We are heading into the last week of WWE programming for the year 2016. And to WWE’s credit, they have lined up some exciting action for the next seven days.
The return of John Cena and a WWE championship match are just a couple of things to watch out for. The week that went by had some memorable moments as well and the Power Rankings were impacted due to the same.
The domination of Braun Strowman and the new storylines in Women’s division proved to be the talking points of Monday Night Raw while the entry of Baron Corbin into the WWE title picture and Miz were highlights from SmackDown.
Here is a look at how the Power Rankings have changed after this past week.
#10 Becky Lynch (NR)
Becky Lynch crawled back into the SmackDown Women’s championship contention after dressing up as La Luchadora this week on SmackDown. Under the gimmick, Becky got the better of Alexa Bliss and in turn, has landed her an opportunity to become the Smackdown Women’s champion once again.
Unlike the Women’s championship on Raw, the title on SmackDown has received some strong booking and this is why a match between Becky and Alexa on Smackdown would be worth watching.
If Becky manages to win the gold, it would be a great way to close the year for her and she could make a leap in the rankings as well.
#9 Bayley (NR)
Similar to the case with Becky Lynch, Bayley got the better of the Women’s champion on Monday Night Raw. WWE moving away from the Sasha Banks – Charlotte feud and bringing in Bayley into the mix has managed to create a buzz among the fans.
Bayley getting a win over Charlotte on Raw projects Bayley as a strong contender for the championship and it was a great way to kick start the storyline.
Thanks to this win, Bayley has made her return to the Power Rankings and if she manages to go ahead and dethrone Charlotte, she could rise higher as well.
#8 Cesaro and Sheamus (+2)
The newly crowned Tag team champions of Raw teamed up with New Day this week to face Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and the Shining Stars. The outing turned out to be a great one for the champions as they secured their first win after getting the titles at Roadblock.
It’s still not clear about how WWE plans to move forward with these two as champions but the Team “Hell No” Type booking is clearly what we could see. A title defence from these two will give us an idea on how the situation could play out. Cesaro and Sheamus move up to eighth place in the rankings thanks to their win.
#7 Dolph Ziggler (NC)
Dolph Ziggler earned his shot at the WWE championship when he defeated Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose and The Miz a couple of weeks back.
However, the show off was forced to put his number one contender spot on the line again on SmackDown against Baron Corbin. Interference from AJ Styles resulted in Corbin entering the WWE championship scene.
Now, Ziggler will have to deal with Corbin as well when he gets his shot this week on SmackDown Live. The chances of Ziggler winning the title from AJ Styles are low but he could put together a strong showing. The no contest result on SmackDown helps Ziggler stay put.
#6 Wyatt Family (NC)
The Wyatt Family is still in a strong position on the SmackDown roster despite another week of inactivity. Luke Harper did wrestle this week against Dean Ambrose and suffered a defeat but Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt stayed on the sidelines.
However, the duo will be defending their gold in a Four-corner elimination match this upcoming week on SmackDown.
The champions head in as the clear cut favourites for the match and as they are facing off against all the top teams on SmackDown, a win could cement their spot on top of the division and in turn help them make a huge leap in the Power Rankings.
#5 Charlotte (-1)
Charlotte got the gold back from Sasha Banks at Roadblock but suffered an immediate setback this past week due to Bayley.
Her nightmares with Bayley continued on Monday night as the reigning champion suffered yet another defeat. The championship is still around Charlotte’s waist and she is still on top when it comes to the Raw’s Women’s division.
This is why the defeat against Bayley is just a minor setback. The loss, however, makes her slip one place in the Power Rankings as she settles down in the fifth spot. Charlotte is still the top ranked female heading into the New Year.
#4 Roman Reigns (-2)
Roman Reigns has one more shot at the WWE Universal championship thanks to Mick Foley. Reigns will be going up against Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble with the twist being Chris Jericho inside the shark cage suspended atop the ring.
As part of building up the match, Reigns teamed up with Seth Rollins this week on Raw and faced Owens and Jericho.
Reigns and Rollins did end up on the winning side thanks to disqualification but Braun Strowman ran through the former Shield members as the show closed. Getting dominated by Strowman makes Reigns slip down in the rankings. The unimpressive win didn’t help either.
#3 Kevin Owens (-2)
As mentioned in the Roman Reigns slide, Kevin Owens will have to defend his WWE Universal championship against Reigns at the Royal Rumble.
Throughout his title reign, Owens received help from Chris Jericho to keep the gold around his waist and at Rumble; he wouldn’t be having this luxury. Owens will be in an interesting situation and if he manages to pull off a successful title defence, it would be a great moment for him.
Owens will have to come out of the shadow of Jericho throughout the buildup and the booking he got on Monday Night Raw didn’t help the cause. A defeat via disqualification drags Owens back to third in the Power Rankings.
#2 AJ Styles (+3)
The losses against James Ellsworth were something that had been haunting AJ Styles for quite some time. AJ suffered three losses against Ellsworth and though all of them came due to Dean Ambrose, it was clearly a black mark.
AJ got his revenge on SmackDown Live and not only did he squash Ellsworth, but went on to destroy him altogether.
With Ellsworth out of the way, AJ is now going to defend his WWE championship next week against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin. Speaking of which, AJ also had a huge hand in the SmackDown Live main event this past week and such a dominating performance takes him to second place in the rankings.
#1 The Miz (+2)
Miz made another successful title defense this week on SmackDown live when he overcame Apollo Crews. With the win, the strong showing of Miz continued. But after the match, Miz would go on to cement his spot as the top heel in WWE when he took a shot at the personal life of Renee Young and Dean Ambrose.
Ambrose vs. Miz is the feud that WWE has in plans from the looks of it and it would be another platform for Miz to ooze out his brilliance. The win against Crews and the performance in the post-match segment elevates Miz and brings him to the top position in the Power Rankings.
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