Here’s your crown, King Gunther

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 May 26-June 1, 2024 — AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV, Raw, NXT, Powerrr, Dynamite, Impact, Fusion, ROH on HonorClub, SmackDown, Level Up, Collision, Rampage, New Japan’s Best of the Super Jrs. 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.

When we’re praising the 2024 King of the Ring, we only steal from the best…

… WWE’s social media team, and James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich & Kirk Hammett.

• Der Ring General beat out the new WWE Women’s World champ and the 2024 Queen of the Ring, as that trio appeared on almost every ballot and finished well in front of the rest of the weekly Top Ten.
• Heading up the rest of the pack was the WWE champion, and the rookie who almost took the women’s crown in Saudi Arabia.
• Outsmarting the Patriarch on the way to Double or Nothing earned AEW’s World titleholder some points.
• We admire the warpath another recent NXT call-up is on, and had some votes for the Intercontinental champ after he defended his belt against two men in front of some of his people.
• The Rankings continue to be the hip spot for joshi-loving Cagesiders to hang out, as evidenced by the winners of Marigold’s first main event taking the last two spots.

The CCWR: 2024-25, Week 7

1. Gunther
2. Liv Morgan
3. Nia Jax
4. Cody Rhodes
5. Lyra Valkyria
6. Swerve Strickland
7. Bron Breakker
8. Sami Zayn
9. Sareee
10. Bozilla

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 was quite a bit of movement in the “year”-to-date Top Ten, and WWE’s newest monarch is very close to ruling here, as well…

The Cageside Cup Performer of the Year Standings – through the Week ending May 18

1. Willow Nightingale – 26
2. Gunther – 25.5
3. Solo Sikoa – 22
4. Swerve Strickland – 21
5. Cody Rhodes – 20
6. Jon Moxley – 15.5
7. (tie) Trick Williams – 14
7. (tie) Bryan Danielson – 14
9. Sami Zayn – 13
10. Tama Tonga – 12

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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!