WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 6/2/2014, Post-WWE Payback Edition

WWE Payback is in the books, and we learned a lot from the pay-per-view.  We learned that John Cena still has a lot of fight left in him, that Evolution is likely finished and that even a crazy Diva can't defeat Paige.

We'll get into all that and much more in the following slides.  Before we do, please read how these rankings work.

Holding a championship, being a No. 1 Contender or holding a Money in the Bank briefcase counts for much of a wrestler's ranking and are the most heavily weighted components in these rankings.  If a wrestler is tied with another wrestler, holding a title will break a tie.

Wins and losses account for the bulk of the week-to-week movement—wins and losses are, after championships, the most important component of the rankings.  The quality of a wrestler's opponents and whether they are ranked or not is considered in the week-to-week movement.  

"Getting the better" of someone—like beating someone down—as well as "getting got" also counts, though not as much as wins and losses.  Being "over" with the fans is considered but not heavily weighted in the ranking decisions. Pay-per-view performances take on added importance.  

Only the top 10 wrestlers are ranked. Wrestlers on the "Watch List" were considered for top-10 status but were ultimately nixed.  They are unranked, and their listing is in no particular order.  

Generally speaking, these rankings do not break kayfabe, though any major non-storyline information (serious injury, WWE Wellness Policy violations, legitimate hirings, firings, contract information, "sabbaticals," etc.) may be taken into consideration, especially if WWE confirms them publicly.  Nothing that could be explicitly considered a spoiler is included unless WWE acknowledges it as well.

All WWE shows, televised or digitally distributed, as well as anything from WWE.com, the WWE App, the WWE Network and any WWE or Superstar social media accounts that don't break kayfabe may be taken into consideration for these rankings.

Watch List

Rusev

Rusev turned in another impressive week, getting a win over Zack Ryder on Raw and then defeating Big E at Payback. Rusev may now be poised to make a run at a title.  But will he have to keep battling Big E before he gets a potential title shot?

RybAxel

With the tag team division basically nonexistent, RybAxel has emerged as the best candidates for a WWE Tag Team Championship opportunity.  And after defeating The Brotherhood at Payback (which caused Cody Rhodes to essentially end the tag team), there's really no one but them remaining in title contention.

10. Evolution

Previous Rank: 9

Movement: Down 1

Evolution is lucky to stay in the top 10 this week after taking a devastating loss at Payback (more on that in a second).  Evolution's week started off on a good note, though, with a solid win over The Brotherhood.  If only they had picked up more wins like that, they may have moved up higher in the rankings.

They even put a nasty beating on The Shield to end Raw.  But it was not enough.  They went into Payback thinking they'd put down The Hounds of Justice.  Instead, they got swept.  At one time, they had The Shield completely decimated.  But as the action moved back into the ring, The Shield took out Evolution one by one. 

Evolution may now be dead.  What does the future hold for them?

9. The Usos

Previous Rank: 8

Movement: Down 1

The Usos drop a spot this week after a couple of losses to The Wyatt Family this past week.  On Raw and at Payback, they provided backup for John Cena.  But when in action themselves, they could not overcome The Wyatts.

On Main Event, they lost to Rowan and Harper, and then Jimmy Uso lost to Bray Wyatt on SmackDown.  At least they're still WWE Tag Team champions.  But who will their next challengers be?

8. Paige

Previous Rank: Watch List

Movement: Into Top 10

Paige reclaims a spot in the top 10 after an impressive showing at Payback.  On Raw, it was announced that she would face the Diva who dealt Paige her first loss on the WWE main roster: Alicia Fox.  

Fox has been going crazy lately.  But crazy wasn't enough to defeat Paige.  She made relatively quick work of Fox and forced her to tap out.  Who will challenge Paige next?

7. The Wyatt Family

Previous Rank: 4

Movement: Down 3

The Wyatt Family is now at a crossroads.  After a week that started so well, Bray Wyatt lost the only match that really mattered.  

