WWE/NBA: Comparing Stars to Stars

Sports can sometimes be interchangeable. They can be compared to each other based upon popularity, revenue and success. 

Sports stars are always compared to one another, most in the realm of their own sport.  Quarterbacks are compared to other signal callers, point guards are compared to other floor generals and pitchers compared to other flame throwers. 

While it's a common occurrence to compare players within their respective sports, it's sometimes very hard to find similarities within opposite sports.  Wide receivers don't match up with second baseman and shooting guards don't come close to cornerbacks. 

However, when you look at the world of the WWE and compare it to other sports, the similarities are undeniable.  It's easier for find a mid-carder to compare to a backup and a quarterback to a main event caliber superstar. 

Based upon WWE.com's latest power ranking system of its superstars, I have compiled a power ranking for the NBA's top players based upon this past season's performance as long as career accolades. 

To clarify—the listing is based off of WWE's power rankings and not the NBA's.  There may be some discrepancies along the line of finding counterparts to play but I've done my best to incorporate the appropriate NBA player to match the WWE's stars.

Let's get to it.

10. Christian = Jason Kidd

Christian is a long standing veteran who has spent the past 17 years with the WWE, doing everything he has been asked to do, putting his body on the line in numerous ladder matches and making himself look a silly fool at times with Edge and the kazoos. He spent the first part of his career as Edge's tag team partner winning multiple championships. 

Christian moved on to TNA and captured multiple titles before moving back to the WWE on its ECW brand.  There he won his first major singles title, the ECW Championship.  Once that company fell through, Christian would spend years looking for his next big break. 

That break finally came this past May by winning his first World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules. It was a very emotional and triumphant time for Christian in his long, illustrious career.

Jason Kidd has been in the NBA for about 16 years now.  He's a savvy seasoned veteran who can lead any offense in times of crisis and mentor younger basketball players looking to catch their big break.  He's spent time in Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and again in Dallas where he would win his first NBA championship this past season by defeating the powerful and heavily favored Miami Heat. This was also a very emotional time for Kidd as he spent years searching for the team with the right formula for championship success. 

Christian and Kidd both have had long, hard fought careers in order to achieve their ultimate dream of winning the big one; that championship that once always appeared to be out of reach for these two stars who always worked their tails off to achieve that goal of being called a champion.

Kidd's stock has risen has he has grown in age as now his style of play is perfect for a system such as that of the Dallas Mavericks.  Christian's stock has never been higher in his career as it is now because of his work ethic and willingness to work with the company. 

Both men deserved to win championships. This year, there was not a sweeter sight than having both of them hoisting their gold high in air feeling on top of the world.

9. Sin Cara = Blake Griffin

Sin Cara has emerged onto the scene and brought with him the exciting style of the luchador type.  He flies all over the ring and defies gravity with his move set.  His career has been short but as of now he is in the feud of his career, against himself.

Blake Griffin not only emerged, but burst onto the scene in the NBA this past year.  His dunking ability was so amazing, often times ESPN had to create a full highlight reel just for his outstanding achievements in one game alone.  Griffin won this past years' Rookie of the Year honors while barely having competition for it.  He made veterans look foolish and rookies look like they were still in college.  He also has a twin brother, Taylor Griffin, currently playing in Belgium.

Sin Cara and Griffin share in the sentiment that the only air that matters is the air you get when you jump around.  Both have inner feuds, battling their "twin" counterparts. Yes, Sin Cara is literally battling himself which could be considered his twin, but Blake has been in a very long battle with his real life twin Taylor since birth. Sibling rivalry is one thing, but clone rivalry is something straight out of a science fiction novel.

Both have extremely high hopes for the future and both have only begun their aspiring careers.  Look for both to continue to make huge impacts.

8. Alberto Del Rio = Ricky Rubio

This one may be a bit of a stretch but hear me out.

Alberto Del Rio has only been around for one full year in the WWE and has amassed a great deal of accomplishments during his time: he won the biggest Royal Rumble in the history and won the Raw Money in the Bank contract and cashed it in to win the WWE championship.  He's an arrogant, cocky man who has no respect from anybody else in the locker room.  He has yet to be able to get the audience to truly hate him like they should, meaning his character has quite a way to go to get himself to be a genuine heel.

Ricky Rubio was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves back  in 2009 and has yet to register a single minute of playing time in America.  He has spent the last two years playing out his contract in Spain.  Rubio developed a boat load of hype surrounding him before the draft as every one was impressed by his fancy ability to dribble the ball in Harlem Globetrotter-esque fashion. 

His stats however have yet to pop out at anybody and prove he's worth the first round draft pick.  His shooting percentage is horrendous, his points per game are atrocious and his cockiness rubs people the wrong way.  Rubio is seen as someone who puts too much stock in his own ability and has already aggravated the devoted Wolves fans before he has even joined the team.

Both men have put a lot  people on notice by continuing to feel as if they are truly better than they really are.  The biggest difference is that while the fans are supposed to hate Del Rio, it is the locker room that hates him.  For Rubio, you could expect people in the locker room to hate him, but right now it is the fans who despise the young lass. 

