WWE Superstar Power Rankings Ahead of Sept. 19 Raw

WWE Raw will hit the USA Network airwaves Monday night—just six days from Sunday's Clash of Champions pay-per-view—with a wealth of questions to be answered concerning its top talent. SmackDown has less pressure on it, as the brand's Backlash pay-per-view was a critically acclaimed success.

Which brand touts the No. 1 star in this week's rankings?

Could it be Raw, where WWE universal champion Kevin Owens scored a big victory over Roman Reigns, while Seth Rollins continued his quest to punish The Prizefighter before taking what he considers his championship? 

Perhaps it is SmackDown, where John Cena returned and joined Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles in the discussion over just who is the rightful No. 1 contender to the top prize on the blue brand.

Maybe it's The Miz, whose contract discussions with Daniel Bryan might make him a free agent—the likes of which would impress Heath Slater.

With hours until Raw and this week in WWE kick off, let's take a look at the 10 Superstars guaranteed to make the greatest impact.

10. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn joined Chris Jericho for an edition of The Highlight Reel and did more to shed light on his character with one single promo than he or WWE Creative had done in the entire seven months he had been on the main roster.

He established himself as a journeyman seeking the greatness in WWE that guys like Jericho and Eddie Guerrero achieved. Those men inspired him, but Y2J's recent attitude change has him wondering if the same guy exists anymore.

Of course, Zayn ate a cellphone to the face and a Codebreaker, but The Underdog from the Underground connected with audiences and set himself up for a fairly significant match on the Clash of Champions card.

Now it is up to WWE Creative to build on the foundation he laid and continue presenting an interesting take on the Zayn persona.

9. Sasha Banks

Not only is Sasha Banks back, but she is also the No. 1 contender for the Raw Women's Championship, thanks to a huge Triple Threat match victory over Bayley and Dana Brooke last Monday night.

The Boss arrived at that show riding a wave of momentum after revealing that she will not miss any ring time, and she made it clear that she wants a shot at the Women's Championship she lost back at SummerSlam.

She wasted no time getting it, surprising Bayley with an interesting roll-up sequence and scoring the pinfall win.

Now the top contender to Charlotte's title, Banks may be Raw's best bet to unseat the second-generation competitor and once again reign over women's wrestling on the red brand.

8. Rusev

Credit: WWE.com

The Bulgarian Brute returned to WWE this past Monday night, costing Roman Reigns the opportunity to head to Clash of Champions to fight for the WWE Universal Championship and reigniting their feud in the process.

Gone for a few weeks as he partook in a grand wedding ceremony in his native Bulgaria, Rusev is back and ready to defend the United States Championship against the man who injured him and sidelined him back at SummerSlam.

A feud that is as intense as any on Raw, it should be interesting to see if the match between the flag-toting bad guy and his No. 1 rival carries any special stipulation or match type.

Either way, the program has done a solid job of reintroducing Rusev to relevance after a first half of 2016 that saw him slogging through the midcard with little direction and unlimited potential.

7. John Cena

The franchise star of WWE returned to SmackDown Tuesday and wasted little time making new enemies.

First, he targeted AJ Styles, the man who defeated him back at SummerSlam. Then, if that was not enough, he and Dean Ambrose had an interesting exchange that hinted at a potential Ambrose heel turn.

More importantly, the fans in Philadelphia welcomed Cena back with open arms, chanting his name and suggesting that the City of Brotherly Love's long history of hate for the generic good guy may have reached its conclusion.

Cena finds himself in the middle of title contention, a potential rival for Ambrose, Styles or both. He's no longer a Superstar who needs a title to define him, and since WWE no longer needs him to lead it, Cena can have a little more fun while coming and going as he pleases.

While he is unlikely to add a 16th championship to his resume anytime soon, a series against Styles or Ambrose should be wildly entertaining.

6. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns once again spent his Monday night proving to the world that, hate him or not, he is one of the best big-match workers in professional wrestling.

His main event against Kevin Owens was dramatic, intense and exciting, leaving the fans in Baltimore on the edges of their seats as they wondered if The Big Dog was en route to a Universal Championship match at Clash of Champions.

