WON Awards: Best and Worst Match on the Same Day

jimbob5 asks:

What about best & worst match of the year on the same show? Which surely will happen this year for Summerslam.

Great question. Let's look at the WON Awards archives.

YES, in 1987. 

Match of the year was Ricky Steamboat versus Randy Savage at WrestleMania III. Worst match of the year was Andre the Giant versus Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III.

As far as I can tell since then no single show has had a match was ranked both MOTY and worst match of the year. However, it's been very close at least three times in the past decade.

Exhibit One: Royal Rumble 2003
5. Scott Steiner defeated Triple H (c) (with Ric Flair) by disqualification (Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship) 18:14
6. Kurt Angle (c) (with Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) defeated Chris Benoit (Singles match for the WWE Championship) 19:50
It's remarkable that these two matches went back-to-back with similar stips (top titles) and similar length (18-20 minutes).

Angle/Benoit was #2 for MOTY (behind Misawa/Kobashi 3/1/03 Tokyo). Meanwhile, HHH/Steiner won worst match of the year.

Exhibit Two: WrestleMania XXV (4/5/2009)
7. The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels (Singles match) 30:41
9. Triple H (c) defeated Randy Orton (Singles match for the WWE Championship)
Taker/Shawn won match of the year (second place was Davey Richards/Shingo Takagi 9/6/09). Meanwhile, HHH/Orton got second place for worst match of the year. However, that year's worst match winner has gone down in history for it's terribleness: TNA's Sharmell VS. Jenna Morasca 7/19/09.

Exhibit Three: WrestleMania XXVI (3/28/2010)
7. Bret Hart defeated Mr. McMahon by submission (No Holds Barred Lumberjack match with Bruce Hart as the special guest referee) 11:09
11. The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels (No Disqualification Streak vs. Career match) 23:59
Taker/Shawn repeated MOTY honors with HBK's retirement match. (Second place was Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards 6/19/10)
Meanwhile, the Bret Hart/McMahon was a head-scratching and awful affair. Still, it was only the second worst match of the year in the eye's of voters. Kaitlyn vs Maxine from NXT 10/19/10 was that year's worst offense. I feel that in time people won't remember that terrible NXT match but the stain of McMahon/Hart will stick around in people's minds.

Trivia Note: Clash of the Champions I vs WWF WrestleMania IV on 3/27/88
Clash of the Champions went #1/#2 in the MOTY balloting (Flair/Sting won followed by Midnight Express/Fantastics) in Greensboro.
Meanwhile, up in Atlantic City, WMIV had Warrior/Hercules (finished second for Worst Match of the Year) and Jake Roberts/Rick Rude (finished fifth for Worst Match of the Year). 

Wonder what atrocity won worst match of the year in 1988? All Japan's (Great) Hiroshi Wajima vs (Megaman) Tom McGee (4/21/88).

WWE Records - Last 12 Months (9/16/14 ending)

Analysis: Chris Harrington

I got curious.

Looking at WWE Results from 9/17/2013 to 9/16/2014 (actually, this does include the NXT results from 9/18/2014 too)....

RESULTS (does not include battle royals/rumbles)
More than 200 matches
Cesaro: 212 matches (80-131-1) = 38% win; won the 31 Man Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WM30
Seth Rollins: 202 matches (89-105-8) = 46% win

More than 175 matches
Roman Reigns: 200 matches (123-69-8) = 64% win; won the MITB Qualifying Battle Royal on Raw
Curtis Axel: 190 matches (36-152-2) = 19% win
Jack Swagger: 187 matches (40-146-1) = 22% win
Dolph Ziggler: 186 matches (107-77-2) = 58% win
Jimmy Uso: 183 matches (145-33-5) = 81% win
Ryback: 182 matches (52-128-2) = 29% win
Luke Harper: 181 matches (52-127-2) = 29% win
Damien Sandow: 180 matches (32-148-0) = 18% win
Dean Ambrose: 178 matches (111-63-4) = 64% win
Jey Uso: 178 matches (142-31-5) = 82% win
Erick Rowan: 177 matches (51-124-2) = 29% win

More than 150 matches
Goldust: 175 matches (118-56-1) = 68% win
Stardust: 173 matches (114-58-1) = 66% win
Big E: 172 matches (111-60-1) = 65% win
Kofi Kingston: 172 matches (71-96-5) = 43% win
Alberto Del Rio: 166 matches (47-117-2) = 29% win
Randy Orton: 164 matches (47-111-6) = 30% win
Fandango: 164 matches (28-134-2) = 17% win
Bray Wyatt: 159 matches (51-107-1) = 32% win; won a dark battle royal in October 2013 at a SmackDown taping
Titus O'Neil: 157 matches (44-111-2) = 28% win

More than 125 matches
John Cena: 150 matches (127-21-2) = 86% win
Natalya: 135 matches (88-47-0) = 65% win
Alicia Fox: 134 matches (19-115-0) = 14% win
R-Truth: 129 matches (67-62-0) = 52% win
Sheamus: 127 matches (106-20-1) = 84% win; won the US Title 20 Man Battle Royal on Raw

More than 100 matches
Rusev: 125 matches (114-10-1) = 92% win
Hunico: 124 matches (65-59-0) = 52% win
Big Show: 120 matches (102-17-1) = 86% win
Miz: 118 matches (39-75-4) = 34% win; won the IC Title Battle Royal at Battleground
Daniel Bryan: 114 matches (85-24-5) = 78% win
Diego: 114 matches (87-26-1) = 77% win
Heath Slater: 108 matches (11-96-1) = 10% win
AJ Lee: 105 matches (46-59-0) = 44% win; won the WWE Divas Title Vickie Guerrero Invitational at WM30
Drew McIntyre: 104 matches (4-98-2) = 4% win
Paige: 102 matches (81-19-2) = 81% win
Fernando: 102 matches (77-24-1) = 76% win
Nikki Bella: 101 matches (79-22-0) = 78% win

More than 75 matches
Bo Dallas: 99 matches (56-42-1) = 57% win
Jinder Mahal: 98 matches (2-94-2) = 2% win
Kane: 97 matches (5-90-2) = 5% win
Bad News Barrett: 93 matches (69-22-2) = 76% win
Brie Bella: 92 matches (67-24-1) = 74% win; won a dark match non-title battle royal on the Tribute to the Troops 2013
Zack Ryder: 89 matches (17-72-0) = 19% win
Aksana: 88 matches (6-82-0) = 7% win
Adam Rose: 86 matches (80-6-0) = 93% win
Naomi: 85 matches (73-10-2) = 88% win
Adrian Neville: 82 matches (67-15-0) = 82% win
Tyson Kidd: 79 matches (26-53-0) = 33% win; won NXT battle royal
Sami Zayn: 78 matches (39-39-0) = 50% win; won NXT battle royal
Cameron: 78 matches (52-25-1) = 68% win
Rob Van Dam: 76 matches (37-36-3) = 51% win; won two battle royals

More than 50 matches
Tamina Snuka: 75 matches (15-60-0) = 20% win; won one battle royal
Emma: 73 matches (56-17-0) = 77% win
Darren Young: 72 matches (46-25-1) = 65% win
Viktor: 70 matches (53-17-0) = 76% win
Konnor: 68 matches (51-17-0) = 75% win
Great Khali: 67 matches (54-12-1) = 82% win
CM Punk: 66 matches (60-4-2) = 94% win
Justin Gabriel: 64 matches (16-47-1) = 25% win
Tyler Breeze: 63 matches (22-40-1) = 35% win; won NXT battle royal
Xavier Woods: 63 matches (28-34-1) = 45% win
Bayley: 59 matches (37-22-0) = 63% win
Summer Rae: 59 matches (19-38-2) = 33% win
Santino Marella: 59 matches (38-21-0) = 64% win
Colin Cassady: 56 matches (29-27-0) = 52% win
Aiden English: 56 matches (30-26-0) = 54% win
Layla: 54 matches (8-44-2) = 15% win
Mark Henry: 54 matches (43-9-2) = 83% win
Sasha Banks: 54 matches (16-38-0) = 30% win
Brodus Clay: 53 matches (15-37-1) = 29% win

More than 30 matches
Charlotte: 50 matches (27-23-0) = 54% win
CJ Parker: 47 matches (18-29-0) = 38% win
Eva Marie: 41 matches (24-16-1) = 60% win
Jason Jordan: 41 matches (13-28-0) = 32% win
Rosa Mendes: 40 matches (3-36-1) = 8% win
Baron Corbin: 40 matches (22-18-0) = 55% win
El Torito: 40 matches (37-3-0) = 93% win
Simon Gotch: 36 matches (23-13-0) = 64% win
Camacho: 35 matches (7-28-0) = 20% win
Mojo Rawley: 34 matches (25-9-0) = 74% win
Wesley Blake: 33 matches (7-26-0) = 21% win
Angelo Dawkins: 33 matches (13-20-0) = 39% win
Kalisto: 33 matches (22-11-0) = 67% win
Rey Mysterio: 32 matches (20-12-0) = 63% win
Batista: 31 matches (14-13-4) = 52% win; won the 2014 Royal Rumble
Bull Dempsey: 31 matches (18-13-0) = 58% win

More than 25 matches
Becky Lynch: 30 matches (16-14-0) = 53% win
Sylvester Lefort: 28 matches (8-20-0) = 29% win
Tye Dillinger: 27 matches (7-20-0) = 26% win
Mason Ryan: 26 matches (17-9-0) = 65% win
Alexa Bliss: 26 matches (13-13-0) = 50% win

More than 15 matches
Chris Jericho: 25 matches (19-4-2) = 83% win
Tensai: 25 matches (11-13-1) = 46% win
Hornswoggle: 24 matches (2-22-0) = 8% win
Corey Graves: 24 matches (15-9-0) = 63% win
Christian: 24 matches (10-14-0) = 42% win
Sawyer Fulton: 22 matches (3-19-0) = 14% win
Enzo Amore: 21 matches (14-7-0) = 67% win
Marcus Louis: 21 matches (8-13-0) = 38% win
Billy Gunn: 20 matches (7-12-1) = 37% win
Ricardo Rodriguez: 20 matches (3-17-0) = 15% win
Buddy Murphy: 19 matches (1-18-0) = 5% win
Scott Dawson: 19 matches (3-16-0) = 16% win
Road Dogg: 18 matches (7-10-1) = 41% win
Travis Tyler: 18 matches (8-10-0) = 44% win
Dash Wilder: 17 matches (3-14-0) = 18% win
Solomon Crowe: 16 matches (6-10-0) = 38% win

More than 10 matches
Kaitlyn: 15 matches (4-11-0) = 27% win
Troy McClain: 14 matches (1-13-0) = 7% win
Danny Burch: 14 matches (0-14-0) = 0% win
Carmella: 13 matches (4-9-0) = 31% win
Kendall Skye: 13 matches (4-9-0) = 31% win
Slate Randall: 13 matches (1-11-1) = 8% win

More than 5 matches
Paul Heyman: 10 matches (1-9-0) = 10% win
Yoshi Tatsu: 8 matches (2-6-0) = 25% win
Curt Hawkins: 8 matches (0-8-0) = 0% win
unknown: 7 matches (1-6-0) = 14% win
Steve Cutler: 7 matches (1-6-0) = 14% win
Kassius Ohno: 7 matches (2-5-0) = 29% win
Cal Bishop: 6 matches (3-2-1) = 60% win
Mistico: 6 matches (3-2-1) = 60% win

More than 3 matches
Veronica Lane: 5 matches (0-5-0) = 0% win
Brad Maddox: 5 matches (1-4-0) = 20% win
Oliver Grey: 5 matches (1-4-0) = 20% win
JoJo: 5 matches (3-2-0) = 60% win
Triple H: 4 matches (0-3-1) = 0% win
Elias Sampson: 4 matches (0-4-0) = 0% win

