WWE Crown Jewel has come and gone and now we’ll turn our attention to Survivor Series: War Games, scheduled for Saturday, November 26 on Peacock. There’s only two weeks to build this event, so it should be fascinating to see the pieces fall into place in rapid fashion.
This week on Raw, we saw Triple H’s imprint on creative in two significant ways. First, we saw Nikki Cross win the 24/7 Championship from Dana Brooke and (try to) throw it in the trash can. There was a time where fans were actually excited about the prospect of a 24/7 Championship used in the vein of the old Hardcore Title or even a new spin with the digital/social media world we live in today. However, the 24/7 Championship was mostly treated as a joke and we’re probably better off without it.
Perhaps more significantly, we saw Austin Theory cash in his Money in the Bank contract for a shot at Seth Rollins’ United States Championship on Monday. This isn’t exactly how we envisioned his “cash in” going down. Making matters worse, it was unsuccessful due to Bobby Lashley wreaking havoc. You could make the case that the context of the attack from Lashley protects Theory to an extent, but it will still go down as an unsuccessful cash-in that wasn’t even for the top prize. Maybe Theory is better off without the briefcase? We’re about to find out.
Let’s get into this week’s rankings. Be sure to read on beyond the table for our write-ups.
Change Key:
NC = No Change from last week
NR = Not Ranked last week
Plus = Moved up from last week
Minus = Moved down from last week
| Rank | Superstar | Brand | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Reigns – Undisputed WWE Universal Champion | SmackDown | +1 |
| 2 | Bianca Belair — Raw Women’s Champion | Raw | +1 |
| 3 | Seth “Freakin’” Rollins — United States Champion | Raw | -2 |
| 4 | The Bloodline — Undisputed Tag Team Champions | SmackDown | NC |
| 5 | Imperium — Intercontinental Champion | SmackDown | NC |
| 6 | The Judgment Day | Raw | NC |
| 7 | Ronda Rousey — SmackDown Women’s Champion | SmackDown | +1 |
| 8 | Damage CTRL — Women’s Tag Team Champions | Raw | +2 |
| 9 | Bobby Lashley | Raw | -2 |
| 10 | Braun Strowman | SmackDown | +1 |
| 11 | Brock Lesnar | Raw | +7 |
| 12 | Drew McIntyre | SmackDown | NR |
| 13 | Bray Wyatt | SmackDown | +2 |
| 14 | Baron Corbin | Raw | +2 |
| 15 | Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett | SmackDown | -1 |
| 16 | Alexa Bliss & Asuka | Raw | -5 |
| 17 | The O.C. | Raw | -4 |
| 18 | Nikki Cross | Raw | NR |
| 19 | Logan Paul | SmackDown | +1 |
| 20 | The New Day | SmackDown | NR |
1) Roman Reigns — Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, (+1)
The Tribal Chief has returned to his rightful place atop our Power Rankings after knocking off Logan Paul in a fantastic bout for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on Saturday at Crown Jewel. Paul gave Reigns a run for his money and it’s a credit to how quick a study of wrestling Paul has been and how good Roman is to put on such a great contest with someone with such few matches on his resume.
It’s yet to be seen what’s next for The Head of the Table, but it could involve a War Games Match with the rest of The Bloodline at Survivor Series in a few weeks. No matter what it is, though, it’s sure to be pure gold, as that’s all Roman’s been creating for months whether it’s between the bells, with a mic in his hand or a camera on him backstage.
2) Bianca Belair — Raw Women’s Champion, (+1)
Bianca was able to stave off Bayley’s latest challenge for her Raw Women’s Championship at Crown Jewel in their Last Woman Standing Match with some pretty creative thinking. After hitting a vicious KOD, she pinned Bayley’s leg into a ladder before then trapping the ladder under the ropes, creating a puzzle of flesh, metal and ring that her opponent couldn’t solve before the 10 count.
The match itself was also another hard-hitting crowd pleaser that would be expected of Belair and an opponent of Bayley’s caliber. Add to it that she’s already slated for Survivor Series with a War Games Match against Damage CTRL and Nikki Cross and we got ourselves a tease of her NXT rivalry with Rhea Ripley coming to the main roster soon, and it was a pretty strong week for the champ. The only blip being that she was left lying on Raw after a Damager CTRL beatdown, but it’s not enough bad to outweigh all the good.
