WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 9/29/2014

In the week after WWE Night of Champions 2014, the WWE Superstar Power Rankings saw quite a bit of movement, especially in the bottom half of the top 10.  We saw Dean Ambrose make his return to Raw, a newly won title lost and much more.  It certainly was a busy week.

One interesting note is that Sheamus has, after a seemingly dull summer, climbed back to near the top of the rankings.  And somewhat disappointingly, Randy Orton has again fallen out of the top 10.  It's amazing that a 12-time world champion in the prime of his career isn't making more of an impact on WWE TV.  

Anyways, we'll get into all that and much more in the following slides.  Before we get into all that, though, 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 these honors are therefore the most heavily weighted components in the rankings.  If a wrestler is tied with another wrestler, holding a title will be a tiebreaker.

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 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.  This includes but is not limited to WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, WWE Main Event, WWE Superstars, NXT and any WWE pay-per-view.

Watch List

Paige

Paige is still due a rematch for the Divas Championship after losing it to AJ Lee at WWE Night of Champions 2014.  That rematch will most likely happen at WWE Hell in a Cell 2014, though it could, in theory, come sooner.  Paige picked up a win over Naomi on Main Event and was attacked by AJ Lee after the match.  Can she get the best revenge of all and reclaim the Divas title?

Cesaro

Cesaro looks to have supplanted The Miz at the primary challenger for the Intercontinental Championship.  After being on the losing team in a six-man tag match on Raw, he won a Battle Royal on SmackDown, earning a shot at the IC title that night.  He was pinned by Ziggler, but the referee blew the call, as Cesaro grabbed the ropes well before the referee counted three.  With the controversy, he's sure to get a rematch.  When will that be?

Randy Orton

Randy Orton just can't seem to sustain a climb in the rankings or in WWE.  Every time he looks to be picking up steam, he loses.  And loses.  And loses.  And this week, he lost again.  He faced John Cena and lost via disqualification as Seth Rollins and Kane attacked Cena late in the match.  It's clear he's frustrated, and he may have a problem with Rollins.  

The Usos

After picking up two wins over the WWE tag team champions this week, Jimmy and Jey Uso may have learned from their loss at Night of Champions.  But can they convert these wins into a second title reign?  

No. 10: Big Show & Mark Henry

Previous Rank: 10

Movement: None

The week started off poorly for Mark Henry when he lost his rematch against Rusev.  Then, on Main Event, Henry came out and blamed the fans for forcing him into a match he wasn't physically prepared for.  Big Show calmed him down and promised to knock Rusev "smooth the hell out" on SmackDown.

Big Show made good on that promise.  On SmackDown, he defeated Rusev via DQ and then knocked Rusev smooth the hell out.  It's unclear how Mark Henry feels about this.  Will he be jealous?  Elated?  Perhaps we'll find out this week.

No. 9: Gold & Stardust

Previous Rank: 7

Movement: Down 2

It was not a great week for the new WWE tag team champions.  Gold & Stardust lost in six-man tag action on Raw when they teamed with Cesaro against The Usos and Sheamus.  

They then had to face The Usos in a title match on SmackDown.  They lost, but Goldust saved the titles by attacking Jimmy Uso with a title belt as he went to pin Stardust.  Can they get back on track this week?

No. 8: Dean Ambrose

Previous Rank: Unranked

Movement: Into Top 10

Dean Ambrose is back with a vengeance, and with Roman Reigns out due to injury, he could be next in line for a major run at the top of the card.  The crowd appears to love Ambrose, who is unpredictable, wild, and sometimes a little crazy.

He called out The Authority on Raw, and over the course of the evening, he chased Rollins into the parking garage (where Rollins narrowly escaped), was locked in a closet, escaped that closet, hid in a box of cinderblocks, and then helped John Cena run off Kane, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins.

As if that wasn't enough, on SmackDown, he defeated The Miz, stole Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank briefcase and then fled the scene.  What else will we see out of The Lunatic Fringe?  