Multiple matches
Knuckles Madsen: 3 matches (2-1-0) = 67% win
Chad Gable: 3 matches (2-1-0) = 67% win
Vickie Guerrero: 3 matches (0-3-0) = 0% win
Brock Lesnar: 3 matches (3-0-0) = 100% win
Garrett Dylan: 3 matches (0-3-0) = 0% win
Alex Riley: 2 matches (0-2-0) = 0% win
Jonny Vandal: 2 matches (0-2-0) = 0% win
Hideo Itami: 2 matches (2-0-0) = 100% win
Grandmaster Sexay: 2 matches (1-1-0) = 50% win
Scotty 2 Hotty: 2 matches (1-1-0) = 50% win
Devin Taylor: 2 matches (1-1-0) = 50% win
Stephanie McMahon: 2 matches (2-0-0) = 100% win
CJ O'Doyle: 2 matches (0-2-0) = 0% win

One Shot Stars

Aaron Solo: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

CM Skunk: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Vordell Walker: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Chris Rockwell: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Rikishi: 1 match (1-0-0) = 100% win

Mike Lebosca: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Nick Nardone: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Tee Perkins: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

William Regal: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Derek Billington: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Jonathan Ortagun: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Philip Gouljar: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Undertaker: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Tommy Taylor: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Mike Cuellari: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

John Cahill: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Captain Comic: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Matt Sugarman: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Stuart Cumberland: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Raquel Diaz: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Jack Hurley: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

John Icarino: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Mac Miles: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Dana Brooke: 1 match (1-0-0) = 100% win

Tyson Dux: 1 match (0-1-0) = 0% win

Observations:

• Cesaro is a beast. He's wrestled over 200 times in the past year. My count has him at 212 matches (without including battle royal/rumble appearances&wins) and 208 different events where he had a match. Poor dude.
• Most tag matches go to the teams you'd expect: Goldust & Stardust (159), Erick Rowan & Luke Harper (165) and the Usos (171). However, Jimmy Uso actually has one additional tag match match without his brother. At a live event in Indiana on September 5, Jimmy tagged with The Great Khali. (New Tag Champs?!)
• The King of singles matches might surprise you: Damien Sandow. He's had 165 singles matches (including multi-man singles) which puts him well ahead of the two runner-ups Dolph Ziggler (151 singles) and recently released Alberto Del Rio (150). Sandow is only 30-165 in singles competition though.
• Some guys are predominately tag wrestlers. Some guys are predominately singles wrestlers. Who has straddled the line the most in the past 12 months? Bray Wyatt with 79 singles matches and 80 tag matches. He's won 38% of the singles matches and only 27% of the tag matches.
• Only four wrestlers (with more than ten matches) have won more than 90% of their matches (note: this includes victories via DQ). What a stable they would make: Rusev (114-10-1), Adam Rose (80-6-0), CM Punk (60-4-2) and El Torito (37-3-0).
• Only six main roster wrestlers have sunk below the 10% mark in terms of winning percentage (again, this includes losses via DQ/count-out). That's recently released two-thirds of 3MB (Drew McIntyre & Jinder Mahal) along with theDemonKane, Aksana, Total Divas' star Rosa Mendes and Hornswoggle.
• Who is splitting the uprights with a 50% win record? Sami Zayn (39-39) and Alexa Bliss (13-13). (Pair 'em up!)

Wrestlenomics for the WON Hall of Fame Ballot

Analysis by Chris Harrington

I've been compiling several areas of research:

1. Days as champions for major belts (specifically starting in 1984-2014)
2. Four star+ matches 
3. Total PPV Main Events for U.S.
4. Total 10,000+ crowds for Japan (75% complete for wrestler attribution)
5. Wrestler of the Year and Match of the Year tallies

WON HOF Candidates 2014

HISTORICAL PERFORMERS: Gene & Ole Anderson, The Assassins (Joe Hamilton & Tom Renesto), Red Bastien, June Byers, Pepper Gomez, Dick Hutton, Pedro Morales, Ciclon Negro, Kinji Shibuya, Wilbur Snyder, John Tolos, Enrique Torres, Von Brauners & Saul Weingeroff , Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods, Johnny "Mr. Wrestling II" Walker 

MODERN PERFORMERS: Junkyard Dog, Edge, Owen Hart, Curt Hennig, Ivan Koloff, Brock Lesnar, Fabulous Moolah, Dick Murdoch, Ken Patera, C.M. Punk, Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Sgt. Slaughter, Jimmy Snuka, Sting, Ultimate Warrior

WRESTLING IN JAPAN: Jun Akiyama, George Gordienko, Gran Hamada, Volk Han, Masahiko Kimura, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Seiji Sakaguchi, Mike & Ben Sharpe, Minoru Suzuki, Kiyoshi Tamura, Akira Taue

WRESTLING IN MEXICO: Brazo de Oro & Brazo de Plata & El Brazo, Cien Caras, Hector Garza, Ultimo Guerrero, Karloff Lagarde, Blue Panther, L.A. Park, Huracan Ramirez , El Signo & El Texano & Negro Navarro, Vampiro, Villano III, Dr. Wagner Jr.

WRESTLING IN EUROPE: Jim Breaks, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Horst Hoffman, Billy Joyce, Kendo Nagasaki, Jackie Pallo, Rollerball Mark Rocco, Johnny Saint, Otto Wanz

WRESTLING IN AUSTRALIA/PACIFIC ISLANDS/CARIBBEAN/AFRICA CANDIDATES: Spyros Arion, Johnny Barend, Brute Bernard & Skull Murphy, Carlos Colon, King Kong Czaja, John DaSilva, Domenic DeNucci, Killer Karl Kox, Mark Lewin, Mario Milano, Jan Wilkens

NON-WRESTLERS: Bill Apter, Dave Brown, Jim Crockett Jr., Jim Crockett Sr., Gary Hart, Jimmy Hart, Howard Finkel, Jerry Jarrett, Larry Matysik, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerluind, Don Owen, George Scott, Jesse Ventura, Stanley Weston

The data that I've compiled is really going to give insight for "Modern Performers" and will also provide some relevant comparisons for modern "Wrestling in Japan" candidates.

#1 Days as Champion for Major Belts (1984-2014)

Among Wrestlers who have held major belts for extended time-periods, many are already in the WON HOF:
1. Hulk Hogan (1996)
2. Ric Flair (1996)
3. Mitsuharu Misawa (1996)
4. Keiji Mutoh (1999)
5. John Cena (2012)
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2013)
7. Shinya Hashimoto (2000)
8. Kenta Kobashi (2002)
9. Triple H (2005)
10. Vader (1996)
11. Kensuke Sasaki (2013)
12. Tatsumi Fujinami (1996)
14. Toshiaki Kawada (1997)
15. Bret Hart (1996)
18. Jumbo Tsuruta (1996)
22. Genichiro Tenryu (1996)
22. Randy Savage (1996)
27. Steve Austin (2000)
29. Stan Hansen (1996)
31. Undertaker (2004)
34. Shawn Michaels (2003)
36. Riki Choshu (1996)
37. Kurt Angle (2004)
39. Rock (2007)
40. Antonio Inoki (1996)
49. Chris Jericho (2010)
58. Chris Benoit (2003)
61. Rey Mysterio (2010)
64. Eddie Guerrero (2006)
67. Nobuhiko Takada (1996)
71. Steve Williams (2011)
73. Ricky Steamboat (1996)
82. Mick Foley (2000)
84. Masahiro Chono (2004)
89. Dusty Rhodes (1996)
90. Terry Gordy (2005)
91. Vince McMahon (1996)
92. Bob Backlund (2004)
93. Harley Race (1996)
94. Andre the Giant (1996)

Some wrestlers are currently on the ballot:
16. Satoshi Kojima (ballot) - listed as a tag team with Tenzan
17. Brock Lesnar (ballot)
19. CM Punk (ballot)
20. Jun Akiyama (ballot)
24. Yuji Nagata (ballot)
25. Edge (ballot)
32. Sting (ballot)
42. Ultimate Warrior (ballot)
51. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (ballot) - listed as a tag team with Kojima
62. Akira Taue (ballot)
77. Sgt Slaughter (ballot)

Some wrestlers are not on this year's ballot:
13. Randy Orton (not eligible yet)
21. Takashi Sugiura (n/a)
26. Batista (fell off ballot in 2013)
28. Kazuchika Okada (not eligible yet)
30. Kazuyuki Fujita (n/a)
33. Kevin Nash (fell off ballot in 1998)
35. Shinsuke Nakamura (not eligible yet)
38. Sheamus (n/a)
41. Alberto Del Rio (n/a)
43. Yokozuna (n/a)
44. Bradshaw (n/a)
45. Big Show (n/a)
46. Goldberg (n/a)
47. Takeshi Rikio (n/a)
48. Lex Luger (fell off in 1998)
50. Yoshihiro Takayama (fell off in 2003 and 2005)
52. Takeshi Morishima (n/a)
53. Go Shiozaki (n/a)
54. Daniel Bryan (not eligible yet)
55. Togi Makabe (n/a)
56. Miz (n/a)
57. Kane (fell off in 2012)
59. Yoshinari Ogawa (n/a)
60. Ron Simmons (n/a)
63. AJ Styles (fell off in 2013)
65. Scott Norton (n/a)
65. Booker T (fell off in 2006)
68. Sycho Sid (n/a)
69. Naomichi Marufuji (not eligible yet)
70. Mark Henry (n/a)
72. Jack Swagger (n/a)
74. Jeff Hardy (fell off in 2012)
75. Dolph Ziggler (n/a)
76. Bob Sapp (n/a)
78. Ron Garvin (n/a)
79. Great Khali (n/a)
80. Tadao Yasuda (n/a)
80. Salman Hashimikov (n/a)
83. Manabu Nakanishi (n/a)
85. Christian (n/a)
86. Diamond Dallas Page (n/a)
87. Rob Van Dam (fell off in 2007)
88. Kerry Von Erich (fell off in 1999 and 2007)

#2 Four Star+ Matches

Among Wrestlers with 15+ ****plus matches, many are already in the WON HOF:
1. Kenta Kobashi (2002)
2. Mitsuharu Misawa (1996)
3. Toshiaki Kawada (1997)
5. Kurt Angle (2004)
6. Chris Benoit (2003)
8. Jushin Thunder Liger (1999)
10. Shawn Michaels (2003)
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2013)
14. Jumbo Tsuruta (1996)
15. Ric Flair (1996)
15. Rey Mysterio (2010)
17. Chris Jericho (2010)
19. Eddie Guerrero (2006)
20. Steve Williams (2011)
21. Triple H (2005)
26. Steve Austin (2000)
27. Keiji Muto (1999)
34. John Cena (2012)
40. Undertaker (2004)
56. Masahiro Chono (2004)

There are several wrestlers who are the ballot who also have 15+ ****-plus matches:
4. Akira Taue (ballot)
7. Jun Akiyama (ballot)
9. Edge (ballot)
48. CM Punk (ballot)
51. Yuji Nagata (ballot)
51. Sting (ballot)
61. Minoru Suzuki (ballot)

There's also several wrestlers who are not on this year's ballot:
11. AJ Styles (fell off in 2013)
13. KENTA (not eligible yet)
17. Shinjiro Otani (n/a)
21. Daniel Bryan (not eligible yet)
23. Kazuchika Okada (not eligible yet)
24. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (n/a)
25. Naomichi Marufuji (not eligible yet)
27. Randy Orton (not eligible yet)
27. Koji Kanemoto (n/a)
30. Samoa Joe (n/a)
31. Masanobu Fuchi (n/a)
31. Christopher Daniels (n/a)
31. Jeff Hardy (fell off in 2012)
34. Shinsuke Nakamura (not eligible yet)
36. Yoshinari Ogawa (n/a)
36. Tetsuya Naito (n/a)
36. Christian (n/a)
36. El Samurai (n/a)
40. Tomohiro Ishii (n/a)
42. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (n/a)
51. Chris Sabin (n/a)
51. Davey Richards (n/a)
51. Johnny Ace (n/a)
56. Shelton Benjamin (n/a)
56. Hirooki Goto (n/a)
61. Seth Rollins (not eligible yet)
61. Scott Steiner (as a tag team with Rick: fell off in 1998 & 2007)
61. Juventud Guerrera (n/a)
61. Alex Shelley (n/a)
61. Low Ki (n/a)
61. Katsuyori Shibata (n/a)

#3 Total PPV Main Events

(This includes WWF/WWE, TNA, ECW, WCW PPVs but does not include weekly TNA.)