3) Seth “Freakin’” Rollins - United States Champion, (-2)
Things didn’t go quite Seth “Freakin’” Rollins’ way this week. After being left off the card at Crown Jewel, he was manhandled by Bobby Lashley on Raw. Rollins survived a Money in the Bank cash in from Austin Theory, but that was only because Lashley decided to cause even more havoc and destroy Theory as well.This could be setting up for a fun program between Rollins, Lashley, Theory and Mustafa Ali, but for now we have to give Rollins a bump since Belair and Reigns had far better weeks.
4) The Bloodline — Undisputed Tag Team Champions, (NC)
This time next week, we may need to move The Bloodline up to the very top of the list (or just below their Tribal Chief). Jimmy & Jey Uso are one match away from overcoming The New Day’s record of 483 days as the longest-reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history, and they’ll have to overcoming that very team to do so this Friday on SmackDown.
But that’s next week. This week, they stand pat and came close to overtaking Seth Rollins after another banger of a title defense against The Brawling Brutes at Crown Jewel. That was followed up on Raw with a strong promo with The New Day and Matt Riddle before group enforcer Solo Sikoa surprisingly pinned Riddle for the one, two, three in a Six Man Tag Team Match between the opposing trio and the faction. Right now, The Bloodline just doesn’t know how to lose.
5) Imperium — Intercontinental Champion, (NC)
Imperium keeps their spot in the rankings after Gunther retained his Intercontinental Championship against Rey Mysterio last Friday on SmackDown. Needless to say, it was a contrast in styles. There were some thrilling near-falls on both sides, and it times it looked like Mysterio just might pull off the massive upset, but Gunther turned a potential 619 into a brutal boot to the face followed by a devastating clothesline to pull off the victory. And he did it clean, without any help from Ludwig Kaiser or Giovanni Vinci. Gunther’s next challenger will come from the “World Cup” tournament on SmackDown, so we’ll have to wait and see what that entails. Still, “The Ring General” is standing tall for now.
6) The Judgment Day — Raw, (NC)
No change for The Judgment Day here this week, after picking up another victory over The O.C. thanks to “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley. A solid match overall between the two teams with Finn Balor scoring the pinfall over A.J. Styles. On Raw this week, Balor had his eyes set on answering the WWE United States Championship Open Challenge from Seth Rollins but things didn’t go according to plan. The O.C. came out to confront the group, but this time they had a plan to combat Ripley.
Mia Yim has returned to WWE to align herself with The O.C.. Her return took The Judgment Day by surprise and sent them on retreat. Once given a chance to process what happened the foursome remained confident in knowing they will ultimately stay on top. There also was a potential tease of things to come with Ripley and Bianca Belair crossing paths as Ripley never did get that championship opportunity she rightfully earned over the summer. Either way, once their current feuds wrap up we have a WrestleMania level money match ready and waiting.
7) Ronda Rousey — SmackDown Women’s Champion, (+1)
The Smackdown Women’s champion rises this week even though she wasn’t in action. Pairing “The Rowdy One” with her real-life friend and fellow Four Horsewoman Shayna Baszler makes perfect sense for this new heel persona for Ronda Rousey. Rousey helping Baszler remember who she is and just how dangerous she can be is great storytelling. Rousey being at ringside supporting her friend as she choked out Natalya and then imploring her to finish the job by shattering her former tag team partner’s nose with a knee shows what can happen when two of the most dangerous women on the planet stand side by side.
8) Damage CTRL — Women’s Tag Team Champions, (+2)
Stop me if you’ve heard this line before...It’s been a mixed bag for Damage CTRL this week. At Crown Jewel Dakota Kai and IYO SKY regained the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships that they lost just five days earlier which helps the group as a whole regain some momentum on the rankings this week. Kai and SKY had another back-and-forth match with Alexa Bliss and Asuka picking up the victory after some interference from Nikki Cross. While Bayley came up short against Bianca Belair in a Last Woman Standing match. The key thing that can still be said is that Belair still has not pinned or submitted Bayley while Bayley has two pinfall victories over the champion.
