The Power Rankings was bound to undergo some major changes this week due to Clash of Champions. And it was exactly what happened as the event went into the books. Kevin Owens retained the Universal championship with some help from his best friend when Roman Reigns got hold of the United States championship at the expense of Rusev.
As far as the SmackDown superstars were concerned, they were busy building up No Mercy and did not have the luxury of two shows that the superstars on Raw had. The Power Rankings saw some ups and downs compared to last week and here is a look at the same.
10: Becky Lynch
The women’s champion of SmackDown did not have a full-blown match this week on SmackDown, but she did have a segment with Alexa Bliss. Both the superstars signed their contract for No Mercy in the opening segment of SmackDown and things got a big heated. Becky showcased her promo skills and made her statement clear during the segment. Becky also got the upper hand over Alexa when the smoke settled down.
Becky might not wrestle before No Mercy and this could get her out of the Power Rankings in the coming weeks. It is this absence of inactivity that costs her this week as well as she drops a place.
9: TJ Perkins
After winning the Cruiserweight classic tournament a couple of weeks back, TJ Perkins got his first taste of the pay-per-view spotlight when he defended the Cruiserweight championship against Brian Kendrick at the show. Not only did the cruiserweights deliver the goods, TJ Perkins ended up on the winning side as he retained his Cruiserweight title.
It is a good start to Perkins’ reign as the champion and at the same time, it is also a good start for the division as a whole. Perkins looks set to stay in the Power Rankings on the longer run and he could get his next challenger this week.
8: Heath Slater and Rhyno
Just like Becky Lynch, Heath Slater and Rhyno did not have much to do this week. They were not involved in a match, but Slater and Rhyno did find a new set of challengers for their Tag Team championships. Usos defeated American Alpha to become the number one contenders for the tag team titles and both of these teams will go head to head at No Mercy.
Slater and Rhyno do hold a victory over the Usos and as the teams were already involved in a feud, WWE could come up with new ways to promote the match. However, the inactivity results in a drop in rankings for the champions.
7: The Miz
The Miz makes an entry into the Power Rankings this week thanks to his win over Dolph Ziggler at SmackDown. Miz is one of the hottest heel characters in the entire WWE roster and has been excelling for quite some time now. He successfully regained his Intercontinental championship at Backlash and repeated the same in the week that went by.
Miz is also in high grounds when it comes to his contract negotiations with Daniel Bryan, in turn turning him into an integral part of the SmackDown show. The Miz- Ziggler saga is far from over and we might get new chapters in the coming weeks.
6: Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins challenged Kevin Owens unsuccessfully at Clash of Champions. The Architect, who had a higher ranking last time around, drops a few places due to the loss he suffered on Sunday night. There are rumors about a potential injury that Rollins suffered during the match and if that is the case, it would be salt on the wound for him.
Ahead of his match at Clash of Champions, Rollins also had a good showing on Monday Night Raw. His match with Rusev ended in a double count-out while he was a major part of the chaotic main event as well. The loss against Owens is a huge disappointment for Rollins nevertheless.
5: Dean Ambrose
The Lunatic fringe had a great week and would’ve been higher in the rankings if it wasn’t for the Monday night Raw superstars that got some huge momentum at Clash of Champions. Ambrose, who secured his place in the Triple Threat match at No Mercy, got a clean win over John Cena at SmackDown this week.
Ambrose vs. Cena was the main event of this week’s show and the win came as a big surprise to many people. Ambrose looks set to have a good run ahead of No Mercy, but there are some speculations making rounds about Ambrose taking a hiatus from the company after the pay-per-view, which might in turn, impact his power rankings.
4: Roman Reigns
The Samoan Superman started off his week on the best way possible by getting a clean win over WWE Universal champion Kevin Owens. Both men battled inside a steel cage on Monday Night Raw and Reigns escaped the cage before Owens to get the win. Just a few days later at Clash of Champions, Reigns defeated Rusev to become the United States Champion.
Reigns is on a hot run at the moment and with the US championship win, he seems unstoppable at the moment. In the post-match interview, he said that the main event is where he belongs and his huge leap in the power rankings suggests so.
3: Charlotte
Charlotte came into Clash of Champions as an underdog. Despite being a dominant champion, Charlotte was considered to be the least favourite in the triple threat women’s championship match which also had Bayley and Sasha Banks. But Charlotte once again proved her doubters wrong by taking home a solid win on Sunday night.
Of course, she did have some help from Dana Brooke but then again, in the record books, it still counts as a win for the champion. With the win, Charlotte once again stamped her place on top of the division and it would be interesting to see what challenge WWE throws in next for the champ.
2: AJ Styles
AJ Styles did not have any matches this week but manages to keep hold of his position in the Power Rankings. He watched from the sidelines as two of his challengers fought in the main event of SmackDown.
After Ambrose got the win over Cena, AJ did get a brief time period of dominance over the Lunatic Fringe. But his momentum was cut out by Daniel Bryan, who announced a huge WWE championship match for the upcoming week. Styles will have to defend his title against Ambrose on SmackDown this week and it would be good to see the champion back in action as another week of inactivity would have cost him in the power rankings.
1: Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens did not have the best of starts to the week as he suffered a loss against Roman Reigns on Monday Night Raw. Although it was a close one, Owens took the blow and had to bounce back strongly at Clash of Champions. The reigning Universal champion did just that as he managed to keep hold of his championship by defeating Seth Rollins at the pay-per-view.
Owens received some help from his best friend Chris Jericho to keep the title intact, but the reign continues and that’s what really matters. He keeps his position on top of the Power rankings due to the title win on Sunday night as we head into another exciting week of action from WWE.
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