WWE Superstar Power Rankings for 9/21/2015: WWE Night of Champions 2015 Edition

In the wake of WWE Night of Champions 2015, there have been some major changes in the WWE Superstar Power Rankings.  Most of the top 10 ended up having less-than-stellar weeks, but a number of Superstars ended up moving up in the rankings by default.  It was a strange week indeed for the rankings.

To begin with, there is no new WWE world heavyweight champion.  In spite of pulling double duty, WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins retained his championship against Sting.  However, there is an new WWE United States champion.  Well, an old one, anyways: John Cena.

In addition, there's a new WWE intercontinental champion following Night of Champions: Kevin Owens.  It marks his first title as a member of WWE's main roster and is a major win for Owens.

But that's not all.  There's a new WWE Divas champion in Charlotte, who defeated Nikki Bella and ended her record-setting reign at 301 days. 

As important of a night Night of Champions was, there isn't enough room to go through everything on the opening slide.  So we'll get into all the details of the results of Night of Champions 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 Wyatt family

After weeks of waiting, The Wyatt Family faced off at Night of Champions with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and their mystery partner, who turned out to be Chris Jericho.  The Wyatt Family won as Braun Strowman, the newest Wyatt Family member, forced Jericho to pass out in a bearhug-like submission hold.  Coming off the big win, what's next for The Wyatts?

Stardust and The Ascension

Stardust and The Ascension, better known today as The Cosmic Wasteland, got a big win at Night of Champions over Neville and The Lucha Dragons.  But The Ascension lost to the Lucha Dragons on Main Event, tempering their good week somewhat.  Can they build on their big Sunday victory?

The Dudley Boyz

After D-Von Dudley lost to Kofi Kingston on SmackDown, The Dudley Boys looked for vengeance at Night of Champions.  They got it, sort of.  They won by disqualification when Xavier Woods broke up a pin attempt, causing the DQ.  The win was a big one, but they didn't get the titles.  Will they get a rematch?

Dolph Ziggler

After losing to Kevin Owens on SmackDown, Dolph Ziggler responded by winning at Night of Champions against Rusev, thanks in no small part to Lana.  Ziggler and Lana may or may not have a secret romance, much to the chagrin of Rusev.  Can Ziggler build on this win, or is there more to his rivalry with Rusev?

10. The New Day

Previous Rank: 9

Movement: Down 1

The New Day retained their WWE Tag Team Championships against The Prime Time Players on Raw, earning them a match against The Dudley Boyz at Night of Champions.  On SmackDown, Kofi Kingston defeated D-Von Dudley, but it was not a sign of things to come.

At Night of Champions, they faced The Dudley Boyz and lost, though that loss was by disqualification when Xavier Woods, who was not in the match, broke up a pinfall.  Will they have to defend their titles against The Dudley's again due to the loss?

9. Charlotte

Previous Rank: Unranked

Movement: Into Top 10

Charlotte defeated the WWE Divas champion twice in one week.  On Raw, she won by disqualification when Nikki Bella and Brie Bella employed Twin Magic (they switched places in the match) and Brie was immediately pinned.  Stephanie McMahon informed Charlotte that she couldn't win the title by pinning the wrong woman, allowing Nikki Bella to break AJ Lee's record of 295 days as WWE Divas champion.  

That loss came with a silver lining, though.  Charlotte was granted a rematch, and Nikki Bella would not have a champion's advantage, meaning a loss of any kind would result in a title change.  It never came to that.  Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella via the Figure 8 submission (because it's twice as good as the Figure 4...) and ended Nikki Bella's reign at 301 days.  

Charlotte now begins her first reign as WWE Divas champion.  She is a former NXT Women's champion, so she's well-acquainted with the responsibilities of being a champion.  The question is, can she hold up under the pressure of holding the most prestigious champion any woman can hold in pro wrestling?

8. Sheamus

Previous Rank: 6

Movement: Down 2

Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus did not have a good week.  On Raw, he lost to John Cena.  And even though he vowed throughout the week to become the new WWE World Heavyweight champion, he could not make good on that promise.

At Night of Champions, he did intend to cash in his Money in the Bank contract.  But before he could officially cash in, Kane interrupted him.  Kane chokeslammed Seth Rollins and then did the same to Sheamus as well.

It was a good opportunity for Sheamus, but Kane thwarted his attempt.  If there's any good news for The Celtic Warrior, it's that he is still Mr. Money in the Bank.  He still has the opportunity to become WWE World Heavyweight champion at his discretion.  

7. Randy Orton

Previous Rank: 4

Movement: Down 3

No appearances were made by Randy Orton this week, though as you can see in the video above, he did sit down with Renee Young on the WWE Network.

Randy Orton has been in WWE for over 13 years and is one of the most decorated champions in WWE history.  At 35 years old, he's in the prime of his career.  The question is, can he recover from the attack by The Wyatts and reestablish his dominance?

