Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE SmackDown New Ranking System Is Bold, Welcome Move

1. Bring on the Top 10

SmackDown is about to turn into a laboratory, and it's a beautiful thing. 

The blue brand's general manager Daniel Bryan announced on Tuesday the show will implement a ranking system that SmackDown's stars will vote on. The shifting Top 10 list will help determine who gets future opportunities.

Maybe it turns out to be clunky, maybe WWE has to abandon it in six months, but it's great to see something fresh arrive. It has potential to add high stakes to matches, create new rivalries and add an intriguing dimension to the show. And it's sure to make SmackDown stand out from Raw.

Hall of Famer Jim Ross mentioned that the idea reminded him of a similar setup at the now-defunct Universal Wrestling Federation:

And as JR noted, it adds a logical side to SmackDown.

Sometimes victories don't seem to matter. Sometimes challengers move up the ranks for no reason. A Top 10 system has the chance to make the ascension process clearer. It gives Superstars something to fight for even if there's no title involved.

SmackDown is set to borrow from one of the best elements of college football.

When two teams go head-to-head, they know where they stand in the polls beforehand. A win will push them higher. A loss will drop them. And there's great drama when the No. 2 team in the country faces the No. 3 side.

WWE can use added stakes such as that. Suddenly, Tye Dillinger facing Baron Corbin isn't just a fight for some vague increase in momentum, it's a battle to push past the other to crack the Top 10 list.

After suffering two straight losses and going from third to ninth on the poll, Kevin Owens' battle with Zack Ryder would suddenly have more weight. 

Credit: WWE.com

There are any number of possible directions to take this new endeavor. It's an experiment worth trying, the kind of outside-the-box move WWE doesn't often go for.

And if it takes off, SmackDown would have an added reason for viewers to tune in.

Here's hoping it does. The same old storylines and presentation can get dull. WWE is the king of the industry with a built-in audience each week. Why not get creative and see if something catches fire?

2. The Revolution Hits the Rumble

As WWE drilled into its audience, the Royal Rumble made all kinds of history.

Sunday's pay-per-view marked the first time women main-evented one of the Big Four events when they battled in the first women's Royal Rumble match. Not until one looks back at the previous editions of the show is it really clear how far the women's division has come.

There have been 16 Royal Rumble PPVs with no women's match on the card at all, including a stretch from 1990 to 1998, per the Internet Wrestling Database. On five occasions, the event's only women's bout lasted less than five minutes. In 2010, Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool in only 20 seconds.

Eight years later, both women lasted longer than eight minutes in the Rumble, as seen on WWE.com.

Women had a total of 24 minutes and 51 seconds of ring time at the Rumble in the 2000s. On Sunday, three women spent more time in the ring than that.

Sasha Banks was the bout's Iron Woman as she stayed in the fray for nearly 55 minutes, which is more time than women spent competing at every Rumble from 1988 to 2010 combined.

Those are the kind of numbers we should all take in and appreciate. The women's division is far from perfect, and there are elements to nitpick, but the Royal Rumble was a major step forward.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: The Dudley Boyz

The Dudley Boyz are headed to the Hall of Fame. WWE will induct Bubba Ray and D-Von this April alongside Goldberg.

Many of the memories fans will associate with the tag team specialists have to do with tables and ladders. The "brothers," though, also provided some goofier moments when they were with ECW. 

This clip from 1996 takes one back to the days when The Dudley Boyz wore tye-dye and were a far bigger group:

The two bruisers were far from blue-chip prospects when they began. Bubba Ray and D-Von, however, carved out a hell of a career. Their Hall of Fame nod is well-deserved.

4. NXT=MOTY

One of the safest WWE-related bets one can make right now is that an NXT bout will be the company's best match of the year.

As good as the two Royal Rumble matches were, nothing on Sunday touched the top bouts from NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. 

Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black was a brutal thriller with as much story as it had spots. Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano was a work of art, the kind of match one shows to a new fan to demonstrate how stirring and powerful in-ring drama can be.

TakeOvers have consistently delivered a better product than the main roster PPVs in terms of pure wrestling. That doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon with talent such as Black, Almas, Gargano, Ember Moon and others tearing it up.

