The 2017 edition of Royal Rumble is in the books and it produced some surprising outcomes. The win of Randy Orton itself was the major talking point that came out of the pay-per-view.
Randy was not a name that most of the fans had in their possible winners’ list and this made the win interesting. There were some twists and subplots throughout the Rumble match as well.
WWE then followed up the pay-per-view with two exciting shows and it would be safe to say that the road to WrestleMania has finally begun. The Power Rankings saw some major shifts due to what happened at the Royal Rumble and here is a look at how they shaped up after this week’s WWE programming.
#10 Samoa Joe (NR)
The main roster call up of Samoa Joe finally happened this week on Monday Night Raw.
Joe came in as a backup for Triple H and the introduction proved to be an effective one. While Joe being called up against Rollins takes out the possibility of a Triple H vs. Seth Rollins match, it does give the fans a new path to travel in.
Joe being the muscle for Triple H and Stephanie McMahon puts him directly in the main event picture and this opens up a wide array of possibilities for the Samoan Submission machine once WrestleMania is out of the way.
#9 Braun Strowman (-1)
Braun Strowman went into Royal Rumble with a lot of momentum. Strowman, however, delivered a below par performance at the Rumble match but he did make a huge impact in the pay-per-view as a whole when he crashed the title match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns.
Strowman drew battle lines with Reigns with just one interference and this carried over to Monday Night Raw.
Strowman rubbed shoulders with Universal champion Kevin Owens on the show and came out with a disqualification win as well. As a whole, it was a mixed week for Strowman but he is still around the main event picture of Monday Night Raw and that is what matters the most.
#8 Chris Jericho (NC)
Chris Jericho produced yet another memorable performance at the Royal Rumble.
Jericho entered early in the match and lasted till the last moments. The reigning United States Champion did suffer a defeat against Sami Zayn on Monday Night Raw, but the performance that he gave at the Rumble allows Jericho to keep his spot in the Power Rankings.
Going ahead, Jericho has some exciting options ahead of him and he could be elevated further. Before he leaves, Jericho can also put over some young superstar and we might even get a feud between Jericho and Kevin Owens in the coming months.
#7 Dean Ambrose (-3)
Getting eliminated by Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble was not at all a bad booking for Dean Ambrose. The Intercontinental champion was going through a solid phase before he stepped into the Rumble match and was clearly not the favourite.
Ambrose, however, has a chance to get hold of the biggest championship in the brand soon.
This week, Ambrose went up against AJ Styles in a losing effort and this is what costs him his place in the rankings. Ahead of Elimination chamber, Ambrose should look to build back his momentum and the same would help him get a jump in the Power Rankings.
#6 Roman Reigns (-5)
Roman Reigns went into Royal Rumble as a clear favourite to win the title match against Kevin Owens. With Chris Jericho out of the picture, there was nothing to stop Reigns but WWE pulled off a big swerve by introducing Braun Strowman into the mix.
Strowman came in and cost Reigns his opportunity to become the new champion and this has sparked a feud between the two.
Reigns did get some kind of revenge on the night that followed when he stood tall. The storyline between Reigns and Strowman has only started and going forward, it would be interesting to see how the fans react as both superstars have only been getting lukewarm reactions so far.
#5 AJ Styles (-2)
AJ Styles suffered a big setback on Sunday night when he lost the WWE championship to John Cena.
And to top it off, Styles will not be getting his one-on-one rematch with Cena for the title just yet, as he will first have to go inside the Elimination chamber. Styles went up against Dean Ambrose this week as well, when they locked horns on WWE SmackDown.
But it’s the loss against Cena that stands out when we talk about how the week went for the phenomenal one.
Once Elimination chamber is in the books, we will have a clear idea on where Styles is headed, until then; Styles will be in recovery mode as he needs to bounce back from dropping the title.
#4 Randy Orton (NR)
As mentioned in the introduction slide, Randy Orton was the surprise package at Royal Rumble. His win has certainly left the fans scratching their heads and WWE’s plans for going to WrestleMania will see Randy Orton playing a major role.
The win and the way in which he confronted John Cena on SmackDown, together, delivered a memorable week for the viper.
He made his intentions clear and going forward, Orton will be an integral part of the WWE championship storylines. The association of Orton and Bray Wyatt also deserves some attention since Luke Harper is now out of the picture.
#3 Kevin Owens (-1)
Kevin Owens successfully defended his WWE Universal championship against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Owens and Reigns went through a gruelling battle at the show and in the end, Owens got some help from Braun Strowman to retain his title.
While he managed to keep the gold with him, the way in which Owens won once again pushed him to the background.
WWE gave more attention to the friction between Reigns and Strowman and this repeated on Monday Night Raw as well.
Owens got some tough competition in the form of Strowman and when he seemed like he was headed towards a defeat, Reigns came to the rescue in an opposite scenario to what happened on Sunday night.
At the end of the day, Owens is still the champion and that matters the most.
#2 John Cena (+4)
John Cena levelled Ric Flair’s record this Sunday night when he defeated AJ Styles to become the new WWE champion. While Cena was eventually expected to level with Ric Flair, the timing turned out to be a shocker for many fans out there.
This was Cena’s first major match after making his return from the hiatus and getting the title in the first attempt itself raised some eyebrows.
Cena has his first major hurdle in the form of Elimination Chamber, but before that, he teamed up with Luke Harper this week on SmackDown to face off against Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton.
Despite the loss in the match, the title win at Royal Rumble helps Cena remain firmly in the Power Rankings for this week.
#1 Charlotte (+4)
The title reign of Charlotte passed through yet another milestone when she picked up a win against Bayley at the Royal Rumble. WWE is preserving the pay-per-view streak.
It has added more credibility to the title reign of Charlotte and it would be safe to say that she is one of the best booked WWE champions on the roster right now.
Charlotte now has a strong platform ahead of WrestleMania and she is bound to be involved in a high profile title match at the pay-per-view.
While Charlotte might not have a clear-cut opponent after her win against Bayley, she might have to defend her title in a multiple-superstar feud going into WrestleMania, as most of the women involved in the title picture would be unavoidable when the pay-per-view comes along.
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