WWE Superstar Power Rankings Following Sept. 5 Raw

Shake-ups in the WWE Universal Championship picture have given way to a new champion and an apparent babyface turn. But does Raw even have the top WWE Superstar in the promotion according to these rankings?

Week 1 of Kevin Owens' Universal Championship reign concluded with a new suit and the same attitude. Owens will face off against Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions on Sept. 25, but with Rollins yet to actually turn babyface, should we even care?

Meanwhile on SmackDown, a newer, more serious Miz and a reborn AJ Styles are threatening to paint this entire list blue.

10. Braun Strowman

WWE is beginning to get serious with Braun Strowman. After he unmasked an American luchador last week, he received his first challenge from a full-time member of the Raw roster since his repackaging.

That man was Sin Cara. That match was underwhelming.

Kudos to WWE for taking this bold next step in the Braun Strowman push, and even for connecting it to last week's squash. Unfortunately, the match was clunky, and without the charm of the wacky enhancement talent with no chance, Strowman could risk being shoehorned as another hoss pet project of WWE.

9. Bayley

Some feared that the WWE machine would not understand the girl-next-door persona that made Bayley such a powerhouse in NXT.

But what's there not to get? She's incredibly likable and is really good at wrestling. With a test run at WWE Battleground and rolling out in front of a Brooklyn crowd that treated her like a star, Bayley seems more Enzo and Big Cass and less Emma.

WWE just might have figured out this whole NXT transitioning thing. Bayley has been immediately established as a legit Women's Championship contender through just two weeks on the Raw roster.

After an awkward, at times spotty promo, Sasha Banks announced she would be challenging Charlotte for the Women's Championship at Clash of Champions. This is good, as it gives fans more time to get behind Bayley, who does her best work as the consummate underdog chasing a championship.

Bayley came in with a lot of hype and thus far has not disappointed, even pinning Charlotte in a non-title match Monday night. A can't-miss prospect, Bayley is quickly developing into the Andrew Luck of the Raw roster.

8. The Miz

The Miz turned back the clock to 2011 with the very type of serious, biting promo that many fans forget he was capable of delivering. And while the followup to last week's career-making promo was inevitably disappointing, The Miz has established himself as a big fish in a small pond on SmackDown.

Ambrose has been quite ho-hum as the WWE champion, and Miz seems intent on making the Intercontinental Championship SmackDown's most interesting title.

If Ambrose continues his currently forgettable run as world champion, not only will that happen, but Miz might be able to turn this momentum into a second WWE Championship reign.

Despite serious concussion issues that forced him to retire, WWE has been booking the Daniel Bryan-Miz storyline as if Bryan could come back for one more match. For the sake of Bryan's safety, hopefully that won't be the case, but if it is, The Miz will surely cash in.

7. Big Cass

WWE is brilliantly booking Big Cass as a part-time main eventer.

WWE plays host to a jaded fanbase that will turn on white-hot babyfaces on a dime. Therefore, it's important that the company remain shrewd by not going all-in with Big Cass too early, despite reports of the promotion being very high on the 7-footer—reports which Big Cass himself recently addressed in an interview with ABC affiliate WZZM (h/t Wrestling Inc).

Cass was in the main event of the Universal Championship match last week. One week later, he was back, palling around with Enzo—even losing to The Shining Stars.

Two steps forward, one step back. It's the type of booking that will ease Big Cass into the main event and allow fans to embrace him as more of a traditional babyface. There's a lot of potential in an Enzo and Cass Tag Team Championship run or two before they split. WWE simply needs to take its time before Big Cass goes from beloved big man to teacher's pet.

The key is easing in. WWE fans are like rabid pit bulls, but sometimes with pit bulls you just have to let them smell your hand first.

6. Dean Ambrose

Dean Ambrose is still WWE champion, right?

After a silent World Championship defense against Dolph Ziggler, Ambrose's current title-run-out-of-nowhere will benefit only because he'll be going head-to-head with a red-hot AJ Styles.

