Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 08/18

#1 Randy Orton [--] (45-18-4)
[WWE Champion]
Although the WWE brand split was officially ended some time ago, remnants of it remain, particularly for the Smackdown side. The blue brand, for various reasons, is the less watched show. As a stalwart of Smackdown through the final year of the split, Randy Orton has been allowed to be obscured by these discrepancies in ratings, at least to a certain degree. His program has rarely been as featured as any RAW talents, which may or may not have helped make a surprise of his Money in the Bank WWE Championship cash-in.

Bryan Danielson can count himself among the prestigious college of WWE Championship holders -- but he also joins those who've had the smallest of reigns. The curse of minute-long reigns installed by the Hardcore 24/7 styled philosophy of MITB continues. At least Alberto Del Rio finally registered the necessary wins to surpass an out of action Sheamus at the top of a growing Kayfabe Countdown disparity.

#2 [+1] Alberto Del Rio (38-13-5) [World Champion]
#3 [-1] Sheamus (36-14-2)
#4 [--] Bryan Danielson (36-24-1)
#5 [--] Kane (27-21-0)
#6 [--] Ryback (22-14-1)
#7 [--] Roman Reigns (21-6-2) [Tag Team Champion]
#8 [--] Seth Rollins (21-10-1) [Tag Team Champion]
#9 [--] Mark Henry (21-10-0)
#10 [RE] The Miz (20-9-1)

#1 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (20-6-1) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [+2] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (16-9-1)
#3 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (15-5-0)
#4 [-1] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (15-5-0)
#5 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (14-9-0)
#6 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (11-3-0)
#7 [--] Brodus Clay & Sweet Tea Tensai (9-9-1)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (5-11-1)
#9 [--] Randy Orton & Bryan Danielson (4-2-0)
#10 [--] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (4-3-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
Summerslam (2013)
I've never been the biggest believer in Summerslam, as an event. It purports to be one of the original "big four" [fondly regarded as the big five, while I lament the loss of King of the Ring], but it lacks the almost infallible appeal of the Royal Rumble, the hit and miss intrigue of Survivor Series, or the sheer spectacle of Wrestlemania. The inclusion of a star like Brock Lesnar alludes to a desire to elevate this summer feature to Wrestlemania-type stature, but the end result undermines it beyond repair.

It's fair to say no WWE Pay Per View is particularly up to par. The presentation is more slick than ever before, but the wrestling showcases all that's missing in today's product. The storylines are meandering, the pay-offs confused and inconsequential, the ring style dependent heavily on the individual and their willingness to create a narrative, or feature the sport. The latter is rare. The former is just not taught enough.

It's disappointing that everything built to Bryan Danielson being screwed.
There's truth to the theory that the thrill is in the chase, but Bryan Danielson's entire career has been the chase. He lacks almost all the qualities associated with a traditional WWE star. He's small, a little on the unusual looking side, and prone to doing more than three or four moves. In keeping with the mood of the summer blockbuster, I think this should have been a celebration. The fulfilment of the underdog and the realization of a wrestling talent as WWE Champion. We don't really need to see Bryan Danielson get screwed. It's what we expect. The thrill is in his success, and for that, it appears we'll have to wait.

The return of the Inferno Match -- or at least something resembling it -- was a thrill in concept, but turned out to be a bit of a dud. Bray Wyatt's debut came with the obligatory win over Kane in a fire-type match, but the bulk of the story was the bumbling attempts of his lackeys. The controlled fire bars are always a little too small to fully live up to the visual concept, but it's never worse than when the purpose is to keep someone in or out of the ring. Kane's off to film a movie, so he follows John Cena onto the omissions list. Here's hoping they make the most of it. Guys like Ryback, Mark Henry, and other absentees from the Summerslam card will hopefully get a chance to shine. We'll see.

Recent returns Christian and Rob Van Dam further appear to be here as jobbers to the stars. It's a big ask to expect them to come back to the fore while other names are developing (Danielson, Del Rio), but it's frustrating to see them be bit players in one unconvincing contest after another. RVD in particular had all the hype in the world behind his return. Watching him bounce around the way he has is depressing. CM Punk can't catch much more of a break, but it'll be worse then Lesnar's limited dates mean there's no follow-up. Here's hoping the last couple of Lesnar wins mean there's a chance he'll face Undertaker at the coming year's Wrestlemania. I'd still like to see that.

All in all, Summerslam felt like another dud. Which is a shame, because at the behest of friends and acquaintances, I have managed to find enjoyment from more Summerslams  than I realised. I'm willing to believe the slam of the Summer can be a big four blockbuster. They just need to back it up. Until then, I'll be pining over the Summerslam '96/'97 DVD pack and wishing I had more disposable cash.

