Raw continued their weekly shenanigans, while SmackDown Live prepared for WWE Elimination Chamber in their go-home episode this week. Who rose and fell among superstars in both shows for the pre-Elimination Chamber edition of FanSided’s WWE Superstar Power Rankings?
Before SmackDown Live gives us the 20th Elimination Chamber match in WWE history this coming Sunday night, some things went down on their go-home show, along with Raw setting up some stuff for their Fastlane pay-per-view in March.
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman is like when an irresistable force meets an immovable obj … wait, wait … this has already been done before … like the 1,500 John Cena vs. Randy Orton matches under WWE’s billing, am I right?
In all seriousness, the blue brand was busy during their go-home show on Tuesday night, booking three more matches on top of the four that were already on the Elimination Chamber card, including Becky Lynch taking on Mickie James in the “Who Will Steal Mike’s Heart” match to settle it once and for all.
In this pre-Elimination Chamber edition of FanSided’s WWE Superstar Power Rankings, we had some movement, including someone new entering the fold as everybody’s favorite gentleman.
(Disclaimer: The wrestlers chosen for this power rankings list only appear on Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live, so that means no NXT/205Live specific stars are on this list.)
Credit: WWE Network
Gentleman Jack Gallagher
Last week: N/A
In case you may not know who Gentleman Jack Gallagher is, he’s the guy that spun his umbrella between Chris Jericho’s legs during the Royal Rumble match and made everybody wonder why this guy hasn’t been on WWE programming sooner than he was. Yeah, I know … he won a No. 1 contender’s Fatal Five-Way (yes, five) on 205Live this week, but with him becoming the No. 1 contender to King Neville’s Cruiserweight title, you’re going to see him on Raw a few times before the Fastlane pay-per-view next month, which is a good thing. Just look for the guy as pale as Sheamus is with a killer mustache.19
Chris Jericho
Last week: N/A
Speaking of that Jericho guy, Chris comes in at No. 19 this week after receiving a bit of assistance from his best friend in the whole world to retain the United States title on Monday night against Sami Zayn. Owens drilled his former best friend with a kick that provided Jericho all he needed to nail a Codebreaker and continue his reign as champion. Plus, he had the guts to put Super Bowl LI MVP Tom Brady on “The List”, so by rule, he lands a spot on this week’s list.Next: Nos. 18 and 17: Reigns continues to fall
Credit: WWE.com
Luke Harper
Last week: No. 20 (+2)
Luke Harper will finally get a shot at Randy Orton on Sunday night at Elimination Chamber and looked good heading into the show this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live. He found himself in the middle of the main event between Orton and WWE World Champion John Cena (and Bray Wyatt), and drilled Wyatt out of the ring. He avoided an RKO attempt from Orton, which gave Cena the opening he needed to win the match with an Attitude Adjustment. Just like the next guy on the list, Harper continues to look better and better.17
Roman Reigns
Last week: No. 14 (-3)
Roman Reigns not only got beat by Samoa Joe in his Raw debut match, he got slammed through a barricade by BRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN Strowman this past Monday night. Reigns will get his shot at Strowman next month at Fastlane, but it’s been a struggle for The Big Dog lately. He lost at the Royal Rumble to Kevin Owens (thanks to Strowman), he was the last one eliminated in the Royal Rumble match and then lost in two different ways to close out Monday’s show, too.Next: Nos. 16 and 15: The Lone Wolf
Credit: WWE Network
Sami Zayn
Last week: No. 16
Luckily for Sami Zayn, I can look past losing this past Monday night on Raw in a United States title match he earned two weeks ago. The main reason why is because of what he’s done outside of the ring and voicing his support for Syrian refugees + supporting his home province of Quebec after a massacre at a local mosque. Sometimes, stuff is bigger than sports and entertainment. (Plus, Sami’s totally going to win the United States title soon. It’s going to happen.)15
Baron Corbin
Last week: No. 19 (+4)
Barry Corbin rules, guys. Not only did Corbin pick up a win in a Fatal Four-Way match against AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and The Miz this past Tuesday night, he drilled Styles with the End of Days to seal the victory. A pinfall victory over the former WWE World Champion and two other world champions for that matter is a pretty big deal for a pretty big dude. He could be in line for a huge night at Elimination Chamber in the main event.Next: Nos. 14 and 13: Two SmackDown champions
Credit: WWE Network
Alexa Bliss
Last week: No. 12 (-2)
Is there anyone that needs a win on Sunday night more than Alexa Bliss? It’s been a rough go-around for the SmackDown Women’s Champion lately and things haven’t gotten much better. Her trio lost during the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show and it appears that Naomi has her number going into Elimination Chamber. She needs a victory on Sunday in the worst way to stop her slide down this list.13
Dean Ambrose
Last week: No. 11 (-2)
The only reason(s) that Dean Ambrose fell this week (despite not taking the pinfall on Tuesday night) was because the two stars right behind him have been so good in recent weeks. (More on those two in a second.) It’s not that Ambrose has been bad by any means, but he’s just relatively been there on the SmackDown roster. Sunday night will give Ambrose a nice platform in the main event.Next: Nos. 12 and 11: Samoa Joseph
Credit: WWE.com
Nia Jax
Last week: No. 15 (+3)
