Sportskeeda's WWE Player Rankings (September 15-21)

WWE had an eventful week, with the Hell in a Cell pay per view and the announcement of Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.

As the build to Super Showdown now picks up speed, and with Evolution, Crown Jewel, and Survivor Series not far behind it, where do things now stand?

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Raw Men's Division

#1 Universal Champion Roman Reigns (NC)

#2 Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar (tie - No.1 contenders)

#3 Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins (NC)

#4 Drew McIntyre (+1)

#5 Dolph Ziggler (-1)

#6 Dean Ambrose (NC)

#7 Bobby Lashley (NC)

#8 Kevin Owens (NC)

#9 Acting GM Baron Corbin (NC)

#10 Finn Balor (NC)

Summary

The Raw men's division had a huge shakeup with the return of Brock Lesnar, though the story that came in its wake didn't mean a whole lot.

We now know that he will take on Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns in a triple threat match for the Universal Championship at Crown Jewel.

That immediately puts Lesnar into second place, at least for the time being. Braun Strowman is no longer Mr. Money in the Bank, having failed his cash-in. One has to imagine he'll be moving down the card by the end of the year.

One man who might start moving up soon is Drew McIntyre, who, by virtue of his victory over Dean Ambrose and his being the deciding factor in the Raw Tag Team Championship match on Sunday, has now surpassed Dolph Ziggler, who lost his Intercontinental Championship rematch to Seth Rollins on Monday.

It was always going to be a matter of time before McIntyre started breaking out, and this week, we saw the beginnings of that process.

The lower portion of the card remained in limbo and it seems it will remain that way for some time. Raw has an unacceptable amount of filler right now.

Raw Women's Division

#1 Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey (NC)

#2 Alexa Bliss (NC)

#3 Nikki Bella (NC)

#4 Brie Bella (NC)

#5 Natalya (NC)

#6 Sasha Banks (NC)

#7 Bayley (NC)

#8 Ember Moon (NC)

#9 Nia Jax (+2)

#10 Dana Brooke (-1)

Summary

Everything was quiet atop the Raw women's division. Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss at Hell in a Cell as expected and now it's only a matter of time to wait for her next challenger.

Unfortunately, things will probably remain quiet until Super Showdown is over when the expected Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella feud will begin.

Alexa Bliss herself may have suffered a minor injury, having now been replaced with Ember Moon in the Mixed Match Challenge, which could be an important spotlight for the former NXT Women's Champion.

Speaking of Ember Moon, she tag-teamed with a returning Nia Jax this week, picking up a victory over Mickie James and Alicia Fox.

Raw Tag Team Division

#1 Raw Tag Team Champions Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler (NC)

#2 The Shield (NC)

#3 The B-Team (NC)

#4 The Revival (NC)

#5 The Authors of Pain (NC)

#6 Bobby Roode and Chad Gable (NC)

#7 Titus Worldwide (NC)

#8 The Ascension (NC)

Summary

McIntyre and Ziggler retained their championships at Hell in a Cell. Not only was it the right call, it was one of the year's best matches, especially when it comes to the main roster.

This week's Raw had a ton of filler in the tag team division and nothing else changed. The Authors of Pain had another jobber squash match while Chad Gable had singles match against Viktor of the Ascension.

With the Revival and the B Team invisible, they might soon drop down the pecking order.

SmackDown Men's Division

#1 WWE Champion AJ Styles (NC)

#2 Samoa Joe (No.1 contender - NC)

#3 The Miz (NC)

#4 Daniel Bryan (NC)

#5 Randy Orton (+1)

#6 United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura (+1)

#7 Jeff Hardy (-2)

#8 Andrade "Cien" Almas (NC)

#9 Rusev (+1)

#10 Aiden English (+2)

Summary

#JusticeforJoe

Joe was robbed!

He remains the #1 contender, but unfortunately, we can soon expect to see him drop down the rankings. It's obvious that Joe won't win in Australia.

The Miz and Daniel Bryan will have a #1 contender's match of their own Down Under, which will affect the standings significantly going forward.

Meanwhile, Randy Orton dispatched Jeff Hardy in the main roster's most brutal match of the year, jumping ahead in the rankings, while a seemingly injured Hardy fell behind.

Shinsuke Nakamura had a successful title defense against Rusev on Tuesday, but the Bulgarian Brute pushed him to the limit.

Afterward, Aiden English struck, putting him in a significant feud and cementing his place in the top 10 ahead of R-Truth.