This feud continues as we head into our next Premium Live Event Survivor Series WarGames. As Belair, Bliss, and Asuka issued the challenge for a 5-on-5 WarGames match which Damage CTRL promptly accepted revealing that they have recruited Cross to join their team. Damage CTRL was at ringside as Nikki Cross took on Dana Brooke for the 24/7 Championship which she won. With a completely unhinged Nikki Cross by their side who else will Bayley, Kai and SKY look to join their team for WarGames?
9) Bobby Lashley — Raw, (-2)
“The All Mighty” showed why he has that nickname at Crown Jewel. He dominated that match for 97% of it targeting Brock Lesnar’s leg, delivering spear after spear, showing that he can tame “The Beast”. Lesnar had a brief comeback trying to put away Lashley with suplexes and an F-5 but it wasn’t enough. Lashley regained the upper hand locking in the Hurt Lock where Lesnar seemed to be fading but was able to kick off the turnbuckles land on Lashley and pick up the win. This is why Lashley takes a bit of a step back here this week in the rankings. After the match though Lashley put the Hurt Lock back on Lesnar eventually making him pass out.
To follow that up Lashley went out on Raw and brutalized Seth Rollins and Mustafa Ali making a statement that he wants his WWE United States Championship back. And just for good measure, Lashley came back to ensure that Austin Theory didn’t just take advantage of his work by putting Theory through the same destruction that Rollins and Ali suffered. Lashley has made it very clear that he is not about winning matches right now he’s about hurting people and making them pay until he gets his title back.
10) Braun Strowman — SmackDown, (+1)
Braun Strowman gets a small bump up in the ranks this week after imposing his will on MVP during Smackdown then following that up with a victory over Omos at Crown Jewel. “The Monster of All Monsters” certainly had his full clashing with “The Nigerian Giant” in an entertaining match that ultimately lived up to the spectacle of these two massive human beings. Now as Strowman emphatically states that he is exactly who he says he is it will be interesting to see where he goes from here could he get involved in the SmackDown World Cup and line up a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship?
11) Brock Lesnar — Raw, (+7)
Bobby Lashley mostly dominated the match against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, but “The Beast” was able to sneak out a victory in somewhat fluky fashion after kicking off the turnbuckle while in the Hurt Lock. Lashley fell on his back with Lesnar on top of him and his shoulders were ruled down for the 1-2-3. Lashley took out his frustration on Lesnar after the match, so it’s clear that this rivalry isn’t over yet. Of course, Lashley beat Lesnar at Royal Rumble, so they are each have a win under their belts. The rubber match awaits at some point down the road. It’s unclear when we’ll see Lesnar next, so he’s likely to slide down this list in future weeks.
12) Drew McIntyre — SmackDown, (NR)
Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross collided in a steel cage match at Crown Jewel and this time “The Scottish Warrior” was able to walk away with the victory. Or jump, really. Scarlett once again tried to do her best to influence the result, first macing McIntyre and the official and eventually locking the cage door. However, McIntyre just climbed the cage instead while Scarlett fumbled with the keys trying to help Kross out of the cage. The whole exchange honestly made Kross and Scarlett look a bit silly. This feud didn’t really help either competitor and hopefully McIntyre is off to bigger and better things.
13) Bray Wyatt — SmackDown, (+2)
Bray Wyatt climbs in the ranks this week even though he’s yet to compete in the ring since returning to WWE. The enigmatic superstar made an appearance at WWE Crown Jewel and cut a promo saying that he’s here to “re-write the ending” to his story. He was interrupted by another cryptic message from Uncle Howdy where he implored Wyatt to “give in” and “hurt them.” He finished by saying, “And if you’re worried about the aftermath, just don’t take the mask off. Tell me I’m wrong.” It’s almost like we are seeing Wyatt’s inner dialogue play out in front of us. We say “almost” because nothing has been explained just yet. Still, it’s captivating and we can’t wait to see where this goes. The momentary teases with Alexa Bliss are a nice touch.
14) Baron Corbin — Raw, (+2)
Baron Corbin continues to pick up momentum in the rankings, this time with a win over Cedric Alexander on Raw, but his return has left us wanting more. The pairing with JBL, while a decent enough idea on paper, isn’t doing a lot for him. Baron already got plenty of heat in the first place, so it’s not like he needs help from JBL with that. The presentation isn’t overly impressive, either. Maybe this is just a situation where Corbin needs time to find his comfort zone as he adopts this new “Modern Day Wrestling God” persona. Or maybe it just won’t work. But for right now, it’s underwhelming.
15) Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett — SmackDown, (-5)
As noted above, Karrion Kross & Scarlett came off as bumbling heels rather than evil masterminds as Drew McIntyre jumped from the cage to secure the victory at Crown Jewel. When Kross was brought back to the company, it seemed like Triple H was doing what he could to salvage the character which proved so successful in NXT, but this rivalry hasn’t exactly restored his credibility. It’s certainly been better than losing to Jeff Hardy in his debut match on RAW — anything is, really — but where does the loss to McIntyre leave him? Where he’s positioned next will say a lot.
16) Alexa Bliss & Asuka — Raw, (-4)
In our Crown Jewel predictions article, we thought it was unlikely the Women’s Tag Team Championships would be flipped right back to Dakota Kai & IYO SKY after they last the belts on Raw last week. Welp. Bliss & Asuka did indeed lose the titles just five days later, albeit with the help of Nikki Cross. The battle lines are being drawn for War Games at Survivor Series, where Bliss & Asuka are set to team with Bianca Belair and two yet-to-be-named competitors against Damage CTRL, Cross, and another mystery opponent. We’re still not a fan of how the Women’s Tag Team Championships have been handled lately, but that’s not a criticism of Bliss & Asuka. We’d also be remiss to not mention the Bray Wyatt Easter eggs in Bliss’ backstage segment at Crown Jewel, as well as her walk down the aisle. Will this mean anything in the end?
17) The O.C. — Raw, (NR)
The O.C. took the loss to The Judgment Day at Crown Jewel as Rhea Ripley once again proved to the the difference-maker. However, the trio finally brought in their answer to Ripley on Raw this week, as Mia Yim made her return to WWE to stand by their side. Yim went right after Ripley, knocking her over the barricade by ringside and knocking The Judgment Day on their heels in the process. Can The O.C get some retribution (see what we did there?) now that the sides are even? We’re guessing so.
18) Nikki Cross — Raw, (NR)
Nikki Cross has turned a new leaf and she’s making sure that everyone in the Women’s Division knows it. In addition to playing a determining factor in the Women’s Tag Team Championship match at Crown Jewel, she made quick work of Dana Brooke on Raw this week to win the 24/7 Championship. In one of the more entertaining segments in quite some time, Cross was walking around in a daze after the match and tried (and missed) placing the championship belt in the trash can. In a way, it sort of worked for the character that Cross is presenting. While her motivations might be all over the place, Cross is once again a key part of this women’s division as War Games at Survivor Series approaches.
19) Logan Paul — SmackDown, (+1)
Can we just say wow? It was pretty clear that Logan Paul wasn’t actually going to win at Crown Jewel, so the question was could he stand toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns in his third career match and actually come off as a legitimate threat. Well, he did that and much more, impressing with his amazing athleticism and looking like a savant in the ring. The highlight was Paul holding a cell phone in his hand and hitting a splash from the top turnbuckle to send Reigns through the announce table. Jake Paul also made an appearance in attempt to keep The Bloodline at bay. While Paul ultimately came up short, he continues to make believers out of his doubters. The big question is when he’ll be able to compete in the ring next, as he apparently tore up his knee during the match. That makes his performance that much more impressive.
20) The New Day — SmackDown, (NR)
The New Day have a shot at The Usos’ Undisputed Tag Team championships this Friday on SmackDown, the latest chapter in a classic rivalry. It’s always fun when these teams get together, but the stakes are big here. If The Usos win (current reign: 480 days), they will essentially clinch surpassing The New Day for the longest-reigning WWE Tag Team champions ever (483 days). Can Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston stop them?
On the cusp: Rey Mysterio, Matt Riddle, The Miz, Johnny Gargano, Alpha Academy, Omos, L.A. Knight, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler
Who’s NXT: Bron Breakker, Toxic Attraction (including Mandy Rose), Wes Lee, Pretty Deadly, Roxanne Perez, Creed Brothers, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, Alba Fyre, Carmelo Hayes, Cora Jade, Von Wagner
