WWE Power Rankings: 20 September, 2014

The week before Night of Champions failed to produce any big bangs as the WWE managed to mess up big time with both Raw and SmackDown. Opening the week with a lot of bad decisions cost the company dearly throughout the week and NOC now seems destined to be a failure.With such a disappoint week unfolding, there weren’t much to celebrate for the WWE superstars as well. Hopes of seeing NXT stars making an appearance never materialized while some big names were stuck in somewhere.The only feud that produced some spark was the one between Lesnar and Cena while others fell flat on the ground. With just hours from the NOC pay-per-view, here is a look at this week’s Power Rankings.

#25 Miz (Previous Rank 24)

Miz is not clearly having the ideal path to NOC as Ziggler continued to get the better of him. The tag team defeat against the showoff and his stunt double cost the Awesome one his spot in the Power Rakings but the Hollywood gimmick is working wonders for the former champion.

#24 Brie Bella (Previous Rank Nil)

Brie might not be involved in the Divas Title mix but as long as Nikki is in there, Brie will be watching on with keen eyes. The total divas star took a win over Cameron to recover from the defeat that she suffered on Raw against Paige and Nikki.

#23 Naomi (Previous Rank 23)

The former Funkadactyl kept her ranking intact after getting a win over Cameron. There were a lot of criticism on the WWE on letting the total divas storyline get a slot on Monday Night Raw but it was a win for Naomi nevertheless which builds her momentum.

#22 Adam Rose (Previous Rank 22)

A bizarre fact recently surfaced that Rose has the best win – loss ratio this year. This week’s results suggested the same when Rose picked up a win against Heath Slater on SmackDown despite not having any kind of push while his bunny has one.

#21 Bo Dallas (Previous Rank 21)

Bo’s week consisted of a win and a loss, both against Jack Swagger. The inspirational superstar’s feud against the real American seems to be far from over however it failed to find a place in the Night of Champions which is a disappointing stat to say the least.

#20 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 15)

There were no signs of Ambrose this week as well. The fans are really missing their lunatic fringe right now and it is going to be a big headline when he finally makes the return. Rollins will have to have eyes behind his head at that moment as nothing else could save him.

#19 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 19)

Swagger’s face turn made him over with the fans big-time. The feud with Rusev might’ve ended prematurely, but Bo stepping into the slot has helped the Real American. A balanced result this week has helped Swagger to remain in the previous rank from where he will try to rise up.

#18 Goldust and Stardust (Previous Rank 17)

Goldust and Stardust has the cosmic key in their mind but things aren’t going as they would’ve liked. The week started with a six man tag team loss against the Usos and Sheamus and ended with yet another loss. The results drag them down one place in the Rankings as they will be looking to strike gold on Sunday.

#17 Big Show (Previous Rank 18)

Big Show’s association with Mark Henry presented the fans with some good matches involving the Wyatt family. Henry side tracked to feud with Rusev and this has left the company to pair Show against Bray Wyatt. The matches weren’t that good to be frank, but Show managed to climb one place.

#16 Cesaro (Previous Rank 16)

WWE isn’t booking Cesaro as the fans would’ve loved but he has the chance to be a champion on Sunday. This is however a big improvement compared to the booking he got after parting away from Paul Heyman and hopefully the Swiss Superman would achieve everything that he deserves.

#15 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 20)

A Majority of the WWE universe raised their eyebrows when Nikki was introduced into the divas title picture but Nikki showed some credibility this week. She ended the week strong despite the loss against Paige and will be looking to hold the title high at NOC.

#14 Wyatt Family (Previous Rank 14)

Wyatt’s reign at the top of WWE might be coming to an end. Being put into a random match with Big Show and failing to make the cut to Night of Champions were things that shouldn’t have happened but the family has managed to stay rooted to their position in the rankings.

#13 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 11)

Every week AJ redefines the word crazy and this week was no different. However, the results didn’t go as AJ planned. She is still a big favorite to walk away with the title at Night of Champion but for that she will have to overcome a crazier Paige.

#12 Rusev (Previous Rank 13)

The Bulgarian Brute had the chance to headline Raw this week but didn’t make full utilization of the opportunity he had. Rusev has a big opportunity at Night of Champion when he squares off against the former World Champion and will have to fight against whole WWE Universe to get a win.

#11 Mark Henry (Previous Rank 12)

Henry’s big push continued this week as the World’s strongest man headlined a Raw which had names like John Cena and Brock Lesnar. He rallied the troops as patriotism surged through the veins of WWE Universe and now has to put a stop to the Bulgarian Brute.

#10 Chris Jericho (Previous Rank 10)

Jericho had a lot of stiches this week thanks to Kane but it was a win for the Human highlight reel. However, this doesn’t let Jericho climb up the rankings as he prepares himself to face the Viper at Night of Champions to settle some scores.

#9 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 6)

The intercontinental champion didn’t have a bad week to be frank but the crowded top ten pushes Ziggler down the rankings. He is having a lot of momentum heading into the title defense on Sunday and many wouldn’t bet against the champion as well.

#8 Paige (Previous Rank 8)

Paige has the odds stacked against her at Night of Champions but she is in no mood to give up. There is a lot of tension between Paige and AJ Lee and with Nikki in the mix, this are surely going to get out of hands at the pay-per-view on Sunday.

#7 Sheamus (Previous Rank 9)

The United States champion had his moments when he won tag team contests in both Raw and SmackDown. Sheamus didn’t allow Cesaro to get the upper hand at any occasions which will be the aim of the Celtic Warrior at Sunday also.

#6 The Usos (Previous Rank 7)

Usos will be heading into Sunday with their heads raised high after a satisfying performance against their challengers. However, the Rhodes brothers are a big threat to the titles with the possibilities of other teams lurking around the corner.

#5 Randy Orton (Previous Rank 5)

It was surprising to see Orton being absent just days before Night of Champions but he has managed to keep his rankings intact. Orton has a date with Jericho on Sunday and the viper will be looking to strike with no mercy at his foe that is a bit short handed after the match against Kane.

#4 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 4)

Mr. Money in the bank surprisingly had a match with Roman Reigns on Raw and lost clean. It hampered his momentum big time and Rollins now has a point to prove at the pay-per-view and anything less than a win wouldn’t do the job.

#3 Roman Reigns (Previous Rank 2)

Reigns gave a teaser to the WWE universe on what they could expect at Night of Champions and have his momentum sky high after a win. It wasn’t the best decision from the side of WWE creative to make the match happen early and this coupled with Cena’s heroics drags Reigns one place down in the rankings.

#2 John Cena (Previous Rank 3)

The Cenation leader seemed to be back on track to face Lesnar as he had to be held back by the officials. There is a lot of aggression in Cena waiting to burst out and at Night of Champions, even if all the other matches disappoint, this looks destined to be a war between the two.

#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 2)

The Beast finally came back to television this week but was received by a ruthless Cena. Lesnar seemed surprised by the intensity that Cena showed. At Night of Champions, he will be trying to replicate SummerSlam but will have to overcome a resilient Cena.