Both men have yet to begin the prime of their careers and Rubio has yet to start his, it's a little early to call on whether or not they are busts, but in Rubio's case I would expect it.

7. Kelly Kelly = Maya Moore

Coming in as the only two women on their lists, Kelly Kelly and Maya Moore have been doing their divisions proud.

Kelly is currently the Diva's champion in the WWE.  She's the face of the diva's division and promoted as such.  While many critics like to say she has no business holding the title due to a lack of wrestling ability, she has been on a roll as of late as she has not lost in the last two to three months.  She's beautiful, talented and amazingly dedicated to her job.  She has a bright future in the company and could possibly go down as one of the best divas in company history.

Maya Moore is simply a stud and a proven winner.  She won two national championship at UCONN and numerous other individual accolades while helping to lead the Huskies to the all-time consecutive wins streak in NCAA history.  Now after joining the Minnesota Lynx, a team customary with losing throughout their history, Moore has helped lead them to the best record in the WNBA and as of this writing are one win away from the WNBA Finals.

As of right now, both Kelly and Moore are on top of the world in their respective professions.  Kelly holds the highest honor a diva in her position can hold while Moore won the leagues Rookie of the Year honors by a wide margin and is now considered to be one of the best players in the entire league.

Both are on fire and neither one is going to let their futures slip away.  Look out for both of them to make their mark in their leagues for years to come.

6. AirBoom = Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook

AirBoom, the tag team consisting of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne, are a fairly new tag team in the WWE but already hold the Tag Team Championships.  They are developing as an intricate part of the tag division revival concept implemented by Triple H.  Both Kofi and Evan have high-flying ability that is undeniably exciting to watch.  Every time either one of them goes off of the top rope, fans immediately stand on their feet in anticipation of the remarkable events about to follow.  Although an extremely fresh and raw team, Airboom has the potential to accomplish great things if they stay and work together.

Russell Wesbrook and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder have brought hope and faith to a struggling city.  Their youthfulness and exuberance has made the town feel alive again and they are not alone.  All over the NBA, teams are started to recognize how lethal of a tandem Durant and Westbrook can be. 

With Durant's silky smooth jump shot and Westbrook's drive and dish ability, these two make for a formidable tandem that makes other teams look silly.  They do have some disputes, however, as sometimes Durant may take too many forced shots while Westbrook sometimes focuses on the drive and not enough on the dish aspect of his game.  These two are both still very young and have a lot of years ahead of them.  If they remain teammates throughout their careers, there's no telling what they can accomplish together.

These two duos are at the top of their games at this moment.  Durant and Westbrook very nearly made it to the Western Conference Finals this past year while working together and AirBoom have already come up with a nickname for themselves.  Which team will accomplish more throughout their careers? We'll have to wait and find out.

5. CM Punk = Paul Pierce

Here's a case of two guys who like to let their mouths do the talking but at the same time aren't afraid to let their feet do the walking. 

CM Punk, as we all know, loves to run his mouth.  He's bad mouthed the company, he's decimated the character of the boss' wife and he loves to bad mouth the boss himself.  He also likes to claim that he is the best wrestler in the world.   Although a two-time World Heavyweight champion and a two-time Money in the Bank winner, Punk's greatest career accomplishment was winning the WWE Championship this past year in his hometown of Chicago. What made it better was the fact he defeated the WWE's golden boy John Cena to do it.

Paul Pierce is a man known for his excellence on the court as well as with his mouth.  Pierce can back up his verbal abuse though as he is the all-time leading scorer in Boston Celtics history.  Even though Pierce has always been a great player, that elusive NBA Finals championship always appeared out of reach.  That was until 2008 when he was joined by fellow comrades who had also never been able to win the big one—Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.  The sweet victory was only made sweeter by the sheer fact the clinching game came at home in front of the Boston crowd against the rival Los Angeles Lakers.

Both men have made a career out of speaking their mind about whatever they want whenever they want to do it.  In the process, Pierce and Punk have sometimes been hated for being so outspoken but are also loved because of it.

4. Randy Orton = Kobe Bryant

Randy Orton is revered as one of the top competitors in the company.  He's a nine-time world champion and one of the most feared superstars in all of WWE.  The Viper, as he is referred to as, as made his mark in the WWE.  Really there isn't much to be said about him that hasn't been said a million times.  He's one of the best wrestlers in the business and he's proved it with his quality of work in the ring. 

He's also one of the most hated wrestlers in the business, especially in the locker room.  Most notably, Orton lost a lot of friends backstage when he decided to go on a radio show and call Kelly Kelly out as the company slut.  His mouth and ego have gotten him into a lot of trouble in the past.

Kobe Bryant is hands down one of the best, if not the best, player in the league today.  His jump shot is one of the smoothest in the history of the league.  His aggressive style of defense frustrates opponents and his style of winning isn't easy to miss. 

