'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Christmas celebrations of WWE weren’t exactly what the fans were looking for. Almost all the shows throughout the week were lazily booked due to the holiday season while they did spend some time to dress up the divas in some Christmas clothes.NXT, as usual stood out for all the right reasons and certainly made it clear once again that they were by far the better ‘wrestling’ product. WWE’s lack of developments ahead of Royal Rumble was another big head ache for the main roster.Despite all these negatives, there were some notable changes in the Power Rankings for this week and here is a look at how the list shaped up in what is going to be the last Power Rankings of 2014.
#25 Adam Rose (Previous Rank Nil)
The Exotic Express’ luck seems to have turned upside down thanks to the heel turn he underwent on Raw. It was coming for a long time and is expected to be a new career direction for Rose. The win he got against R – Truth afterwards on SmackDown helps him get a place in the rankings as well.
#24 Naomi (Previous Rank 25)
Dressing up as Santa’s helpers did the job for Naomi as she managed to get a win under her belt on Monday Night Raw alongside Emma and Alicia Fox. While her divas division progresses on one side, Naomi also continues to play an important role in the tag team title scenario as well.
#23 Brie Bella (Previous Rank 24)
Brie might not be having a championship run like her sister but she certainly is getting some good television time. She started off the week with a loss to Natalya on Raw but picked up big time on Main event where she dispatched her fellow Total Diva Summer Rae.
#22 Kane (Previous Rank 20)
Kane was looking strong a week back thanks to his dominance over Adam Rose but all that changed upside down this week when he faced Ryback. The Big guy got a dominant win over the veteran and that loss slips Kane down two places in the weekly Power Rankings.
#21 Tyson Kidd (Previous Rank 22)
Just when we thought that fans started to think that WWE pulled the plug on Cesaro – Tyson Kidd team, the duo emerged out with a big in Main Event over Los Matadores. This helps Tyson improve his ranking while he continue to be an annoying husband for Natalya, who is having a more credible run.
#20 Erick Rowan (Previous Rank 19)
All those buildup that Rowan had ahead of Survivor Series looks to be in vain as the company is not willing to give him a good push. He did get a win over the Swiss Superman at WWE Superstars but we all know that Cesaro is nothing more than a jobber these days in front of everyone.
#19 Paige (Previous Rank 18)
The glimpses of Paige’s successful Anti – Diva gimmick was there to be seen this week on Raw when she came out wearing a black Christmas hat instead of the regular red. The former divas champion however couldn’t get a win in the tag team match which in turn costs her one place.
#18 Dust Brothers (Previous Rank 17)
Dust Brothers were among the casualties of the holiday seasons. All the seriousness from the tag team were taken away thanks to WWE’s goofiness while the losses they suffered at the hands of New Day and especially Los Matadores pushed the Dust Brothers two places down the ranking.
#17 Roman Reigns (Previous Rank 23)
Roman Reigns was in the headlines throughout the week as WWE was rumored to be reconsidering their plans for Royal Rumble. However, this didn’t stop the dominance from Reigns when he managed to get wins on both SmackDown and Raw even though the Raw win was clearly botched.
#16 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 15)
The Real American’s loss at TLC proved to be the nail on his coffin as he was once again relegated to the midcard scenario with random bookings. Swagger had probably one of the best matches of the week against Luke Harper on main event but quality isn’t enough to get him over in the rankings.
#15 The New Day (Previous Rank 16)
The newest stable in WWE looks set to be another flop as they are constantly failing to evoke emotions among the fans. The WWE writers might be giving them some good wins but that isn’t enough to catapult the average trio into credible challengers for the tag team titles.
#14 Big Show (Previous Rank 12)
The World’s largest Athlete locked horns with Roman Reigns on the latest episode of Raw and came out losing by count out. Big Show’s luck didn’t turn bright on SmackDown as well where he lost in the tag team match with Reigns being on the opposite side once again.
#13 Luke Harper (Previous Rank 14)
Harper was the best one superstar of the week, period. The former Wyatt Family member had great matches throughout the week even though they delivered mixed results. It’s the impressive win against Swagger that helps Harper improve his ranking while the clash against Ziggler ended in losing effort.
#12 The Usos (Previous Rank 13)
The Usos continued with their tussle against Miz and Mizdow this week as Naomi continued to be the biggest problem between the tag team. the matches produced split results for the Usos but they still manages to edge one place closer to the top ten ahead of Royal Rumble.
#11 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 10)
The after effects of AJ Lee’s Slammy award speech is still making waves in the WWE Universe as AJ stayed away from in ring action for another week. There are rumors about AJ being injured and if that’s the case, WWE will have a whole lot of work to do to patch up the divas division for Royal Rumble.
#10 Ryback (Previous Rank 11)
After being knocked out by Rusev last week, Ryback had a strong comeback thanks to his win over the big red monster on SmackDown. From the looks of it, Ryback is all set to face Rusev for the United States Championship on Royal Rumble and it’s going to be a match worth looking forward to.
#9 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 9)
The divas Champion seems to have found a new foe in the form of Natalya ahead of Royal Rumble and that looks to be the right path as well. With AJ out of action due to injury, Nikki needs to spark a credible angle with Natalya if she needs to stay relevant as the divas champion.
#8 Miz and Mizdow (Previous Rank 8)
The tag team champions didn’t have much to do as a team this week as WWE decided to go with singles competition for Miz so that he could push forward the angle with Naomi. The split result helps the duo to keep their ranking intact but on a different week it would’ve been a different case.
#7 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 7)
Authority’s death was supposed to be cause big problems for Rollins but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Architect is having good run even without Hunter for protection. He did lose out the matches this week but Rollins is still a big factor in the main event scene at any day.
#6 Rusev (Previous Rank 6)
The Bulgarian Brute continued his feud with Ryback over the week. WWE writers have managed to invest the fans in this feud somehow but with the biggest question being whether Ryback could be the ‘one’ to end Rusev’s undefeated run that has bought him all the way.
#5 Bray Wyatt (Previous Rank 4)
Another chapter in the Bray Wyatt – Dean Ambrose saga was there to be seen this week. After what went down at TLC with the television monitor WWE has to do something more than the regular tricks to make this one more exciting before the potential climax at Royal Rumble.
#4 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 5)
The Lunatic Fringe lost out his match against Bray on Raw but ended the night on a high note when he put his rival through the table. Ambrose might not need wins to remain over among the fans but WWE should clearly try to get some wins under his resume as he is yet to win in a major PPV after splitting from Shield.
#3 John Cena (Previous Rank 3)
The Cenation leader was out to settle his score with Seth Rollins on Monday Night Raw and did just that when he got a clean win over Mr. Money in the bank. The biggest challenge for Cena however, is still yet to come as he is set to face Brock Lesnar for one last time at the Royal Rumble.
#2 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 2)
Ziggler’s impressive run continued over the past seven days when he picked up two wins. The first one came against Luke Harper on Raw in a championship defense while the second came on SmackDown as a tag team alongside Roman Reigns. This helps Ziggler to cement his second spot in the rankings with only the WWE champion ahead of him.
#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 1)
Lesnar might’ve drawn the battle line with the Cenation leader for Royal Rumble but as long as WWE doesn’t give Lesnar a good regular role on the television, this match will always look less credible like the previous encounters that these two have had over the past year.