No. 7: Rusev

Previous Rank: 5

Movement: Down 2

Rusev got off to a good start this week, but it ended on a down note.  On Raw, he defeated Mark Henry via referee stoppage.  He looked unstoppable yet again.  But on SmackDown, he ran into a buzz saw.  

Big Show dwarfs everyone on the roster (except maybe The Great Khali).  And when the going got tough, Rusev got himself disqualified.  Big Show then knocked him "smooth the hell out."

Important Note: WWE was making a big deal about Rusev being undefeated prior to the match with Big Show.  This is incorrect.  Excluding Battle Royal and Royal Rumble matches seen on WWE TV or on WWE pay-per-views, Rusev was NOT undefeated.  By my records, which have been double-checked, Rusev lost to Jack Swagger via disqualification on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 on Main Event.  He was also defeated via DQ several weeks earlier on SmackDown against Roman Reigns.

No. 6: AJ Lee

Previous Rank: 6

Movement: None

AJ Lee had a solid week, picking up a win over Nikki Bella on Raw and then attacking Paige on Main Event.  She seems to have gotten deep under Paige's skin.

Paige is due a rematch, and that is likely to come at Hell in a Cell, though we may see it before then, too.  Can AJ begin building another long title reign, or will Paige be able to get another title reign at the expense of AJ?

No. 5: Dolph Ziggler

Previous Rank: Watch List

Movement: Into Top 10

Well, so much for Dolph Ziggler's fall from grace last week.  After losing the title at Night of Champions, he won back the Intercontinental Championship the very next night on Raw.  It now appears he's moving on from The Miz and will feud with Cesaro.

Cesaro faced Ziggler for the IC title on SmackDown after earning the shot in a Battle Royal.  Ziggler defeated Cesaro, but the win came on a blown call.  But still, it was a win.  Ziggler's reward will surely be the wrath of Cesaro.  Can Ziggler hold off The Swiss Superman?

No. 4: Seth Rollins

Previous Rank: 3

Movement: Down 1

It was not a great week for Seth Rollins.  On Raw, he was attacked several times by Dean Ambrose.  His inability to get Ambrose out of his way is clearly frustrating him.  And things would only get worse later in the week.  

Rollins tried to get revenge on Ambrose on SmackDown, but Ambrose escaped the attack that Rollins and Kane clearly had planned for him, stole Rollins' Money in the Bank briefcase and fled into the stands.  How will Rollins respond to this theft?  

No. 3: Sheamus

Previous Rank: 4

Movement: Up 1

Sheamus is back on a roll.  After successfully defending his United States Championship against Cesaro at Night of Champions, he teamed with The Usos against Cesaro and Gold and Stardust.  His team won.

With Cesaro moving on to face Dolph Ziggler, who will step up to challenge Sheamus?  Perhaps Rusev, in his quest to humiliate the United States, will come after the U.S. title.  

No. 2: Brock Lesnar

Credit: WWE.com

Previous Rank: 2

Movement: None

There's not much to mention here, since neither WWE world heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar nor his "advocate" Paul Heyman appeared on WWE television this week.  That can't be a consistent thing.

As these rankings are based heavily on titles, Lesnar will likely stay near the top in the short term.  But if non-appearances continue, especially after losses, then Lesnar will be hard-pressed to stay high in the rankings.

No. 1: John Cena

Previous Rank: 1

Movement: None

For the second week in a row, John Cena sits atop the WWE Superstar Power Rankings.  It's familiar territory for him.  This week on Raw, he defeated another top 10 opponent, cementing his place at No. 1 for the week.

He defeated Randy Orton, who was ranked No. 9 last week, and then, along with Dean Ambrose, beat down and chased off Kane, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins.  What's perhaps more interesting than any of that, though, is his budding rivalry with Dean Ambrose.  

Cena and Ambrose nearly came to blows fighting over who would get to fight Seth Rollins.  While circumstances made them allies this week, we'll have to see if the two can get along going forward.