WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 10/26/2014: WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 Edition

WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 is in the books, and the WWE Superstar Power Rankings have a new No. 1, though he's a familiar face. This week, John Cena reclaims the top spot after earning another shot at World Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.  

The Dallas crowd and TV audience might have been left with a bad taste in their mouth at the end of Hell in a Cell (which will be discussed over the following slides), but it was a solid card overall, with plenty of action and strong performances.

One interesting note is that four of WWE's five titles (the United States, Intercontinental, Divas, and Tag Team Championships) were defended, though none changed hands. The champions held their own and showed why they all belong in the Top 10.

We'll get into all this past week's action, including from Hell in a Cell, over the following slides. Before we move on, 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 deemed to be level 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—also counts, though not as much as wins or 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

The Usos

The Usos had a pretty bad week. They teamed with Sheamus on Raw in a losing effort against Gold and Stardust and Damien Mizdow. On Main Event, they were a part of a segment, "How Well Do You Know Your Bro" that was so bad the writer who came up with the segment should be ashamed. On SmackDown, they teamed with Mark Henry in another loss, this time to Gold and Stardust and Bo Dallas. They were unable to win the tag titles at Hell in a Cell too. Have they used up their chances at the WWE Tag Team Championship?  

Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt has released Erick Rowan and Luke Harper, having nothing left to teach them. Now, it looks as though he's set his sights on Dean Ambrose, costing him his match at Hell in a Cell. What is Bray Wyatt's reasoning? Is there any? Perhaps we'll get answers in the near future.

No. 10: Randy Orton

Previous Rank: 10

Movement: None

Randy Orton stays in the Top 10 by the skin of his teeth. He pinned Dean Ambrose on Raw in a 2-on-3 Handicap match before getting hit with a Curb Stomp by his partner, Seth Rollins. Orton and Rollins appear destined for a clash, especially after Hell in a Cell.  

Orton lost to Cena in their Hell in a Cell match, therefore losing his chance to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. How will Orton respond to his loss? Will he take it out on Rollins?

No. 9: Gold and Stardust

Previous Rank: Watch List

Movement: Into Top 10

Gold and Stardust re-enter the Top 10 after picking up two wins in six-man tag action this week before successfully defending the WWE Tag Team Championship at Hell in a Cell against the Usos. Now if we could only purge the memory of "How Well Do You Know Your Bro" from Main Event from our memories, all might be well.

Anyways, with yet another win over the Usos under their belts, will Gold and Stardust move on to other opponents?

No. 8: AJ Lee

Previous Rank: 7

Movement: Down 1

After a good week, it was tough moving AJ Lee down a spot. But the loss to Alicia Fox on Raw, combined with the upward movement of Dolph Ziggler, was enough to warrant the one-spot fall. On SmackDown, she got back the loss against Alicia Fox, defeating Fox with Paige at ringside.

At Hell in a Cell, she successfully defended her Divas Championship against Paige. AJ caused Paige to fall off the barricade, Paige hit her head and it looked as though AJ was cruising toward a count-out win. But Alicia Fox sent Paige back into the ring and AJ promptly made her submit.  

Paige blamed Fox, but she looked doomed either way. We've likely not seen the last of Paige and AJ.

No. 7: Brock Lesnar

Credit: Alex Musso via imagechef.com

Previous Rank: 4

Movement: Down 3

A week after Lesnar's face was plastered on milk cartons across the internet, there's still no sign of the WWE World Heavyweight champion. We did, however, see Paul Heyman, who rules for Lesnar in his stead. It did not go too well for Heyman.

On Raw, he received an RKO off Randy Orton after being nearly receiving an AA from John Cena. He also appeared on the Kickoff panel for Hell in a Cell and did not look pleased to see John Cena defeat Randy Orton. After all, Lesnar looked like he was going to lose to Cena at Night of Champions. In fact, Lesnar did lose via disqualification, allowing him to escape with his title, never to be seen again.

No one knows how long Lesnar will be gone. One has to wonder why Triple H, who clearly wants one of his guys (such as Randy Orton or Seth Rollins) as champion, hasn't invoked the 30-day clause and stripped Lesnar. If Triple H were to invoke it, Lesnar would have been stripped on Wednesday, October 21. Perhaps Lesnar's contract does not include such a clause. 

No. 6: Sheamus

Previous Rank: 6

Movement: None

Sheamus started his week in a bad way. He teamed with the Usos against Gold and Stardust and Damien Mizdow. Not only did his team lose, but Sheamus was the one pinned by Mizdow. Not exactly a great start.  

He made up for it by defeating the Miz at Hell in a Cell to retain his United States Championship. After the match, he messed with Miz as Mizdow mimicked Miz's every move. Sheamus did the "YMCA" arm motions on Miz and Mizdow followed suit. Eventually, he delievered one last Brogue Kick to Miz, and Mizdow mimicked that too.  

