Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 03/31

#1 Sheamus [--] (19-5-1)
A second loss for 2013 docks Alberto Del Rio another rank, but the team-up between Sheamus & Randy Orton (& Big Show) means there's no jostling at the top. The unlikely duo first teamed at the beginning of the year [01/06/2013], meaning their was history to build upon for their placement in the Tag Team Rankings, as well!

#2 [+1] Randy Orton (18-7-1)
#3 [-1] Alberto Del Rio (17-2-1) [World Champion]
#4 [+2] Bryan Danielson (14-8-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#5 [+2] Kane (14-9-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#6 [-1] Ryback (13-4-0)
#7 [-3] Jack Swagger (12-0-1)
#8 [--] Mark Henry (11-2-0)
#9 [--] Big Show (11-9-1)
#10 [--] The Miz (10-6-1)

#1 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (9-3-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (6-0-0)
#3 [--] Brodus Clay & Tensai (4-1-1)
#4 [+1] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (3-0-0)
#5 [+1] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (3-0-0)
#6 [+1] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (3-0-0)
#7 [-3] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (3-2-0)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (3-5-1)
#9 [new] Sheamus & Big Show (2-0-0)
#10 [new] Randy Orton & Big Show (2-0-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#16 Antonio Cesaro (7-16-1)
[United States Champion]
He may have claimed World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio's second loss on RAW, but the reigning US Champion is far from on top of the competition. Antonio Cesaro (aka; Claudio Castagnoli) has been on a rapid descent, taking losses on all three weekly shows in the build to Wrestlemania.

If there's anything I like less than non-title matches, it's repeating non-title matches where the champion constantly loses!

As is becoming tradition, you'd have to expect the once prestigious United States title to be relegated to little more than pre-show pap. Disappointing, given the unique intrigue Cesaro otherwise lends to the belt. His dead lift, no nonsense approach may strike some of the Entertainment era fans as bland, but I'm hungry to see him take on challengers in hardcore, no nonsense, catch-as-catch-can wrestling competitions! No, he won't be the next coming of Kurt Angle, but at a time when Brock Lesnar is grabbing headlines as the former UFC Heavyweight Champion turned WWE prodigal son, I think it's time to build credibility in the sport again.

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.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 03/24

#1 Sheamus [+1] (18-5-1)
After a month at #2, Sheamus returns to the top of the winners list thanks to his team-up with Randy Orton, and their campaign against the triple threat of The Shield!

The strange bed fellows got even stranger as Ryback departed from their arrangement of convenience, replaced by Big Show! This impromptu turn of fortune should do good things for The Giant, who remained in the Top 10 after a six-man tag win on Smackdown against the consummate jobbers: 3 Man Band.

#2 [-1] Alberto Del Rio (17-1-1) [World Champion]
#3 [--] Randy Orton (17-7-1)
#4 [--] Jack Swagger (12-0-0)
#5 [--] Ryback (12-4-0)
#6 [--] Bryan Danielson (12-8-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#7 [--] Kane (12-9-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#8 [--] Mark Henry (10-2-0)
#9 [--] Big Show (10-9-1)
#10 [--] The Miz (9-6-1)

#1 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (8-3-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [+1] Sheamus & Randy Orton (5-0-0)
#3 [-1] Brodus Clay & Tensai (4-0-1)
#4 [+3] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (3-1-0)
#5 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (2-0-0)
#6 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#7 [-1] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (2-4-1)
#9 [--] The Great Khali & Hornswoggle (1-0-0)
#10 [--] Hornswoggle & Natalya Neidhart (1-0-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#11 Wade Barrett (8-10-1)
[Intercontinental Champion]
At this point, the Intercontinental Championship is pretty used to being subjugated to token gestures. Over the past half a decade it's been difficult to keep a firm grasp on who has the belt at any given time. IC Champs have a knack for fading into the scenery.

Wade Barrett, with his gritty beard and taped fists, at least has the character to avoid being ignored all together. Having played jobber to the likes of Alberto Del Rio for weeks on end, he's finally been put to work in a capacity that comes close to reflecting his status as Intercontinental Champion. His KC rank just outside the Top 10 doesn't do justice to just how little impression Wade Barrett has been able to leave on the once coveted secondary strap. It looks like it'll be a nauseating Wrestlemania meet-up between he and The Miz -- who had the honor of besmirching a second tier champion even worse off than Barrett, on Smackdown: US title holder Antonio Cesaro.

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.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 03/17

#1 Alberto Del Rio [--] (16-1-1)
[World Heavyweight Champion]
This week is notable for two key reason: Alberto Del Rio suffers his first loss for 2013! Even more amazing: It's to The Big Show! Who knew the big man could beat anybody of note? Probably not a huge number of people, given that the result came on Wednesday's Main Event. Del Rio fared much better on RAW, taking out a win in his umpteenth Champion vs Champion bout, this time with United States belt holder, Antonio Cesaro -- another guy who can't seem to buy a win any more.

