WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 9/14/2015: Pre-Night of Champions 2015 Edition

WWE Night of Champions 2015 is less than a week away, and the final WWE Superstar Power Rankings before WWE's next big event feature a mix of surprises and more of the same.  There was a good bit of movement in the middle of the top 10, but the No. 1 and No. 2 spots were locked down this week by the same men who held them last week.

The WWE Night of Champions card is coming together as well.  But there has already been one major change made to the lineup.  Charlotte of Team PCB petitioned The Authority to have her Divas Championship match against Nikki Bella moved up to tonight instead of this Sunday, a move that would give Charlotte the chance to end Bella's reign before breaking AJ Lee's record of 295 consecutive days.

The Authority approved the petition, and tonight on Raw, Charlotte will get her title opportunity.  The winner of the match will likely have to defend the Divas Championship at Night of Champions, since all titles are typically defended at the event.

The WWE Divas Championship won't be the only title on the line tonight, though.  The New Day will defend their titles as they face The Prime Time Players in a title match.  The winner of this match will go on to defend the titles against The Dudley Boyz at Night of Champions this Sunday.

Rusev and Dolph Ziggler will face off again, but this time there will be no Lana at ringside.  WWE.com reported this past Monday Lana suffered a wrist injury and will miss significant time. 

Finally,  WWE world heavyweight champion and United States champion Seth Rollins is still set to defend his titles against Sting and John Cena, respectively.  

We'll get into all the results and this past week's events in greater detail throughout the following slides. But beforehand, please read how these rankings are determined.

These rankings are not a popularity contest and are not designed to determine who has the best matches or the most ability.  These rankings are strictly in-storyline power rankings.  

All active Superstars and Divas on the WWE roster are considered, excluding talents who primarily or exclusively perform in NXT.  Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, but any NXT Superstar deemed eligible for these rankings will remain on the Watch List until officially named a part of the WWE main roster.

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 weighed components.

If a wrestler is deemed to be tied with another, holding a title will be the primary tiebreaker.  However, holding a championship, being a No. 1 contender or holding the Money in the Bank briefcase in no way guarantees a spot in the top 10.

Wins and losses account for the bulk of the week-to-week movement and, after championships, are the most important components of the rankings.  The quality and rank of a wrestler's opponents are considered in the week-to-week movement.

Getting the better of someone—such as beating someone down—also counts, though not nearly as much as wins and losses.  Being over with the fans (i.e., getting a strong reaction) is not heavily weighted in the ranking decisions; it is effectively the last tiebreaker.  Pay-per-view wins and losses 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.  However, any major non-storyline information—serious injury, WWE Wellness Policy violations, suspensions, legitimate hirings, firings, contract information and "sabbaticals"—may be taken into consideration, but generally only if WWE confirms or addresses it publicly.

WWE's non-televised domestic and international live events are not included in these rankings unless WWE incorporates them into television storylines or acknowledges them on WWE television.  Also, nothing that could be explicitly considered a spoiler is included unless WWE acknowledges it as well.

In short, all WWE main-roster shows—televised or digitally distributed—as well as anything from WWE.com, the WWE App, the WWE Network and any WWE or Superstar accounts on social media that don't break kayfabe may be taken into consideration.

These may include but are not limited to WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, WWE Main Event, WWE Superstars, NXT, WWE pay-per-views and any storyline-driven content from the WWE Network.

Watch List

The Prime Time Players

The Prime Time Players had a very good week.  They picked up a win in six-man tag action on Raw and then defeated Los Matadores on Main Event.  And this week on Raw, they'll get a shot at the WWE Tag Team Championships.  Will they be the WWE tag team champions heading into Night of Champions?

Cesaro

Cesaro continues to hover just outside the top 10.  He and Miz battled to a double count-out on Raw when Big Show interfered, but he forced Miz to tap out on SmackDown.  Can Cesaro launch himself into a top-level rivalry following Night of Champions?

10. The Dudley Boyz

Previous Rank: 10

Movement: None

The Dudley Boyz are officially getting a WWE Tag team Championship opportunity at Night of Champions.  It was announced this past week that the winner of The New Day and the Prime Time Players (to take place this week on Raw) will defend their titles against Bubba Ray and Devon.

After just a few weeks back in WWE, The Dudley Boyz have shaken up the tag team division.  The Dudley Boys have won a total of 25 tag team championships across six pro wrestling organizations, including 10 while a part of WWE.  Can they add to their unprecedented championship collection this Sunday?

9. The New Day

Previous Rank: 8

Movement: Down 1

Reigning WWE tag team champions The New Day did not have a good week.  On Raw, the lost to John Cena and The Prime Time Players in a six-man tag team match and battled Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso to a no-contest when The Wyatt Family interfered in the match on SmackDown.  

Now, they'll defend their titles against The Prime Time Players on Raw.  Should they be victorious, they'll face The Dudley Boyz just six nights later at Night of Champions.  Can they stay atop WWE's suddenly exciting tag team division?