Among Wrestlers with 10+ main events, many are already in the WON HOF:
1. John Cena (2012)
2. Triple H (2005)
2. Undertaker (2004)
5. Kurt Angle (2004)
6. Hulk Hogan (1996)
8. Shawn Michaels (2003)
12. Ric Flair (1996)
13. Steve Austin (2000)
19. Rock (2007)
22. Chris Jericho (2010)
23. Mick Foley (2000)
24. Bret Hart (1996)
25. Randy Savage (1996)
33. Vader (1996)
36. Rey Mysterio (2010)
45. Chris Benoit (2003)
45. Vince McMahon (1996)
45. Roddy Piper (1996)

There are four wrestlers who are the ballot who also have 10+ PPV main events:
4. Sting (ballot)
16. Edge (ballot)
21. CM Punk (ballot)
36. Brock Lesnar (ballot)

There's also many wrestlers who are not on this year's ballot with 10+ PPV main events:
7. Randy Orton (not eligible yet)
9. Big Show (n/a)
10. Jeff Jarrett (n/a)
11. Kevin Nash (fell off ballot in 1998)
13. AJ Styles (fell off in 2013)
15. Batista (fell off in 2013)
17. Samoa Joe (n/a)
17. Kane (fell off in 2012)
19. Jeff Hardy (fell off in 2012)
26. Christian Cage (n/a)
27. RVD (fell off in 2007)
28. Lex Luger (fell off in 1998)
29. Booker T (fell off in 2006)
29. Scott Steiner (as a tag team with Rick: fell off in 1998 & 2007)
31. Bubba Ray Dudley (fell off in 2007 as tag team)
32. Sid Vicious (n/a)
33. Sheamus (n/a)
33. Bobby Roode (n/a)
36. Abyss (n/a)
39. Alberto Del Rio (n/a)
39. Goldberg (n/a)
39. James Storm (n/a)
42. Daniel Bryan (not eligible yet)
42. JBL (n/a)
44. Christopher Daniels (n/a)
45. Scott Hall (fell off in 1998)
45. Rhyno (n/a)
45. Miz (n/a)
51. DDP (n/a)
51. Sabu (fell off in 2000)
53. D-Von Dudley (fell off in 2007 as tag team)
53. Ron Killings (n/a)
53. Davey Boy Smith (fell off in 1998 and 2006)
56. Mark Henry (n/a)
56. Wade Barrett (n/a)

#4 10,000+ Crowds for Japan (75% complete; mostly 1973-2013 time-frame)

Among Wrestlers with 30+ appearances in the top third of crowd, many are already in the WON HOF:
1. Keiji Muto (1999)
2. Masahiro Chono (2004)
3. Kensuke Sasaki (2013)
4. Mitsuharu Misawa (1996)
5. Toshiaki Kawada (1997)
5. Riki Choshu (1996)
7. Genichiro Tenryu (1996)
8. Shinya Hashimoto (2000)
9. Kenta Kobashi (2002)
11. Tatsumi Fujinami (1996)
14. Stan Hansen (1996)
19. Steve Williams (2011)
20. Jumbo Tsuruta (1996)
21. Hiroshi Hase (2006)
23. Jushin Thunder Liger (1999)
25. Giant Baba (1996)
26. Antonio Inoki (1996)
27. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2013)
28. Vader (1996)
37. Nobuhiko Takada (1996)

There are five wrestlers who are the ballot who also have 30+ appearances on the top third:
10. Jun Akiyama (ballot)
12. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (ballot) - on ballot as a tag team with Kojima
13. Akira Taue (ballot)
15. Yuji Nagata (ballot)
17. Satoshi Kojima (ballot) - on ballot as a tag team with Tenzan

There's also several wrestlers who are not on this year's ballot:
16. Yoshihiro Takayama (fell off in 2003 and 2005)
17. Manabu Nakanishi (n/a)
21. Shiro Koshinaka (n/a)
23. Scott Norton (n/a)
28. Johnny Ace (n/a)
28. Kengo Kimura (n/a)
28. Gary Albright (n/a)
28. Kazuo Yamazaki (n/a)
33. Super Strong Machine (n/a)
34. Takao Omori (n/a)
35. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (n/a)
35. Shinsuke Nakamura (not eligible yet)
37. Takashi Iizuka (n/a)

#5 WON Awards: Wrestler of the Year & Match of the Year Points

Timeframe: 1980-2013

Among Wrestlers with 25+ points who are already in the WON HOF:
1. Ric Flair (1996)
2. Kenta Kobashi (2002)
3. Mitsuharu Misawa (1996)
4. Shawn Michaels (2003)
5. Toshiaki Kawada (1997)
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2013)
8. John Cena (2012)
9. Steve Austin (2000)
9. Triple H (2005)
11. Chris Benoit (2003)
12. Kurt Angle (2004)
15. Keiji Muto (1999)
16. Ricky Steamboat (1996)
18. Chris Jericho (2010)
18. Jushin Thunder Liger (1999)
20. Bret Hart (1996)
22. Mick Foley (2000)
23. Manami Toyota (2002)
24. Undertaker (2004)
26. Rey Mysterio (2010)

28. Genichiro Tenryu (1996)
29. Jumbo Tsuruta (1996)
31. Hulk Hogan (1996)
32. Akira Maeda (1996)
32. Eddie Guerrero (2006)
34. Kensuke Sasaki (2013)
35. Rock (2007)
36. Tiger Mask (1996)
38. Bobby Eaton (2009)
39. Nobuhiko Takada (1996)
42. Bob Backlund (2004)
42. Ted DiBiase (1996)
44. Vader (1996)
45. Terry Funk (1996)
45. Terry Gordy (2005)
51. Harley Race (1996)
56. Dynamite Kid (1996)
58. Randy Savage (1996)
58. Stan Lane (2009)
63. Steve Williams (2011)
63. Tatsumi Fujinami (1996)

There are eight wrestlers who are the ballot who also have 25+ points:
13. Jun Akiyama (ballot)
20. CM Punk (ballot)
25. Edge (ballot)
36. Yuji Nagata (ballot)
45. Akira Taue (ballot)
45. Brock Lesnar (ballot)
49. Sting (ballot)
56. Sgt Slaughter (ballot)

There's also several wrestlers who are not on this year's ballot:
6. Daniel Bryan (not eligible yet)
14. KENTA (not eligible yet)
16. Samoa Joe (n/a)
27. Davey Richards (n/a)
29. Kazuchika Okada (not eligible yet)
39. Barry Windham (n/a)
39. Kerry Von Erich ((fell off in 1999 and 2007)
50. Shingo Takagi (n/a)
51. Naomichi Marufuji (not eligible yet)
51. Nigel Mcguinness (n/a)
51. Rick Steiner (as a tag team with Rick: fell off in 1998 & 2007)
51. Scott Steiner (as a tag team with Rick: fell off in 1998 & 2007)
60. Larry Zbyszko (n/a)
60. Mistico (n/a)
60. Naruki Doi (n/a)

Conclusion

This looks at some raw metrics but doesn't necessarily encompass "drawing power" or even "working ability".

Looking at the 2014 WON Ballot Candidates 
Akira Taue, Yuji Nagata, Sting, CM Punk, Edge, Jun Akiyama each appear in at least four different categories. Brock Lesnar is in three categories. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Sgt Slaughter are in two categories while Ultimate Warrior and Minoru Suzuki each appear once.

If I limit it to top 40 ranked wrestlers in each category, Edge & Akiyama has four top forty finishes, Nagata & Punk have three top forty finishes, Sting/Taue/Lesnar/Kojima have two top forty finishes and Tenzan has one.

Other

In terms of wrestlers not on the ballot currently, strongest names look like Daniel Bryan, Kazuchika Okada, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura.

WWE finally announces India TV Rights Deal.

"Ten Sports and WWE® Expand Partnership in India"

WWE has been talking about this thing for a long time.

A year ago, WWE set out the goal that "over the next 18 months we expect to renegotiate our four largest television agreements in the U.S., the UK and India."

And they've done it. All those agreements have been completed (along with ones in Canada, France, the Middle East, Germany, Austria, Thailand)

At the last conference Call Safalow tried to push them for details but they wouldn't say...

Brad Safalow - PAA Research
Thanks. Just a couple of follow-ups. One, what is the status of the TV rights negotiation in India.
George Barrios - Chief Strategy & Financial Officer
We are still working through the deal with our partner. Obviously we’ve agreed to terms where we’re working through the final point.
Brad Safalow - PAA Research
Okay. So is that something you actually will communicate kind of what you have in the past or suggested on the mark-to-market.
George Barrios - Chief Strategy & Financial Officer
That we would communicate when the deal is signed.
Brad Safalow - PAA Research
Well, you obviously always communicate with the deal signed, but give us a sense of like how much the increase was.
George Barrios - Chief Strategy & Financial Officer
Yes we never talk about that. We’ve already communicated kind of the total increase of our major deal. So that will probably be the extent of it. We don’t get into the individual deals that we are in.

Back in May WWE said, "Our content licensing agreements as far as India is concerned, we’re in the middle of negotiations there, which should be big for us."

In February, the company had noted, "Additionally, we like to be aware that we are currently in similar discussions in India, where our analysis also indicate significant economic upside. Each of these developments represent significant milestones in our effort to realize greater value from our content and transform our business."

I'm curious what the "new one-hour fully customized version of Raw tailored specifically for the Indian audience" will involve and how profitable bringing "WWE live events back to India in 2015" will end up being.

CM Punk vs. WWE re: Royalties (Contract Chatter)

In the September 8, 2014 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, editor Dave Meltzer writes:

Attorneys for C.M. Punk sent a 22 page letter to WWE over royalties (I believe WWE stopped sending Punk royalty money over their claim of a breach of contract) and use of his likeness, particularly him being featured in the video game (the roster of the game was put together before he quit the promotion even though it was just announced two weeks ago).

If people are curious about the language in standard WWE contracts, they can take a gander at https://sites.google.com/site/chrisharrington/mookieghana-prowrestlingstatistics/wwe_contracts where I've posted copies of ones that have been made public over the years through SEC filings or public lawsuits.

I believe Stephanie McMahon's October 7, 2013 contract is probably the most recent example that I've found.

Now, CM Punk or Rey Mysterio's contract may have different language in it because as top stars they're more likely to have negotiated special clauses when they were re-signing.
However, I'd wager that the basic outline for their contract is similar to Steph's performer contract. However, I would note that some of the language about wrestlers not receiving royalties on "internet subscription fees; subscription video on demand fees" (7.5) may not be Punk's contract because I suspect that might be relatively new language.

