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WWE is on the verge of entering Christmas break as they looks poised to wrap by TLC with a bang. The match card for the same was built up pretty well during the course of last seven days. There were some expected and unexpected developments in the company during all these which in turn produced some buzz among the fans.Almost all the action getting overshadowed by the Steve Austin – Vince McMahon podcast was a big headache for the company but to be frank, the shows were mediocre at its best.There weren’t any OMG moments or developments that were required as part of the buildup. There were however many ups and downs in the Power Rankings. So here is a look at how the list finally shaped up when the week came to an end.
#25 The New Day (Previous Rank Nil)
The newest stable in WWE seemed destined for a Tag Team title shot but had to settle for a feud with the Dust Brothers. There is a great amount of potential in the trio and the wins they picked up over the week were the proof. Hopefully the writers would realize this as well and give them a push that they deserve.
#24 Brie Bella (Previous Rank - 23)
The relationship between the Bellas seems to be a roller-coaster ride as they are constantly fluctuating emotions. Brie’s momentum meanwhile took a big toll over the week when she picked up two losses with one coming in Raw and the other in WWE Main event.
#23 Naomi (Previous Rank Nil)
Naomi’s luck might’ve turned bright all of a sudden after she was pushed into the feud between Usos and the Tag Team Champions. Apart from this, the former Funkadactyl also picked up two impressive wins over the week which helps her to get into the power rankings.
#22 Eric Rowan (Previous Rank Nil)
There is a lot of mystery surrounding Eric Rowan’s character but the fans have started to like him. His feud with Big Show is designed to put him over at TLC and the new ‘stairs’ stipulation that has been added to the match makes matter more interesting between the two giants.
#21 Kane (Previous Rank 20)
The end of Authority was supposed to end the cooperate run of the Big red Monster but the company for some reason or the other is still letting Kane walk around in a suit. He was on the wrong side of a tag team match this week and this drags Kane down one place in the rankings.
#20 Fandango (Previous Rank 21)
New and improved Fandango is surging up the rankings thanks to his aggressive side. Though there aren’t many differences in his gimmick, Fandango’s in ring performance is helping him to revive his career. The wins against Swagger on Raw and R-Truth on SmackDown help the ballroom dancer to climb one place in the ranking.
#19 Mark Henry (Previous Rank 19)
The World’s strongest man has been missing from action after Ryback defeated him last week on Raw and the reason for this might be the WWE’s lack of choices as opponents for him. Henry looks set to miss the TLC now from the looks of it and the company might be giving him some time off before Royal Rumble as well.
#18 Tyson Kidd (Previous Rank 17)
Kidd singles run wasn’t getting him any heat from the crowd despite the impressive record and WWE decided to drop that this as a result. Kidd is now teaming with Cesaro but failed to deliver the magic that two great technicians were expected to bring into the table.
#17 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 18)
After being irrelevant for quite some time, the real American was back into the mix against Rusev. Swagger looks to be the one who will face the Bulgarian Brute at TLC for the United States Championship and before that he will have to build up some momentum.
#16 Paige (Previous Rank 16)
Even without the Divas championship around her waist, Paige is continuing her winning ways in the division. She locked horns with her former nemesis Emma this week and came out winning. The combination has a great amount of potential WWE could use and hopefully they will.
#15 Big Show (Previous Rank 14)
Show was looking to get some upper hand over Erick Rowan this week but Rowan came out swinging with his steel stairs. The successive defeats that Show picked up on Raw and SmackDown drops him down one place in the Power Rankings and the outcome of TLC would be having a much bigger impact.
#14 Goldust and Stardust (Previous Rank 15)
The Dust Brothers couldn’t secure a title shot against Miz and Mizdow but they did find new enemies in the form of New Day. The creepy brothers will now be looking to prove the trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods wrong and TLC looks set to be the stage.
#13 Ryback (Previous Rank 13)
The big guy has set his sights on Kane now and the impressive victories that he picked up in Raw and SmackDown were great momentum boosters. The much rumored Ryback –Triple H feud was apparently dropped by the company for some reason and Ryback could prove the writers wrong at TLC.
#12 Luke Harper (Previous Rank 11)
Luke Harper’s title reign was supposed to be a career changer for him, but as far as we’ve seen, it’s been a dry one. The matches have been of great quality but the botched endings are costing Harper big time and WWE will have to think of something big when he faces Ziggler at TLC.
#11 The Usos (Previous Rank 12)
Usos was not expected to get the No. 1 contender ship in the match that had New Day but the brothers came out with a win in style. The problem with Naomi however will be a haunting factor for Jimmy and Jey and the duo should try to solve things at the earliest.
#10 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 8)
Getting into a tag team match against AJ Lee and Naomi turned out to be a bad decision for Nikki as she tapped out to the black widow on Raw. The loss costs Nikki two places in the power ranking and she will be looking to gather some momentum before facing AJ at TLC.
#9 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 10)
Survivor Series wasn’t the best outing for AJ Lee but the former divas champion is picking up impressively in the recent weeks. She got the upper hand over both the Bellas over the week and that helps AJ to explore deeper into the top ten.
#8 Miz and Mizdow (Previous Rank 9)
Miz and Mizdow now know who they’ll face at TLC for the tag team championship. However, that didn’t slow the duo down over the week as they picked up wins on both Raw and SmackDown. There is a lot of underlying tension between the pair despite all this and the moment of explosion would be great.
#7 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 5)
There were accusations of Rollins’ run being sponsored by the Authority and that accusation is looking to be true from his Power Rankings. He has been free falling in the rankings after the Authority went out of business and he has a lot of work to do if he wants to get back into the top five.
#6 Rusev (Previous Rank 6)
A feud with Jack Swagger wasn’t something that the Bulgarian Brute would’ve wanted but he is doing great within the limitations. Rusev and Lana are probably going to crush the Real American on TLC and he might get a bigger opponent for the Road to WrestleMania as well.
#5 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 4)
The Lunatic Fringe took a piece from Bray’s soul when he destroyed the chair on Raw but Bray got his revenge on SmackDown. The Eater of the Worlds took out Ambrose on Friday Night leaving him on a stretcher just one week before their Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at TLC.
#4 Bray Wyatt (Previous Rank 7)
Monstrous side of Bray that the fans love to see was finally in display on SmackDown when he took out Dean Ambrose. However, there were a lot of vulnerability in Bray during the segment on Raw and that is something Ambrose will look to expose when these two face off at TLC.
#3 John Cena (Previous Rank 3)
The Cenation leader now has a date with Seth Rollins for TLC and his No.1 contender ship for the WWE championship will be on the line as well. It will most probably be a torch passing scenario between the two unless WWE decides to go with the usual and let Cena takes the easy way out. ,
#2 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 2)
The Showoff’s impressive run after the Survivor Series continued over this week as he almost snatched the Intercontinental championship from Harper. The disqualification came for Harper’s help this time but that won’t be the case at TLC when they face in a Ladder match.
#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 1)
Lesnar is apparently pulled off from the Slammy Awards as well which is a big blow for both WWE and the fans. This ensures that the Beast will only return in time for Royal Rumble while the company would be forced to push forward another month without their champion.
