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LOP Rankings Welcome, LOP. Today, you have ‘The Holy One’ to guide you through the fickle yet highly subjective nature of the LOP Rankings. We’ve seen a lot of different opinions flying around lately, with many squarely divided into two extremist camps over what we have been witnessing over the last few weeks. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle and am adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach, though I don’t envisage Vengeance being anything special from what we’ve seen so far. Saying that, let’s see who has been voted in the top 16 superstars and who do seem to be entertaining the majority. (Unranked) Gabriel makes the top 16 for the first time after narrowly edging out Morrison and Sin Cara. The fact that he is in the top 16 despite having very minimal TV time tells me how the WWE have been focusing on a select few as of late. There’s no doubt Gabriel has talent, and has my favourite wrestling move in the company right now as his finisher, yet I still don’t ever see him being given the opportunity to compete for even a mid-card title. The WWE are now paying the price for the whole Nexus angle. After promoting 8 guys to the main roster and a further 2 in McGillicutty and Harris, they now face the problem of eliminating the ones who were a cut below Barrett and Bryan. Many of them have been removed or released, but Slater, Otunga and Gabriel are stuck in no man’s land seemingly going nowhere. I’d be very surprised if Gabriel remains on this list in future editions and see his appearance here as a reward for actually giving us some entertaining matches when given the opportunity. + 1 Position Swagger makes a small climb on the ladder after becoming the second member of a stable, even if it is statistically the smallest stable possible. Whether the likes of Otunga and Rhodes join their side for the long-term remains to be seen, but I’d expect Swagger to be doing Ziggler’s dirty work for the next few months until they eventually feud for the US title. A few defeats in recent weeks suggests this tag team is simply to give Air Boom some credible challengers until the serious rework of the tag team division begins to take off (or at least as it’s reported it will). The entire storyline seems to be thrown together simply to give them some air time for a few weeks, because in all honesty they could’ve sided during the walkout on last week’s RAW. 16 months ago Swagger was the world champion, yet I highly doubt he’ll ever reach that stage again based on where he has fallen to since. (Unranked) Super Chrisss’ most common climax release Zack Ryder makes his way onto the list after pinning the US champion Dolph Ziggler in two consecutive weeks. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who expected The Long Island Iced Z to face Nicky for his title at Hell in a Cell, but instead we have yet to see Ryder on RAW since that last win. My guess is the WWE used Ryder as a pawn, along with JR, in getting Triple H over as a good guy doing a good job so there was more sympathy with him when he was removed from his position, before ditching them once they had achieved what they wanted. I have to say, if that was the case, it has worked brilliantly for them, as evidenced by Triple H’s pops in recent weeks. I think Ryder will flirt on the US title scene until the euphoria wares off, which it will eventually. He’s admitted himself his YouTube show can only go on for so long, and when he stops it his crowd reaction will slowly begin to diminish. Until then, we can expect Ryder to make appearances on this list without necessarily challenging for the higher positions. -4 Positions The Game struggles to keep his place on the list despite having as much TV time as just about anyone else over the last few weeks. What is holding him back is the fact that he has only wrestled one match, though he is booked in another one at Vengeance albeit in a tag team match. Still, with that amount of TV time, I’d expect him to be a lot higher in this list. What could be holding him back besides the lack of in-ring action is the fact that people are using him as a scapegoat for their grievances as of late. With the amount of power he has had, both in real life and kayfabe, it’s no surprise to see him being so. Unless Triple H drops the business man shtick and commits to wrestling more regularly, his position on this list could be at serious risk. I’d expect him to survive the next round with Vengeance coming up, but after that it could be game over (pun intended). (Unranked) This one surprises me. Despite Beth winning the title, herself and Natalya were nowhere near my personal list because of how they have been booked. Ever since B eth debuted in the WWE, nobody has given her as much trouble as Kelly Kelly. She’s been made to look inferior to her in the ring and needed the help of Natalya to win the title before then being dominated the next night on RAW. The very next