Regarding "Breach of Contract", section 12 talks about "BREACH" which includes 12.1.c that "PROMOTER shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to immediately suspend or terminate this Agreement, both as to services and compensation, if any of the following occurs:... WRESTLER is habitually late and/or absent for scheduled Events or appearances as PROMOTER determines in its sole discretion"

Royalties are covered in section 7 though it's specifically calls out in 7.1.c that "breach" can affect the payments. Additionally, in section 9.6 may be applicable to CM Punk cases:

9.6 WRESTLER shall use best efforts in the ring in the performance of wrestling services for a match or other activity, in order to provide an honest exhibition of WRESTLER’s wrestling skills and abilities, consistent with the customs of the professional wrestling industry; and WRESTLER agrees all matches shall be finished in accordance with the PROMOTER's direction. Breach of this Section 9.6 shall cause a forfeiture of any payments due WRESTLER pursuant to Section 7 and shall entitle PROMOTER to terminate this Agreement, or suspend WRESTLER without pay, but such breach shall not terminate PROMOTER's licenses and other rights under this Agreement. If PROMOTER in its discretion suspends this Agreement, when reinstated, PROMOTER may extend the Term of this Agreement for a period of time equal to the period of suspension or any portion thereof and this Agreement will therefore continue to be of full force and effect throughout the remainder of the Term.

It's hard to say whether not showing up (being absent) is the same as violating "best efforts" and doing the right finish. If they insist that Punk did violate that by walking out, perhaps they're going with the idea that's why they wouldn't have to pay Section 7 (Royalties).

(And if anyone was curious, section 10.2.b is the 'Rey Mysterio' clause: "(b) In the event that WRESTLER is unable to wrestle for six (6) consecutive weeks during the Term of this Agreement, for any or no reason, including, without limitation, due to an injury suffered while performing services at PROMOTER’s direction, PROMOTER shall have the right to thereafter: (i) terminate this Agreement; (ii) suspend WRESTLER either with or without pay; and/or (iii) extend the Term of this Agreement for a period of time equal to the entire period of inability to wrestle, or any portion thereof." I believe that WWE is using this part of the contract to 'extend' Rey's time under obligation to WWE by the amount of injury time he's accumulated.)

Lastly, I am not a lawyer. People far more experienced than I will be able to give meaningful analysis.

- Chris Harrington

@mookieghana

WWE Q2 Results & New Articles & Audio

So, I'm now writing several articles each week over at Bleacher Report.

This week I did a lot of coverage of the WWE Q2 Results:

BR 8/6/14 - Wrestlenomics: Updated 2014 WWE Win-Loss Analysis Through Aug. 5
BR 8/5/14 - Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Discuss Creative at Needham Fireside Chat
BR 8/5/14 - WWE Confirms It's Shutting Down Magazine Division
BR 8/4/14 - Breaking Down Biggest Ramifications of Latest WWE Network Subscription Numbers
WC 8/1/14 - How did WWE Answer those Q2 Questions?
BR 7/31/14 - WWE 2nd-Quarter Conference Call Announces Global WWE Network Launch
WC 7/28/14 - Important Questions WWE Must Answer in the Q2 Call

I also recorded several hours of great audio including:

• Condo on the Moon Podcast (About 40 minutes. new episode up 8/8/14) 
• Good Will Wrestling (Two Hours! Fixing the WWE Network - Part Two - up 8/2/14) 
• Shake Them Ropes (one hour going in-depth on WWE Financials on 7/31/14) 

Tomorrow I will have a new Wrestlenomics Radio Episode at a special time: Saturday, 8/9/14 at 11 AM EST. I'll have Aaron Taube, who is an excellent reporter for Business Insider as a guest.

Other fun material to think about:

* WWE YTD Wrestlenomics - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2151911-wrestlenomics-updated-2014-wwe-win-loss-analysis-through-august-5 [ Bleacher Report]

* 10 WCW Wrestlers Who Were Ridiculously Overpaid - http://whatculture.com/wwe/10-wcw-wrestlers-who-were-ridiculously-overpaid.php [ WhatCulture ]

* So Goes the Network - http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/08/06/so-goes-the-network/ [ Voices of Wrestling ]

My WWE Network 6/30/2014 Prediction

On Thursday morning, WWE will release their Q2 Financial results. Since we see monthly KPI numbers, we already have a good idea about how some of the key drivers for the business (attendance, traditional PPV buys, Home Entertainment sales) are faring. However, an exceptionally important subject where we don't have a good understanding is the state of the WWE Network. In particular, we want to know how many paid subscriptions the service has as of 6/30/2014.

The previous post-WM30 announcement of of 667,287 subscriptions signaled that the WWE Network service was growing a much slower clip than they internally expected. Now, the looming question remains - without a juggernaut attraction such as Wrestlemania, how much more growth did the WWE Network experience in May & June?  Will they hit the bottom of the original projections - 1,000,000 subscribers by year's end?

Last month, I decided to take a poll on a professional wrestling message board that I frequent - the Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly website.  I'm a great believer in the wisdom of the masses and crowd sourcing.  Why not put Surowiecki's thesis to the test?

I offered chunks in increments of 50,000. Since I believed that the Q2 number will be above the number announced during the first week of April (667,287) and it would be below the revised goal for year's end (1,000,000), I wanted to concentrate on delineating between those middle buckets.

Some observations:

• Over 85% of votes believed the WWE Network would report less than 800,000 subscribers
• More than a third of the voters did not even believe the WWE Network would achieve 5% growth and hit the 700,000 mark
• Only a very small handful of voters (less than 4%) were optimistic that WWE would be above 900,000 subscribers

If we look at the weighted average for this poll (assuming the bottom bucket represents "667k-700k" and the top bucket represents "1M-1.05M", it's about 750,983.  (Median, similarly, would be about 750,000.) If you exclude those two votes in the most extreme (1M+) bucket, and you accordingly drop two votes from the most conservative (below 700k) bucket, you'd get about 745,242.

For my estimate, I took the midpoint between the two estimates: median (750,000) and adjusted average (745,242).  That brought me to my guess of 748,113.  Again, I have no inside knowledge. In fact, I'm using the estimate from this poll to bring me to the approximation. I feel like that "hard-sell" we've seen this month for appealing to viewers to sign up, and the reports of Cost-Cutting Measures in WWE are evidence that the service is underperforming expectations, but that's the extent of my "other information" that I'm using to inform my estimate.

If my estimate is true, that would represent about 80,000 new signups since Wrestlemania which would certainly be sluggish.

My friend, Brian Papa, passed along a prediction that appeared on the "Silicon Valley Obession" 'Secret' iPhone app:

That's certainly in the range of estimates that the poll above gave, but I really doubt that such an important number is being "leaked" through this service. We can get to the same estimate without such unsourced wackiness.

Where will WWE publish this important 6/30/14 WWE Network number?  It will likely show up in (at least) three places: the Trending Schedule (which lays out revenue by quarter - look on the last page), the 10-Q SEC filing (which usually doesn't show up for one/two business days after the quarter conference call) and monthly KPI report (which likely will be released tomorrow alongside the normal 8-K report).

How do I do on WWE Network predictions in the past?

• 2/25/14: WWE Network - Launch Day Estimates
• 3/3/14: WWE Network Numbers 7 Days Later (My estimate of 650,000 subscriptions by WM seems pretty good)

Let's see if we can be on the money again!

Does CM Punk belong in the WON HOF?

With CM Punk apparently retiring in 2014 and reaching the magic eligibility age (35), it's an interesting question whether CM Punk will qualify for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Some thoughts:

1. Greatest 100 Wrestling Stars

When Steve Yohe organized votes for the "Greatest 100 Wrestling Stars", the list (published Dec 2013) had CM Punk finishing at #184. Punk finished right around some Japanese wrestlers who are in the HOF (Dump Matsumoto, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hiroshi Tanahashi) and some wrestler who are not (Tom Connors, Josh Barnett, Little Beaver).

Given the giant time-frame for eligible wrestlers (1860 to 2013) and the open-ended criteria ("while drawing & Box Office, importance outside of wrestling, longevity, working ability, style influence were all encouraged as criteria to consider, it was left it open to interpretation of the individual voters.") along with who were the voters (not biggest fans of modern product), I'm not surprised Punk finished so low.

By contrast, Bret Hart was #42, Shawn Michaels was #49, Randy Savage was #38, Triple H was #85, Undertaker was #50, John Cena was #45 and Ric Flair was #7, Hulk Hogan was #3, The Rock was #18, Bruno was #6. 

Thus, it seems like CM Punk was seen as more like a fourth or fifth tier wrestler in the eyes of the historians that voted in this poll. I think that's a little harsh.
2. Annual WON Awards

Let's look at something with a much larger pool of voters.  Here's some notes from CM Punk's finishes in the WON Awards:

2013 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #5. C.M. Punk
2013 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #4. C.M. Punk
2013 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. C.M. Punk
2013 MOST CHARISMATIC: #6. C.M. Punk
2012 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #2. C.M. Punk
2012 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #5. C.M. Punk
2012 BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: #9. C.M. Punk
2012 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #1. C.M. PUNK
2012 MOST CHARISMATIC: #4. C.M. Punk
2011 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR): #2. C.M. Punk
2011 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #6. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: #4. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #1. C.M. PUNK
2011 MOST CHARISMATIC: #3. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: #10. C.M. Punk
2011 MOST OVERRATED: #9. C.M. Punk
2011 BEST GIMMICK: #1. C.M. PUNK
2010 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #3. C.M. Punk
2010 MOST CHARISMATIC: #9. C.M. Punk
2010 BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: #3. C.M. Punk
2009 LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR) : #4. C.M. Punk
2009 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. C.M. Punk
2009 MOST CHARISMATIC: #7. C.M. Punk
2008 MOST OVERRATED: #8. C.M. Punk
2008 MOST UNDERRATED: #7. C.M. Punk
2006 BEST GIMMICK: #4. C.M. Punk
2005 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #2. CM Punk
2005 MOST UNDERRATED: #7. CM Punk
2004 MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: #9. C.M. Punk
2004 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #5. C.M. Punk
2004 BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: #8. C.M. Punk
2003 BEST ON INTERVIEWS: #5. CM Punk
2003 BEST GIMMICK: #2. CM Punk

This paints the picture of a guy who had a good gimmick and was a great talker. 

He was a very good wrestler, often the best in North America (Tanahashi won 2012 & 2011). But I notice that the time-frame (mostly 2008- 2013) is pretty compressed. And there's nothing special about Box Office numbers to call out.

CM Punk certainly had some good feuds:
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 4. C.M. Punk vs. Brock Lesnar (23) 623
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 5. C.M. Punk vs. Paul Heyman (82) 535
2013 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 10. C.M. Punk vs. The Rock (6) 142
2012 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 4. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (49) 512
2012 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 6. John Cena vs. C.M. Punk (16) 291
2011 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK (190) 1,551
2010 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 9. Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk (13) 309
2009 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1. C.M. PUNK VS. JEFF HARDY (302) 2,201
2004 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 3. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk (138) 1242
2004 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 9. C.M. Punk vs. Ricky Steamboat (16) 172
2003 FEUD OF THE YEAR: 2. Raven / CM Punk

And some great matches:
2013 WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 4. Brock Lesnar vs. C.M. Punk 8/18, Los Angeles, CA (76 first place votes)
2013 WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 10. Undertaker vs. C.M. Punk 4/7 East Rutherford, NJ (15 first place votes)
2012 PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 8. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan 5/20 Raleigh (4 first place votes)
2011 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 1. JOHN CENA VS. C.M. PUNK 7/17 CHICAGO (333 first place votes) 
2004 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 3. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 10/16 Chicago Ridge (163 first place votes)
2004 WORKED MATCH OF THE YEAR: 7. Samoa Joe vs. C.M. Punk 6/12 Dayton (12 first place votes)

Still, you can look at other people who had hot, short careers.  Examples like Mistico (who was a much hotter box office star in Mexico) or Bob Sapp in Japan but neither would be considered "top tier" or probably barely "second tier" once you take them out of their limited time-frame context.