Even with AJ Styles set to face Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34, there's a good chance something from the 2018 NXT library tops that.

5. The Other Rumble

There weren't just two Royal Rumble matches over the weekend. WWE offered a kooky promotional third Battle Royal where all the entrants dressed up as Colonel Sanders.

Goldust's take on the famous character was superb, just the kind of bizarre getup you'd expect from him. Ric Flair in full Colonel garb won the whole thing.

"

It's Finger Lickin' WOO!!! #ad pic.twitter.com/qSHON0SUsN

— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018"

Should Planters sponsors the next Rumble, we may see Rusev punching out folks with a monocle and top hat on.

6. NJPW's Strong Stateside Fan Base

The buzz around New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the U.S. continues to swell. The speed at which fans gobbled up tickets for Strong Style Evolved is proof.

Tickets for the March 25 event in Long Beach, California, went on sale Monday and as Dave Meltzer noted on Figure Four Online, they sold out in 20 minutes.

It's clear NJPW should try for bigger arenas and more shows in America. Their brand is a growing one, one that resonates with diehard fans. The demand is there; it's time to up the supply.

7. Back When the XFL was Born

No, you didn't mishear the news: the XFL is back. At a press conference on January 25, Vince McMahon announced the football league is returning in 2020.

If it feels like it's been a long time since He Hate Me was in action and the Memphis Maniax played a game, it's because it has been. The XFL officially kicked off its one and only season on Feb. 3, 2001.

To gauge how much time has passed since, wrestling fans simply have to look back at the company's titleholders at that point.

Credit: WWE.com

Per WWE.com, when the XFL played its inaugural game, Kurt Angle was the WWE champ and Chris Jericho held the intercontinental title. 

The United States Championship was a WCW entity, and Gen. Rection was the titleholder. The Universal Championship, Raw and SmackDown's Tag Team Championship, both women's championships and all the NXT titles had yet to exist.

8. Mysterio's Finest

Rey Mysterio sprinting through the curtains at the Royal Rumble was one of the night's best moments, with the high-flyer getting a hero's welcome to help erase the memories of 2014 when fans booed him.

The former world champ looked to be in tremendous shape. It was as if 2003 Mysterio had traveled to the PPV via time machine.

Whether his appearance was a one-shot deal or a precursor to another WWE run, one can't help but think back to his prime. There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than rewatching some of his greatest matches. 

These five are good places to start:

• Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis: ECW, Oct. 17, 1995 (2-out-of-3 Falls)
• Rey Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko: Halloween Havoc 1996
• Rey Mysterio vs. Ultimate Dragon: WCW World War 3 1996
• Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho: The Bash 2009
• Rey Mysterio vs. Prince Puma: Lucha Underground, July 20, 2016

Should he sign with WWE at some point, he's sure to add to his impressive resume with showdowns against the likes of Cedric Alexander, Finn Balor or AJ Styles.

9. Empress and MVP

If the rest of the year is anything like January, Asuka will be a front-runner for Superstar of the Year.

The Royal Rumble winner has been one of Raw's most engaging wrestlers, one of the talents the brand has depended on. At Sunday's PPV, she was one of the stars of the main event as she toyed with her prey and went on the attack.

She followed that up with a great all-out match against Sasha Banks on Monday's Raw.

With the spotlight on her, a WrestleMania championship shot ahead and the drama surrounding her undefeated streak, Asuka is poised for a huge year. WWE should go ahead and start engraving The Empress of Tomorrow's name on some Slammys now.

10. EC3 on Knowing Himself

Ethan Carter III is back. 

After leaving NXT in May 2013 as Derrick Bateman, the former Impact Wrestling champion made his return to the brand at TakeOver: Philadelphia. He retained his moniker from Impact Wrestling, but more importantly, he comes back to WWE with charisma, confidence and a sense of self he didn't have when he left.

"I know who I am now and there's a victory in that," Carter said in an interview backstage.

He's absolutely right. Figuring out who one is is a most significant win. That's true for anyone—wrestler, writer, teacher or traffic cop. 

Ryan Dilbert covers WWE and pro wrestling for Bleacher Report. You can find him on Twitter @ryandilbert.