#2 [--] Sheamus (16-5-1)
#3 [--] Randy Orton (15-7-1)
#4 [+2] Jack Swagger (11-0-0)
#5 [+2] Ryback (11-4-0)
#6 [-2] Bryan Danielson (11-8-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#7 [-2] Kane (11-9-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#8 [--] Mark Henry (9-2-0)
#9 [+1] Big Show (9-9-1)
#10 [-1] The Miz (8-5-1)

#1 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (7-3-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Brodus Clay & Tensai (4-0-0)
#3 [+4] Sheamus & Randy Orton (3-0-0)
#4 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (2-0-0)
#5 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#6 [-1] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#7 [RE] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (2-1-0)
#8 [-2] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (2-4-0)
#9 [-1] The Great Khali & Hornswoggle (1-0-0)
#10 [-1] Hornswoggle & Natalya Neidhart (1-0-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#46 Chris Jericho (1-8-0)
He's the first guy who'll tell you win/loss records don't matter in this game. Maybe the man called Chris Jericho really believes that, or maybe it's just conditioning. Either way, for a fan, it's truly galling to see someone of this stature make a surprise return, only to spin his wheels is yet another aimless string of losses.

Had Chris Jericho been privy to more convincing reigns at the top, it might have been easier to accept him as the torch baring jobber to the next wave. It still smarts that he was overlooked as winner in the 2012 Royal Rumble -- a result too perfect to overlook, particularly in favour of what eventuated. Time and again he's cut short his dues. Even more so than The New Age Outlaws [3/10/2013], here's a guy who can still go. A legitimate contender ready to contest the title. In the nineties, we were conditioned to rush people out the door in anticipation of the next great thing. A decade and a half later, we should be realizing the turnover of the millennium has ended. The acceleration of greatness is over. Cherish what we've got.

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.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 03/10

#1 Alberto Del Rio [--] (15-0-1)
[World Heavyweight Champion]
Alberto Del Rio d. Wade Barrett (RAW; 3/4)
Alberto Del Rio d. Dolph Ziggler (Smackdown; 3/8)

#2 [--] Sheamus (14-5-1)
#3 [--] Randy Orton (13-7-1)
#4 [+1] Bryan Danielson (11-7-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#5 [+1] Kane (10-8-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#6 [-2] Jack Swagger (9-0-0)
#7 [--] Ryback (9-4-0)
#8 [new] Mark Henry (8-1-0)
#9 [-1] The Miz (8-5-0)
#10 [-1] Big Show (7-9-1)

#1 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (7-3-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Brodus Clay & Tensai (4-0-0)
#3 [--] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (2-0-0)
#4 [--] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#5 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#6 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (2-2-0)
#7 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (1-0-0)
#8 [--] The Great Khali & Hornswoggle (1-0-0)
#9 [--] Hornswoggle & Natalya Neidhart (1-0-0)
#10 [--] Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee (1-0-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#20 Road Dogg & Billy Gunn (1-0-0)
With mainstream tag team wrestling in tatters after years of abuse and neglect from WWE: one of their great tag triumphs was truly a sight for sore eyes!

The Road Dogg Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn were the Attitude Era sensation collectively known as The New Age Outlaws. Though glorified jobbers at the start: the pair made good with the perfect late nineties blend of charisma, promo skills and legitimate wrestling talent. For the latter, I obviously lean toward Billy Gunn, whose missed opportunities I've lamented many times before [11/21/2010]. For sheer spectacle, there's no denying the legitimate interest that accompanied any New Age Outlaws tag match on a late nineties WWF card!

With Wrestlemania [literally] looming over every WWE event -- you can't help but think these are the perfect guys to accommodate a jump start to the tag division! Granted, you're probably not going to build the promotion around these guys in PG 2013, but the excitement and history their presence rings is more than enough to carry a nostalgia run into a special event. Dropping the belts on TV leaves more than enough time to finally confirm the split feud between current champions: Kane and Bryan Danielson. It's also a great way to put a new team over on the grandest stage of them all -- someone like Titus O'Neil & Darren Young (The Prime Time Players), or Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (Rhodes Scholars), who are too good to break-up without getting the title reign they earned!

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.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 03/03

#1 Alberto Del Rio [--] (13-0-1)
[World Heavyweight Champion]
Posted Retroactively Without Commentary

#2 [--] Sheamus (13-4-1)
#3 [--] Randy Orton (12-6-1)
#4 [--] Jack Swagger (9-0-0)
#5 [--] Bryan Danielson (9-7-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#6 [+2] Kane (9-7-0) [Tag Team Champion]
#7 [+3] Ryback (7-4-0)
#8 [-2] The Miz (7-5-0)
#9 [-2] Big Show (7-7-1)
#10 [-1] Kaitlyn (6-0-1) [Divas Champion]

#1 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (5-3-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Brodus Clay & Tensai (3-0-0)
#3 [--] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (2-0-0)
#4 [--] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#5 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (2-0-0)
#6 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (2-2-0)
#7 [-3] Sheamus & Randy Orton (1-0-0)
#8 [-] The Great Khali & Hornswoggle (1-0-0)
#9 [--] Hornswoggle & Natalya Neidhart (1-0-0)
#10 [--] Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee (1-0-0)

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.