3. Final Thoughts

Ironically, CM Punk left the company during the year that he likely would have had the highest profile. As you look at Daniel Bryan being injured, the company using part-time returning stars (Jericho, Batista, RVD) and programming super part-timer Brock Lesnar (currently in a major SummerSlam feud with John Cena), it's easy to imagine CM Punk playing an enormous role in 2014 WWE. However, he took off after the Royal Rumble and so instead we're only left with the prior years to judge him. Will he return in a few years to the ring? Only time will tell.

However, at this point, I am not convinced that CM Punk will be garnering my vote in the 2014 iteration of the WON HOF ballot.

WWE Viewer Demographics

WWE puts some demographic information on the Corporate Website and in their investor presentations.
http://corporate.wwe.com/company/faq.jsp

Who watches WWE programming?WWE is watched by 15 million fans each week in the United State alone. Our diverse audience spans generations of fans. Approximately 35% of WWE's audience is female and 24% are under the age of 18.

You can also look at the June 2014 Investors Presentation (page 16) which breaks out the age demographics as 21% (2-17), 23% (18-34), 21% (35-49) and 35% (50+).

It is important to note that this uses a very "loose" definition of WWE viewer. As discussed in the 8/19/2013 WON which noted that while Variety touted WWE's "20 million people watched WWE's five show!" claim, they didn't really explain things like:
a) It counted all shows (and replays) with Total Divas airing 17 that week
b) It counted everyone who watched at least "six minutes" of the show
c) It's not a "all-time record" (Hogan/Andre had 33 million viewers in 1988, Attitude Era had more viewers)

Additionally, last year Scarsborough published their demographic findings on Boxing, UFC and WWE fans over at the Sports Business Journal:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/04/22/In-Depth/Fight-fan-avidity.aspx

That has a good breakdown by age, gender and education level. The numbers generally match WWE's findings (not the silliness with the "number of households with WWE affinity" but otherwise the gender/age splits.) I recommend checking that out. Additionally, Dave wrote about it in the Observer in the 5/6/13 WON issue.

NINE WWF/WWE Singles Feuds w/ most matches in least time!

Looking at people who had 10+ singles (or multi-man singles) matches against each other within 200 days or less!

#1 The Rock vs Triple H (June 1999 through November 1999) 11 matches in 161 days

WWF RAW is WAR #315 @ Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, USA 6/7/1999
Cast: The Rock defeats Triple H (w/Chyna) by DQ (1:23)

WWF RAW is WAR #316 @ Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA 6/8/1999
The Rock Must Win To Face The Undertaker For The World Title At King Of The Ring: The Rock defeats The Undertaker & Triple H (w/Chyna & Paul Bearer) (11:13)

WWF RAW is WAR #318 @ Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA 6/28/1999
The Rock defeats Triple H (w/Chyna) by DQ (1:40)

WWF RAW is WAR #319 @ Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA 6/29/1999
Steel Cage: The Rock defeats Triple H (w/Chyna) (13:56)

WWF Fully Loaded 1999 @ Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York, USA 7/25/1999
Falls Count Anywhere Strap: Triple H defeats The Rock (19:21)

WWF SmackDown #2 @ Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA 8/24/1999
WWF World Heavyweight Title Match (Special Referees: Shane McMahon & Shawn Michaels): Triple H (w/Chyna) (c) defeats The Rock (9:41)

WWF SmackDown #6 @ Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas, USA 9/21/1999
Brahma Bullrope Strap Match (Special Referee: The British Bulldog): Triple H (w/Chyna) defeats The Rock (6:09)

WWF Unforgiven 1999 @ Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA 9/26/1999
WWF World Heavyweight Title Six Pack Challenge (vacant) (Special Referee: Steve Austin): Triple H defeats Kane and Mankind and The Big Show and The British Bulldog and The Rock (20:28)

WWF RAW is WAR #331 @ Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA 9/27/1999
WWF World Heavyweight Title: The Rock defeats Triple H (c) by DQ (7:15)


WWF Rebellion 1999 @ National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, UK 10/2/1999
WWF World Heavyweight Title Steel Cage: Triple H (w/Chyna) (c) defeats The Rock (20:33)

WWF Survivor Series 1999 @ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA 11/14/1999

WWF World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat: The Big Show defeats The Rock and Triple H (c) (16:15)

#2 Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston (July 2010 through January 2011) 12 matches in 190 days

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #567 @ Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA USA 6/29/2010

Kofi Kingston defeats Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (6:50)

WWE Money In The Bank 2010 @ Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA 7/18/2010

SmackDown Money In The Bank Ladder: Kane defeats Christian and Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre and Kofi Kingston and Matt Hardy and The Big Show (26:17)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #571 @ Corpus Christi, Texas, USA 7/27/2010

Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeats Kofi Kingston by DQ (13:49)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #572 @ Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas, USA 7/28/2010

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeats Kofi Kingston (c) (10:45)

WWE SummerSlam 2010 @ Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA 8/15/2010

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) vs. Kofi Kingston - No Contest (7:05)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #574 @ Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California, USA 8/17/2010

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston defeats Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) by DQ (8:45)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #575 @ Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, USA 8/18/2010

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston defeats Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) by Count Out (14:15)

WWE Night Of Champions 2010 @ Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, USA 9/19/2010

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler (w/Kaitlyn & Vickie Guerrero) (c) defeats Kofi Kingston (12:41)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #590 @ Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, USA 12/7/2010

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston defeats Dolph Ziggler (c) by DQ (12:45)

WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2010 @ Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, USA 12/19/2010

Intercontinental Title Triple Threat Ladder: Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) defeats Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston (8:57)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #593 @ Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, USA 12/28/2010

Intercontinental Title Triple Threat: Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) defeats Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston (16:15)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #594 @ Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, USA 1/4/2011

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston defeats Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (c) (5:30)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #594 @ Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, USA 1/4/2011

Intercontinental Title: Kofi Kingston (c) defeats Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) (0:45)

#3 Kurt Angle vs The Rock (June 2000 through December 2000) 11 matches in 181 days

WWF SmackDown #44 @ All State Arena in Chicago, Illinois, USA 6/13/2000

The Rock defeats Kurt Angle by DQ (6:01)

WWF RAW is WAR #370 @ Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA 6/26/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership: The Rock defeats Kurt Angle and Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) (8:56)

WWF SmackDown #50 @ Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, USA 7/25/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title: Kurt Angle defeats The Rock (c) by DQ (7:39)

WWF SummerSlam 2000 @ Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 8/27/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat: The Rock (c) defeats Kurt Angle and Triple H (20:11)

WWF SmackDown #62 @ Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA 10/17/2000

Four Corners: Kurt Angle (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats Chris Benoit and The Rock and Triple H (9:04)

WWF No Mercy 2000 @ Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York, USA 10/22/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title No Disqualification: Kurt Angle (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats The Rock (c) (21:45)

WWF RAW is WAR #387 @ Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, USA 10/23/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat: Kurt Angle (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) (c) vs. The Rock vs. Triple H - No Contest (8:51)

WWF SmackDown #64 @ Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, USA 10/31/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title: The Rock defeats Kurt Angle (c) by DQ (7:45)

WWF Rebellion 2000 @ Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK 12/2/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Four Corners No Disqualification: Kurt Angle (c) defeats Rikishi and Steve Austin and The Rock (8:51)

WWF SmackDown #69 @ Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA 12/5/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Fatal Four Way: Kurt Angle (c) vs. Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker - No Contest (6:33)

WWF Armageddon 2000 @ Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, USA 12/10/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Six Way Hell In A Cell: Kurt Angle (c) defeats Rikishi and Steve Austin and The Rock and The Undertaker and Triple H (32:20)

#4 Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton (June 2013 through December 2013) 11 matches in 183 days

WWE Monday Night RAW #1047 @ Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA 6/17/2013

No Disqualification: Randy Orton defeats Daniel Bryan by Ringrichterentscheid (14:40)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #722 @ Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, USA 6/18/2013

Daniel Bryan defeats Randy Orton by Count Out (14:48)

WWE Monday Night RAW #1048 @ North Charleston, SC, USA 6/24/2013

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - Double DQ (1:15)

WWE Monday Night RAW #1048 @ North Charleston, SC, USA 6/24/2013

Street Fight: Daniel Bryan defeats Randy Orton (15:40)

WWE Money In The Bank 2013 @ Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 7/14/2013

WWE Heavyweight Title Contract Money In The Bank Ladder: Randy Orton defeats Christian and CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Dam and Sheamus (26:38)

WWE SummerSlam 2013 @ Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA 8/18/2013

WWE Heavyweight Title Match (Special Referee: Triple H): Randy Orton defeats Daniel Bryan (c) (00:09)

WWE Night Of Champions 2013 @ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA 9/15/2013

WWE Heavyweight Title: Daniel Bryan defeats Randy Orton (c) (17:40)

WWE Battleground 2013 @ First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York, USA 10/6/2013

WWE Heavyweight Title Match (vacant): Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - No Contest (25:00)

WWE Hell In A Cell 2013 @ AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, USA 10/27/2013

WWE Heavyweight Title Hell In A Cell Match (vacant) (Special Referee: Shawn Michaels): Randy Orton defeats Daniel Bryan (22:17)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #746 @ BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA 12/3/2013

Randy Orton defeats Daniel Bryan (8:45)

WWE Monday Night RAW #1073 @ American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, USA 12/16/2013

Daniel Bryan defeats Randy Orton by DQ (24:57)

#5 CM Punk vs Chavo Guerrero Jr (December 2007 through June 2008) 10 matches in 157 days

ECW on Sci Fi #82 @ in Richmond, Virginia, USA 12/30/2007

CM Punk defeats Chavo Guerrero by Count Out (15:41)

ECW on Sci Fi #83 @ Wachovia Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA 1/8/2008

CM Punk defeats Chavo Guerrero by DQ (14:50)

ECW on Sci Fi #84 @ BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, USA 1/15/2008

Chavo Guerrero defeats CM Punk by Count Out (11:18)

ECW on Sci Fi #85 @ John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA 1/22/2008

ECW Heavyweight Title: Chavo Guerrero (w/Edge) defeats CM Punk (c) (6:00)

ECW on Sci Fi #87 @ American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA 2/5/2008

Gulf Of Mexico Non Title: CM Punk defeats Chavo Guerrero

WWE No Way Out 2008 @ Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2/17/2008

ECW Heavyweight Title: Chavo Guerrero (c) defeats CM Punk (7:25)

ECW on Sci Fi #91 @ Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA 3/4/2008

ECW Heavyweight Title: Chavo Guerrero (c) defeats CM Punk (16:38)

ECW on Sci Fi #103 @ World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA 5/27/2008

Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) defeats CM Punk (11:24)

WWE One Night Stand 2008 - "Extreme Rules" @ San Diego, California, USA 6/1/2008

ECW Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Five Way Singapore Cane: The Big Show defeats Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) and CM Punk and John Morrison and Tommy Dreamer (8:35)

ECW on Sci Fi #104 @ Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA 6/3/2008

Fatal Four Way: CM Punk defeats Chavo Guerrero and John Morrison and Tommy Dreamer (5:06)

#6 Fandango vs Kofi Kingston (August 2013 through January 2014) 10 matches in 170 days

WWE Monday Night RAW #1054 @ Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA 8/5/2013

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) (3:45)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #729 @ BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Illinois, USA 8/6/2013

Fandango (w/Summer Rae) defeats Kofi Kingston (4:45)

WWE Main Event #48 @ Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 8/27/2013

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) by DQ (10:30)

WWE Main Event #51 @ U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 9/17/2013

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) (13:18)

WWE Monday Night RAW #1062 @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA 9/30/2013

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) (3:02)

WWE Main Event #60 @ Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA 11/19/2013

Fandango (w/Summer Rae) defeats Kofi Kingston (12:11)

WWE Main Event #61 @ Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA 11/26/2013

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) (9:18)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #748 @ AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA 12/18/2013

