Sunday, July 07, 2013

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 07/07

#1 Randy Orton [--] (37-16-3)
Ah, now there's the Christian we know to expect!
A slightly baffling run of success for the recently returned nineties star [06/30/2013] was truncated by Randy Orton on Smackdown (7/5). The Viper's keeping pace ahead of Countdown rival Sheamus, who scored a similar victory in his lone match against Fandango (RAW; 7/1). Meanwhile, Money in the Bank All-Star Bryan Danielson slipped a spot as a result of inactivity, overtaken by Kane!

#2 [--] Sheamus (35-11-1)
#3 [--] Alberto Del Rio (31-9-3) [World Champion]
#4 [+1] Kane (25-19-0)
#5 [-1] Bryan Danielson (25-21-1)
#6 [--] Ryback (20-10-1)
#7 [+1] The Miz (19-7-1)
#8 [+1] Jack Swagger (19-8-2)
#9 [+1] Roman Reigns (18-4-1) [Tag Team Champion]
#10 [-3] Mark Henry (18-6-0)

#1 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (17-4-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (14-9-0)
#3 [--] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (13-3-0)
#4 [--] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (13-3-0)
#5 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (11-3-0)
#6 [--] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (11-6-0)
#7 [--] Brodus Clay & Sweet Tea Tensai (8-6-1)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (5-10-1)
#9 [--] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (4-3-0)
#10 [--] Naomi & Cameron (4-3-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#6 Ryback (20-10-1)
Tainted would be one word to describe Ryback in the middle of 2013. A surprise rise to stardom excelled a more traditional path to success, thrusting Ryback into the main event picture when other options had dried up. This early rise meant early defeat -- premature in his arrival against CM Punk in his epic 2012 WWE Championship reign. Ice skating up hill might be one way to describe his PPV appearances ever since.

What's really damned Ryback are the little choices along the way. As we've seen on The Kayfabe Countdown, the win/loss record that made him famous hasn't been quite as battered as impressions may assume. We can lament a smarter, more gradual rise (in the mould of Bill Goldberg) till the cows come home, but Ryback's real issues come from the floundering of mish-mash ideas like the switch from food themed Feeding, to the recent Ryback Rules catch cry.

Capping all of this off was a loss to The Miz on Monday (RAW; 7/1) -- arguably the greatest embarrassment he's been forced to endure at any point. Losing to The Miz goes beyond the rock and hard place nature of his Championship losses. It's a completely unnecessary besmirching of a character who lived and died by his successes. Win/loss records don't matter much in professional wrestling, but winning and losing does. Winning took Ryback to the heights of the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship. Losing may have taken him back down.

The Kayfabe Countdown is based on the cumulative tally of wrestler win/loss records. Tallied results only include matches broadcast during WWE 2013 programming. At present, this includes RAW (Mondays), Main Event (Wednesdays), Smackdown (Friday), and monthly Pay-Per-View events.

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