SmackDown Women's Division

#1 SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch (+1)

#2 Charlotte Flair (No.1 contender, -1)

#3 Carmella (NC)

#4 Asuka (NC)

#5 Peyton Royce and Billie Kay (tie - NC)

#6 Zelina Vega (NC)

#7 Lana (NC)

#8 Naomi (NC)

#9 Mandy Rose (NC)

#10 Sonya Deville (NC)

Summary

New champion! Becky Lynch said she would take her title back at Hell in a Cell and she did! After two years, the Irish Lass Kicker is back atop the throne of the SmackDown Women's Division.

She won't have long to rest, though, as she'll defend her title against the former champion at Super Showdown.

Further down the card, things were quiet. Asuka picked up a victory over Billie Kay en route to a tag team match at Super Showdown.

With all the pairings we've seen over the last few weeks, are women's tag team titles incoming?

SmackDown Tag Team Division

#1 SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (NC)

#2 The Bar (No.1 contenders - +1)

#3 The Usos (+1)

#4 Gallows and Anderson (+1)

#5 SAnitY (+1)

#6 The Colons (+1)

Summary

To the surprise of no one, Rusev Day was unsuccessful against the New Day at Hell in a Cell, and with the pairing now broken up, their tag team is dissolved, giving the other teams in the division a +1 by default.

The Bar set their sights on their championship match in Australia, with Cesaro picking up a victory over Kofi Kingston on Tuesday.

NXT Men's Division

#1 NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa (NC)

#2 Aleister Black (NC)

#3 Velveteen Dream (NC)

#4 NXT North American Champion Ricochet (NC)

#5 United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne (+2)

#6 Adam Cole (-1)

#7 Johnny Gargano (-1)

#8 Keith Lee (NC)

#9 Lars Sullivan (NC)

#10 Kassius Ohno (NC)

Summary

Ricochet and Pete Dunne had a match of the year candidate this week. It ended in a no contest, but Pete Dunne was the star in it, and Adam Cole's interference felt like a necessary if unwelcome, motion and nothing more.

Johnny Gargano remains nowhere to be seen after his descent into madness. He's the prime suspect in the Aleister Black investigation.

Atop the card, things were quieter. We await the results from the next few episodes.

NXT Women's Division

#1 NXT Women's Champion Kairi Sane (NC)

#2 Shayna Baszler (No. 1 contender - NC)

#3 Bianca Belair (NC)

#4 Nikki Cross (NC)

#5 Lacey Evans (NC)

#6 Aliyah (+2)

#7 Deonna Purrazzo (+2)

#8 Dakota Kai (-2)

#9 Candice LeRae (-2)

#10 Taynara Conti (NC)

Summary

The top half of the women's division didn't change, but the tag team match between Lacey Evans and Aliyah on one side and Dakota Kai and Deonna Purrazzo on the other was revealing.

Purrazzo was the sympathetic figure in the match while Dakota Kai was just there to take the pin from Lacey Evans.

By virtue of her partnership with Evans and a new gimmick, Aliyah might be on a role, though I have a hunch that both of them are being built up to be beaten, victimized, and conquered when Io Shirai arrives on NXT TV.

Candice LeRae remains a complete afterthought in the division, and if the spoilers from last night's tapings are any indication, she will continue to be. Her most important feature remains the fact that she's her husband's wife.

NXT Tag Team Division

#1 NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (NC)

#2 War Raiders (NC)

#3 Moustache Mountain (NC)

#4 Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch (NC)

#5 The Forgotten Sons (NC)

#6 The Street Profits (NC)

#7 Heavy Machinery (NC)

#8 The Mighty (NC)

#9 Adrian Jaoude and Cezar Bononi (NC)

Summary

Everything was quiet here, though Jaxson Ryker of the Forgotten Sons squashed a jobber convincingly.

The road to War Games will embroil the top of the card. We'll just have to see what develops.

Cruiserweight Division

#1 Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander (NC)

#2 Buddy Murphy (No.1 contender, NC)

#3 Drew Gulak (NC)

#4 Hideo Itami (NC)

#5 Mustafa Ali (NC)

#6 Lio Rush (NC)

#7 Akira Tozawa (NC)

#8 Noam Dar (NC)

#9 TJP (+1)

#10 Gran Metalik (-1)

Summary

To no one's surprise, Drew Gulak was unsuccessful in his title match against Cedric Alexander, thus setting up a rematch between the champion and Buddy Murphy in Australia.

With Alexander undefeated this year, there's no better time to make a new star than on October 6th in Melbourne.

Elsewhere, TJP picked up a convincing victory over Lince Dorado, ripping his mask off in the process. He picks up a spot, while Metalik moves down one.