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By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
As promised, here’s the first edition of my Raw Tier List sorting where each member of the roster lines up with their fellow Superstars.
For anyone who didn’t read my SmackDown Tier List last week, CLICK HERE for a more thorough explanation of how this article will work, as well as explanations on where everyone from Team Blue landed.
Please, please read the explanation! This is a kayfabe-based list focusing on the level of importance Superstars from each brand are being presented on TV at the moment, meant to generate discussion. This is NOT a list of who I think is better than who at wrestling.
Once again, here’s the basic definition for each category:
A+: Biggest stars in the company
A: Main eventers
B+: Could be booked in main events
B: Could be in midcard title contention
C+: Regularly appearing on TV
C: Appearing sporadically on shows
D: Falling out of interest
F: Chasing 24/7 Title
Big name Superstars who are not on television for whatever reason at the moment – like Edge, Becky Lynch, The Big Show and Naomi – have been left off the list.
I also grouped Bobby Lashley separate from The Hurt Business for reasons I’ll explain when we get there.
Before we break down each category, here’s where everyone on Raw stands as a whole.
One last brief reminder …
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Now, without further ado, here's my Raw Tier List.
It’s hard to argue that these aren’t four of the faces of WWE.
Drew McIntyre won the Royal Rumble last year, defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, had a solid run with the title, quickly regained the belt after losing it and foiled a Money in the Bank cash-in attempt.
Because of this, McIntyre has been made to look like one of the strongest competitors in the entire company.
Similarly, The Fiend was a fixture of SmackDown before moving to Raw where he’s become one of the focal points of the show.
His association with Alexa Bliss freshened up the character and by all accounts Wyatt continues to make money for the company with Fiend merchandise.
Getting "burned alive" by Randy Orton has left his character in a unique limbo at present day, but I doubt WWE is planning to extinguish The Fiend from TV altogether.
Orton has been on fire too – well, more like lighting the fire, but you get what I mean. He's currently having one of the best runs of his career and the pandemic didn't slow that down one bit.
The former WWE Champion is guaranteed to be a Hall of Famer one day and he’ll probably be in this tier for as long as I’m writing these articles.
Charlotte Flair may have been absent from TV for the past 6 months, but there's no question she's still "The Queen" of WWE and likely being setup for a big WrestleMania match now that she's returned.
The A+ category is for people considered to be the faces of the company, and I'm not sure AJ Styles falls into that category at the moment.
"The Phenomenal One" is still in a prime position with the other A's though after losing to Drew McIntyre at TLC, just not at the very top ... which isn't a bad thing at all.
Alexa Bliss may not competing in women’s title matches these days – and tonight we'll hopefully find out if she was truly burned alive by Randy Orton last week – but her character is consisently one of the highlights of WWE TV each time she’s on screen.
As I previously stated, Bray Wyatt’s association with Alexa freshened things up for his character.
Likewise, it did the exact same thing for Bliss.
Asuka's foray into the Women's Tag Team division and recent pairing with Charlotte Flair seems designed to setup a possible WrestleMania match between the two wrestlers.
Much like AJ Styles, though, it doesn't feel like Asuka is currently positioned as one of the faces of Monday Night Raw ... even if she's one of the best performers on the roster.
I realize some may think Asuka and Charlotte should be swapped in their positions on this list, but Flair's booking shows me that she's considered to be one of the pillars of modern day WWE.
Despite no longer holding the Raw Tag Team titles, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods maintain a strong connection with the fans that will likely never go away. Losing belts or matches won't affect that.
Kofi is also a former World champion and Woods hosts one of WWE's most popular YouTube channels, so they've got name value.
The loss of Big E hasn't hurt the duo either at this point. Everyone knows they'll all reunite when the time is right.
As for The Miz and Sheamus … they’re basically in the same spot.
Either one could be slotted in a World title program on Raw with the proper story/build and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to fans. But at the same time, they could also be used in a midcard program and fans wouldn’t view it as a demotion either.
Bobby Lashley is in a similar position, even if he's being booked in a more dominant way, which is why I why singled him out from The Hurt Business. He's the only member of the group who could believably headline a pay-per-view right now with the right story.
