Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 06/30

#1 Randy Orton [--] (36-15-3)
Randy Orton may be firmly on top of The Kayfabe Countdown, but it's Bryan Danielson who's building electricity like a goat rubbed across carpet! The dissolving of Team Hell No and the need for Danielson to prove himself as more than a tag team weak link has propelled him back into the solo spotlight in ways I couldn't have imagined. Sure, I still pine for the notion of a solid mid-card feud with Kane, but WWE runs on 2 or 3 match cards. Thems the breaks. One of those matches might as well feature Danielson in an elevated spot. I mean, who needs to bother with boring stuff like development and building? Pffsh.

#2 [--] Sheamus (34-11-1)
#3 [--] Alberto Del Rio (31-8-2) [World Champion]
#4 [+1] Bryan Danielson (25-21-1)
#5 [-1] Kane (24-19-0)
#6 [+3] Ryback (20-9-1)
#7 [-1] Mark Henry (18-6-0)
#8 [-1] The Miz (18-7-1)
#9 [-1] Jack Swagger (18-8-2)
#10 [--] Roman Reigns (17-4-1) [Tag Team Champion]

#1 [--] Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins (16-4-0) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [--] Kane & Bryan Danielson (14-9-0)
#3 [--] Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns (12-3-0)
#4 [--] Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (12-3-0)
#5 [--] Sheamus & Randy Orton (11-3-0)
#6 [+1] Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (10-5-0)
#7 [-1] Brodus Clay & Sweet Tea Tensai (8-6-1)
#8 [--] Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (5-9-1)
#9 [--] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (4-3-0)
#10 [--] Naomi & Cameron (4-3-0)

Superstar Spotlight:
#35 Christian (5-0-0)
I've been of two minds about Christian for quite some time now. On the one hand, I couldn't quite understand why he wasn't being made use of given wide reports of his recovery from injury. On the other hand, when it finally happened, I couldn't help but feel it was the intrusion of old baggage on a period of development.

With the Money in the Bank PPV on the immediate horizon, I have to believe Christian has been brought back for the expressed purpose of falling off a ladder. It's fair enough, in concept, but diminished with the already announced return of Rob Van Dam (revealed at Payback). Two nostalgia bombs vying for a spot they struggled to secure even at their absolute peak? I'm just not sure.

Against all odds; Christian has just claimed wins over Dean Ambrose (Main Event; 6/26) and The Shield trio (Smackdown; 6/28). Maybe that speaks to the waning lustre of the three-man Shield, or maybe there's really something to this Christian return after all. He's running on a perfect record of 5-0. He's still a gaunt, pale and skinny shadow of his former self [pictured right in 2008]. I've got to believe there aren't too many more returns for Christian in the future. Could this be the last great hurrah? Could The Blue Spot be ready to take one last crown? I'm not convinced, but I'll be watching with interest.

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 - 03/27

#1 Edge [--] (15-1-1) (WWE)
[World Heavyweight Champion]















#2 [+2] Rey Mysterio (10-4-0) (WWE)
#3 [-1] Alberto Del Rio (9-5-2) (WWE) [Royal Rumble]
#4 [-1] Randy Orton (9-5-0) (WWE)
#5 [+2] Eve Torres (8-3-0) (WWE) [Divas Champion]
#6 [+2] Chris Masters (8-3-0) (WWE)
#7 [+3] Justin Gabriel (8-4-0) (WWE) [Tag Team Champion]
#8 [new] Layla (8-5-0) (WWE)
#9 [-4] Robert Roode (7-0-0) (TNA) [Tag Team Champion]
#10 [-4] James Storm (7-0-0) (TNA) [Tag Team Champion]

#1 [--] Robert Roode & James Storm (7-0-0) (TNA) [Tag Team Champions]
#2 [+1] Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater (6-3-0) (WWE) [Tag Team Champions]
#3 [-1] Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (6-6-0) (WWE)
#4 [+1] Layla & Michelle McCool (5-1-0) (WWE)
#5 [-1] Sarita & Rosita (3-1-0) (TNA) [Knockouts Tag Team Champions]
#6 [--] Angelina Love & Winter (3-2-0) (TNA)
#7 [--] Edge & Randy Orton (2-0-0) (WWE)
#8 [--] John Morrison & R-Truth (2-0-0) (WWE)
#9 [--] Rey Mysterio & R-Truth (2-0-0) (WWE)
#10 [--] Edge & Kelly Kelly (2-0-0) (WWE)

Superstar Spotlight:
#29 Christian (4-0-0) (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship situation continues to develop in unforseen ways as Christian enjoys another big start to a year. In 2010 Christian kicked things off with a lot of momentum coming off of his ECW Championship reign, and the same sort of thing has come from his return from injury. I'm not sure if it's a positive or a negative, right now, but I'm enjoying the possibilities.

