UPDATED FOR AUGUST 2025

Time for another monthly instalment of 'made-up chess rankings'!

An interesting month with several names being added to the list while none left it. With the competition as tough as it is, that's left a whole host of people increasing their rating but dropping their ranking. An odd situation, but indicative of where we're at. In this month's list there are 16 people with a rating over 1700. There's usually only 10 or 11, so we're 1.5 times the usual number at the top end of the scale - not to mention some of the killers sitting outside of that number. But fun fact: There haven't been this many with that rating since January last year when there was still a hangover from the third brand of Madness.

I'm still working on testing V2 of the formulas for this. The big thing I haven't cracked is team elimination - I'm aiming to have that ready to test by War Games and then I might be able to fully shift over to the new version.

Now... onto the highlights...

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AAAAANNNNNDDDDDD NNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWW!!!

• Allegedly Micheal Graves
  It's that time again and as the competition grows just underneath them, any slip up from either of the top two sees them lose the top spot. This time, Sebastian Everett-Bryce took a loss, and the result is that Micheal Graves (suspiciously) moves back into number one. Can we get these two in the ring with one another? Now, if my suspicious are correct... this also might mean that he has broken free from the tie he held with Robert Main, and now stands alone with the most months at number one across all 12 years of ELO at 28. A truly astonishing feat. He also ties Main and Doctor Louis D'Ville for the most individual 'reigns' on top - regardless of length - at 4.
  

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!!!

• Charlie Nickles
  But Mark FlynnMicheal Graves is not the only one being celebrated this month. Please join me in acknowledging Charlie Nickles for bringing up his 100th match in the ELO rankings. Based on when he joined the fed, that will be pretty close to an accurate figure. Thank you, Charlie, for your dedication to the XWF. You are the 16th member of the '100 Club'.
  

BIGGEST RANKING RISE

• Thunder Knuckles - +3
  Who holds two titles that they're defending on the reg? Thunder fucking Knuckles, that's who. Rising 3 places, the reigning Revolution Champion AND one-half of the Anarchy Tag Team Champions rights a wrong where an unfortunate loss by DQ that saw them retain their tag team titles took a hefty chunk of rating points and saw them drop out of the top 10. They're back in that top bracket now, and with the possibility of two title defences awaiting them at Relentless, they have a chance to earn some significant extra points and keep climbing!
  

HIGHEST DEBUT/RETURN

• Aidan Collins - 8
  Welcome back Bling Bling Bliz! I for one have been excited to see the Godkiller back in our midst and the interesting thing to see will be what he does next. His ranking here carries a bit of weight from his previous successes, and his last few matches have seen some tough losses that could have gone either way. But he's not a MULTIPLE time Universal Champion for nothing. As Aidan settles into what the current landscape is like, everybody should watch out.
  

EYES ON:
A few extra shout outs here rolling into Relentless...

• Sarah Wolf and Dickie Watson
  When I look at my own rankings, both of these two give me some confusion as to how they're not higher up the list. It might be further evidence that ELO V2 is needed, or it might just be that good things take time. Well time is racing up on us. Noting that Warfare is still pending, for now Sarah Wolf has sunk her teeth into that Television Championship. Meanwhile Dickie Watson has earned their shot while also taking the Universal Champion to the limit. Wolf. Watson. It's a main event in any company, and we're lucky we're about to see it.
  
• Dolly Waters and Charlie Nickles
  I was sure that Game Girl and Madison Dyson were falling out of the rankings this month, which would have seen the current and former Universal Champions, Dolly Waters and Charlie Nickles, climb up into the top 5. I was mistaken. But... they're both right there for a reason. And with Relentless approaching... a Universal Title defence awaiting Dolly, and Charlie refusing to leave the title picture himself... not to mention their opponent actually being higher than them in the rankings (the better rated your opponent - the more points you can earn for winning), Dolly and Charlie will both be looking to cement themselves even further here.
  
• Everyone on the Relentless card
  PPVs are worth extra. Main events are worth extra. And Relentless brings 3 nights of PPVs, with 3 PPV main events. I'm looking forward to seeing how September ends!