8. Neville

Credit: WWE.com

Previous Rank: 7

Movement: Down 1

Neville competed in zero matches this past week and has nothing scheduled for Night of Champions yet.  However, recent developments in his rivalry with Stardust make it almost certain that he'll see action sooner rather than later.

Stardust and The Ascension have formed an alliance known as The Cosmic Wasteland. But who will Neville enlist as allies?

7. Sting

Previous Rank: 9

Movement: Up 2

Sting is six days away from his opportunity to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  And The Icon is doing his best to intimidate WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins.  

Sting had stolen Rollins' statue, and this week on Raw he destroyed it.  This obviously upset Rollins, which is precisely Sting's plan.  Sting has won the top championship in both WCW (pre-WWE buyout) and TNA, and in many cases, he won those titles by getting into the heads of his opponents.  Will that tactic work again in WWE?

6. Sheamus

Previous Rank: 3

Movement: Down 3

Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus had one match this past week, and it didn't go how he hoped.  Randy Orton and Sheamus have a long rivalry, and they faced each other once more this past Monday on Raw.  This time, Orton got the win. 

On SmackDown, Sheamus teased a cash-in at Night of Champions.  At the end of Night of Champions, if Rollins is still WWE world heavyweight champion, he could end up in a third match against Sheamus.  Will Sheamus make good on his threat, though?

5. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose

Previous Rank: Newly Ranked as Team (Watch List for Ambrose, No. 5 for Reigns)

Movement: N/A

Perhaps a few weeks overdue, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are now being ranked as a team rather than individuals.  It makes sense seeing as they're either in tag matches together or are ringside for each other's matches.  It's the first time since shortly after the breakup of The Shield that they've been ranked together.  For the most part, the team simply took over Roman Reigns' ranking.

It was a decent week for the pair.  They defeated The Ascension on Raw and teamed with Jimmy Uso on SmackDown in a six-man tag team match against The New Day that ended in a no-contest.  The no-contest occurred because The Wyatt Family appeared during the match and took out Jimmy Uso.

This was just a warning to Reigns and Ambrose, though.  This Sunday, The Wyatt Family will face Reigns, Ambrose and a mystery partner.  Will this mystery partner be a permanent fixture in a reformed Shield or just a one-off ally?

4. Randy Orton

Previous Rank: 6

Movement: Up 2

Randy Orton competed in one match this week, getting a win over Sheamus in the latest chapter of their long rivalry.  After the match, however, he was taken out by The Wyatt Family.  The Wyatts later bragged about it on SmackDown.

With this attack, The Wyatts may have felt they were sending a message to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.  However, with Reigns and Ambrose looking for a partner this Sunday, is Orton going to ally himself with them to get revenge on The Wyatts?

3. John Cena

Previous Rank: 4

Movement: Up 1

John Cena competed in one match this past week and got a win.  He teamed with The Prime Time Players against Seth Rollins and The New Day, and his Attitude Adjustment and pin on Kofi Kingston earned the victory.

Now Cena looks ahead to Night of Champions, where he'll have the chance to regain the WWE United States Championship from Seth Rollins.  Will Cena be able to do so?

2. Ryback

Previous Rank: 2

Movement: None

WWE intercontinental champion Ryback had a mixed week, but it's about as good a mixed week as you could ask for.  He twice faced WWE world heavyweight champion and WWE United States champion Seth Rollins, once on Raw and once on SmackDown.

On Raw, Rollins got distracted by Sting, which allowed Ryback to pin Rollins with a roll-up.  The win was a major one, as a pinfall over the WWE world heavyweight champion, regardless of the distraction, is a rare feat.

On SmackDown, though, Ryback would lose to Rollins in a Lumberjack match.  As the lumberjacks brawled, the distraction allowed Rollins to hit a Pedigree on Ryback and pin him for the win.  

In all, Ryback went 1-1 against the WWE world heavyweight champion in just one week.  Most WWE Superstars would love to have a week like that.

1. Seth Rollins

Previous Rank: 1

Movement: None

Seth Rollins did not have a great week, but he ended it well enough.  On Raw, he competed in two matches.

First, he faced Ryback in a (non-title) champion vs. champion match.  Sting appeared on the TitanTron and taunted Rollins with Rollins' bronze statue, placing a Sting mask on it.  This allowed Ryback to roll up Rollins and pin him for the win.

Later, Rollins teamed with The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) in a six-man tag team match against The Prime Time Players and John Cena.  His team lost.  Afterward, Sting again appeared, this time destroying Rollins' statue in a trash compactor.

By the time SmackDown rolled around, Rollins was no less upset, and he let Byron Saxton know about it.  Sheamus interrupted and teased a Night of Champions cash-in, putting even more pressure on Rollins this Sunday.  

Later in the night, he would face Ryback in a rematch from Raw.  This time, it was a Lumberjack match.  When Ryback was distracted by the Lumberjacks, Rollins took advantage, delivering a Pedigree and pinning Ryback to end the week with a victory.

Rollins has two set matches for Night of Champions, where he'll defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and WWE United States Championship against Sting and John Cena, respectively. Sheamus made it known he may have a third match as well.  

Can Rollins walk out of Night of Champions with both of his title reigns still intact?