The Undertaker showed up this week and stuff got a little crazy. In this week’s edition of FanSided’s WWE Power Rankings, who jumped up and who fell during the week before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday night?
No matter how many Royal Rumble pay-per-views there’s been (30 to be precise), a “big four” show has to include The Undertaker. That’s just how things work around these parts.
When it looked like things were going to get chaotic between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar in the final minutes of Raw on Monday night, The Deadman awakened as only he could. Appearing out of nowhere, The Undertaker, Lesnar and Goldberg engaged in a staredown for the ages to close Monday’s show, leaving us to wonder what’s going to happen on Sunday night in San Antonio.
As for the blue brand on Tuesday nights, John Cena sounds like the throwback jersey-wearing kid from West Newbury as he torched WWE World Champion AJ Styles. The women fought inside and outside of the ring, Mojo Rawley — yes, that guy that reminds to always stay hype — won a spot in the Royal Rumble match, and Dolph Ziggler is destroying people.
So, with just days before the Royal Rumble, who climbed up and who fell in this pre-Rumble edition of the FanSided WWE Power Rankings?
(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.com
The Undertaker
Last week: N/A
He’s back. The Deadman made one hell of an impression during the go-home edition of Raw on Monday night. His shocking appearance in the Goldberg-Brock Lesnar segment may have looked all too familiar to many viewers, but the impact of it still remains. When the gong goes off, stuff is about to go down. The Undertaker currently doesn’t have a track for what could be his final WrestleMania match of his legendary career. Of course, we’ve been saying that for years now, but The Deadman’s not getting any younger. His time could be coming to an end, which means whenever he’s around, we should appreciate it.19
Mickie James
Last week: No. 19
Mickie James stays at No. 19 this week after a really good segment involving her, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch this past Tuesday. Her tone during her in-ring interview with Renee Young felt a little strange, but it made many reminiscence of the old Mickie James during her first run with WWE. It felt like she was close to flying off the handle and that’s when she’s at her psychotic best. Plus, the setup of running Lynch into an ambush from Bliss was fantastic. It’s good to have her back on the main roster.Next: No. 18 and 17: Bayley and The Boss
Credit: WWE.com
Sasha Banks
Last week: N/A
The reason why Nia Jax doesn’t have a spot after her dominant win on Raw this past week is because Sasha Banks is back. The Boss of the women’s division has been working an angle with a knee injury suffered in her Ironwoman match loss at Survivor Series against Charlotte Flair. She returned with a vengeance on Monday, drilling Nia repeatedly with a crutch that she brought to the ring as a disguise. The segment was well done and it got Sasha back on television, which is always great.17
Bayley
Last week: No. 17
The No. 1 contender for Raw’s Women’s Championship will also stay put in her position from last week. (That’s because of the performance from the superstar ahead of her this week.) Bayley wasn’t in action on Monday, but her taped interview with Corey Graves was great. It felt like Bayley; strong, motivated and able to relate. She may not win the title on Sunday and end Charlotte’s pay-per-view streak, but she looked good on Monday.Next: No. 16 and 15: Rich Swann had himself a week
Credit: WWE Network
Rich Swann
Last week: No. 18 (+2)
Rich Swann picked up a pinfall win over Noam Dar on Raw, then brawled with No. 1 contender Neville as 205Live went off the air this week. Simply put, the crusierweight champ has been busy this week. Although it appears that Swann’s title run is coming to an end with Neville back and looking better than ever, he’s not going down without a fight. With Nia Jax and the team of Cesaro and Sheamus taking their lumps this week, Swann’s week propelled him up a couple spots with a win and some assistance for Cedric Alexander on Tuesday night.15
Mojo Rawley
Last week: N/A
Mark it down today. This will probably be the highest you’ll ever see Mojo Rawley on this rankings list. Like, ever. But, it’s deserving after Rawley won a battle royal to gain entry into the Royal Rumble match on Sunday. This felt like a good move. The Rumble match can seem to drag on at times, but with the endless supply of energy that Rawley brings to a wrestling ring, it feels like a good fit for him to be one of the 30 superstars in the ring on Sunday night. Stay hype, San Antonio folks.Next: No. 14 and 13: The Lunatic and The Beast
Credit: WWE Network
Dean Ambrose
Last week: No. 14
The Lunatic Fringe won the Royal Rumble … er, a crazy Lumberjack match on SmackDown Live this past Tuesday night against The Miz for the Intercontential Championship. Like what was stated last week about Ambrose, moving him down a notch on the card was good for him and the overall product. He and Miz have done some fantastic work around the gold and that didn’t stop on Tuesday night either. He stays in the same spot on the list just because a duo behind him last week is boiling hot right now.13
Brock Lesnar
Last week: No. 11 (-2)
Monday wasn’t about Brock Lesnar getting revenge on Goldberg for that humiliating squash match at Survivor Series. No, the spotlight belonged to The Undertaker, hence why Lesnar fell a couple spots on the list. His appearance was rather uneventful, but the same can’t be said for what he does on Sunday night when he’s in action during the Royal Rumble match.Next: No. 12 and 11: Gallows and Anderson on the move
Credit: WWE.com
Roman Reigns
Last week: No. 12
Just like his fellow Shield brother of the past, Reigns stays put at No. 12. The Big Dog got the upper hand on JeriKO this past Monday night with a disqualification victory over Chris Jericho in a United State title rematch, which led to him locking Kevin Owens in the shark cage that was hovering above the ring and Superman Punching Jericho off that aforementioned cage. Reigns looked strong on Monday, but will he on Sunday in San Antonio?11
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
Last week: No. 13 (+2)
For the love of everything that is good, put Raw’s tag team titles on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows this instant. This is getting ridiculous. The former Bullet Club members in NJPW are dominating the tag team scene on Monday nights and they seem long overdue for a run with gold around their waists. They’ve dominated this feud with Cesaro and Sheamus — the current champs on Raw — but will that carry over onto the kickoff show this Sunday? (Semi-Spoiler alert: it should.)Next: No. 10 and 9: Seth Rollins is out of the Royal Rumble match
Credit: WWE.com
Seth Rollins
Last week: No. 8 (-2)
After an untimely distraction from Triple H –or his entrance music for that matter– Rollins lost to Sami Zayn in a really fun match on Monday to lose his entry spot in the match on Sunday night. The build feels like it’s getting ready to take off between Rollins and The Game and we could be in for a treat on Sunday night if The Game is in the house.
