WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 11/17/2014, Pre-WWE Survivor Series Edition

With less than one week to go until WWE Survivor Series 2014, the WWE Superstar Power Rankings has the team leaders as No. 1 and No. 2, with no changes in the top three from this past week.  The Survivor Series teams are now mostly set, with each team having locked up four Superstars and looking for their fifth.

Team Cena has John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus and Big Show.  Team Authority has Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry and Rusev.  Ryback is still unaligned, though the smart money would probably be on him joining Team Cena.  And it appears (though it's not official) that Luke Harper wants to be the final member of Team Authority.

Aside from the traditional Survivor Series match, there are two more matches set.  AJ Lee will defend her Divas title against Nikki Bella, who will have Brie in her corner as her "assistant."  We'll also see Dean Ambrose face Bray Wyatt.  

We'll get into all this past week's action and what may come at Survivor Series in 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, suspensions, legitimate hirings, firings, contract information, "sabbaticals," etc.) may be taken into consideration, especially if WWE confirms them publicly. Domestic and international WWE live events are not included in these rankings unless WWE incorporates it into television storylines.  Nothing that could be explicitly considered a spoiler is included unless WWE acknowledges it as well.

In short, 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

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is on the Watch List.  And until he returns, this is where he'll stay.  He's the WWE World Heavyweight champion, so by default, he gets consideration for top-10 status.  But aside from that, he hasn't won a match since SummerSlam (unbelievable, right?) and has not appeared since Night of Champions.  He is not scheduled to appear at Survivor Series.  And while unlikely, could Lesnar make an appearance?

Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt continued to use Dean Ambrose's father as a psychological tool against The Lunatic Fringe.  And The Eater of Worlds picked up a win over Sin Cara on SmackDown.  Will he keep up the head games with Ambrose this week?  Probably.  Will they work?  We'll have to wait and see this Sunday.

10. Tyson KIdd

Previous Ranking: Watch List

Movement: Into Top 10

It's hard to believe, but Tyson Kidd is on a roll.  He's picking up wins left and right and even got a major title shot this past week, holding his own against two of WWE's best athletes.

On Raw, he defeated Adam Rose via submission and then defeated NXT star Sami Zayn on Main Event in a rematch from last week.  On SmackDown, he faced Cesaro and Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler for the title.  Kidd eliminated Cesaro and went toe-to-toe with Ziggler before finally falling to the champion via pinfall.

Kidd may now be in line for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship.  That won't come at Survivor Series, seeing as Ziggler is currently engaged in the Team Cena vs. Team Authority feud.  But that opportunity may come sooner rather than later, especially if he keeps picking up wins.

9. Sheamus

Previous Ranking: 8

Movement: Down 1

Sheamus continued his slide this week, losing in his rematch with Rusev.  He could not regain the United States Championship.

Prior to the match, he interrupted Rusev's celebration of the conquest of the United States champion, complete with a representative of the Russian Federation who recited a special message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.  

Sheamus lost the match via count-out after Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury attacked him and caused a distraction.  Sheamus will get another crack at Rusev since they're on opposing teams for Survivor Series.  Will Sheamus make the most of it?

8. Ryback

Previous Ranking: 10

Movement: Up 2

John Cena has called Ryback the hottest free agent in WWE right now.  He might be right.  Ryback originally appeared set to join Team Authority on Raw after planting John Cena, who had originally wanted to recruit him.  

But tension with fellow Team Authority Superstars boiled over in the main event.  Ryback faced off against Cena.  Cena attacked Kane, who let anger get the best of him.  Kane interfered, giving Cena the win via disqualification.  Ryback was not pleased and cleaned house.  He took out Kane and then the rest of Team Authority.

Cena applauded, but Ryback is still not guaranteed to join Team Cena.  In fact, he said he was on his own side in a backstage interview. 

On SmackDown, Ryback faced Kane.  Kane attacked Ryback mid-match with a chair, allowing Ryback to pick up the victory via DQ.  Ryback then sent Kane packing and stared down Triple H, who was ringside with Stephanie McMahon, too.  Ryback likely won't be joining Team Authority.  But will he join Team Cena?

