WWE Superstar Rankings Ahead of August 29 Raw

On the heels of WWE SummerSlam 2016, Superstars won matches and set their sights on championships, jockeying for position as the fall arrives.

Finn Balor, one of the top competitors in the industry, was forced to the sidelines with a heartbreaking injury. The WWE Universal Championship was vacated, and several elite Raw stars were thrust into battle, all for the sake of crowning a new titleholder.

Champions and contenders were not a problem for SmackDown, which crowned a new No. 1 contender to Dean Ambrose's WWE title in the form of AJ Styles.

Bayley debuted, Big Cass earned an enormous opportunity and The Miz delivered an earth-shattering promo that had even the most astute fans wondering about its realness.

Where did those Superstars end up on this week's rankings, and who joined them?

Take a look ahead of the Aug. 29 episode of Raw.

10. The Miz

The Miz launched an epic tirade at SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan on Tuesday night that instantly earned him a spot on this countdown, regardless of his lack of in-ring performance on this week's show.

During an episode of Talking Smack on WWE Network, Miz took exception to a comment Bryan made about his "cowardly" work style.

Miz exploded, even telling Bryan to quit the company and go back to working bingo halls if he loved wrestling so much. Often criticized for being too scripted, there was none of that when it came to the intercontinental champion's performance on Tuesday night.

He was fiery and believed every word that came out of his mouth. Wife Maryse and hostess Renee Young appeared uncomfortable, as did Bryan himself.

Yet amid the discomfort, Miz shined like the star he is. In one promo, he did what no writer was able to do in the lead-in to SummerSlam: He made himself the most buzzed-about star in the industry.

9. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler delivered another stellar performance on Tuesday night, losing a No. 1 contender's match to AJ Styles. Though he was his typical great self, Ziggler's run in main event contention came to a sudden and abrupt end, creating questions about his place on the roster going forward.

With Dean Ambrose eyeballing Styles and Randy Orton prepared to battle Bray Wyatt, Ziggler's place among the elite performers on the blue brand is unclear.

Sure, he could slide into the midcard as a top challenger to The Miz, but the brand extension was supposed to alleviate his frustration with a treadmill booking pattern.

Now with no clear direction—outside of being a third wheel in the Ambrose-Styles program—Ziggler is in an unenviable position ahead of this week's show.

8. Bray Wyatt

Randy Orton may have stolen headlines after bleeding buckets at SummerSlam, but it was Bray Wyatt who stole his spot in this week's rankings.

The Reaper of Souls interrupted The Viper's post-beating promo on Tuesday night and vowed to show the 12-time world champion that he is a god among mortals.

It was a short, simple promo that established the conflict between Superstars, but what Wyatt does this week will decide how serious management is about his spot on the SmackDown roster.

Is he a bona fide main event star, or is he destined to be a bit player in the babyface's story?

From the looks of things, the former may be true.

7. Bayley

Bayley made her much-awaited debut on WWE television on Monday night, instantly injecting herself into the WWE Women's Championship picture with a win over Dana Brooke.

The hug-loving competitor is benefiting from Sasha Banks' injury absence and is poised to become the top babyface in the sport.

Her win over Brooke was hardly impressive, given the outstanding match she wrestled with Asuka on Aug. 20 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, but it did establish her with fans and set her up for bigger and better things going forward.

Expect Bayley's year of excellence to continue into September and beyond.

6. Big Cass

Big Cass rebounded from a loss at SummerSlam by defeating Rusev and earning a spot in Monday's Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Universal Championship.

The 7'0" Superstar enters the match as the dark horse, an unexpected victor who has the size and tenacity to pull off the victory.

While it is unlikely that he will win the title, the handful of singles showings he has delivered to this point suggest that he can succeed at the top of the card if given the opportunity.

His future, both in tag team and singles competition, will be determined by the strength (or weakness) of his performance in what amounts to the biggest match of his career thus far.

5. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens cashed his ticket to the Aug. 29 episode of Raw by defeating Neville in singles competition a week earlier, just 24 hours after teaming with Chris Jericho to defeat Enzo Amore and Big Cass at SummerSlam.

Now one of four men slated to battle for the WWE Universal Championship, Owens has a chance to complete one of the most impressive single years in company history.

If he can win the title, The Prizefighter will become the face of the brand he has delivered a substantial work rate to from the moment he arrived.

While there are others favored ahead of him, Owens would bring with him the sense of freshness and excitement that the brand extension was meant for.

Plus, the idea of a sarcastic and occasionally brutal champion at the top of the card would be a nice change from the manufactured personalities forced on fans in recent years.

4. Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose successfully retained his WWE World Championship at SummerSlam and is now poised to battle AJ Styles at Backlash.

Anyone doubting The Lunatic Fringe's place as the face of the blue brand must look no further than the Backlash marketing materials, on which his face appears in grand fashion.

The Superstar tasked with stepping up to the plate in the absence of Roman Reigns, the Cincinnati native has made the most of his opportunity to run as the man who the entire show is built around.

How he interacts with his new top contender bears watching this week, as does any potential further interaction with Dolph Ziggler.

3. Seth Rollins

A victory over Sami Zayn earned Seth Rollins a spot in Monday's Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Universal Championship.

That victory came one night after a crushing defeat at the hands of Finn Balor, who had to relinquish the title due to injury.

As the No. 1 overall draft pick of Raw, Rollins is the franchise star and favorite to emerge from Houston as the new champion. For better or worse, he has a championship resume and spent significant time as the centerpiece of WWE booking.

He is more over than Roman Reigns and is riding a wave of momentum following his return from injury this summer.

He never lost the title, either, giving him a point to argue and brag about in a post-Aug. 29 landscape.

2. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns remains one of the central figures in WWE's booking strategy—his feud with Rusev had taken center stage until last week, when he unexpectedly found himself back in championship contention by way of a win over Chris Jericho.

His performance in that match was outstanding, another reminder of how good Reigns has been for the better part of a year despite criticism and arguments to the contrary.

The injury suffered by Finn Balor catapulted Reigns back to the top of the card. Now it is up to the three-time WWE champion not to make any outside mistakes that would result in suspension or worse.

Alongside Rollins, he is a clear favorite to leave this week's Raw with gold around his waist.

1. AJ Styles

AJ Styles continued his incredible run in 2016 with a win over Dolph Ziggler that catapulted him to the front of the line as the top contender to the WWE World Championship and the greatest threat to Dean Ambrose's status as the top star on SmackDown.

The Phenomenal One started his week by defeating John Cena.

Cleanly.

In the center of the ring at SummerSlam.

It was a win that solidified Styles as a star on the level of the top competitors in WWE and, at the same time, proved that someone who is not a Vince McMahon product can find tremendous success in the company if they are good enough.

Styles now has his eyes set on Backlash and a date with Ambrose. What he accomplishes this week could give fans a hint of whether he is championship-bound.