Fandango (w/Summer Rae) defeats Kofi Kingston (2:58)

WWE Main Event #65 @ American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA 12/19/2013

Fandango (w/Summer Rae) defeats Kofi Kingston

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #753 @ Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA 1/21/2014

Kofi Kingston defeats Fandango (w/Summer Rae) (2:49)

#7 The Rock vs Mankind (September 1998 through February 1999) 11 matches in 189 days

WWF RAW is WAR #278 @ Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, USA 9/15/1998

Triple Threat: Ken Shamrock vs. Mankind vs. The Rock - No Contest (12:30)

WWF In Your House 24: Breakdown @ Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 9/27/1998

Triple Threat Cage: The Rock defeats Ken Shamrock and Mankind (18:47)

WWF Survivor Series 1998 - Deadly Game @ Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA 11/15/1998

WWF World Heavyweight Title Deadly Game Tournament Final Match (vacant): The Rock defeats Mankind (17:10)

WWF IYH 26: Rock Bottom @ General Motors Place in Vancouver, Canada 12/13/1998

WWF World Heavyweight Title: Mankind defeats The Rock (w/Shane McMahon & Vince McMahon) (c) by referee's decision (13:32)

WWF Sunday Night Heat #21 @ Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, USA 12/14/1998

Fatal Four Way: The Rock (w/Shawn Michaels) defeats Ken Shamrock and Mankind and The Big Bossman (6:13)

WWF RAW is WAR #293 @ Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA 12/29/1998

WWF World Heavyweight Title No Disqualification: Mankind (w/Billy Gunn, Chyna, The Road Dogg, Triple H & X-Pac) defeats The Rock (w/Kane, Ken Shamrock, Shane McMahon, Test, The Big Bossman & Vince McMahon) (c) (8:48)

WWF Royal Rumble 1999 - No Chance In Hell @ Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA USA 1/24/1999

WWF World Heavyweight Title I Quit: The Rock defeats Mankind (c) (21:46)

WWF Half-Time Heat @ Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, USA 1/26/1999

WWF World Heavyweight Title Empty Arena: Mankind defeats The Rock (c)

WWF In Your House 27: St. Valentine's Day Massacre @ The Pyramid in Memphis, TN  2/14/1999

WWF World Heavyweight Title Last Man Standing: Mankind (c) vs. The Rock - Draw (21:54)

WWF RAW is WAR #299 @ Jefferson County Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, USA 2/15/1999

WWF World Heavyweight Title Ladder: The Rock defeats Mankind (c) (12:58)

WWF RAW is WAR #304 @ Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York, USA 3/22/1999

Winner Gets To Be Referee For The Main Event Non Title: Mankind defeats The Rock by DQ (6:36)

#8 Booker T vs Chris Benoit (October 2005 through December 2005) 10 matches in 174 days

WWE SmackDown #307 @ Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, USA 6/28/2005

Six Man Elimination: John Bradshaw Layfield defeats Booker T and Chris Benoit and Christian and Muhammad Hassan (w/Daivari) and The Undertaker (44:00)

WWE SmackDown #308 @ Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, USA 7/4/2005

WWE United States Title #1 Contendership: Chris Benoit defeats Booker T (7:04)

WWE No Mercy 2005 @ Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, USA 10/9/2005

WWE United States Title Fatal Four Way: Chris Benoit (c) defeats Booker T and Christian and Orlando Jordan (10:26)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #323 @ Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada, USA 10/18/2005

WWE United States Title: Booker T (w/Sharmell) defeats Chris Benoit (c) (15:36)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #325 @ Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA 10/30/2005

WWE United States Title: Chris Benoit defeats Booker T (w/Sharmell) (c) by Count Out (7:31)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #328 @ Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England  11/22/2005

WWE United States Title: Booker T (c) vs. Chris Benoit - Draw (17:04)

WWE Survivor Series 2005 @ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA 11/27/2005

WWE United States Title Best Of Seven Series Match #1: Booker T (w/Sharmell) [1] defeats Chris Benoit (14:21)

WWE SmackDown Special @ US Bank Arena in Cincinatti, Ohio, USA 11/29/2005

WWE United States Title Best Of Seven Series Match #2: Booker T (w/Sharmell) [2] defeats Chris Benoit [0] (16:04)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown #330 @ Colonial Center in Columbia, South Carolina, USA 12/4/2005

WWE United States Title Best Of Seven Series Match #3: Booker T (w/Sharmell) [3] defeats Chris Benoit [0] (18:53)

WWE Armageddon 2005 @ Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, USA 12/18/2005

WWE United States Title Best Of Seven Series Match #4: Chris Benoit [1] defeats Booker T (w/Sharmell) [3] (20:11)

#9 Kurt Angle vs Triple H (August 2013 through January 2014) 10 matches in 177 days

WWF RAW is WAR #376 @ Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA 8/7/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Triple Threat: Kurt Angle and Triple H defeat Chris Jericho (6:46)

WWF SummerSlam 2000 @ Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA 8/27/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat: The Rock (c) defeats Kurt Angle and Triple H (20:11)

WWF Unforgiven 2000 @ First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 9/24/2000

No Disqualification Match (Special Referee: Mick Foley): Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats Kurt Angle (17:28)

WWF RAW is WAR #384 @ MCI Center in Washington, District Of Columbia, USA 10/2/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title No#1 Contendership: Kurt Angle defeats Triple H (8:22)

WWF SmackDown #62 @ Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, USA 10/17/2000

Four Corners: Kurt Angle (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeats Chris Benoit and The Rock and Triple H (9:04)

WWF RAW is WAR #387 @ Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, USA 10/23/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Triple Threat: Kurt Angle (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) (c) vs. The Rock vs. Triple H - No Contest (8:51)

WWF RAW is WAR #388 @ Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, USA 10/30/2000

Kurt Angle defeats Triple H by DQ (5:52)

WWF Armageddon 2000 @ Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, USA 12/10/2000

WWF World Heavyweight Title Six Way Hell In A Cell: Kurt Angle (c) defeats Rikishi and Steve Austin and The Rock and The Undertaker and Triple H (32:20)

WWF Royal Rumble 2001 @ in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 1/21/2001

WWF World Heavyweight Title: Kurt Angle (w/Trish Stratus) (c) defeats Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) (24:18)

WWF SmackDown #77 @ Gund Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA 1/30/2001

Triple Threat: Kurt Angle defeats The Rock and Triple H

Important Questions for $WWE to answer in their Q2 call

My new piece with several questions for WWE (for Thursday, 7/31's Conference Call) is up at WhatCulture: http://whatculture.com/wwe/important-questions-wwe-must-answer-during-q2-call.php

I recorded a great Wrestlenomics podcast on Sunday with JOEAPOOLZA including Joe Lanza and Joe Gagne talking NJPW's G1 Tournament, Texas Indy Wrestling, Japanese Indy Sleaze, old VHS tapes and lots more. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indeedwrestling/2014/07/27/wrestlenomics-radio-w-joes-voices-of-wrestling-gagne

If you missed the links to my wacky pro-wrestling ranking lists:

• LUCHA 1,000
• JAPANESE MEN 400
• NORTH AMERICAN INDY 325
• JOSHI 100
• Methodology Explained

[ Also, Great coverage of impending non-renewal of TNA by Spike over at F4W. (Audio, Report) ]

Mookieghana's North American Indy Power 325 Rankings (YTD 2014)

Following the Lucha 1000 and Japan 400 / Joshi 100, I have now completed the YTD 2014 North American Indy 325.

As before, I used several variables in my methodology:

• Total Matches Wrestled
• Singles Win Percentage (Estimated Singles Wins)
• Tag Win Percentage (Estimated Tag Wins)
• Place on 8-match Card

However, since this was looking at "independent" wrestlers, I gathered results from almost 200 Pro-Wrestling companies (from CageMatch.net) holding events in USA and Canada.  "Eligible" wrestlers were selected from this list based on working matches in non-major* companies along with working matches for companies located in various states spread across several regions.

You'll notice several wrestlers who are prominently employed by a major company. They qualified for this list because they also wrestled a lot of matches for independent promotions.  Everyone's rankings were weighted based on the four-match factors along with looking at their records w/ & w/o major companies included as well as added emphasis towards people who competed in more diverse regions (such as wrestling on both coasts or in both Central  & Southern States or US & Canada, and so forth.)

(*) Major companies were considered WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor, WWC, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve.