Braun Strowman, John Morrison, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler seem to be held in high regard by management, as they've all been featured pretty regularly on Raw since the Draft.
The jury is still out, though, on what will happen with Keith Lee in the coming months of television.
The "Limitless" performer came out of the gates running upon his arrival in WWE, but then his pace slowed down a little.
Now, he's got another big opportunity on his hands tonight as he faces-off against Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Seeing as how he's the favorite to lose, though, the match could end up doing damage to how he's viewed in the eyes of fans.
Putting the belts on Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin was a smart decision. The team has been clicking and this gave them a much needed credibility boost.
I have a feeling they'll move up a tier by the time I write the next edition of these articles after WrestleMania.
Riddle could be in the same boat if management continue to enjoy his Spicoli-esque antics.
Elias, on the other hand, seems to be treading water a little since returning from injury. His program with Jeff Hardy had its moments, but his status appears to be dropping at a rapid rate. Pairing him with Jaxson Ryker didn't help matters either.
Hopefully the singing Superstar doesn't continue to freefall.
Jeff Hardy was on a hot streak before being drafted to Raw, but the move of shows caused his position to drop slightly.
Ultimately, however, his recent association with Riddle could be a blessing in disguise for both performers. They seem to compliment each other in a fun way and WWE trademarking the "Hardy Bros" name might mean we'll be seeing more from the duo.
Including RETRIBUTION in the C category might be a bit generous, but they’re at least on TV still.
Unfortunately, their stock continues to plummet.
Something needs to be done to make fans invested in RETRIBUTION again. They have massive potential due to the sheer amount of talent in the group.
If there are no plans to do that, WWE creative should give up on the project and use each member of the group in their original forms.
They’re all good wrestlers/characters.
Meanwhile ... Lacey Evans, Mandy Rose and R-Truth aren’t being used badly when they're on TV.
This seems like the right level for all three.
There are WAY too many talented people in the D category.
People like Drew Gulak, Ricochet, Andrade and Angel Garza have all proven they can go. Nikki Cross and Peyton Royce are super entertaining in and out of the ring.
It shouldn’t be difficult to find something for them to do.
Gulak's Elimination Chamber match last year with Daniel Bryan was something fans raved about.
Ricochet can be used for more than just fodder for other factions to defeat.
Andrade wasn't even drafted for some reason, and there's been no talk of him at all since!
I would love to see all of these performers used in a more substantial way going forward.
I'm not hating whatsoever. This is just the reality of things right now, in my opinion, based on how little these people are being used.
Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I think Gran Metalik should be given a bigger push. Thankfully, this might be coming to fruition. Since I put this list together for graphics purposes, he's defeated The Miz on Raw and made an appearance in NXT.
This is solid progress. Keep it going, please.
I would also love to see some new character development from Tucker. His turn on Otis was treated as an afterthought when it was done and I don't really understand why.
Give the guy a chance to prove his worth as a singles performer.
The loss of Raw Underground moved Erik back to the 24/7 train as he awaits the return of his tag team partner, but I personally would like to see him in singles matches until then. That Viking Raider can go.
Humberto Carillo is another one who was been mostly relegated to Main Event, for some reason, even though fans (including myself) were digging his act.
Here's the best part about wrestling, though ...
Each of these performers can be hot again in the blink of an eye with the right storyline or string of matches. Like I said, this isn't a list based on talent, and things in WWE move at an incredibly rapid pace.
People like Becky Lynch, Kofi Kingston, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre are all proof that in an instant, anyone can be at the top of the card in WWE. No matter where they were placed before.
When the next one of these lists comes out after WrestleMania, there will hopefully be some drastic shifts to discuss (which is what makes this whole thing fun).
Feel free to share the main image on social media and tag @WWEonFOX or @RyanSatin with your opinions.
My replies finally cooled down after the SmackDown Tier List on Friday, but I have a feeling they'll be heating up again after this.
Make sure to check out the WWE Superstar profiles on the FOX Sports app and FOXSports.com and star your favorites to stay up to date on their latest happenings!
