Sunday, December 12, 2010

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 12/12

#1 Kofi Kingston [+1] (40-22-2)
(WWE: Smackdown)

After eleven weekly Countdowns at the top of the rankings, Big Show has been toppled! It's the first time, since the Countdown went weekly in September, that Big Show hasn't reigned over the rest of the list. He spent this week's Smackdown out of the ring, while a DQ win over Dolph Ziggler in an Intercontinental title match bumped Kofi Kingston back into the top spot he occupied earlier in the year.

As evidenced by his win/loss rate, Kofi Kingston has enjoyed some measure of success throughout the year, but after the rub from Randy Orton seemed to be aborted, Kingston struggled to gain lasting recognition. His reign as IC champion this year was both brief and forgettable, like many of his feuds. A second run at the belt against Ziggler looks likely to end his year, but the odds of the belt being around his waist are even, at best. His shot at reigning as year-end Kayfabe Countdown #1, however, might be a little bit better if Big Show's workrate of the last two weeks is any measure.

#2 [-1] The Big Show (39-15-2) (WWE)
#3 [--] Rey Mysterio (31-13-4) (WWE)
#4 [--] Randy Orton (31-18-6) (WWE)
#5 [--] Drew McIntyre (29-31-4) (WWE)
#6 [--] Cody Rhodes (28-20-2) (WWE)
#7 [--] AJ Styles (27-12-6) (TNA)
#8 [--] The Miz (27-29-4) (WWE) [WWE Champion]
#9 [--] Dolph Ziggler (26-26-3) (WWE) [Intercontinental Champion]
#10 [--] R-Truth (25-22-4) (WWE)

#1 [--] Robert Roode & James Storm (16-16-3) (TNA)
#2 [--] Tyson Kidd & DH Smith (16-18-0) (WWE)
#3 [--] Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (14-10-2) (TNA) [Tag Team Champions]
#4 [--] Layla & Michelle McCool (12-14-0) (WWE)
#5 [--] Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (11-3-0) (WWE) [Tag Team Champions]
#6 [--] Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes (9-5-0) (WWE)
#7 [+2] Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal (9-7-0) (TNA)
#8 [-1] Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater (8-2-0) (WWE)
#9 [-1] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (8-4-0) (WWE)
#10 [--] Big Show & The Miz (7-4-1) (WWE)

Superstar Spotlight:
#193 Xavier Woods
(0-2-0) (FCW)

Better known as Consequences Creed to NWA: Anarchy and TNA fans; FCW's Xavier Woods is a star already occurred. His time with Total Non-Stop Action produced memorable matches in the X-Division, including a 2008 feud with Petey Williams, and led to his eventual reign as Tag Team Champion with Lethal Consequences partner, "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal (#73). Unfortunately, like the six-sided ring he graced, Creed was a casualty of the Hogan/Bischoff regime that took over TNA at the beginning of 2010, and released him after only two matches.

In a twist of the expected, TNA's loss may be WWE's gain. The global wrestling phenomenon has used FCW extensively as a development territory, sourcing talent for their core roster, as well as the pseudo-reality competition, NXT. FCW stars have risen to incredible heights, with Wade Barrett (#21), Bryan Danielson (#39), Alberto Del Rio (#56), and former TNA X-Division Champion and NXT Season 2 Winner, Kaval (#103), all graduating through the Florida development system on top of their previous accolades.

It's difficult not to want for and imagine the possibilities of Creed's rise to the WWE roster, either through NXT, where he would make a fitting pupil for mentor R-Truth (#10) [ie; Truth or Consequences], or as a singles competitor introduced cold. His gimmick, a red, white and blue reference to Apollo Creed of the Rocky series of films, shouldn't distract from the legitimate talent of a wrestler who is both charismatic, and also skilled in the finer art of wrestling. A man who just recently held the FCW Tag Team Championship with Wes Briscoe, and could certainly add some much needed flavour to WWE's version of the same.

Special Note: On the December 6 episode of RAW, Santino Marella (#37) and Vladimir Kozlov (#35) defeated champions, Justin Gabriel (#22) and Heath Slater (#27), in a four way Tag Team Championship match also featuring Mark Henry (#61) and Yoshi Tatsu (#45), and The Usos (#13).

The Kayfabe Countdown is based on the cumulative tally of wrestler win/loss records, based on televised matches from WWE and TNA 2010 broadcasts. At present, they includes TNA: Impact!, WWE: RAW, WWE: Superstars, WWE: Smackdown, and monthly Pay-Per-View events.

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