week, The Divas of Doom were nowhere to be seen as Kelly Kelly picked up yet another win. I can understand why they took the belt of Barbie, as she had nowhere to go if she overcame Beth and Natalya. The emphasis seems very much in trying to create the next Trish, and as such the two with the most ability seem to be paying the price. Hopefully once Kong returns the division will pick up, but until then I sadly see Beth and Natalya playing second fiddle to the screeching bimbo. = Air Boom stay in the same position of 11, which suggests that although they have been putting on some entertaining matches and had a couple of relatively high profile feuds, the tag team division has sunk to extraordinary low levels. Even when a team puts on a few decent matches on a few pay-per-views, they still struggle to break the top ten. There’s no doubt the tag team division has become a minefield for guys who creative have nothing for, and more and more we see it as unassigned face #1 & unassigned face #2 VS unassigned heel #1 & unassigned heel #2. We are a long way off the division being revitalised and although Air Boom are a stepping stone on the path towards doing so, it’s going to take a lot more to make it genuinely interesting again. + 3 Positions Despite moving away from the world title picture, the IWC’s love for Captain Charisma sees him return to the top ten. Working with Sheamus probably has a lot to do with it, as the creative team have done a great job of booking it so Sheamus still looks like a monster but so Christian doesn’t look weak. Although he’s come off looking worse in his last two feuds, the fact that these were with Orton and Sheamus shouldn’t go unnoticed. Christian is now firmly established as one of the top guys on Smackdown, and when you consider last year he was putting guys like Kingston over cleanly when he was a face, he’s come a hell of a long way. + 1 Position Leading the way for The Cougar Club is Dolph who is still your US champion. His victory in the fatal four way at NoC was a big win, but since then he has been used along with Swagger in giving Air Boom new, credible challengers. Ziggles has held the US title for a long time, yet has made very little progress as far as moving up the card goes. I really don’t see what this alliance with Swagger is doing over than an excuse to give him TV time. I can’t help but think there has been a tragic decline in his stock ever since he was on the brink of becoming World Heavyweight champion on Smackdown before WrestleMania (I refuse to acknowledge him as a former world champion). Still, there are only so many spots at the top of card and I’m sure Dolph’s time will come sooner or later. -4 Positions Perhaps the biggest surprise in the last month or two has been Henry’s dominance over Orton at back to back PPVs (even if he has made up for it since then). I wrote a column in the CF before Orton lost the title saying we needed to see an air of vulnerability in Orton’s character, yet instead we have seen vulnerability in his position as the invincible star of the Smackdown brand. I’m all for this change. Orton had become stale and stagnant and a feud with Rhodes would certainly be compelling viewing, even if he would end up dominating him. I don’t see Orton being champion again until the lead up to WrestleMania at the very earliest, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the creative team have in store for The Viper up until then. -4 Positions Also taking a slide down the list is the IWC’s current darling. I’m not getting into the debate about whether Punk has been buried because the entire argument is ridiculous, but I’ll admit to his momentum taking somewhat of a pause as of late. I was expecting the storyline to involve Punk a lot more than it has up to now instead of Triple H, but with the imminent return of Nash due any week we can expect Punk to take centre stage once again. After Vengeance, I’d expect Punk and Del Rio to be the two that feud for the title going into Survivor Series as Cena does his thing with Dwayne. The problem here is either Punk is going to continue losing at PPVs or Del Rio will have his second short title reign in as many months. The only alternative, and by far most likely outcome, is if Del Rio wins by dastardly means, which doesn’t really do much for either man in my opinion. Still, it says a lot about Punk’s place on the card when he is now set to be used to help the WWE champion get over. + 2 This one was a real shocker for me. Sheamus has been one of the most entertaining things about the WWE in recent months and I expected him to contest for a position at the very top of the list. King Kervin (check him out in the CF, he’s good) recently argued that to fully get over in the WWE you have to have a run as a face. Sheamus certainly supports his argument and his problems earlier in the year seem a long way behind him. There’s no doubt Sheamus suffered from a push too fast, but his slow build since his transformation to