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The last Raw of 2014 closed off with a bang even though it got mixed reviews.The show was better than the recent outings throughout the three hours, and was capped off with the controversial return of the Authority. Thanks to the holiday season, there wasn’t much development in SmackDown but that didn’t stop the changes in this week’s Power Rankings.The last Power Ranking of 2014 underwent a lot of changes due to the week that went by, as some superstars got some impressive wins while others lost out. 2015 looks all set to be a bright year and so here is a look at the first Power Rankings of the new year.
#25 R Truth (Previous Rank Nil)
Truth might not have a good storyline to his name to start 2015 with, but the rapper sure got himself lucky at SmackDown. The win he got alongside the Usos on Friday Night helps Truth get a place in the rankings but it doesn’t look like a long stay, to be frank.
#24 Cesaro (Previous Rank Nil)
The Swiss Superman’s association with Tyson Kidd is working wonders for him as he finds a place in the Rankings. They duo had some excellent chemistry in SmackDown but the luck of Cesaro when it comes to singles matches is still not anywhere near where he wants it to be.
#23 Brie Bella (Previous Rank 23)
Brie had a great year last time around and she is looking to do the same in 2015. However, for that, Brie needs to break away from her sister’s shadow. There is no idea on what the company has planned for Brie but she will be encouraged by her husband’s return.
#22 The Ascension (Previous Rank Nil)
The much awaited debut of the Ascension finally came this week on Raw when they squashed the former tag team champions. Getting a win over Miz and Mizdow was WWE’s way of saying how high they are on the team and the wins help them to enter the Power Rankings as well.
#21 Erick Rowan (Previous Rank 20)
Rowan faced off his former mentor on SmackDown this week and didn’t have a pretty outcome. The loss drops the Big Red one place in the Ranking and a majority of the WWE Universe would be wondering why WWE is wasting Rowan after a great buildup before Survivor Series.
#20 Tyson Kidd (Previous Rank 21)
While the Natalya angle runs on one side, Tyson Kidd is enjoying a lot of success with Cesaro. He is finally getting the exposure that he deserves for his talent and hopefully 2015 would be a better year for Kidd unlike the horrible run he had in the main roster last time around.
#19 Paige (Previous Rank -19)
After showing that she has the potential to be the backbone of Divas division, Paige has been relegated back to irrelevance since the company doesn’t have any plans for her. Paige manages to stay in her position despite the inactivity but that won’t be for long.
#18 Dust Brothers (Previous Rank 18)
The former tag team champions continued their losing run this week when they put over Usos and R-Truth on SmackDown. There is no doubts about the talent of these brothers but WWE should think about breaking them up since they’ve spend a lot of time in the division.
#17 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 16)
Jack Swagger once again showed some exceptional chemistry with Luke Harper but that wasn’t enough to help him improve the ranks. He failed to get a win against Harper on Raw and that drops the Real American one place in the first power ranking of 2015.
#16 Bad News Barrett (Previous Rank Nil)
Barrett gave a bad news to the entire roster when he made his return on Raw. He had no hesitation in hammering away Cesaro on the Show and jumps straight into the Power Rankings thanks to that win. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here as a lot of options are available for the writers.
#15 The New Day (Previous Rank 15)
New Day had a strong push from the WWE team even though the crowd was yawning. Despite being a credible stable, with the introduction of Ascension, the New Day’s luck might run out when it comes to becoming the tag team champions in the New Year.
#14 Miz and Mizdow (Previous Rank 8)
Miz and Mizdow had to pull off double duty on Monday Night Raw and lost both the matches. The first one came against Usos and made them drop the tag titles while second one proved to be a squash match against the debuting Ascension which further devalued the tag team.
#13 Big Show (Previous Rank 14)
The World’s Largest Athlete continued to haunt Roman Reigns throughout the past seven days guaranteeing a clash between the two in near future. Show is guaranteed to lose when the occasion comes but till then, he is enjoying a rise in the Power Rankings.
#12 Luke Harper (Previous Rank 13)
Luke Harper’s association with the Intercontinental championship looks to be long over as he was seen in random matches. Jack Swagger was the prey for Harper this time around and the win helps Harper move one step closer towards the top ten even if he doesn’t have a proper push.
#11 Ryback (Previous Rank 10)
Ryback delivered an emotional speech on Raw which made it easier for the fans to connect with him. However, that wasn’t enough for Ryback to stay away from the Bulgarian brute as the two continued their feud which would lead to an imminent collision somewhere down the lane.
#10 Roman Reigns (Previous Rank 17)
Roman Reigns makes a big jump this week thanks to his two wins that came due to disqualification. Reigns might not be the favorite to win the Royal Rumble after Bryan’s return but he clearly a dark horse when it comes to the pay-per-view in three weeks time.
#9 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 9)
AJ Lee’s absence left Nikki without much competition in her hand but WWE apparently found a replacement in the form of Natalya. Nattie clearly deserves a shot at the title and if it wasn’t for Nikki’s short coming in the wrestling side, we could’ve seen a great match at Rumble.
#8 Usos (Previous Rank 12)
The Usos are slowly turning into the John Cena of Tag Team division after the brothers got another title reign on Raw. It made no sense on why WWE blew the covers of Miz and Mizdow so early but with the Ascension on the scene, we might well see a feud between the champions and the rookies.
#7 Rusev (Previous Rank 6)
Rusev continued his run of not being pinned but that didn’t mean he won all the matches. He lost both on Raw and SmackDown due to disqualification against Dolph Ziggler and Roman Reigns respectively. These loses drops The Bulgarian Brute one place in the rankings.
#6 John Cena (Previous Rank 3)
The Cenation leader made a fool out of himself on Raw when he bought back the Authority after just one month. It wasn’t the best decision by WWE creative and Cena in particular was projected badly. However, he has a bigger head ache in the form of Lesnar when it comes to Rumble.
#5 Bray Wyatt (Previous Rank 5)
Bray faced off against Erick Rowan for the first time ever and got an impressive win. His mind games with Dean Ambrose were there to be seen this time around as well and the feud looks all set to reach the climax next week on Raw in an ambulance match.
#4 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 4)
Ambrose has managed to build himself as someone who doesn’t care about attending matches or getting wins. SmackDown was the latest proof for this when he dismantled Curtis Axel even before the bell rang and delivered a message to his nemesis, Bray Wyatt.
#3 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 7)
Rollins proved to be the biggest heel on Monday night when he dramatically bought the Authority back into power. The star value of Rollins is going to sky rocket after what happened last week and his power rankings reflect that as he jumped four places into the third spot.
#2 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 2)
The Ziggler push continued last week when he picked up a win via disqualification against Rusev. There are no hints on who will challenge Ziggler next for the Intercontinental title but there is always a chance for that being Bad News Barrett after his return.
#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 1)
The WWE World heavyweight champion seems to be having his first regular run in a while after showing up on Raw. WWE will be desperate to keep it that way if they want to book Royal Rumble as a credible pay-per-view headlined by Cena and Lesnar.