Rank	Wrestler	2014 Matches	Federation with most Appearances	Singles win %	Tag win %	Place
1	Michael Elgin	73	Ring Of Honor (23)	71%	88%	6
2	Kevin Steen	53	Ring Of Honor (20)	55%	46%	5
3	Chris Hero	51	Ring Of Honor (8)	54%	75%	6
4	Jimmy Jacobs	49	Ring Of Honor (15)	56%	64%	5
5	Joey Ryan	39	Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (8)	65%	68%	4
6	Rich Swann	47	EVOLVE Wrestling (7)	37%	40%	5
7	Johnny Gargano	33	DREAMWAVE Wrestling (8)	54%	33%	6
8	Athena	27	Anarchy Championship Wrestling (5)	48%	100%	4
9	ACH	47	Ring Of Honor (20)	48%	21%	4
10	Kyle O'Reilly	48	Ring Of Honor (22)	29%	53%	5
11	Candice LeRae	28	Women Superstars Uncensored (6)	50%	69%	4
12	Nick Jackson	20	Ring Of Honor (4)	50%	67%	7
13	Davey Vega	30	Beyond Wrestling (6)	39%	43%	4
14	Trent Barreta	31	EVOLVE Wrestling (7)	29%	50%	6
15	Leah Von Dutch	19	Absolute Intense Wrestling (4)	63%	NA	6
16	Matt Hardy	39	Big Time Wrestling (6)	76%	63%	7
17	Ron Mathis	38	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (18)	65%	77%	5
18	Lince Dorado	42	I Believe In Wrestling (10)	64%	54%	5
19	AJ Styles	26	Ring Of Honor (6)	81%	100%	7
20	JT Dunn	37	Combat Zone Wrestling (10)	60%	71%	5
21	David Starr	36	Combat Zone Wrestling (11)	67%	65%	5
22	Gory	32	Pro Wrestling eXpress (10)	71%	59%	5
23	Jack Pollock	26	Pro Wrestling eXpress (15)	50%	75%	6
24	Caleb Konley	47	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (12)	58%	33%	5
25	Ethan Page	38	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (9)	41%	78%	4
26	Matt Cage	32	Beyond Wrestling (11)	69%	67%	4
27	Jason Kincaid	23	National Wrestling Alliance (9)	67%	60%	5
28	Drake Younger	24	Supreme Pro Wrestling (6)	50%	67%	6
29	Matt Conard	29	Black Diamond Wrestling (13)	61%	40%	5
30	Josh Crane	37	IWA Mid-South (14)	46%	42%	4
31	Mia Yim	24	SHINE Wrestling (6)	56%	71%	5
32	Dave Crist	34	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (14)	70%	58%	4
33	Kimber Lee	33	Women Superstars Uncensored (8)	53%	50%	3
34	LuFisto	22	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (5)	73%	60%	5
35	Gangrel	19	West Coast Wrestling Connection (7)	70%	63%	5
36	Matt Cross	26	Absolute Intense Wrestling (7)	81%	50%	4
37	Chris LeRusso	31	Black Diamond Wrestling (13)	52%	14%	5
38	Tommy Dreamer	17	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (3)	40%	50%	6
39	Matt Jackson	17	Ring Of Honor (4)	NA	69%	7
40	Louis Lyndon	23	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (8)	43%	63%	4
41	Allysin Kay	14	SHINE Wrestling (7)	50%	75%	6
42	Tripp Cassidy	26	Evolution Pro Wrestling (9)	38%	54%	4
43	Facade	22	International Wrestling Cartel (9)	50%	50%	5
44	Gregory Iron	20	Smash Wrestling (4)	40%	50%	3
45	AR Fox	41	EVOLVE Wrestling (7)	45%	33%	5
46	Reby Sky	23	Big Time Wrestling (6)	73%	100%	4
47	Carlito	15	World Wrestling Council (7)	44%	67%	7
48	Ricky Starks	24	Canadian Wrestling's Elite (6)	32%	20%	4
49	Jessicka Havok	16	SHINE Wrestling (4)	63%	33%	5
50	Jay Flash	11	Black Diamond Wrestling (8)	38%	100%	6
51	John Skyler	30	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (11)	45%	22%	4
52	Leva Bates	19	SHINE Wrestling (7)	50%	56%	4
53	Matthew Justice	17	Pro Wrestling eXpress (9)	64%	50%	4
54	Nevaeh	23	Women Superstars Uncensored (5)	50%	38%	4
55	Roderick Strong	34	Ring Of Honor (19)	32%	56%	4
56	Tony Johnson	15	Black Diamond Wrestling (10)	82%	0%	5
57	Su Yung	21	SHINE Wrestling (5)	63%	60%	3
58	Jake Crist	30	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (12)	17%	57%	5
59	Christopher Daniels	27	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (10)	43%	40%	5
60	Timothy Thatcher	15	Supreme Pro Wrestling (3)	42%	33%	5
61	Brady Pierce	11	Renegade Wrestling Alliance (5)	100%	43%	5
62	Colt Cabana	17	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (4)	25%	56%	5
63	Sugar Dunkerton	13	Beyond Wrestling (8)	67%	50%	5
64	Andrew Palace	25	Black Diamond Wrestling (14)	33%	75%	4
65	Tyson Dux	28	Smash Wrestling (5)	42%	0%	4
66	Gary Jay	21	IWA Mid-South (10)	50%	22%	4
67	Shynron	22	Beyond Wrestling (8)	36%	NA	4
68	Chest Flexor	19	Black Diamond Wrestling (11)	0%	78%	5
69	Danny Duggan	33	Canadian Wrestling's Elite (18)	91%	78%	6
70	Jay Cruz	22	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (8)	NA	48%	5
71	Tim Donst	19	Absolute Intense Wrestling (9)	56%	0%	4
72	Heidi Lovelace	46	IWA Mid-South (10)	54%	40%	4
73	Christina Von Eerie	15	SHIMMER Women Athletes (4)	55%	25%	3
74	Eddie Rios	15	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (4)	NA	50%	5
75	Aaron Williams	30	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (19)	57%	43%	6
76	Matt Tremont	25	On Point Wrestling (5)	61%	86%	6
77	Aaron Epic	37	I Believe In Wrestling (12)	43%	57%	5
78	Chuck Taylor	29	EVOLVE Wrestling (7)	29%	29%	4
79	B-Boy	22	Empire Wrestling Federation (6)	63%	67%	6
80	Mason Cutter	36	Beyond Wrestling (11)	NA	60%	4
81	Sabu	13	Big Time Wrestling (4)	60%	100%	7
82	Reed Bentley	28	IWA Mid-South (12)	58%	50%	5
83	Devin Cutter	36	Beyond Wrestling (11)	NA	60%	4
84	Mad Man Pondo	24	Juggalo Championship Wrestling (7)	63%	80%	6
85	Christian Rose	27	Beyond Wrestling (9)	59%	67%	5
86	BJ Whitmer	41	Ring Of Honor (20)	56%	64%	3
87	Trevor Lee	30	Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic (16)	48%	44%	5
88	Chance Prophet	10	Vicious Outcast Wrestling (3)	63%	0%	7
89	Mickie Knuckles	17	Women Superstars Uncensored (7)	83%	60%	5
90	Cedric Alexander	48	Ring Of Honor (22)	62%	13%	5
91	Tyler Cross	14	Black Diamond Wrestling (11)	50%	30%	5
92	Jon Bolen	10	Classic Championship Wrestling (2)	29%	50%	5
93	MASADA	15	Combat Zone Wrestling (7)	77%	100%	6
94	Drew Gulak	27	Combat Zone Wrestling (8)	59%	20%	5
95	Ace Perry	33	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (11)	47%	42%	4
96	Rhino	21	Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (6)	40%	73%	5
97	Tommaso Ciampa	34	Ring Of Honor (16)	52%	86%	4
98	Brian Cage	23	Fighting Spirit Pro (5)	60%	43%	5
99	Taeler Hendrix	10	Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (4)	56%	0%	5
100	Kahagas	13	National Wrestling Alliance (8)	73%	100%	6
101	Alex Colon	24	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (17)	50%	50%	5
102	Takaaki Watanabe	17	Smash Wrestling (4)	20%	0%	5
103	Shane Strickland	26	Combat Zone Wrestling (10)	52%	67%	4
104	Dan Sandwich	14	Black Diamond Wrestling (12)	45%	100%	4
105	Mike Dell	10	Inspire Pro Wrestling (4)	100%	0%	6
106	Chase Owens	22	National Wrestling Alliance (13)	68%	0%	5
107	Patrick Hayes	20	Pro Wrestling eXpress (9)	69%	50%	4
108	La Rosa Negra	17	Valkyrie Womens Professional Wrestling (4)	67%	0%	4
109	Biff Busick	34	Combat Zone Wrestling (9)	46%	0%	5
110	Hudson Envy	18	Alternative Wrestling Show (6)	54%	60%	5
111	N8 Mattson	19	Pro Wrestling All-Stars Of Detroit (6)	50%	67%	5
112	Beautiful Beaa	15	Pure Wrestling Association (10)	50%	100%	6
113	Christian York	8	Maryland Championship Wrestling (4)	38%	NA	7
114	Matt Striker	20	West Coast Wrestling Connection (6)	43%	60%	4
115	Josh Alexander	18	Smash Wrestling (5)	64%	43%	4
116	Sigmon	17	Canadian Wrestling's Elite (6)	60%	43%	5
117	Flex Armstrong	12	Big Time Wrestling (10)	80%	100%	5
118	Jimmy Nutts	16	International Wrestling Cartel (7)	55%	75%	5
119	Ganon Jones Jr.	19	Pro Wrestling eXpress (11)	67%	29%	4
120	Eddie Kingston	28	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (9)	35%	0%	5
121	John Wayne Murdoch	20	IWA Mid-South (10)	57%	0%	5
122	Alexandre Rudolph	18	Beyond Wrestling (9)	29%	70%	4
123	Luke Hawx	9	Ring Of Honor (2)	75%	100%	5
124	The Hurricane	5	Big Time Wrestling (2)	100%	100%	6
125	Darin Corbin	22	West Coast Wrestling Connection (9)	38%	42%	5
126	The Amazing Red	9	Victory Pro Wrestling (4)	60%	50%	6
127	Blind Rage	6	CHIKARA (3)	100%	67%	6
128	DJ Hyde	16	Combat Zone Wrestling (5)	67%	25%	5
129	Jack Gallow	14	Warriors Of Wrestling (6)	71%	57%	4
130	Ashton Vuitton	16	West Coast Wrestling Connection (12)	60%	67%	4
131	Dylan Bostic	28	Ohio Valley Wrestling (27)	43%	75%	4
132	Angel Dust	15	Resistance Pro Wrestling (4)	55%	75%	4
133	Hania The Howling Huntress	15	Women Superstars Uncensored (4)	31%	50%	4
134	Damien Wayne	14	National Wrestling Alliance (6)	17%	86%	6
135	The Estonian ThunderFrog	17	CHIKARA (5)	33%	75%	5
136	Lodi	14	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (7)	64%	33%	4
137	Angelina Love	28	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (22)	62%	57%	4
138	Mercedes Martinez	10	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	50%	0%	6
139	Devyn Nicole	10	Vicious Outcast Wrestling (3)	63%	0%	4
140	Cheerleader Melissa	14	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	55%	0%	5
141	RJ City	12	International Wrestling Cartel (6)	70%	0%	5
142	Payton Graham	15	Black Diamond Wrestling (8)	25%	67%	5
143	Cody Smith	13	West Coast Wrestling Connection (11)	67%	50%	5
144	Danny Havoc	14	Combat Zone Wrestling (10)	45%	0%	6
145	Zach Gowen	13	Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (5)	67%	43%	3
146	Scott Parker	16	CHIKARA (5)	0%	54%	4
147	Fire Ant	14	Dragon Gate USA (5)	33%	55%	5
148	QT Marshall	9	Jersey Championship Wrestling (5)	63%	100%	5
149	Davey Richards	66	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (59)	33%	92%	4
150	Gavin Jacobs	16	Black Diamond Wrestling (17)	43%	100%	4
151	Jim Duggan	6	Real Canadian Wrestling (3)	75%	50%	6
152	Edric Everhart	14	Black Diamond Wrestling (10)	0%	27%	5
153	Kazarian	24	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (13)	40%	47%	4
154	Willie Richardson	11	Resistance Pro Wrestling (6)	40%	83%	5
155	Justin Credible	7	Resistance Pro Wrestling (2)	25%	33%	6
156	Jessie Belle Smothers	14	National Wrestling Alliance (4)	71%	43%	4
157	Alex Matthews	16	Pro Wrestling eXpress (10)	70%	33%	4
158	Kellie Skater	7	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	67%	100%	5
159	Bobby Beverly	17	Pro Wrestling eXpress (8)	57%	0%	5
160	Sassy Stephie	15	SHINE Wrestling (4)	67%	33%	3
161	Barbi Hayden	11	Anarchy Championship Wrestling (4)	100%	NA	4