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: WWE Needs New Stars

During the declining years of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock -- approximately the turn of the century -- an awareness was being reached by fans who recognised the inevitable need for new talent to fill the void of two of wrestling's biggest stars. This preoccupation turned into an obsession over the course of the decade, operating under the assumption that unsung old horses, like Undertaker and Kane, would not last long enough to fill the void of their late nineties superstar contemporaries.

The longevity of names like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and those already mentioned, has only fuelled the belief that WWE is in perpetual need of new stars. As the company enters into a record run based on title matches featuring either John Cena or Randy Orton, you can certainly make an argument against the tried and true model of holding one or two top stars on a pedestal. Then again, when you consider the relative youth of those two enduring names, it also becomes apparent that WWE has been creating plenty of new names to reign over it's roster.


As a general rule of thumb, superstars recruited into World Wrestling Entertainment generally have some experience in another company, or medium. In wrestling terms, they've "created" their fair share of new stars, even though many have gained noteriety before reaching WWE.

Perhaps the most prominent example of this is Kurt Angle, a wrestler who debuted in 1999, and quickly captured his first WWF Heavyweight Championship in October, 2000. Angle's star continued to rise after this, seeing him headline several Wrestlemanias in the canonization of one of the biggest names to develop in the post-Austin and Rock reign. He was, of course, already a noteworthy individual for winning an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 for greco-roman wrestling. He now wrestles for Total Non-Stop Action wrestling.

Of a similar pedigree is another one of WWE's most prominent alumnists, Brock Lesnar. Like Angle, he was a greco-roman "amateur" wrestler, with a similar pedigree to Angle, including a reign as NCAA Champion. Lesnar debuted in March of 2002, part of a manufactured creation process that led him to become the then-youngest WWE Champion in August of 2002, after defeating The Rock at Summerslam. Lesnar's fast-tracked rise through the ranks has seemingly left a legacy apparent in the elevation of wrestlers who've followed, but none can claim to have had Lesnar's impact. Before winning the belt, he entered into a submission victory over Hulk Hogan on Smackdown, defending his King of the Ring-won #1 contender status in what was billed as a match that would finally retire Hogan. This ultimately proved untrue, but painted a vivid picture, which included Lesnar's subsequent decimation of a 90s star, The Rock, after his brutalizing decimation of the 80s' biggest star. Lesnar is now a household name for his time with Ultimate Fighting Championship, where, until recently, he was the Heavyweight Champion.

John Cena and Randy Orton have remained fixtures of the WWE main event since their elevation to headlining status. Cena debuted in June of 2002, earning his first championship in 2005, after some close calls in '03. Orton debuted in April, 2002, and claimed his first WWE Championship in 2007, also after an extended association with big names. Mixed opinions about the legitimacy of their rise and reign at the top of WWE cards has ironically contributed to the perception that WWE continues to need to develop new stars. For all intents and purposes, they have been overlooked as being exactly that, even if by 2010, they have enjoyed a similar duration of success to Stone Cold Steve Austin, who gained noteriety in 1997, established himself a year later in 1998, and was ultimately phased out by 2003.

Sheamus reached the pinnacle of a relatively long career in the UK and Ireland, debuting on WWE's ECW show in June, 2009. He won the WWE Championship in December, marking the most recent rapid rise in the WWE ranks. He has been superceded as champ by The Miz, Mike Mizanin, a wrestler who gained exposure in 2001 as part of The Real World reality series, and subsequent shows. In 2004, Miz was a runner-up in the WWE Tough Enough talent search reality show, and returned to TV in 2006 as a full fledged member of the roster. He captured the WWE Championship in November, 2010, as a winner of the Money in the Bank shot.

Since 2000, WWE has also made a conceited effort to elevate stars of various statures into main event, title holding status. Chris Jericho led the way, earning the first ever Undisputed Championship at the end of 2001, lasting until the main event of 2002's Wrestlemania. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit are of a similar vintage, having earned dedicated followings for their World Championship Wrestling work, despite mixed recognition from the defunct company. Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Rey Mysterio are other names assimilated during the WCW/ECW buy-out, which were elevated to championship holding status over time. John Bradshaw Layfield, Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Hardcore Holly, and Mark Henry were among the internally elevated stars who previously occupied positions lower on the card. Edge was brought up the card and has won an absurd number of championships in a short span of time, solidifying himself as a headlining fixture.

Bobby Lashley, The Great Khali, Jack Swagger, and Batista are more names who were established in WWE over the last few years. Batista began his WWE career in 2002 as henchman to Reverand Devon Dudley, but went on to enjoy a successful career as a multi-time champion before his departure in 2010. CM Punk had gained noteriety in Ring of Honor, but joined WWE to soon earn two reigns as a champion, benefitting from the Money in the Bank gimmick.