7. AJ Lee

Previous Ranking: 6

Movement: Down 1

Divas champion AJ Lee—not to mention the entire Divas division—has been flying under the radar lately.  But while there may not be much buzz surrounding AJ's match with Nikki Bella at Survivor Series, the Divas title may well be the most likely title to change hands this Sunday.

Can AJ survive Nikki Bella if Brie is constantly running interference?  We'll surely find out this Sunday.  

6. Gold and Stardust

Previous Ranking: 7

Movement: Up 1

Gold and Stardust had a slow week, but they made the most of their only appearance.  They picked up a win over Adam Rose and The Bunny.

They still have no match set for Survivor Series, but with only three matches announced thus far, it's hard to imagine they won't face someone.  But whom?  

5. Dean Ambrose

Previous Ranking: 4

Movement: Down 1

Dean Ambrose was red hot a few weeks ago, even achieving a one-week reign in the No. 1 spot of these rankings.  But since then, he's cooled off a bit, having to contend with the mind games of Bray Wyatt.

Ambrose picked up a win over Justin Gabriel on Main Event, but that was the extent of his matches for the week.  Can he tune out Bray Wyatt's comments about his father and get a win over The Eater of Worlds?

4. Dolph Ziggler

Previous Ranking: 5

Movement: Up 1

Dolph Ziggler apparently runs hot and cold.  He'll lose match after match and then win consecutive matches.  Perhaps that lack of consistency is why he's struggled to break into the upper echelon of WWE.  

In any case, he had a good week.  He got a win the hard way, winning via DQ after Mark Henry lost it and beat him with a chair.  Big Show made the save, possibly saving Ziggler's health for Survivor Series.

Then on SmackDown, he faced both Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in a Triple Threat Elimination match for the Intercontinental Championship.  He retained, pinning Tyson Kidd after Kidd eliminated Cesaro.  Can he have the same success this Sunday as a member of Team Cena?

3. Rusev

Previous Ranking: 3

Movement: None

Rusev now fights for Team Authority, and it's already paid dividends.  With WWE World Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar missing in action, Rusev has emerged as the most capable champion in WWE right now.  And those skills were sought after by The Authority.

Stephanie McMahon made it clear she and her husband wanted Rusev on their team, and for good measure, they sent Mercury and Noble to help him retain his title against Sheamus, who got his rematch this past Monday.

This "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" mentality swayed Rusev and Lana, who are now members of Team Authority.  Rusev will have to watch out for Sheamus on Team Cena.  And will his recent heated feud with Mark Henry cause friction on the team?

2. John Cena

Previous Ranking: 2

Movement: None

John Cena only appeared on Raw this week, but when he did, he picked up a win (technically) over another ranked opponent and held steady at No. 2 in the rankings.  Cena had originally wanted to recruit Ryback to his team, but Ryback didn't seem sold on the idea.  

Cena got planted by Ryback, who looked to join Team Authority.  On top of all that, Cena would have to face Ryback later that evening.  But the move backfired for The Authority since Ryback couldn't get along with his new teammates.

Cena won the match via DQ after Kane interfered, much to the chagrin of Ryback.  Now Cena may have the chance to recruit Ryback once more.  But will Ryback accept?

No. 1: Seth Rollins

Previous Ranking: 1

Movement: None

Seth Rollins had a match against Jack Swagger on Raw this past week and picked up the win after a Curb Stomp.  Later that night, he tried to play peacekeeper when Ryback and Kane were about to come to blows.  

That cost him, because Ryback took Mr. Money in the Bank out, along with the rest of Team Authority.  Rollins now leads his team into Survivor Series.  If he can deliver a win for his team, it will provide more evidence that The Authority have placed their faith in the right man.  

If his team can't get that win, though, Rollins' charmed life may come crashing down around him.  This is, for lack of a better phrase, a must-win match for Rollins.