Gunther didn’t need Finn Bálor’s help to win this

Everybody who comes to Cageside Seats has an opinion about what's going on in pro wrestling — Wrestler Rankings are where YOU let us know YOURS.

Cast a vote in the comments. Give us the five performers you think entertained or impressed the most in the last week, and feel free to talk about why.

We also have the outcome of last week's voting, the results of which make up our annual competition for the Cageside Cup, given to our Performer of the Year.

This week, we’re voting on nationally televised and internet streaming pro wrestling shows that took place Aug. 4-10, 2024 — Raw, NXT, Powerrr, Speed, Dynamite, Impact, Fusion, ROH on HonorClub, SmackDown, Rampage, Level Up, Collision, New Japan’s G1 Climax 34 shows, and everything else I’m no doubt forgetting.

But first, here’s the outcome of last week’s voting, and how those results changed our annual competition for the Cageside Cup.

Our latest winner after he sees the front page headline...

WWE’s YouTube

... but hey, is it really my fault for pointing out Der Ring General needed one of the guys who tied for tenth place to beat another of the guys who tied for tenth place at SummerSlam?

• Two other guys who claimed gold in Cleveland were right behind the new WWE World Heavyweight champ.
• You’ll probably sense a theme here, but they were followed by two others who celebrated at the Biggest Party of the Summer... one for decisively beating his hated rival regaining possession of a friendship bracelet, the next for capturing the WWE Women’s title.
• OTC fever didn’t quite hit our electorate based on his SummerSlam return. We’ll see how his SmackDown one played for y’all next Sunday.
• Winning Stardom’s top title and then renaming your stable “HATE”? Even during a big WWE week, that’s worth seventh place.
• Lying to Rhea Ripley’s face before stabbing her in the back earned a few more votes than beating Rhea Ripley.
• In addition to the two guys we mentioned before the bullet points even started, tenth place was also split by the new Stardom High Speed champ and the extremely pissed off AEW Women’s World champ.

The CCWR: 2024-25, Week 17

1. Gunther
2. LA Knight
3. Bron Breakker
4. Drew McIntyre
5. Nia Jax
6. Roman Reigns
7. Natsuko Tora
8. Dominik Mysterio
9. Liv Morgan
10. (tie) Damian Priest
10. (tie) Mei Seira
10. (tie) Finn Bálor
10. (tie) Toni Storm

Points in our weekly Rankings determine the ongoing annual one — which will determine who wins the Cageside Cup next April. Full details on rules and scoring HERE.

Where there aren’t any ties for a change, and Raw’s World champs moved closer to the top...

The Cageside Cup Performer of the Year Standings - through the Week ending July 27

1. Solo Sikoa - 40
2. Willow Nightingale - 37.5
3. Gunther - 35.5
4. Liv Morgan - 34
5. Swerve Strickland - 33.5
6. Bron Breakker - 32
7. MJF 29.5
8. Will Ospreay - 27
9. Cody Rhodes - 26
10. Ethan Page - 24

Ready to do it again? You can always check the “how to” here if you need it, or ask a question in the comments. The main things you need to know are you have five spots on your ballot, you can’t put the same person in two of them, but you can split a single or multiple spots between multiple wrestlers. Now...

Let’s have those ballots! We’ll take it from there, and see you back here in a week for the results and another vote!