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Every Saturday, WWE.com in association with the Academy of Wrestling Arts & Sciences (AWAS) publishes a top 25 rank list which ranks the WWE superstars on basis of their performance throughout the week.
This week the WWE universe saw many swerves and turns in the WWE landscape coupled with some intriguing in ring action. Randy Orton got in the wrong end of a singles match while John Cena kept his momentum intact with a win over Damien Sandow.
The hottest storyline in the company also took a big twist as Daniel Bryan shredded his outer skin to reveal what he stands for. The Shield got another one over CM Punk thus making the New Age Outlaws the focal point of attraction.
The company seems to be producing more and more talking points every week as the WrestleMania season brews more hot, so here is a look at this week’s big movers and shakers in the Power Rankings.
25- Curtis Axel (Previous Rank- 24)
Curtis Axel
The misery of Axel doesn’t seem to be ending any so as he ended the week with two loses. The first came in Raw against the Tag Team champions while the second came against Kofi Kingston who was hot from his upset of Randy Orton.
Axel drops one place and sees himself at the edge of Power Rankings with the Royal Rumble approaching fast.
24- Fandango (Previous Rank- 22)
Fandango
The WWE tried to reproduce the magic that Fandango and Big E Langston created some weeks back by putting the two in a rematch on SmackDown.
But Fandango went down this time without any grace and this sees him drop two places despite qualifying for the Royal Rumble.
23- The New Age Outlaws (Previous Rank- nil)
The New Age Outlaws
No one would’ve thought that the New Age Outlaws will stick around even after the Old School Raw. But the fact is that they did and is making a big impact in the process.
The best tag team division in the recent history is also providing the duo with a wonderful platform and we could see them continue this run for some more time giving that they’ve got one over the tag champions this week.
22- Xavier Woods (Previous Rank- 23)
Xavier Woods
At the moment Brodus Clays seems to the only opponent that is booked against Woods. The exciting young talent got another win over Clay at Superstars this week which has pushed him one place further in the rankings.
Woods also announced that he will be part of the Royal Rumble also which caps of a good week for the former NXT star.
21- R-Truth (Previous Rank- 19)
R-Truth
R-Truth didn’t have any in ring action this week and was limited as the color commentator at Superstars. The only positive that Truth can take from the week would be his Royal Rumble inclusion other ways, the lack of action drops him 2 places to 19th.
20- The Prime Time Players (Previous Rank- 20)
Prime time players
Though the Prime Time Players didn’t have the luxury of making appearance in the big TV shows but the duo managed to cap of the week by securing two wins in Superstars and Main Event by defeating 3MB. And this keeps them safe in the 20th place.
19- Kofi Kingston (Previous Rank- Nil)
Kofi Kingston
The good week for Kofi started when he announced that he would be in the Royal Rumble. He then went on to defeat the reigning unified champion Randy Orton causing the biggest upset in recent history.
He also got one over Curtis Axel in the week and the wins propel Kofi straight into the top twenty.
18- The Real Americans (Previous Rank- 17)
The Real Americans
The Real Americans had a bad week this time around as Jack Swagger went as low as a squash match against Big Show.
The duo then failed to produce an impressive performance against the red hot Usos at SmackDown as well and this makes them drop one spot to 18th.
17- Alberto Del Rio (Previous Rank-18)
Alberto Del Rio
Del Rio has been attracting some good amount of heat ever since his return after concussion and the Mexican ended the week with a win-loss record against Rey Mysterio.
But his rant against Batista is what stole the show and the future looks good for Del Rio at this rate.
16- Los Matadors (Previous Rank- 16)
Los Matadors
The exciting trio showcased some encouraging performance against the 3MB on main event. And that performance helps them to hang onto the 16th spot in the rankings.
15- Rey Mysterio (Previous Rank- 15)
Rey Mysterio
Mysterio got to a losing start on Raw against Alberto Del Rio but the ultimate underdog gained his revenge on SmackDown. He also revealed his intentions to win the Royal Rumble once again and all these keeps Mysterio in the 15th position.
14- Damien Sandow (Previous Ranking- 14)
Damien Sandow
Sandow lost out to John Cena on Raw in what looked like a squash match, but the self-proclaimed savior of the masses picked up the momentum by getting a win over Sin Cara at Main Event. The win covers up for his Raw loss and Sandow remains in his last week’s rankings.