A five-time NBA champion, Kobe is accustomed to winning.  He's one of the most loved personalities in the league because of this but also is one of the most hated.  Except he too has gotten himself some heat for his off the court actions.  The rape accusations of a teenage hotel worker in Colorado in 2003 lost him a lot of fans and caused hatred towards him. 

Kobe and Randy have a lot in common.  From their expertise at winning to their knowledge about fan hatred and love.  They are both so accustomed to winning, they often times don't know how to lose, going into rage and anger after.  We're not sure yet on just how much longer each can go in their careers, but they each still have some time left and I fully expect each to accomplish more and more to stake their claim as two of the best ever.

3. Sheamus = Dirk Nowitzki

Sheamus and Dirk Nowitzki have only a few things in common but this seemed like the most logical comparison for Sheamus.

Dirk was a man whom everyone knew had talent.  He's always been a great scorer and solid defender.  He's got great range for a big man and is so versatile he can pull up from downtown as often as he wants.  He just recently won his first NBA Final's championship this past year and now he is considered possibly the greatest European player to ever come through the NBA, as he hails from Germany. His intensity on the court is only matched by his lovable, ah shucks personality off of it.

Sheamus made his mark on the WWE early.  He won the WWE Championship from John Cena in his first attempt to take the gold away.  He's now a former two-time WWE champion and one of the most angry yet lovable men in the WWE.  The Irishman has made a habit of rampaging through the competition on his way to stardom.  He's shown his ability to be a monster heel but is now on his way to gaining even more support from the crowd as he fights the good fight.

Dirk and Sheamus both reside on the Eastern seaboard and have give their respective countries some more to cheer about rather than soccer and drinking.  They represent their countries well by never forgetting  where they are from. 

Dirk has just gotten his first taste of championship gold and Sheamus hasn't even begun to reign supreme in the main event scene.  Both have high hopes for the year to come, expect both to accomplish even more.

2. John Cena = LeBron James

This comparison is so spot on their was no other possible match for either one of them.

John Cena is one of the most loved and hated superstars in the WWE.  He's won the WWE championship 10 times now and fans are fed up.  They are so sick of seeing his face with the championship that an enormous amount of fans are starting to proudly boo him at every venue. 

Cena has accomplished a lot in his career and has the ability to do even more. But not very many people want to see him do so.  Cena was adored in his days as a thug rapper, mocking his opponents before every match with a fresh to death freestyle.  As soon as he started catering to the crowd and becoming the top dog of the company, fans started to lose their interest.

LeBron James is one of the most dynamic specimens in the NBA.  His vertical leap is comparable to that of a spider monkey, his driving ability makes him resemble Magic Johnson and his willingness to pass is only surpassed by his desire to win. 

During his time in Cleveland, LeBron was seen as the savior of the city that has felt far too much pain in the sports world.  Once he left and the infamous "Decision" broadcast was aired where he stated he was "taking his talents to South Beach," he lost all the respect that most of his fans have given him since the day he was drafted in the NBA.  Jerseys were burned in the streets, fans rioted, other teams became angry at the thought of three superstars (James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), were teaming up and almost making it unfair to teams that build around the draft.  Fans in Miami love him. Generally speaking, the rest of the world hates his stinking guts. 

Cena and James only differentiate in one category: gold.  Cena is a 10-time WWE champion while LeBron has yet to win the big one even though he has made it there twice now, once in Cleveland with his cast of misfits and once in Miami with the super team. 

Other than that, they are two peas from the same pod when it comes to fans opinions of them.  They are so hated there are some fan sites dedicated to letting them know just how much they are hated.  Although Cena and James are two of the nicest, humble human beings in the world of sports, people can't seem to look past that because of their success (Cena) or idiotic ways they announce they are going to desert the very team they grew up around ( James). 

Both are great talents and have all the potential in the world to win even more gold (probably James more than Cena with Cena already being so close to breaking the most championships record). As they both progress throughout their remaining years of their careers, both will always be at the top of their leagues and fans will continue to hate them no matter what.

The great thing about that is, neither one of them cares how much fans hate them, because they are doing what they love. 

Good for them.

1. Mark Henry = ?

Mark Henry has been on a phenomenal roll as of late.  He's destroyed sets, people, announcer's tables and steel cages.  He just won his first World Heavyweight Championship after 15 years with the company.  During that time, he's spent much of it as the gimmick of World's Strongest Man and the earlier part of his career was spent as Sexual Chocolate.  He's had some very sad times in the WWE that were very embarrassing. 

Except now, he is no laughing matter.  He's one of the most dangerous men in the WWE. 

Here lies the problem.  For the life of me, after considering this for quite some time now, I cannot think of an NBA duplicate of Mark Henry.  I found the task daunting and downright terrifying. 

Here's where you come in.  I'm asking you the readers to try and come up with someone currently in the NBA whom you feel could match up to the story and success of Mark Henry.

No answer is stupid as long as there is one reason as to why you feel they match up with Henry.

Go ahead give it a shot and if you can think of anyone, let me know.

Thanks for the read and your help.