the blue brand has put him in good stead. I’d much rather see him face Henry than The Big Show, but I have no doubt the two will meet for Henry’s title in the very near future and continue their intriguing feud from the summer. Watch this space people, Sheamus will be a contender for the top spot before too long. -3 Positions Never too far behind is the backbone of the WWE, John Cena. His relegation in the list can be put down to him losing the WWE title at Hell in a Cell to Del Rio which marked the 42nd short title reign in a row. Why on earth they put the title back on him for two weeks is beyond me and should not have happened. If he wins the title back at Vengeance, I’ll have officially lost the will to live. Saying that, I’d put almost everything I own on him not becoming WWE champion again. With The Rock’s appearance at Survivor Series, it’s a chance for the WWE to get back the buzz about Mania 28 rather than messing around with the title again. Hasn’t been a stellar month for John, but the month of November should be a much more productive one for him. + 2 Positions Yet another impressive showing from Cody who continues to climb the rankings following his impressive run as of late. Despite the savage beating he took from Orton a few weeks ago on Smackdown, Rhodes remains one of the most entertaining characters in the WWE. The mask gimmick is running a little tired for me, but showing the dark side of his psyche has been a revelation and going back to ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes now would seem a little surreal. Given Cody is about to start a program with Orton, I don’t expect to see him take a significant drop any time soon. Sure, Rhodes doesn’t have a chance of leaving the feud victorious, but the fact he is being given such a prestigious opponent speaks volumes. A year from now, I fully expect Rhodes to be competing for the World title. The era of Cody is upon us. + 4 Positions A throw back to The Attitude Era? Perhaps not but the ending of Hell in a Cell was certainly compelling viewing. The fact that they are taking on Triple H and CM Punk at Vengeance shows how much their stock has risen since they first got together, and surprisingly it seems I’m one of the few that find their rap to the ring genuinely amusing. Truth’s heel turn has quite possibly saved his WWE career, while Miz continues to show why so much was invested in him earlier in the year. The two have been superbly entertaining with a few very underrated promos in the last month or so. When they were ‘fired’, there was a sizable hole on RAW and I’m pleased they are back on our screens. 3rd position says it all when you consider for the last several weeks their TV time has been all too brief. + 3 Positions So, here we go again. Del Rio is WWE champion for the second time after defeating John Cena and CM Punk at Hell in a Cell. For the sake of my sanity, I’m not going to ponder over the decision to strip him of the title only to put it back on him and instead will look at where he can go from here. The truth is, where can he go? Punk is the only logical opponent for him right now given he will have faced Cena at three straight pay-per-views after Vengeance. Del Rio doesn’t feel like a true main eventer yet and the luxury of calling him a two-time champion won’t change that. The jury is still very much out for me with regards to Del Rio and I hope I’m wrong, but I see his reign being a flop. = Was it going to be anyone else? Mark Henry’s heel turn has been a breath of fresh air and his build since being drafted to Smackdown has proved that, when the talent is there, the creative team can get it right. Henry has become the number one heel in the company and the two clean wins over Orton on PPV has cemented his place at the top, with him making the number one spot in 50% of the lists. Now, the problem they face is where does he go from here? There’s unfinished work with Big Show and Sheamus but after that the only logical opponent is Orton. I’ve seen suggestions of a title reign until Mania, where he’ll put Bryan over. I sincerely doubt this is going to happen, and am not on board with the idea anyway. It would have to be booked incredibly well, both beforehand and during the match, to make it work. Until then however, I’m going to enjoy the reign of terror Henry has engulfed Smackdown with as The Hall of Pain gets fuller and fuller. That’s it for this edition of the LOP Rankings. I don’t see too much changing at the top between now and the next list, but until then it should be interesting to see how the next few weeks mould heading into Survivor Series and the return of The Rock. Thanks to Doc for giving me the opportunity to speak to you all today and until next time, farewell LOP. 10/24 LOP Wrestler Ranking Voting is open until one week from today (the 24th @ 11:59PM is the deadline). Please use the following format: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)
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