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WWE’s dash towards their annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view passed yet another eventful week. The match card of the upcoming show became clear after this as the WWE made some bold decisions and some lame ones which have left the fans buzzing.The shows throughout the week weren’t spectacular to be frank since the creative team had a lot of problems to solve out. Brock Lesnar’s absence being the prime headache was not even mentioned while Dean Ambrose got a big win over John Cena though it was a forgettable match.The lunatic fringe has drawn battle lines with his former brother after that win and the match looks set to steal the show at Hell in a Cell. There wasn’t any other positive point that came out of this week and here is a look at how all the happenings affected the weekly Power Rankings.
#25 Alicia Fox (Previous Rank 24)
Alicia was kept in the background for a long time despite being better than most of the divas in the roster. Her friendship with Paige however seems to be a way out for the former Divas Champion who is featuring regularly on WWE television which helps her to stay in the Power Rankings as well.
#24 R- Truth (Previous Rank Nil)
R-Truth makes a rare entry into the Power Rankings this week thanks to the win he got against Tyson Kidd at Main Event. The match was nothing more than a randomly booked encounter to push forward the Kidd- Natalya angle and Truth would find it hard to stay here in the rankings due to that.
#23 Kane (Previous Rank 22)
Kane’s obsession of being a high profile jobber rolled through another week which made it clear that the writers had no plan for him. He is not booked for Hell in a Cell at the moment and this might result in some sort of botched interference that Kane has been doing for a long time.
#22 Tyson Kidd (Previous Rank 20)
After delivering top notch performances back in NXT, Tyson Kidd might’ve thought that his career was going somewhere when he was called up. That doesn’t seem to be the case right now since the company is confining him to C grade shows rather than helping him to be over with the fans.
#21 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 19)
Jack Swagger showed off some great chemistry with Seth Rollins on Monday Night which resulted in a good match between the two. The result however didn’t go his way and a post-match RKO from the apex predator made matters worse for the Real American.
#20 The Miz (Previous Rank 23)
Miz didn’t have much luck on SmackDown alongside his tag team partners but the Awesome one did get a singles win over Sheamus on Raw thanks to his stunt double. The most exciting part about Miz is turning out to be Sandow which offers a possible feud between the two in the future.
#19 Bo Dallas (Previous Rank 21)
Zack Ryder got a big reaction last week when he defeated Heath Slater in a good match and was supposed to follow up that good run this time as well. But he was met with an inspirational Bo Dallas who not only got a win over Ryder but also climbed two places in the power rankings.
#18 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 16)
Nikki has a big match coming up against her sister at Hell in a Cell and built up some momentum for that with a win over Naomi. This however doesn’t reflect on the Power Rankings as it was Brie who got the upper hand on Raw by pinning Nikki.
#17 Mark Henry (Previous Rank 15)
The World’s strongest man is proving to be an interesting sub plot in the Rusev – Big Show feud. Henry tried to save Show on Raw and the two giants ended up having some friction before they took out Rusev together. Henry has promised to stay away from Rusev till Show is done but only time will tell how he will live up to those words.
#16 Brie Bella (Previous Rank 18)
WWE might be building up the Bellas angle as a big thing but is failing to attract heat due to various reasons. Brie has the upper hand as things stand now and she would be looking to make Nikki her bitch at Hell in a Cell when the storyline will reach a crucial period.
#15 Cesaro (Previous Rank 17)
Cesaro might not be around the midcard title picture but he did get two wins over the week that helps him to jump two places in the rankings. The first came against Justin Gabriel while the second win saw Kofi Kingston as opponent in a solid match.
#14 Wyatt Family (Previous Rank 14)
The ever creepy Wyatt Family is kept out of the squared circle for the time being but their vignettes still deliver strong messages. With such a buildup given to the trio, the fans could expect something spectacular when they finally make their return to television.
#13 Big Show (Previous Rank 13)
Show’s feud with the Bulgarian brute has found a place in the Hell in a Cell match card which is good news considering the bout they had in Raw. Show did knock the air out of Rusev but that wouldn’t be enough at Hell in a Cell where the stakes are higher.
#12 Dust Brothers (Previous Rank 11)
The current tag title reign of the Dust Brothers is reminding the fans of how Randy Orton was the WWE champion last year after SummerSlam. There are showing no traits of being champions at the moment and not earning wins make it even worse for the brothers.
#11 Paige (Previous Rank 10)
The new friendship that Paige has with Alicia Fox is turning out to be a trick to make AJ jealous. The team however couldn’t get a win over AJ and Layla on Monday night which drops Paige out of the top ten but keeps her in touching distance.
#10 Rusev (Previous Rank 12)
The Bulgarian brute went up against Big Show on Raw and got a win to his name thanks to the interference from Henry. Getting knocked out by the World’s largest Athlete wasn’t on the plans but it doesn’t stop Rusev from entering into the top ten.
#9 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 9)
AJ Lee got a taste of her own medicine from Layla on Raw but came out looking good after all. AJ then went on to teach Layla a lesson on SmackDown which helps her to stay rooted to the ninth spot while Paige continuous to haunt the champion.
#8 Sheamus (Previous Rank 8)
Sheamus split a win and loss this week which doesn’t allow him to climb up the rankings. The feud with Miz will see the Celtic Warrior defending his title at Hell in a Cell and Sheamus will be looking out for Damien Sandow who will be a big factor.
#7 The Usos (Previous Rank 7)
The Usos are still ranked higher than the Tag team champions which shows the importance of the duo in the roster. They will be the first choice when WWE will be looking for tag team title contenders and a win there would surely let the Usos crack the top five.
#6 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 5)
Dolph Ziggler was part of two solid matches this week but both ended up as losing efforts. There is no storyline for Ziggler as the intercontinental champion at the moment which is a bit concerning as we are closer than ever to Hell in a Cell which wouldn’t be complete without the show off.
#5 Randy Orton (Previous Rank 6)
As Orton and his RKO went viral this week, he shone in the ring with a win over Dolph Ziggler. It was the best match of the night without any doubt and Orton now has a date with John Cena at Hell in a Cell which didn’t turn out to be a popular decision among the WWE Universe.
#4 John Cena (Previous Rank 2)
John Cena’s momentum took a big drop this week on Raw when he lost out to Dean Ambrose. Not only did Cena lose his opportunity to headline Hell in a Cell, he also ended up being booked against Randy Orton which pretty much tells the story itself.
#3 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 4)
The Lunatic fringe got a win over a 15-Time world champion on Raw even if it was a gimmick match. He now has the chance to steal the show at Hell in a Cell alongside Seth Rollins and the duo will pour out their bodies and emotions to make sure that the fans doesn’t go home sad.
#2 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank -3)
Rollins has his match fixed with Ambrose for HIAC and Mr. Money in the Bank built up the momentum well with two wins. The first one came against Swagger on Raw while the second proved to be more impressive as it came against the Intercontinental champion, Dolph Ziggler.
#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 1)
Lesnar’s absence from the WWE programming is clearly the biggest talking point in WWE at the moment as not having a champion is deteriorating the product. It is a problem that needs to be addressed at the earliest since the current status is ambiguous for the entire WWE Universe.
