Backlash went into the books this past week and it was followed by an exciting week filled with wrestling. WWE built up some interesting storylines for Clash of Champions on Monday Night Raw while SmackDown was all about the Backlash fallout. SmackDown was apparently the better show from the lot and once again won the weekly rat race. The conclusion of the Cruiserweight classic tournament also boosted the prospects of a superstar.
A lot of momentum shifts happened due to an action packed week and this, as usual, reflected on the Power Rankings as well. With that said, here is a look at this week’s WWE Power Rankings.
10. TJ Perkins
A new entry into the rankings, TJ Perkins won the Cruiserweight Classic by defeating Gran Metalik in the final. With the win, TJ Perkins also became the new Cruiserweight champion of WWE and is bound to be the first face of the division. The Cruiserweights will return to Monday Night Raw in the upcoming week and as champion, Perkins could feature on the show as well.
The win is a huge boost for his career and it’s a great story for the fans to follow as well. Perkins’ win over Metalik was preceded by a win over Kota Ibushi, who is highly regarded in the WWE.
9. Becky Lynch
SmackDown got a new women’s champion at Backlash when Becky Lynch outclassed five other women to get hold of the gold. The fans were happy with the result and it could be the start of a long reign. Becky was not in action this week around as WWE was busy finding a new number one contender for the champion.
Alexa Bliss was the one that got the pick as she defeated Nikki Bella, Naomi, Carmella, and Natalya on SmackDown. This week around, WWE is likely to start off the Alexa – Becky storyline and buildup towards their title match that might happen soon.
8. Roman Reigns
The week that went by was not a good one for Roman Reigns. He had his chance to headline Clash of Champions when he went up against Kevin Owens but thanks to a returning Rusev, Reigns failed to get the job done. The hopes of Reigns to get back into the main event could be slashed for the time being as he looks set to have another program with Rusev.
The Rusev- Reigns match did not happen back at SummerSlam and this could fuel the upcoming feud. The involvement of United States championship is also likely as WWE would want to raise the stakes.
7. Heath Slater and Rhyno
The fairytale run that Heath Slater and Rhyno are currently on had a crowning moment at Backlash when they won the Tag team championships. Slater and Rhyno did it at the expense of the Usos and it was really surprising to see Usos take a loss with their current heel run in place. Thanks to the win, Heath Slater also won his SmackDown contract and in turn, ended the hottest free agent angle.
The title win of Slater and Rhyno was backed up with a win over the Ascension on SmackDown and from the looks of it, a feud with Usos might be around the corner for these two.
6. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks shocked the world with her return a couple of weeks back and this time around, she announced to the world that she is going after the Women’s championship. Sasha defeated Bayley and Dana Brooke to become the new number one contender for the championship and has got herself a date with Charlotte for Clash of champions.
WWE is selling the back injury of Sasha apparently and this might turn out to be a huge factor as we head forward in this feud. We can expect a strong booking for Sasha in the coming week as well now that she is officially the number one contender.
5. Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is still in recovery mode after what happened with Triple H a couple of weeks back. Despite this, Rollins continued his solid run this week and got involved in the main event of Raw between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. Rollins going after Owens is likely to be the booking strategy going forward for WWE as they will go head to head at Clash of Champions.
This week, Rollins will be facing Rusev as an aftermath of his interference last week and a win over the United States champion could be a big boost for the architect ahead of his title match.
4. Charlotte
The Women’s champion did not wrestle this past week but her presence at the announce table was impactful. Charlotte was accompanying the commentary team during the number one contender match that WWE came up with this past week and it was a good piece of booking. Charlotte will defend the championship against Sasha Banks as mentioned earlier and while it would be a match worth tuning into, WWE should think about giving Charlotte some matches to work before that.
She is yet to recover from her loss to Bayley last week and a strong win ahead of Clash of Champions is what Charlotte needs at the moment.
3. Dean Ambrose
The week started off in a bad way for Dean Ambrose as he lost the WWE championship to AJ Styles. The loss at Backlash, however, did not stop Ambrose from coming out and asking for a rematch on SmackDown. Ambrose did get what he wanted even though John Cena was added to the scene. Ambrose teamed up with Cenation leader on the SmackDown main event and got a win over The Miz and AJ Styles.
After the match, Ambrose took out Cena and once again underlined that he is a lone wolf. Ambrose was the one that stood tall among the three men fighting for the championship and this covered up his Backlash loss.
2. AJ Styles
AJ Styles winning the WWE championship was a big story that came out of Backlash. Although there were rumors that suggested the same, there was still a sense of doubt among the WWE fans. When AJ cleared those doubts, in the end, it turned out to be a magical moment. Styles, who had won titles all over the world, completed his trophy case with the win and he deserves a jump in the Power Rankings due to the same.
Styles will now be involved in a three-way battle with Dean Ambrose and John Cena for the championship and the rumors suggest that he is going to remain champion for a long time as the WWE backstage officials are happy with him.
1. Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens secured a controversial win against Roman Reigns this past week thanks to some timely interference from Rusev. Though the win comes through an unclean manner, it is a win nevertheless and continues the impressive run of Owens after his huge WWE Universal championship win.
Now that Reigns is out of the picture, Owens is expected to move forward to a one-on-one feud with Seth Rollins, leading up to their match at Clash of Champions. The champion has been entertaining throughout and he is bound to make good use of the limelight that will shine on him during the upcoming weeks.