13- Brie Bella (Previous Rank-13)
Brie Bella
The divas division doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and the first representative of that division on the rankings hasn’t done anything to say in particular.
She would be happy however for what her fiancé did during Raw but with her apparently out of the title situation now, expect Brie to drop in the coming weeks.
12- Ryback (Previous Rank-11)
Ryback
One of the trending topics on Twitter, Ryback showed some weird behavior on Main Event this time around. The tag loss against the Rhodes Brothers also didn’t do anything good for the superstar as he drops one place to 12th in the rankings.
11- The Big Show (Previous Rank- 12)
Big Show
The apparent feud with Brock Lesnar is clearly giving Show a big boost that he has been lacking in the recent times. The squash win against Jack Swagger on Raw and some intimidating microphone work at SmackDown against Paul Heyman moves Show to the edge of top ten.
10- AJ Lee (Previous Rank- 10)
AJ Lee
The Divas Champion has her eyes set on the record run and the tag win against the Funkadactyls at Raw helped her to build the momentum for the same.
She holds tight to the 10th position and also the coveted title of being the highest ranked Diva in the rankings.
9- The Wyatt Family (Previous Rank- 5)
Wyatt family
The Wyatt Family was in the wrong end of one of the biggest turns this week. The creepy guys were made to look weak for the first time since their debut as they stumbled upon two defeats to the Usos on Raw.
8- Rhodes Brothers (Previous Rank-7)
Rhodes Brothers
The reigning WWE tag team champions started off the week with an impressive win over Rybaxel in Raw but suffered a tainted loss to the New Age Outlaws on SmackDown.
The newest challengers for their title seem to be revealed also but the balanced week doesn’t prevent them from dropping one place to 8th.
7- Big E Langston (Previous Rank-8)
Big E Langston
The Intercontinental champion seemed to be back on track this week after his loss to Randy Orton last time around. Langston is working on rebuilding the momentum he lost in the process and capped it off with a win over Fandango at SmackDown.
6- The Usos (Previous Rank-9)
The Usos
Arguably the standout performers of the week, the Usos got wins in both Raw and SmackDown. They dispatched the Wyatts in a steel cage on Raw while getting one over the Real Americans at SmackDown too.
The wins propel them to 6th in the rankings and make them the highest ranked tag team in the division.
5- CM Punk (Previous Rank-4)
CM Punk
Punk witnessed the New Age Outlaws turn against him on Raw which resulted in his loss to the Shield. Another low point against the Shield was made further worst when Punk ended up being chokeslamed by the director of operations, Kane.
The Straight edge superstar seems to be making big strides to boost his eventual feud with Triple H but for now, the loses ain’t doing any good for Punk.
4- Daniel Bryan (Previous Rank- 6)
Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan got the headlines this week by breaking up with the Wyatt Family. The flying goat gave Bray Wyatt the beating of his life and celebrated the swerve on top of the steel cage while making the fans go wild.
Bryan proved once again that there aren’t many superstars in the roster that could provoke a similar fan reaction.
3- John Cena (Previous Rank- 3)
John Cena
Cena got an easy win over Damien Sandow at Raw and the Cenation leader also saw his feud with Randy Orton go to personal terms as Orton attacked Cena’s father.
The angle added some heat to the eventual match at Royal Rumble and the win against Sandow keeps Cena rooted to the third spot in the rankings.
2-Randy Orton (Previous Rank- 1)
Randy Orton
Orton suffered a big upset to Kofi Kingston on Raw. The nature of the defeat adds salt to the wound and Orton even snapped after the loss by beating out the frustration on John Cena’s father. The loss takes a lot of Orton’s momentum and the viper would be looking to gain it back as Royal Rumble edges closer.
1- The Shield (Previous Rank- 2)
The Shield
The rise of the trio into the top position shows that the change in taste of the WWE fans. The actual break up angle of the Shield is currently taking a back seat at the moment and the cracks seems to be filled for now.
Another win over CM Punk gets the hounds of justice to the top spot in the rankings and the trio carries an immense amount of momentum to Royal Rumble.
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