Hello, readers. Before we get to the second September LOP Wrestler Rankings analysis, I wanted to let you know that I’m starting to get the hang of this social networking thing and wish to extend to you the invite to follow me on Twitter @DrCMV1 or befriend me on Facebook (Chad Matthews). I’m always up for some wrasstlin’ discussion whenever time permits, so drop me a line. Also, as a reminder, the new poll opens after the conclusion of Hell in a Cell and will stay open until one week from Monday (the 10th @ 11:59PM is the deadline).

The Top 4

1 – Mark Henry (previous rank #5) – Who’d have ever thought that the internet fans would vote Mark Henry #1? I guess it’s a testament to both what he has been doing and how the WWE has been booking him that he’s reached this point. I have sung his praises many times in recent weeks and I think he’s performed better in the last four months than his entire career combined. He’s having good matches on PPV, which is an utter shock considering the drivel he’s produced in the past. It’s not quite as improbable as, say, the Great Khali suddenly improving, but it’s not too far off. Honestly, happy to see it. The guy has been around for so long that if he didn’t figure it out like he did in the summer, then his entire career could’ve been looked at as a stunning disappointment and a colossal waste of money. Most of his career is still a large pile of potato peelings, but I commend him for his improvements and wish him a great title reign.

2 – John Cena (previous rank #3) – My eyes must be deceiving me if the net has voted Henry #1 and Cena #2. Cena’s the champ, but he’s also been on a roll in the ring since the middle of the summer. He did quite well against Alberto at N.O.C. and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Isn’t the in-ring stuff what the IWC cares most about? Cena has a better overall match resume than just about everyone that has ever stepped in a WWE ring (yeah, he does). I ranked him #1 this go around, personally, and he did receive a solid percentage of first place votes.

3 – CM Punk (previous rank #1) – When we showed the rankings a couple of weeks ago and people provided snide comments in reply to Punk being #1 (as if it were a foregone conclusion), I thought it was funny. I thought it was funnier when the Punk fans didn’t vote for their guy and Mark Henry and John Cena jumped him in the rankings. Just as with politics of the government variety, if you want your guy to be #1, then you have to vote for him. You can’t just assume that people are going to overwhelmingly make your favorite candidate “the man.” Punk received just 3 first place votes after receiving almost 30 first place votes two weeks ago.

4 – Randy Orton (previous rank #2) – The combination of losing the World title and not challenging for match of the night at the recent PPV seem to be the undoing of Orton’s play for the top spot in the rankings. He’s dropped two spots and he could continue to fall with a lot of strong competition right behind him from a cast of younger or fresher stars.

The Next 4

5 – Alberto Del Rio (previous rank #4) – A lot of TV time have kept ADR relevant and in the top 5, but the loss of the title just four weeks after winning it knocks Del Rio down one spot and, like Orton, he’ll have to step up his game to avoid falling down the ladder quickly. With the title, Del Rio is virtually guaranteed to stay in the top 5, but without it, he is missing something. He hasn’t shown the ability that top spot wannabes Miz, Truth, Ziggler, and Rhodes have…

6 – Cody Rhodes (previous rank #8) – There is, perhaps, no more creative character in the WWE right now than the son of the son of a plumber. He is channeling some inner rage into some of the better character work of the year and has been one of the greatest beneficiaries of the increased exposure provided by the Raw Supershow featuring SD talent. His win over Orton prior to N.O.C., combined with being featured more heavily on the top show have contributed to his knocking on the top 5’s door.

7 – The Awesome Truth (previous rank #10 and #11, individually) – Given their shared fates in recent weeks, the Miz and Truth will be considered as a tag team in these ranking for the time being, so please vote accordingly for the ease of the committee calculating the votes. They received a first place vote, but their votes dropped off afterward until a strong showing in the latter part of the top 10 earned them a great deal of 6-10th place votes. They are storyline fired, though, so what happens now will be quite interesting…

8 – Sheamus (previous rank #7) – I believe that Sheamus is on the verge of stepping up to the main-event and will soon be challenging for the top spot. Sheamus has picked up being a babyface very quickly and the crowds are behind him. He’s getting time to develop his babyface character and his matches continue to be some of the consistently best on TV. His upcoming match with Christian on PPV could boost him up a few spots before potentially being the next challenger for Mark Henry’s WHC.

The Best 4 of the Rest

9 – Triple H (previous rank – unranked) – The Game stepping back into the ring vaulted him from not ranked in the last poll to the top 10. His character has gotten a lot of TV time – more than anyone since his return a couple of months ago – but you have to do it all to be ranked. His match with CM Punk garnered match of the night honors for many at N.O.C., so we can certainly justify his inclusion. I ranked him in my top 5, as did several others (but he never reached higher than a 4th place vote). However, without a match on the horizon anytime soon, he will likely be gone in the next poll.

10 – Dolph Ziggler (previous rank #12) – The United States Champion moves into the top 10 after having received some increased time on the microphone in recent weeks to go along with his usually top notch in-ring performances in the mid-card. Ziggler is a star on the rise, in my opinion, and it will be very interesting to see how far up the list he can go. Remember, these polls are not solely based on who’s the World Champion, but rather who does the most with the time that they receive on TV and PPV both in the ring and as a character. Ziggler has been given a lot of TV time lately; nearing the level of the main-event guys.

11 – Air Boom (previous rank #13) – The Tag Team Champions join the US Champ in moving up two spots from the previous poll. It would seem that, in recent weeks, the tag team divisional push has come along a little bit and the champs have been the recipients of more exposure. Their match at N.O.C. was pretty good, as well. Can they crack the top ten in the next poll? A HIAC PPV match given more time (since there are less matches than at the previous event) could be just what the doctor ordered for them…

12 – Kelly Kelly (previous rank #15) – Kelly jumps up three spots, as she is gaining some fans in the IWC from her in-ring work against Beth Phoenix on PPV. Her match at N.O.C. was one of the better women’s matches in recent memory. Her character could still use some work, but you can tell that she’s trying hard to be a better wrestler and that’s something that is worthy of both praise and a higher spot in the LOP Wrestler Rankings.

The Last 4 In

13 – Christian (previous rank #6) – Nobody has fallen further and faster than Christian since two weeks ago. His initial ranking saw him vying for a spot in the top 5, but the voters just did not show Christian much love this go-round. His TV time has cut down since his feud with Orton ended, but not to a great degree. His not having a match on the last PPV hurt him, as that has been one of the driving forces behind his early high rankings in polls #1 and #2, respectively. He should get back on track after HIAC.

14 – Sin Cara (previous rank – unranked) – Sin Cara makes his first appearance in the polls after doubling – literally – his TV appearances in the last few weeks. Cara has not really had any storylines written for him, with the exception of his short feud with Chavo “I’m a whiny unemployed former WWE wrestler” Guerrero, up to this point in his career. So, it’s nice to see him getting an actual feud rather than just botching moves in randomly thrown together matches.

15 – Wade Barrett (previous rank #14) – Wade has not done much, as of late, so it surprised me that he managed to stay in the rankings at all. However, we know that he has potential and that it wouldn’t take much for him to vault up the polls.

16 – Jack Swagger (previous rank – unranked) – I had Swagger in my initial rankings, but he didn’t make the cut in our first poll a couple weeks ago. He’s back – barely – after having registered just enough votes to put Daniel Bryan on the outside looking in.

Voting for the next poll can be done via email, Twitter (@DrCMV1), Facebook, or by logging onto the LOP Forums and clicking the following link: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php/5613-LOP-s-Bi-Weekly-WWE-Wrestler-Rankings-Let-Your-Voice-Be-Heard

Source: lordsofpain.net