6. Ryback

Previous Rank: 2

Movement: Down 4

It wasn't a great week for WWE Intercontinental champion Ryback.  On Raw, he vowed to defend his championship against Kevin Owens, who came out to respond.  What followed was an argument about the self-help book The Secret.  Kevin Owens basically called it garbage, and Ryback extolled its virtues.  There's a first for everything in WWE...

Anyways, Ryback faced Owens at Night of Champions, and after an illegal rake to the eyes, Owens rolled Ryback up and pinned him.  Ryback lost the Intercontinental Championship, his first title in WWE.  Will Ryback, who's due a rematch, be able to regain his lost title?

5. Kevin Owens

Previous Rank: Watch List

Movement: Into Top 10

Kevin Owens got off to a hot start in his WWE career, but he'd cooled off significantly lately.  That is, until last night.  He got a win over Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown in preparation for his Night of Champions match against Ryback for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

At Night of Champions, he faced and defeated Ryback to become the new WWE Intercontinental champion.  It is his first title as a member of WWE's main roster.  

Owens did use an illegal move, a rake to the eyes, to win the title.  But the referee never saw it, and in pro wrestling, what the referee doesn't see is as important as what he does see.  However one may feel about the win, though, Owens is now a champion.

4. Sting

Previous Rank: 7

Movement: Up 3

Sting had a mixed week.  He won two matches on Raw as the No. 1 Contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  He defeated The Big Show in his first Raw match ever by DQ when Seth Rollins attacked him.  John Cena appeared and spared Sting a beating.

That led to a tag team match featuring Seth Rollins and Big Show against Sting and Cena.  Sting and Cena won as Sting forced Rollins, the WWE world heavyweight champion, to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock.

However, Sting was unable to repeat his success at Night of Champions.  A weary Rollins, fresh off a United States Championship match (and loss) against John Cena, was unable to put Rollins away.  Instead, he was rolled up and pinned for the loss.

What's next for Sting?  Will he get another shot at the title, or will he disappear, as he is prone to do?

3. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose

Previous Rank: 5

Movement: Up 1

It's a strange week in the WWE Superstar Power Rankings, and one of the strangest occurrences is the upward movement of Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.  Ambrose and Reigns defeated WWE world heavyweight champion and then-WWE United States champion Seth Rollins and Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus in tag team action on SmackDown when Ambrose pinned Sheamus.

But they picked up a loss at Night of Champions, even with their "mystery partner."  They faced The Wyatt Family and recruited old Wyatt rival Chris Jericho in their ongoing conflict.  But Jericho got choked out by Wyatt Family member Braun Strowman, resulting in a loss for his team.  

After the match, Jericho seemed to have beef with Ambrose and Reigns, especially Ambrose, whom he intentionally bumped out of his way.  Is Jericho now an enemy of Ambrose and Reigns?  And how will the two recover from this loss?

2. John Cena

Previous Rank: 3

Movement: Up 1

Newly crowned WWE United States champion John Cena had a good week.  On Raw, he defeated Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus and then teamed with Sting in a tag team win over Seth Rollins and The Big Show later that night.

At Night of Champions, he faced and defeated Seth Rollins for the United States Championship, winning the title for the fifth time in his career.  He is now tied for second all time in reigns with Lex Luger at five reigns.  He now trails only Ric Flair, who has six reigns, on the all-time list.  Cena now sits one reign behind Ric Flair in total United States Championship reigns as well as world title reigns.

At 370 combined days (and counting) as champion, he sits at seventh all time for most combined days as United States champion.  If he can hold the title for 41 days, he will surpass both Rick Rude and MVP, who both sit at 419 combined days as champion, meaning he'd be alone at fifth all time.  But he'll have to fend off a Seth Rollins rematch and any potential challengers at the the next WWE Network event to make that happen. 

In any case, John Cena's Hall of Fame career keeps getting better.  He keeps racking up accolades and has the potential to be one of the best ever—if he's not already considered among the best.

1. Seth Rollins

Previous Rank: 1

Movement: None

WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins clung to the No. 1 ranking this week after a pretty bad seven days.  On Raw, he tapped out to Sting in a tag team match and then was a part of the losing team on SmackDown when he teamed with Sheamus against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

Night of Champions wasn't that great, either.  He lost the WWE United States Championship to John Cena, who inaugurated his fifth reign with the title.  However, he salvaged the week with a big win.  He faced and defeated Sting immediately after he was defeated by Cena.  

His roll-up win over The Icon didn't scream "dominance."  But Sting is as decorated as they come.  He's a 14-time world champion (assuming recognition of all NWA, WCW and TNA world title reigns) and at 56 is no slouch in the ring.  It was a signature win for the young champion, one that could propel him to higher highs, even with the loss of the United States title.

Will Sting get a rematch?  And when will Rollins get his U.S. title rematch?  After that, who's next for Rollins?