John Cena and Bray Wyatt faced off in a Last Man Standing match, and it was brutal.  It was bloody.  It was violent.  And it did not go the way Bray Wyatt had hoped.  John Cena went blow for blow with Bray Wyatt, and Cena came out the victor after trapping Bray in a box and then pushing another box on top of it.  

It's a devastating loss for Bray, who could not afford to lose the match.  The feud with Cena is all but over now, and with the loss, it's uncertain what The Wyatt Family will do going forward.  Can Bray Wyatt recover?

6. Cesaro

Previous Rank: 6

Movement: None

Cesaro started his week off well and ended it nearly as well as it started.  On Raw, he defeated Rob Van Dam and then beat down Sheamus.  

Then on SmackDown, he defeated and beat down Kofi Kingston.  And at Payback, he was well on his way to a win in a great match with Sheamus for the United States Championship when he got rolled up and took a loss.  Sheamus retained his title, and Cesaro was left in disbelief.  Will he get another shot at the U.S. title?

5. Bad News Barrett

Previous Rank: 5

Movement: None

Bad News Barrett didn't look impressive during the week.  He cost RVD a match on Raw and then lost in a very game effort to Sheamus on SmackDown.  But then came Payback.

Bad News Barrett faced off against Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Championship.  The match was tough, and Barrett had to fight hard to earn the victory.  But win he did.  Will that be the last he sees of RVD?  Or will he move on to another challenger?

4. Daniel Bryan

Previous Rank: 3

Movement: Down 1

Daniel Bryan was not stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  In a way, that counts as a victory of sorts.  But not in the rankings.  He drops a spot after remaining idle yet again.

Because we still don't know just how long he'll be out of action, it's hard to decide where he belongs.  But if he remains idle going forward, expect to see him drop a spot or two each week from here on out.

With Brie now gone from WWE after she quit to allow Bryan to keep his title, will we actually not see her?  Or will she be around in some capacity?  

3. Sheamus

Previous Rank: 7

Movement: Up 4

Sheamus is the big winner of the week, and he has cemented himself as the most dominant of all the champions in WWE.  After suffering a beatdown at the hands of Cesaro on Raw, it was all positive.

On SmackDown, he defeated Intercontinental champion Bad News Barrett, and then at Payback, he defeated Cesaro.  He's beaten everyone placed in front of him, including champions.  He's bringing the spotlight back to the United States Championship.  It's likely, though, we haven't seen the last of Cesaro and Sheamus in the ring.

2. John Cena

Previous Rank: 2

Movement: None

John Cena just can't be beat when it really counts.  Bray Wyatt vowed to end John Cena, and Cena vowed to stop Wyatt.  Cena has a history of backing up his claims, and that's exactly what happened at Payback.  

After Saving Jerry Lawler from a beating on Raw, Cena went into his match with renewed purpose.  And he did what he had to do to get the win.  He and Wyatt fought hard, and the match was brutal.  But in the end, Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment, sending Wyatt into a crate on the stage, and then dropped another crate on top, preventing Wyatt from standing up.

Now that John Cena has defended his legacy and fought off the Wyatt onslaught, is there gold in his future?  After beating someone the caliber of Bray Wyatt, is there anywhere else for Cena to go but up?

1. The Shield

Previous Rank: 1

Movement: None

The Shield not only defeated Evolution, the black-clad trio sent a message.  No matter how much punishment Evolution dished out, The Hounds of Justice would not be put down.  The members of The Shield cemented themselves as a the unrivaled choice for No. 1 in the rankings after the clean sweep of Evolution at Payback.

Not one member of The Shield was pinned, and each man pinned a member of Evolution.  Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose may now have to start collecting titles, as The Shield has shown itself to be virtually unstoppable.  

What's next for The Shield?  What will become of Evolution?  Perhaps tonight's Raw will have those answers. 

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