Of course, late-match interference from Rusev would doom him to defeat, but in doing so, it also set up a significant midcard match for the enormous brand-exclusive pay-per-view.

That is the best place for Reigns right now. Still smarting after a 30-day suspension for violating WWE's wellness policy and remaining the object of fan disdain, working a proven heel commodity like Rusev and regaining the support of the audience is what the three-time WWE champion needs to get himself back on track and end 2016 with a bang.

5. The Miz

The Miz has developed into the most entertaining character in all of WWE, thanks in large part to his willingness to be an honest-to-goodness bad guy rather than the Attitude Era-born "cool heel" that is in abundance in today's wrestling landscape.

The condescending manner in which he speaks to the WWE Universe, the anger brought out of him by Daniel Bryan and his understated yet outstanding in-ring game has combined to make him a legitimate breakout star of the brand extension.

Riding a wave of momentum few could have foreseen eight months ago, Miz has the potential to return to the main event scene for the first time since his failed WWE Championship run in 2011, which bombed through little fault of his own.

A feud with Dolph Ziggler has allowed him more television time, but the gold at the end of the rainbow is a prospective match with Bryan, who may still be retired but whose in-ring return has been hinted at more than once in recent weeks.

4. Dean Ambrose

The Lunatic Fringe may no longer be WWE world champion, but the re-emergence of his edgy tweener persona reared its head this week and, in the process, had many thinking "heel turn."

Dean Ambrose lost a lot of the edge that made him an unpredictable and entertaining babyface, something John Cena was quick to point out as they stood mere feet from each other. It lit a fuse in Ambrose, who dropped the franchise star with Dirty Deeds to close out the Sept. 13 SmackDown Live.

Fans reacted strongly, booing him just as they had earlier in the night.

Just as they had 48 hours earlier at Backlash.

Without the burden of the championship around his waist, a burden that nearly castrated his character of its uniqueness, Ambrose can once again be the frenetic force that he rose to prominence as in his post-Shield days.

3. Seth Rollins

Determined to get a measure of revenge against Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins exploded through the curtain Monday night during the main event of Raw and attacked the WWE universal champion, drawing a disqualification and infuriating general manager Mick Foley.

None of it mattered, though.

See, to this point in his young babyface run, Rollins has not bowed down to authority as he did as a heel. He has been confrontational with both Foley and Stephanie McMahon and made it clear that the actions that cost him the title two weeks ago will not go unpunished.

In many ways, he is now the tweener that WWE has tried to present Dean Ambrose as over the last two years. Neither heroic nor villainous, Rollins looks out for himself and does what is necessary to regain the spot atop the WWE mountain that was ripped from him last October via injury.

As WWE gears up for the final Raw before Clash of Champions, expect to see more of Rollins, which is not a bad thing.

2. AJ Styles

AJ Styles may have had a relatively quiet Tuesday night, and he may have come up on the losing end of the tag team main event, but he did not take the fall and is still the WWE world champion, so he remains near the top of our rankings.

The Phenomenal One enters the week free of pressure.

He has accomplished everything he set out to when joining WWE and, to top it all off, has been the company's best worker in 2016. His performances have lived up to his nickname, and as fall approaches, fans should expect more of the same.

Whether he is defending against John Cena or Dean Ambrose, Styles will continue to enthrall fans with his penchant for the dramatic and exciting.

And now he will do it as the face of SmackDown Live and the centerpiece of the WWE World Championship picture.

1. Kevin Owens

The WWE universal champion rode a victory over Roman Reigns in a phenomenal main event to the No. 1 spot on this week's countdown.

The cocky, confident titleholder, Owens continued to silence critics, even if it took two tries to down The Big Dog.

Now he heads into Raw just six days before a championship defense against Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions as a marked man. Rollins has targeted Owens and will likely make his presence felt Monday night. How The Prizefighter deals with that remains to be seen.

Expect, though, that Owens will remain the focal point of the red brand's booking decisions and the star of Monday's broadcast.