This week, WWE television was lousy with returning legends of the sport and light on actual professional wrestling. In fact, a total of just ten Wrankings points were awarded this week.
Two of those points went to the Ryback, a very credible contender for the Wrankings title, enjoying a bounce back season. Four of them went to Kevin Owens, a splendid wrestler whose late start to the season greatly reduces his chances of competing for the season crown.
All four remaining points went to none other than the #1 Wranked, WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins.
To review, Seth gained two points on the guy who is his primary competitor for the Wrankings title, stayed even with someone with little chance to catch him, and gained four points on every other Superstar in WWE. All this in a week with a dearth of Wrankings-eligible wrestling on television!
It is a remarkable achievement, especially given that just "holding serve" would be acceptable for Rollins. The the season is over halfway through and he has a 14.5 point lead on #2 Wranked, John Cena.
This considerable lead is even more impressive when you take into account the horrible situations into which Rollins is constantly inserting himself. That he often acts foolishly is beyond debate. The question is, why? The outcry of the common wrestling fan is that Rollins is merely "stupid." To this is say nay.
On this week's episode of RAW, Rollins was astute enough to remark to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon that it wasn't in Dean Ambrose's best interest to insert himself into the the personal issue between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns. A "stupid" person wouldn't be able to discern this fact.
Unfortunately, Rollins failed to heed his own advice, as seconds later he was goaded by Shawn Michaels into inserting himself into the very same situation. Worse, Rollins' traitorous past with Reigns and Ambrose would make him an enemy not just of his opponents, but also of his teammates. In essence, Rollins put himself in a much more dangerous situation than did Ambrose, just days before a critical title defense against Kane at Hell in a Cell, and mere seconds after deriding Ambrose for doing the exact same thing.
Yet for all these foolish missteps, Rollins is able to hold onto his title and status as top man in WWE. He defeated the formidable Ryback, made headlines for trading barbs with Shawn Michaels, and managed to make the main event of RAW all about him, even though he wasn't scheduled to appear in it.
Rollins is able to thrive, in spite of himself. In it's own way, that's even more impressive than if he was shrewdly maneuvering himself into favorable situations. Seth Rollins is a Rembrandt when it comes to wrestling who suffers from a crippling lack of insight.
A genius and a doofus... all at once. But what a brilliant fool he is!
***
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 31 and culminates with WrestleMania 32. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
Monday Night Raw-- 10/19/15
Main Event-- 10/20/15
Smackdown-- 10/22/15
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 30 *TOP TEN*
1. Seth Rollins -- 84.5 points
2. John Cena -- 70
3. Ryback -- 66.5
4. Neville -- 57
5. Kevin Owens -- 46
T6. Roman Reigns -- 41.5
T6. Sheamus -- 41.5
8. Dean Ambrose -- 40.5
9. Randy Orton -- 39
10. Bad News Barrett -- 35.5
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!