The elephant in the room (not to be confused with Brodus Clay) is the prospect of Christian turning on fictional-brother Edge at some point, possibly at Wrestlemania. It wouldn't be the first time the "Instant Classic" made a sudden turn against one of his partners, not even the first at Wrestlemania. Personally, I would consider it a disappointment if it was a situation reprised. I've got a taste for the sport side of things and right now I can't think of a better situation than Alberto Del Rio rising to the challenge of Edge -- not necessarily at Wrestlemania XVII, but at some point -- giving Christian the chance to then challenge legitimately, without the wacky antics of a "shock" heel turn and feud with Edge. Granted, that kind of set-up requires at least one round of disappointments before I could accept a switch -- it would be a shame to have Del Rio serve as nothing more than a transition champ -- but with a year ahead of us, it's the kind of earning that I'd love to see behind Christian's first reign as the top WWE Champion.

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. Blogger errors delayed the publication of this post. 

Wrestling: The Kayfabe Countdown - 10/3

#1 The Big Show [--]
(29-13-2) (WWE)
Big Show got the weekend off while fellow big-men, Undertaker and Kane, were featured at the Hell in a Cell PPV event. He was present for Smackdown's debut live broadcast on SyFy this week, however, where he suffered defeat at the hands of RAW's rookie quintet, The Nexus. One wonders if this might be pointing toward the October 24 Bragging Rights show, which will pit wrestlers from the two brands against each other. In the past few months, The Nexus has taken the opportunity to spoil various Smackdown events on PPV, including IC bouts involving Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston. Ziggler was on the receiving end of a similar attack, along with MVP, on Smackdown. Might an alliance led by the Big Show be building? We shall see!...

#2 [--] Kofi Kingston (28-19-2) (WWE)
#3 [+2] Randy Orton (24-14-5) (WWE) [WWE Champion]
#4 [-1] Rey Mysterio (23-11-3) (WWE)
#5 [-1] R-Truth (23-16-4) (WWE)
#6 [--] The Miz (23-23-4) (WWE) [Money in the Bank]
#7 [+1] Kane (22-13-4) (WWE) [World Heavyweight Champion]
#8 [+1] Drew McIntyre (22-23-2) (WWE) [Tag Team Champion]
#9 [+1] AJ Styles (21-9-5) (TNA) [Television Champion]
#10 [new] Cody Rhodes (21-12-2) (WWE) [Tag Team Champion]

#1 [--] Tyson Kidd & DH Smith (16-13-0) (WWE)
#2 [--] Robert Roode & James Storm (12-13-2) (TNA)
#3 [--] Layla & Michelle McCool (10-8-0) (WWE)
#4 [--] Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (9-8-2) (TNA) [Tag Team Champions]
#5 [--] Big Show & The Miz (7-4-1) (WWE)
#6 [+3] Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes (6-1-0) (WWE) [Tag Team Champions]
#7 [-1] Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne (6-1-0) (TNA)
#8 [-1] Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (6-2-0) (WWE)
#9 [RE] Brie Bella & Nikki Bella (6-3-0) (WWE)
#10 [-2] Curt Hawkins & Vance Archer (6-4-0) (WWE)

Superstar Spotlight:
#13 Christian (20-20-1) (WWE)
2010 was shaping up to be a good year for Christian! He started it with gold as reigning ECW Champion, and enjoyed a string of successful defenses of the strap before ECW was dissolved in February, and the title was won by Ezekiel Jackson on the final show. He subsequently appeared on RAW by default, later traded to Smackdown, where he remained an active component in the Intercontinental Championship race as one of the bigger names on the depleted post-draft show. His success rate earlier in the year saw him remain at the top of the Kayfabe Countdown for several months, with a win/loss percentage that went unrivalled until the middle of the year, after a string of defeats in big game matches.

Most recently, he was set to begin a feud with hotshot recruit, Alberto del Rio (#110), better known as Mexican legacy luchador, Dos Caras Jr. So esteemed is Del Rio that he claimed Rey Mysterio as his first scalp, with Christian set to develop as his first feuding buddy. Alas; a torn pectoral muscle has put Christian on the sidelines and forced Mysterio back from the injury bench prematurely.

Christian has long been identified as one of the unsung heroes of the WWE brand, described in hyperbole as a talent with the wrong face for Vince McMahon's vision of TV wrestling. It was arguably his tenure in TNA that truly canonized his status, thanks to two reigns as then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion! Personally, I enjoyed the platform his character was given in a time when TNA had a better eye for the sports side of modern mainstream wrestling, aka; "sports entertainment".

Special Note: As of the September 28 episode of WWE NXT, the show will no longer air in the United States, reverting to an online only programme. For the time being, this will disqualify future NXT results from being included in the Kayfabe Countdown. This week's Countdown includes results from the WWE: Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View.

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: NXT, WWE: Superstars, WWE: Smackdown, and monthly Pay-Per-View events. Shout out to Kron!