Prior to the Kevin Owens coronation, it could have been argued that Styles was the top heel in the promotion, regardless of the roster. In fact, that point can still be argued. After feuding with a babyface who cooled off years ago in Dolph Ziggler, facing a heel with momentum should help jump-start Ambrose's reign.

But even if Styles and Ambrose deliver with the main event spotlight and the ingredients for a great match, it's possible that Styles will win the WWE Championship before Ambrose even gets going.

5. Roman Reigns

It's fitting that Roman Reings finds himself in the middle of these rankings, because that's basically where he currently stands in the Universal Championship picture. He's not the No. 1 Contender guy. He's not the WWE universal champion guy. At the moment, he's just a guy.

Despite being a top babyface, Seth Rollins' recent "face turn"—and subsequent Universal Championship shot—has placed Reigns somewhat in purgatory.

And although Reigns made an appearance at the end of Raw to make his case for a future world title shot, it's possible that he'll have to wait it out until Rollins and Owens are finished handling their business.

It'll be interesting to see how WWE handles having longtime rivals Rollins and Reigns as dueling babyfaces. The temptation of reuniting The Shield will grow even stronger once WrestleMania season approaches.

Let's all hope it doesn't.

4. Seth Rollins

If the much-anticipated Seth Rollins babyface turn was a highly anticipated summer blockbuster, it would have been the wildly disappointing Suicide Squad.

Much like WWE's golden opportunity to bring Rollins back as a conquering hero following a devastating injury, WWE squandered the chance to solidify the No. 1 overall draft pick as a top babyface. Instead, Rollins resumed playing the same entitled heel he was before Triple H turned on him.

In fact, following the opening segment, it was hard not to think, "No wonder Triple H turned on that obnoxious jerk."

WWE needs to lean in on booking Rollins as a good guy. Whether it's a homecoming parade, a public apology or a TED Talk, Rollins needs to get his babyface on immediately. After being gifted endless opportunities by The Authority for years, playing the victim isn't going to work.

3. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho can do anything. He can be the heel world champion, the babyface chaser, the obnoxious villain, the charismatic protagonist, the rock star, the talking suit and, his most recent incarnation, the sycophantic best friend. 

There are possible seeds of Owens turning on Jericho, or vice versa, but for now, Jericho and Owens have been a very refreshing pair on Raw. With Owens as universal champion, Jericho's stock rises vicariously, and he has adjusted perfectly as Owen' right-hand man.

In Jericho's most recent run, the terms "it," "stupid idiot" and "gift of Jericho" have gotten over with minimal effort. It's beginning to look like this man could just clear his throat, and it would become a chant.

Jericho lost to Seth Rollins on Raw, but his past and current performances in and out of the ring have been so strong that he transcends wins and losses.

Jericho will be entertaining whether he remains Owens' friend or becomes his foe. He's just that good.

2. Kevin Owens

It's understandable that Kevin Owens wears a new suit to present himself as more of a champion, but less has always been more with Owens. WWE can't lose sight of the fact that he's a super-athletic big man who looks like he could beat up most wrestlers in a shoot fight.

WWE needs to tap into that guttural yet somehow charming bad boy and cultivate him so Owens can grow on his own merits during his first World Championship run.

Owens did a lot of running and hiding on Raw but continued to shine on the microphone, which will only help his cause. The absence of Triple H was a positive, as it allowed Owens to spread his wings without being branded as property of The Authority.

It'll be interesting to see if there's any involvement from Triple H or The Authority at Clash of Champions. Let's all hope not.

1. AJ Styles

To reiterate: AJ Styles just might be the top heel on either roster at the moment.

He defeated John Cena, and he's now the No. 1 contender for a WWE Championship in need of life support.

Beating Cena in back-to-back singles matches was a big deal, especially since the second victory was clean. WWE is not about to squander those wins, and with Ambrose sleepwalking through his first WWE Championship run, Styles should be considered a slight favorite to win the championship at Backlash.

In addition to his surefire wrestling ability, Styles has done some of the best mic work of his wrestling career in WWE. His insistence on wearing Cena's armband is a textbook heel move, and there's a lot of potential if he can stay healthy long enough to enjoy a lengthy world title reign.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.