. Kofi Kingston - 8.5

T27. R-Truth - 8.5

T29. Diego - 7.5

T29. Curtis Axel - 7.5

T31. Mark Henry - 7

T31. Batista - 7 -- inactive

33. Heath Slater - 6.5

34. Jimmy Uso - 6

35. Santino Marella - 5 -- inactive

T36. Zack Ryder - 4.5

T36. Sin Cara - 4.5

T36. Damien Sandow - 4.5

39. Jey Uso - 4

40. Great Khali - 3.5

T41. Fandango - 3

T41. Stardust - 3

T43. Xavier Woods - 2.5

T43. Titus O'neil - 2.5

T45. Luke Harper - 2

T45. Erick Rowan - 2

T45. Hornswoggle - 2