Seth Rollins and the Top 5 WWE In-Ring Performances for the Week of July 21

Seth Rollins failed to the win the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose on two straight nights, but he looked tremendous in defeat. The Architect wowed the crowd on Monday's Raw as Ambrose's challenger, a crafty opponent with an eye-popping arsenal. 

Rollins, Raw's No. 1 pick in Tuesday's draft, provided more proof that he's one of WWE's top in-ring performers today.

Cesaro made the most of his short time in the ring. Bayley played her role perfectly. The second night of the Cruiserweight Classic tournament provided a pair of impressive showings as well.  

In the end, a varied group of Superstars made up this week's best in-ring artists. Exciting moves, effective storytelling and the ability to affect the crowd determined who came out on top in the rankings.

Honorable Mention: Akira Tozawa (Cruiserweight Classic)

Akira Tozawa's win over Kenneth Johnson on Wednesday night sealed an impressive feat: All three Japanese wrestlers in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament advanced to the second round. Along the way, the Dragon Gate star worked a strong bout in the night's main event. 

Tozawa boasted more viciousness and presence than his peers. As a pit bull on the attack, he enthralled.

He barked. He snarled. He hit Johnson with a discus forearm that looked like it might have loosened a tooth or two. Tozawa ended it all with a picture-perfect German suplex.

Barry Hess of Voices of Wrestling wrote, "Tozawa came across as the most impressive talent of the evening."

Some would argue, though, that Lince Dorado deserves that honor instead. While Tozawa is one of the likeliest Cruiserweight Classic stars to get a WWE deal, Dorado looked more spectacular thanks to his soaring on this one night. 

5. Dean Ambrose (SmackDown)

As well as Dean Ambrose wrestled, the majority of the discussion coming out of Tuesday's SmackDown was about the draft. That game-changer overshadowed the night's main event, a rematch of the WWE Championship bout from Monday's Raw.

Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins was not quite as good as the first time around, but The Lunatic Fringe made it easy to invest in his story.

He excelled as the babyface charging back against his foe. Staggering and loopy, he battled Rollins with his trademark wild approach. Ambrose sold the pain of the bout well, looking like he had been through hell by the time he hit Dirty Deeds for the win.

The champion, though, didn't outdo what Rollins pulled out on Raw or what a masked newcomer did on Wednesday night. Those men rode more memorable moves to higher spots on this list.

4. Cesaro (Raw)

Cesaro makes everything in the ring a work of art. Even something as commonplace as a diving crossbody is majestic.

On Monday's Raw, he showed off his in-ring prowess while teaming with Sami Zayn against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.

The King of Swing was not in the contest long, but the crowd was most alive when he was on the attack. Zayn tagged him in mid-match, and Cesaro went on a hypnotic tear that saw him springboard off the ropes and barrel into the corner to deliver his famous uppercuts.

Had this been a solo match, Cesaro likely would have ranked higher. Zayn delivered plenty of the action, too.

However, there was a feeling of insignificance about this match. Cesaro hasn't been in a storyline, forced instead to just wow in bouts with zero stakes.  

LaToya Ferguson of the A.V. Club believes there is something missing in regard to all these men: "It's good. It's fun. They all just get 'it.' These are four fantastic wrestlers who all bring something different to the table, but what is there to say anymore?"

Hopefully, the brand split will give Cesaro more direction. He can knock it out of the park on any given night. There just needs to be more hype and drama surrounding his battles.

3. Lince Dorado (Cruiserweight Classic)

The Cruiserweight Classic is a celebration of fresh faces, even if those faces are tucked under a mask. Lince Dorado, a Puerto Rican high-flyer, made quite the impression in his first time on a WWE stage.

During his first-round match with Mustafa Ali, Dorado came off like a superhero, a mythological creature from the world of lucha libre. 

Big moves with big risks made sure he was the talk of the tournament. Dorado hit a springboard reverse hurricanrana and a leg-scissors takedown off the ring apron that left the announcers gushing. 

The bout was one of the best the Cruiserweight Classic has produced so far. ProWrestling.net's Jason Powell called it "a very cool match that took a fairly quiet crowd and had them marveling over some of the great acrobatics."

He will be one of the talents to keep an eye on as the tourney progresses. Watching him pull more out of his bag of tricks will be fun.

Dorado's victory was more about acrobatics than narrative, though. As thrilling as he was gliding through the air, two other Superstars managed to engage more through character and in-ring psychology.

2. Bayley (NXT)

Bayley's clash with Nia Jax to close out Wednesday's NXT is the kind of performance many fans were hoping to see on Raw and SmackDown after the draft. But neither show selected her. 

Audiences will instead have to tune in to NXT to see her continue to flourish as a babyface.

This was a different matchup than their collision at NXT TakeOver: London. Bayley took more punishment here, playing the part of the resilient hero who refuses to quit—something she does well.

At times, Bayley looked out on her feet. Her body language made Jax's attack look more powerful. And when she went on the offensive, her fiery forearms and clear passion helped draw the crowd in.

She has one of the best comebacks in WWE right now thanks to a mix of fun and ferocity.

Again, Bayley led her opponent to one of the best outings of her career. This time, it was part of an ongoing story of her climb back to the women's title. This trek is feeling a lot like Sami Zayn's rise to the NXT Championship.

Bayley is plenty sympathetic and likable enough to pull off a parallel narrative.

1. Seth Rollins (Raw)

Seth Rollins killed it on Monday's Raw, even if WWE Creative's overbooking trampled the performance.

Rollins' battle with Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship was the week's most compelling and complete match. The Architect was a key component of its success. 

His high-energy offense and slick, agile approach to the sport engaged fans as the bout neared its crescendo.

Rollins played a hungry opportunist. His biggest moves came at just the right time, amplifying the energy of the action. He hurled Ambrose into the security barricade with a powerbomb and countered a rebound clothesline, turning it into a turnbuckle powerbomb.

Moments like that made it the better of their two bouts between them.

Unfortunately, WWE decided to end Raw with a double pin, and Rollins grabbed the title as the announcers and fans all stood in confusion. The aftermath occurred on the WWE Network, although no one directed fans there.

Even so, Rollins made his mark in an emphatic showing once more. This has become a habit for him. 

As Raw's No. 1 draft pick, he is poised to deliver this kind of performance on Monday nights for the foreseeable future.