Ultimately, what all of these names exhibit is the fact that WWE have made an effort to create, elevate, and recruit new stars. John Morrison, Wade Barrett, and Alberto Del Rio are among the current names sitting on the fringe of big things. Ultimately, what they and others suggest is that the complaint of many fans isn't about the creation of stars, but rather, the management of them. Names like Edge, John Cena, and Randy Orton have been elevated quickly and without the credibility of the predecessors, only to be rammed down the throats of fans who may or may not have accepted them. Conversely, names like Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Jeff Hardy, who solidifed a successful period earlier in the decade, have all been taken from the company due to one circumstance, or another.

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 11/7

#1 The Big Show [--] (35-14-2)
(WWE: Smackdown)
Big Show reclaims the clear lead after doing double-time during the week, with a special appearance on RAW as Pee Wee Herman's giant-sized "cousin" and protector from Show's former tag team partner, The Miz. On Smackdown, Big Show reteamed with Kofi Kingston, his nearest Kayfabe Countdown win/loss rival, once again, picking up yet another team victory since the two combined as part of Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights.

Big Show's win/loss dominance reminded me of a quote from Vince McMahon which, more or less, criticized WCW's handling of the then literally named Giant, with the conviction that he would do better. That hasn't necessarily been true over the years, but in 2010, the numbers cannot be argued with! Big Show is a dominant giant!

#2 [--] Kofi Kingston (34-20-2) (WWE)
#3 [--] Rey Mysterio (28-12-3) (WWE)
#4 [--] Randy Orton (28-16-5) (WWE) [WWE Champion]
#5 [+3] AJ Styles (26-11-5) (TNA) [Television Champion]
#6 [-1] Drew McIntyre (26-27-3) (WWE)
#7 [-1] Cody Rhodes (25-16-2) (WWE)
#8 [+1] R-Truth (25-19-4) (WWE)
#9 [-2] The Miz (25-28-4) (WWE) [Money in the Bank]
#10 [--] Kane (24-14-4) (WWE) [World Heavyweight Champion]

#1 [--] Tyson Kidd & DH Smith (16-16-0) (WWE)
#2 [--] Robert Roode & James Storm (15-14-2) (TNA)
#3 [--] Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (12-8-2) (TNA) [Tag Team Champions]
#4 [--] Layla & Michelle McCool (11-12-0) (WWE)
#5 [--] Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes (9-4-0) (WWE)
#6 [--] Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (7-2-0) (WWE)
#7 [--] Big Show & The Miz (7-4-1) (WWE)
#8 [--] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (7-4-0) (WWE)
#9 [new] Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal (7-6-0) (TNA)
#10 [-1] Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne (6-1-0) (TNA)

Superstar Spotlight:
#NR Brock Lesnar
(0-0-0) (UFC)
Millions of viewers flooded to YouTube to watch it, and the entire wrestling and mix martial arts community spent the next week talking about it. No, it wasn't Brock Lesnar's shock loss of the UFC World Heavyweight Championship [to Cain Velasquez]! Rather, the implied challenge issued to him by former WWE rival, The Undertaker, who was present at ringside for the fight, and broke from an interview to ask a just defeated Lesnar, "You wanna do it?..."

Theories have been many, most connecting Brock Lesnar to a possible WWE return at Wrestlemania, reprising his role as challenger to Undertaker's legend, this time at the Deadman's undefeated home of 'Mania. Wrestling Observer has offered other arrangements of events, however, which conspired to inadvertently create a buzz out of aborted plans for a contrived challenge. It was allegedly to be at the post-fight press conference that The Undertaker emerged to converse with Brock Lesnar, but the Observer reported that it was cancelled when Lesnar felt his presence would take away from Cain Velasquez' victory celebration. He probably wasn't in the best of moods after losing his Heavyweight Championship, either, one should imagine.

Plans for Lesnar to add some celebrity buzz to WWE's biggest event of the year seem to be unlikely, at least in the capacity of a wrestler. Zuffa's Dana White was quick to nix the concept, reaffirming the totality of Lesnar's exclusive contract to Ultimate Fighting Championship. Then again, maybe White's in on it! Who knows? The only thing certain is that a Lesnar/Undertaker rematch would be a huge draw for WWE, and an exciting way to challenge the Undertaker's secure undefeated streak at the annual showcase.

Special Note: Results include the TNA: Turning Point Pay-Per-View, where Robbie E (#116) defeated Jay Lethal (#63) to win the X-Division Championship.

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.