162	Hallowicked	13	CHIKARA (5)	67%	50%	5
163	Slyck Wagner Brown	8	Big Time Wrestling (3)	57%	NA	5
164	Mark Angelosetti	19	Wrestling Is Fun! (8)	17%	85%	5
165	Austin Bradley	32	Rockstar Pro Wrestling (19)	18%	32%	4
166	Missile Assault Ant	11	CHIKARA (5)	67%	20%	5
167	Jojo Bravo	21	Inspire Pro Wrestling (5)	44%	40%	3
168	Shane Matthews	14	CHIKARA (5)	0%	54%	4
169	Chase Aaryons	15	Black Diamond Wrestling (10)	80%	NA	4
170	CW Anderson	9	Organization Of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (4)	60%	75%	5
171	Petey Williams	14	Collective League Of Adrenaline Strength And Honor (4)	38%	33%	5
172	Blaster McMassive	14	Wrestling Is Fun! (6)	0%	46%	5
173	Earl Cooter	15	Full Impact Pro (5)	33%	67%	5
174	Chris Sabin	30	Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (19)	38%	0%	3
175	Dick Justice	17	Squared Circle Wrestling (7)	42%	60%	3
176	Jordynne Grace	17	IWA Mid-South (8)	40%	43%	4
177	Sean Casey	5	Vendetta Pro Wrestling (3)	100%	0%	6
178	Vader	7	Big Time Wrestling (4)	100%	100%	5
179	Jaka	16	Wrestling Is Fun! (6)	57%	44%	4
180	Danny Cannon	20	Beyond Wrestling (5)	53%	NA	3
181	Jock Samson	12	Ohio Championship Wrestling (5)	57%	25%	5
182	Jonathan Gresham	14	Beyond Wrestling (4)	23%	100%	5
183	Courtney Rush	11	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	63%	100%	4
184	Andre Kanan Alexander	14	Pro Wrestling Rampage (11)	58%	50%	4
185	Pepper Parks	19	Smash Wrestling (5)	47%	50%	3
186	Anthony Nese	19	New York Wrestling Connection (5)	33%	71%	4
187	Joey Vincent Martini	14	Pro Wrestling eXpress (7)	63%	20%	4
188	Colin Delaney	17	Absolute Intense Wrestling (5)	27%	50%	4
189	Alex Shelley	12	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (2)	25%	50%	4
190	Jessie Belle	19	Ohio Valley Wrestling (16)	44%	0%	4
191	Oleg The Usurper	15	Wrestling Is Fun! (6)	57%	25%	4
192	Santana Garrett	11	I Believe In Wrestling (4)	50%	67%	4
193	Chris Masters	6	Real Canadian Wrestling (2)	20%	0%	6
194	Frank Wyatt	22	Beyond Wrestling (9)	25%	57%	3
195	Cherry Bomb	14	SHIMMER Women Athletes (4)	29%	50%	3
196	Sebastian Suave	11	Smash Wrestling (6)	50%	60%	4
197	Qefka The Quiet	15	CHIKARA (6)	29%	50%	4
198	Bolt Brady	19	Beyond Wrestling (4)	20%	33%	3
199	Veda Scott	19	Absolute Intense Wrestling (7)	36%	20%	4
200	Tyler Nitro	15	Pro Wrestling Rampage (10)	45%	50%	4
201	TJ Cannon	5	Allied Independent Wrestling Federations (3)	100%	50%	5
202	UltraMantis Black	8	CHIKARA (5)	0%	71%	5
203	Marti Belle	20	New York Wrestling Connection (5)	22%	0%	4
204	Kerry Awful	17	Beyond Wrestling (6)	100%	69%	4
205	Adam Pearce	10	House Of Hardcore (3)	38%	0%	5
206	Seth Allen	14	Pro Wrestling eXpress (9)	40%	67%	4
207	Seleziya Sparx	16	Absolute Intense Wrestling (6)	42%	33%	4
208	Evan Gelistico	17	Saint Louis Anarchy (5)	0%	30%	4
209	The Beast	11	World Xtreme Wrestling (6)	33%	63%	4
210	Harley T. Morris	12	Black Diamond Wrestling (12)	75%	67%	3
211	Mallaki Matthews	21	Beyond Wrestling (8)	29%	57%	3
212	Marcus Knight	15	Pro Wrestling Rampage (11)	50%	0%	4
213	Shawn Blaze	13	Pro Wrestling Rampage (4)	44%	25%	4
214	Pierre Abernathy	9	Full Impact Pro (3)	NA	22%	4
215	Ashley Sixx	7	Squared Circle Wrestling (3)	67%	100%	5
216	Jake Manning	19	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (10)	25%	33%	4
217	Dasher Hatfield	16	Wrestling Is Fun! (7)	0%	85%	4
218	Frightmare	10	CHIKARA (4)	25%	67%	4
219	Sonjay Dutt	9	Absolute Intense Wrestling (2)	38%	0%	5
220	Gran Akuma	8	Full Impact Pro (4)	29%	0%	5
221	Portia Perez	6	SHIMMER Women Athletes (2)	50%	0%	5
222	Sean Reznikk	13	Black Diamond Wrestling (9)	63%	0%	4
223	Sammy Guevara	7	Inspire Pro Wrestling (4)	50%	100%	5
224	Nick Iggy	17	Beyond Wrestling (6)	0%	69%	4
225	Phil Atlas	5	Classic Championship Wrestling (2)	60%	NA	5
226	Bam Shaw	11	Big Time Wrestling (11)	17%	20%	5
227	Shanna	12	Women Superstars Uncensored (6)	38%	75%	4
228	Cassidy Stone	16	Pro Wrestling eXpress (11)	56%	50%	3
229	Brent Banks	18	Smash Wrestling (7)	33%	33%	3
230	D'Arcy Dixon	6	Resistance Pro Wrestling (3)	40%	100%	5
231	The Bouncer	10	Magnum Pro Wrestling (4)	0%	50%	5
232	Jax Dane	8	National Wrestling Alliance (6)	20%	67%	5
233	Dirty Money	5	Vanguard Championship Wrestling (2)	80%	NA	5
234	Ophidian	12	Wrestling Is Fun! (5)	60%	57%	3
235	Tanner Reynolds	17	Pro Wrestling eXpress (15)	36%	50%	3
236	Sinn Bohdi	8	Vendetta Pro Wrestling (4)	100%	43%	5
237	Zakk Sawyers	15	Beyond Wrestling (8)	46%	50%	3
238	Annie Social	6	Women Superstars Uncensored (4)	NA	67%	5
239	Jake Parnell	19	Beyond Wrestling (7)	40%	54%	3
240	Archibald Peck	5	CHIKARA (4)	33%	100%	5
241	Shelly Martinez	8	Santino Bros. Wrestling (3)	60%	50%	4
242	Jay Rios	12	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (6)	50%	30%	4
243	Pinkie Sanchez	12	Beyond Wrestling (7)	22%	33%	4
244	Kriss Stark	10	American Revolution Wrestling (4)	30%	NA	3
245	Brandon K	10	Pro Wrestling eXpress (8)	33%	100%	4
246	Krimson	8	Juggalo Championship Wrestling (3)	43%	NA	4
247	Markus Crane	21	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (8)	17%	53%	3
248	Caleb Stills	17	Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling (8)	9%	60%	4
249	Jasmin	7	Absolute Intense Wrestling (2)	33%	100%	3
250	Max Smashmaster	12	Wrestling Is Fun! (7)	100%	60%	3
251	Joe Pittman	5	Evolution Pro Wrestling (3)	75%	0%	5
252	Worker Ant	6	CHIKARA (5)	100%	33%	4
253	Buxx Belmar	12	North Shore Pro Wrestling (4)	36%	0%	4
254	Benjamin Boone	12	National Wrestling Alliance (3)	0%	75%	4
255	Mike Bailey	5	Combat Zone Wrestling (2)	60%	NA	5
256	Kodama	13	CHIKARA (5)	NA	54%	4
257	Nikki Storm	10	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	40%	NA	4
258	Hurricane Helms	7	Continental Wrestling Federation (1)	0%	80%	4
259	Bulldozer	9	Black Diamond Wrestling (5)	29%	0%	4
260	Asylum	7	International Wrestling Cartel (3)	50%	40%	5
261	Carlos Rivera	10	World Xtreme Wrestling (7)	50%	33%	4
262	Broderick Shaw	11	Pro Wrestling Rampage (4)	75%	0%	3
263	Obariyon	13	CHIKARA (5)	NA	54%	4
264	Levi Connors	7	Mid-Ohio Wrestling (3)	40%	NA	5
265	Rickey Shane Page	11	Absolute Intense Wrestling (5)	0%	33%	5
266	Flip Kendrick	11	Absolute Intense Wrestling (6)	0%	60%	4
267	Ryan Swift	21	Pure Wrestling Association (10)	22%	33%	3
268	Oliver Grimsly	16	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (6)	13%	25%	3
269	Brian XL	8	Victory Pro Wrestling (2)	33%	0%	5
270	The Shard	7	CHIKARA (5)	NA	43%	4
271	Angie Skye	9	SHIMMER Women Athletes (3)	29%	50%	3
272	Mr. TA	10	Big Time Wrestling (10)	20%	20%	4
273	Malice	7	National Wrestling Alliance (4)	67%	0%	4
274	Oz Tyler	13	On Point Wrestling (6)	40%	33%	3
275	Remy Lavey	16	Black Diamond Wrestling (7)	50%	25%	3
276	Jester	17	Black Diamond Wrestling (17)	29%	0%	3
277	Steve Anthony	5	National Wrestling Alliance Houston (2)	75%	NA	4
278	Kongo	8	Ring Of Honor (3)	67%	0%	4
279	Todo Loco	13	Big Time Wrestling (7)	75%	0%	2
280	Jack Jameson	12	Anarchy Championship Wrestling (7)	0%	60%	4
281	Shane Andrews	10	Renegade Wrestling Alliance (5)	63%	50%	2
282	Mike Sydal	10	Dynamo Pro Wrestling (5)	0%	67%	4
283	Zac Vincent	7	National Wrestling Alliance (3)	57%	NA	3
284	Jun Hado	10	Real Canadian Wrestling (8)	40%	20%	3
285	Jenny Rose	10	Women Superstars Uncensored (5)	56%	0%	3
286	Destin Vaine	11	Black Diamond Wrestling (10)	14%	0%	4
287	Jewells Malone	7	Women Superstars Uncensored (4)	25%	0%	4
288	Dan The Man	10	DREAMWAVE Wrestling (5)	67%	57%	2
289	Nickie Valentino	9	Pro Wrestling eXpress (4)	14%	0%	4
290	Jaxson James	12	Premiere Wrestling Xperience (6)	33%	67%	3
291	Tursas	5	CHIKARA (5)	NA	40%	4
292	Mathieu St-Jacques	12	North Shore Pro Wrestling (3)	0%	36%	3
293	Thomas Dubois	11	Beyond Wrestling (3)	NA	36%	3
294	Corey Futuristic	8	International Wrestling Cartel (5)	0%	0%	4
295	Derek Direction	9	American Revolution Wrestling (4)	67%	0%	3
296	Evie	6	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	50%	50%	4
297	The American Viking	13	IWA Mid-South (9)	57%	0%	3
298	Sam Cassidy	13	International Wrestling Cartel (5)	0%	27%	3
299	Travis Sionys	13	West Coast Wrestling Connection (10)	36%	0%	3
300	Jervis Cottonbelly	7	CHIKARA (5)	50%	33%	3
301	Nøkken	5	CHIKARA (5)	NA	40%	4
302	Angelus Layne	14	IWA Mid-South (4)	27%	67%	2
303	Viper	6	Remix Pro Wrestling (2)	20%	100%	4
304	Spencer Wallace	5	Beyond Wrestling (2)	25%	0%	4
305	Mary Elizabeth Monroe	6	Ohio Valley Wrestling (3)	60%	NA	3
306	Aaron Anders	7	Wrestling For A Cause (5)	67%	75%	2
307	Ric Rumskey	8	Black Diamond Wrestling (8)	0%	40%	3
308	Knight Wagner	17	AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined (10)	8%	50%	2
309	Kat Von Heez	5	Vendetta Pro Wrestling (2)	67%	0%	3
310	Bu Ku Dao	7	WildKat Pro Wrestling (2)	67%	50%	2
311	Amanda Rodriguez	7	Resistance Pro Wrestling (3)	20%	0%	4
312	Cheech	9	Squared Circle Wrestling (7)	22%	NA	3
313	Danny Miles	12	Big Time Wrestling (11)	20%	0%	3
314	Brandon Scott	6	World Xtreme Wrestling (3)	67%	NA	2
315	Kay Lee Ray	8	SHIMMER Women Athletes (5)	38%	NA	3
316	Shawn Adams	7	National Wrestling Alliance (4)	0%	33%	3
317	Rudy Russo	7	National Wrestling Alliance (3)	57%	NA	2
318	Brandon Gallagher	12	Dynamo Pro Wrestling (6)	9%	0%	3
319	William Huckaby	5	National Wrestling Alliance (3)	0%	0%	3
320	Chris Marx	5	Championship Wrestling Federation (3)	40%	NA	2
321	Nick Price	5	West Coast Wrestling Connection (3)	0%	0%	3
322	Joe Black	9	National Wrestling Alliance (6)	33%	0%	2
323	MsChif	5	Pro Wrestling Eclipse (1)	33%	0%	2
324	Josh Crow	5	Beyond Wrestling (4)	0%	0%	3
325	Nick Westgate	7	National Wrestling Alliance (3)	14%	NA	1

While the list does heavily reflect wrestlers that have significant national exposure from major wrestling companies, there are a number of other talents who have not competed as prominently. Even though this exercise is completely statistically driven (and thus lacks the all-important critical thinking element), perhaps it still provides some interesting discussion points.

#tongueincheek

-Chris Harrington

chris.harrington@gmail.com

@mookieghana