Sheamus might be done with the Miz at this point. He's beaten and now humiliated him. Will anyone else step up to face the Celtic Warrior?

No. 5: Dolph Ziggler

Previous Rank: 8

Movement: Up 3

Dolph Ziggler showed this week why he's one of WWE's best and brightest stars. After a tough loss to Cesaro on Raw that earned Cesaro a title shot on SmackDown, the Intercontinental champion successfully defended his title. But that wasn't the end of it. Cesaro challenged him to a 2-out-of-3 Falls match at Hell in a Cell and Ziggler accepted.

Cesaro is a tough opponent, and he might be the strongest pound-for-pound athlete on the roster (though Mark Henry may disagree). Ziggler didn't just retain his title, he didn't lose a fall. He beat Cesaro two falls to none.

Is Ziggler done with Cesaro? He did pin him three times between SmackDown and Hell in a Cell, meaning Cesaro may not get another shot. Who else could Ziggler face next? 

No. 4: Rusev

Previous Rank: 5

Movement: Up 1

There are a few Superstars positioning themselves for a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. John Cena and Seth Rollins are both guaranteed a title shot. Roman Reigns, when healthy, could make a push too. But Rusev? Maybe sooner rather than later.

No Superstar has been more consistently dominant this year. You can count Rusev's losses in singles matches on one hand, and he's beaten everyone who has been put in front of him. This past week, that trend continued when he defeated Big E via submission.  

After the match, the American flag appeared. As Rusev went to rip it down, an American Soldier appeared and Rusev promptly superkicked him. This upset he Big Show, who Rusev faced at Hell in a Cell. But that wasn't enough, as Rusev took everything Big Show had and looked like he might lose. In the end, though, Rusev survived the onslaught and forced Big Show to submit via the Accolade.

At this point, there's really nowhere for Rusev to go but higher. Perhaps Sheamus' U.S. title will catch Rusev's attention. Or maybe Dolph Ziggler's Intercontinental title. Or does Rusev have Brock Lesnar in his sights?

No. 3: Dean Ambrose

Previous Rank: 1

Movement: Down 2

It was a short reign for Dean Ambrose atop the WWE Superstar Power Rankings, as he drops off the top spot just one week after achieving it for the first time. Losses are known to do that, though. And lose is exactly what Ambrose did this week.

On Raw, he teamed with John Cena against Kane, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins in a 2-on-3 Handicap match. His team lost and he took the pin after getting hit with an RKO. At Hell in a Cell, he was in a brutal contest with Seth Rollins. It wasn't pretty, but despite the attempts at interference, he had Rollins beat.

Then, inexplicably, Bray Wyatt appeared and assaulted him. Rollins picked up the scraps and pinned Ambrose for the win, denying Ambrose his revenge. It was perhaps an unsatisfying ending in that neither Rollins or Ambrose definitively won, but sometimes that's just the way things go; not every battle ends with a clear winner.

It now looks as though Ambrose will have to contend with Bray Wyatt, which will move him away from Seth Rollins and the main event picture. Can Ambrose take out Wyatt and get his revenge against Rollins?

No. 2: Seth Rollins

Previous Rank: 2

Movement: None

It wasn't pretty. Heck, some people might even say he didn't deserve to win at all. But Seth Rollins did, in fact, defeat Dean Ambrose at Hell in a Cell. He also defeated Cena and Ambrose on Raw, as well as Jack Swagger on Main Event.  

But back to Hell in a Cell. Rollins followed Ambrose atop the Cell before the match even began. That ended with both Rollins and Ambrose falling off the side of the Cell and onto the announce tables before being stretchered away.

But Ambrose got off his stretcher, tossed Rollins into the Cell and the match began. And it was violent. Rollins got some offense in, but Ambrose had the match won until Bray Wyatt saved Rollins from being stomped through cinder blocks.  

In the end, Rollins got the win and escaped Ambrose's wrath. The next likely feud for him is Randy Orton, with whom he has problems. Should such a feud develop, will Triple H back Orton or Rollins?

No. 1: John Cena

Previous Rank: 3

Movement: Up 2

John Cena knows how to get what he wants. You can knock him down, beat him up, double-team him, put him in handicap matches or have him duke it out with his oldest rival inside a Cell—nothing seems to deter him from getting shots at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  

On Raw, he took a beating and a loss in the 2-on-3 Handicap match. But at Hell in a Cell, he took everything Randy Orton had and dished out more. He defeated Orton after hitting an AA off the top rope through a table and earned a shot at Lesnar's title, which he probably should have received anyways (he did beat Lesnar at Night of Champions after all).

The question now is when that match will take place? And if it's not soon, what's next for Cena? With Lesnar gone, Cena is No. 1 contender for a title that isn't there. Will he go after Seth Rollins? Will he continue feuding with Orton? No matter who's up next for Cena, we're sure to find out soon enough.