The Miz
Last week: No. 6 (-3)
At least The Miz has Maryse. The Miz lost to Dean Ambrose in his rematch for the Intercontinental title on Tuesday night, which leads to the question of, what’s next for The Miz? He’s dominated the Intercontinental title scene over the past year. What’s he going to do next? The main title picture is locked down for right now with John Cena’s return, but could Miz find himself back in the WWE title picture again?Next: No. 8 and 7: Ignorance is Bliss
Credit: WWE.com
Dolph Ziggler
Last week: No. 10 (+2)
Dolph Ziggler is wrecking fools as of late and if it wasn’t for the assistance of Apollo Crews on Tuesday night, who knows what Ziggler would’ve done to Kalisto after their match. This new edge Ziggler’s character has is good. It’s bad technically, but it’s good. The thoughts of an Ambrose-Ziggler package revolving around the Intercontinental title could be better than their feud over the WWE World Championship this past summer.7
Alexa Bliss
Last week: No. 9 (+2)
Alexa Bliss is just magical. She’s ferocious. And she rules as a champion on the blue brand. With Mickie James by her side, Bliss looks even more dangerous as champion. It appears she’s heading for a program with the returning Naomi, which could be really good moving forward. Naomi is long overdue for a title run and Bliss is a great worker on the mic and in the ring. The women on SmackDown continue to raise the bar and it starts with Bliss.Next: No. 6 and 5: BBBBRRRRAAAAAUUUUNNNN
Credit: WWE.com
Braun Strowman
Last week: No. 7 (+1)
BIG MAN DESTROY EVERYTHING IN PATH. (Well, except the Big Show, who basically came out of nowhere on Monday.) The staredown between Strowman and Show after Strowman picked up a victory on Raw was awesome. You can probably put your life savings on them knocking heads in the Royal Rumble match on Sunday night. It should be colossal. (Related note: This is my pick to win the Royal Rumble match.)5
Neville
Last week: No. 4 (-1)
Neville picked up a victory over Cedric Alexander on 205Live this week, but he’s struggled to get the upper hand on Rich Swann heading into their title match at the Royal Rumble, hence why he dropped a spot in this week’s rankings. The self-proclaimed “King of the Cruiserweights” could become just that with a win over Swann on Sunday.Next: No. 4 and 3: Owens enraged in a cage
Credit: WWE.com
Charlotte Flair
Last week: No. 3 (-1)
Charlotte’s taped interview with Corey Graves was really solid, but rather uneventful … just like her build with Bayley over the Raw Women’s Championship. She looked great on last week’s episode, but the build has been poor and she didn’t have the week that John Cena had, so she dropped a spot. Can she keep the unbeaten PPV streak alive on Sunday?3
Kevin Owens
Last week: No. 2 (-1)
Kevin Owens was having a good day at the office, until he actually decided to do some work. Owens accepted a United States rematch on behalf of Chris Jericho (much to Jericho’s dismay), then joined the commentary team on stage and was pure brilliance on the headset. Then, he got involved in the match, got Jericho disqualified, and then got locked in a shark cage like Jericho will be on Sunday for Owens’ match with Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship.Next: No. 2 and 1: The Face That Runs The Place vs. The Champ That Runs The Camp
Credit: WWE.com
John Cena
Last week: No. 5 (+3)
When John Cena really wants to cut a promo, not many in the business are better than he is. Cena laid waste to SmackDown’s champion on Tuesday night, telling the world that he’s still a “bad, bad man” and that his time to win his 16th world title and tie Ric Flair’s record is now. We’ll find out on Sunday, but with a new shirt and the same ol’ attitude, Cena could be in line to make history in SmackDown’s main event of the evening.1
AJ Styles
Last week: No. 1
The Champ That Runs The Camp maintains his top spot, but he’s going to need a huge night on Sunday to keep that spot heading into next week’s rankings. The Face That Runs The Place is hot on his heels and Styles’ title run could be coming to an end. But, Styles has yet to be beaten by Cena. That win streak could continue on Sunday night. If it does, you know who next week’s No. 1 will be.
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