One week away from the Royal Rumble, WWE made some bold decisions on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live. While the return of Brock Lesnar stood out as the biggest talking point from Raw, SmackDown once again had a distributed amount of success.
AJ Styles going up against Miz was a fresh new touch whereas the reveal of Mickie James and the headlining steel cage match also helped SmackDown receive a good response from the fans
These happenings and bookings happened just a week out from Royal Rumble and that, in turn, makes them more relevant. The Power Rankings also saw some changes due to all the matches that happened and we are going to take a look at them.
#10 Braun Strowman (NR)
The solid run of Braun Strowman ahead of Royal Rumble continued yet again this week as he was part of the six-man tag team match on Monday Night Raw.
It was Braun that got the decisive pin in the match and the teased confrontation that he had with Brock Lesnar earlier that night proved to be another highlight.
WWE is building up Strowman as a big deal ahead of Royal Rumble as he has already teased potential feuds with Undertaker and Lesnar apart from the on-going friction against the likes of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn.
The good show takes Strowman into the power rankings.
#9 Alexa Bliss (NR)
Alexa Bliss got herself a successful title defence this week on SmackDown Live.
The reigning SmackDown Women’s champion Alexa went up against Becky Lynch in a steel cage match on Tuesday night and the best part was that Alexa and Becky headlined the show. With the perfect blend of shock factor and controversy, Alexa retained the title.
The introduction of Mickie James and the new association that she has with Alexa is going to be a major storyline for SmackDown going forward. Sharing the limelight with someone as experienced as Mickie will benefit Alexa as she could learn a lot from the former WWE Divas champion.
#8 Chris Jericho (+1)
The United States championship win is proving to be a lucky charm for Chris Jericho.
After becoming the grand slam champion, Jericho has been on the positive side of things and Raw was another platform to show this. He closed the show as part of the six-man tag team match and got the win as well.
Rollins might’ve got the better of Jericho in the post-match segment but Jericho still carries a lot of momentum. The championship reign of Jericho is yet to be explored by WWE and once they do it, Jericho is going to see more of the limelight than he’s getting at this point in time.
#7 John Cena (+1)
John Cena made his in-ring return a week back when he defeated Baron Corbin. This week around, Cena was relegated to ringside when he had to be a spectator of the Miz vs. AJ Styles match.
But it wasn’t late before Cena was pulled into the action. Cena first laid out Miz with an Attitude Adjustment and gave one to AJ Styles as well to stand tall as the show went off-air.
Cena is getting a very strong booking ahead of his showdown with AJ Styles and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he walks out with the WWE championship when the opportunity finally comes in.
#6 The Miz (-1)
The frustrations of Miz spilt into the WWE championship scene this week when he crossed paths with AJ Styles and John Cena.
The segment involving Miz, Cena and Styles showed that Miz belongs in the main event scene and it also showed that Miz vs. AJ Styles is a feud that WWE could bank on when Styles finally turns babyface.
Miz and Styles also squared off in a match this week but due to an interference from John Cena, it ended in a no contest. Miz got an attitude adjustment from the Cenation leader and the combined impact of all these things drops Miz one place in the rankings.
#5 Dean Ambrose (+2)
The lunatic fringe secured a huge win this week thanks to the friction between Randy Orton and Luke Harper.
Ambrose, who seems to have moved on from his feud with The Miz, has now settled into a different territory. He faced Orton this week and after a solid match, Ambrose snatched the win thanks to a timely distraction from Harper.
Though it came in a way that baby faces wouldn’t want, the win is a win nevertheless and winning against someone like Orton should not be taken lightly. The champ jumps two places due to the win and gets into the top ten of the Power Rankings.
#4 Roman Reigns (-1)
Roman Reigns suffered yet another setback this week on Monday Night Raw. He headlined the show and ended up on the losing side. After the match, Reigns was destroyed by Kevin Owens, and this is something that he probably didn’t want right now.
Reigns has been on the back foot for a couple of weeks now but he could bounce back big time if he wins the Royal Rumble showdown with Kevin Owens.
If so, losing the United States title could end up being a blessing in disguise for the Samoan Superman since he can now concentrate on the bigger prize.
#3 Charlotte (-1)
The reigning Raw Women’s champion did not wrestle this week. Charlotte was confined to a segment with Bayley on the program and it was probably a safe move from WWE’s side as they want to push the Royal Rumble match.
Another reason could be the lack of depth that the Raw Women’s division has at the moment.
It’s hard to find a good name that Charlotte can have a match with at this point as most of the highly positioned wrestlers such as Sasha Banks and Nia Jax cannot take a loss right now due to them having their owns storyline going on.
The inactivity costs Charlotte one place in the rankings.
#2 AJ Styles (-1)
Ahead of his showdown with John Cena, WWE gave AJ Styles a great opportunity to shine when he was booked in a match with The Miz on SmackDown live.
The match might’ve ended in a no-contest, but WWE booking Styles against a clear cut heel like Miz shows that WWE is slowly making AJ into a fan favourite.
AJ got a good amount of offence in throughout the match and he was probably on his way to winning it before Cena interfered. Styles not getting the upper hand over Cena is what drops him one place in the Power Rankings this week.
#1 Kevin Owens (+3)
The Kevin Owens show continued this week as the reigning Universal champion got yet another strong performance under his belt. First, he ended up on the winning side of the six-man tag team match that main evented Monday Night Raw and he then delivered a big blow to Roman Reigns.
This was the second week in a row that Owens got the better of Reigns and while the change is a welcomed one, it also opens up the possibility of Owens dropping the title to Reigns at Rumble.
Owens now seems like a credible champion and this gets him a top spot in the rankings. A win against Reigns could help him cement the spot.
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