Nia Jax’s performance and booking has been flawless in recent weeks and her recent beatdown of Bayley hasn’t changed matters whatsoever. She’s been fantastic as the new dominant woman in the women’s division on Raw. No woman wants any part of her. Just ask Sasha Banks and Bayley about how strong Jax is. She’s only getting better and that’s scary for the rest of the women’s roster.11
Samoa Joe
Last week: No. 13 (+2)
Samoa Joe’s first few segments on Raw have gone as followed: He destroyed Seth Rollins (and unfortunately his MCL as well) in the final segment of Raw two weeks ago and then beat Roman Reigns in the main event on Raw this past Monday night. Joe is a victory over Ambrose away from being known as “The Shield Killer”. It took forever for Joe to finally join the main roster in WWE, but so far, he’s been as good as advertised.Next: Nos. 10 and 9: The Phenomenal Tumbler
Credit: WWE.com
The Miz
Last week: No. 10
Like Ambrose, The Miz hasn’t done anything to ruin his spot on this list lately. He’s been just as solid as anyone on the roster and yeah, you better be prepared when The Miz wins another Money in the Bank ladder match later this year and steals another world title away from someone. It’s going to happen.9
AJ Styles
Last week: No. 6 (-3)
Things just aren’t going AJ Styles’ way lately. Like, at all. Not only did Styles lose the WWE World Championship at the Royal Rumble, the Atlanta Falcons blew a 25-point lead in Super Bowl LI, and Styles was pinned by Baron Corbin in the Fatal Four-Way match on SmackDown Live by Baron Corbin this past Tuesday night. Styles gets a shot at regaining the gold this Sunday night, but he’s going to enter the Elimination Chamber for the first time. That’s a tough spot to be in for The Phenomenal One.Next: Nos. 8 and 7: The Viper stays put
Credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton
Last week: No. 8
Thankfully for The Viper, AJ Styles had a tougher time on SmackDown Live this past week than he did. The 2017 Royal Rumble winner lost a hard-fought match in the main event on Tuesday against WWE World Champion John Cena (Spoiler alert: he’s No. 1 on this list.) Was it a WrestleMania 33 preview? It very well could’ve been. Before Orton gets to WrestleMania, he has to deal with an angry and unpredictable Luke Harper at Elimination Chamber.7
Dolph Ziggler
Last week: No. 9 (+2)
Sure, Dolph Ziggler got stuck in a 2-on-1 Handicap match for Elimination Chamber against Apollo Crews and Kalisto on Sunday, but Ziggler got the last laugh with his two opponents on SmackDown Live. Ziggler was defeated by Crews, but he got some payback via chair shots to Crews and Kalisto, who came down to the ring to help out his partner for Sunday night.Next: Nos. 6 and 5: Lady Flair and The Club
Credit: WWE
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
Last week: No. 7 (+1)
The Raw Tag Team title-holders won via disqualification on Monday night in a rematch against Cesaro and Sheamus thanks to Enzo and Cass involving themselves into the title picture. We may have gotten a little preview of our Fastlane match for the Raw Tag Team Championship on Monday night. Despite Enzo and Cass’s involvement, the champs *technically* won the match, so that’s my argument for them moving up a spot. Deal with it.5
Charlotte Flair
Last week: No. 5
Not that Nia Jax needed any help on Monday night against Bayley, but the Raw Women’s Champion did give a little assist to Jax in her victory with a distraction late in the match that basically sealed the deal. Charlotte is trying to do all she can to get Bayley out of her way and assisting the most dominant woman in the division today is probably a good way of doing just that.Next: Nos. 4 and 3: Good god, Braun
Credit: WWE.com
Neville
Last week: No. 3 (-1)
Neville didn’t do anything wrong lately. He’s just not Braun Strowman. After the Monday night that Strowman had, it was going to be hard for the “King of the Cruiserweights” to maintain his spot inside the top three rankings on this list. His upcoming match with Gentleman Jack Gallagher should be a fun one.3
Braun Strowman
Last week: No. 4 (+1)
Good lord. Braun Strowman is a freak. After dominating four random people by himself on Raw, he powerslammed Roman Reigns through the barricade after costing Reigns his match against Samoa Joe in the main event on Monday. He eliminated more superstars than anyone at the Royal Rumble (7), he kicked Chris Jericho into the next state last week and looked as dominant as anyone this week. He’s a future world champion and that time could be coming sooner rather than later.Next: Nos. 2 and 1: The Champ(s)
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Kevin Owens
Last week: No. 2
Owens helped his current best friend defeat his other best friend from many moons ago on Raw in their United States title match this week. Unfortunately for Owens, that’s not all that happened. He –well, more specifically, Chris Jericho– got involved with Goldberg and uh, yeah … Owens is going to have to defend the WWE Universal Championship against Goldberg at Fastlane. Technically, Monday night was a good one for Owens in successfully helping Chris Jericho retain his gold, but getting put into a match with Bill Goldberg seems bad.1
John Cena
Last week: No. 1
The Champ is still here at No. 1 this week. Cena defeated Randy Orton in SmackDown Live’s main event and will roar into the Elimination Chamber on Sunday night with a boatload of momentum. However, could Sunday night mark the bitter end of Cena’s record-tying world title reign? He’s been rumored for all kinds of WrestleMania opportunities and that’s not even including what’s waiting for himself outside of the ring in Hollywood. Cena’s becoming what he’s railed against in the past, but to be fair, it’s hard to turn down those paychecks and he’s not going to be able to wrestle forever, believe it or not. He’s the top guy here for now, but things could change soon.
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