WWE Power Rankings: 23 August, 2014

Cinder blocks, quality tag team wrestling and a new WWE title proved to be the headline grabbers in the week which followed the companys biggest summer party.Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins stole the show in the absence of John Cena as WWE were not able to carry forward the storyline of the Beast and their superhero. Strides for Night of Champions seem to be similar to the ones made for SummerSlam but the intelligent booking blurred the repetitions.WWE is preparing for another week full of twists and turns probably without their new face, however before we get to that, here is a look at the ups and downs that went across the Power Rankings thanks to SummerSlam.

#25 The Miz (Previous Rank 24)

Miz was expected to retain the Intercontinental title at SummerSlam, but failed to live up to the hype. His lose means that it will be back to square one for the Awesome one who has already made efforst to bring the gold back.

#24 Natalya (Previous Rank Nil)

AJ Lee and Paige are having a weird catfight while Natalya was the one who smiled in the end. She faced the Divas champion twice over the week and was victorious in both occasions thanks to timely interferences from AJ.

#23 Heath Slater (Previous Rank 21)

There is Heath Slater who defeats the lights of Seth Rollins and Miz and then there is Heath Slater who losses to Hornswoggle and El Torito. It is a pure paradox from the creative team and Slater is clearly on his way out of the rankings with results like this.

#22 Stephanie McMahon (Previous Rank Nil)

Everyone who doubted about Stephanie’s in ring ability after all those years got served well at SummerSlam. She not only performed well for the match, but came out with a win to show for after Nikki’s shocking turn.

#21 Rob Van Dam (Previous Rank Nil)

Mr. Monday Night Raw had good outings at both SummerSlam and the Raw that followed. The win against Cesaro and getting the pin in a star studded tag team match puts Rob Van Dam back in the Rankings for the time being.

#20 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank Nil)

After the surprising swerve at SummerSlam, Nikki is turning out to be the protagonist of WWE’s lead storyline. She even got a dominating win over Emma at Main Event and looks pretty suited to take her sister out sooner or later.

#19 Stardust and Goldust (Previous Rank 23)

One of the hints dropped by WWE about revamping their tag division was the win that Goldust and Stardust got over the Usos. Another win over Wyatt Family rounded off a great week for the brothers who has an eye out for the Tag titles.

#18 Cesaro (Previous Rank 18)

The Swiss Superman put his losing streak to the bed this week by coming out on top against his former buddy, Jack Swagger. His luck wasn’t that pretty at SummerSlam but it is a positive end for Cesaro as a in terms of the final evaluation.

#17 Mark Henry (Previous Rank -20)

The World’s Strongest man had an interesting pairing alongside Big Show this week and the team looked pretty impressive. However, it was his confrontation with Rusev that stole the show as Henry now has taken the spot of Swagger as the representative of United States.

#16 Kane (Previous Rank 15)

With or without the mask, all that Kane does is the dirty work of Authority. He was heavily involved in the feud between Ambrose and Rollins making it an against the odds situation for the lunatic fringe. Kane might be clean for now, but he will have to pay for the dastardly deeds that he is doing now.

#15 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 13)

Swagger was feeling the pressure of the American expectations in his shoulder and crumbled because of that. He then took two big losses at Raw and SmackDown respectively. Zeb Colter will need to put a lot of work into his boy to bring the momentum back.

#14 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 19)

Ziggler did the unthinkable at SummerSlam and got the push that he deserved. The championship win could turn out to be a career changer for the Showoff if pulled off right, but starting with a loss might’ve not been on the plans.

#13 Rusev (Previous Rank -14)

The Bulgarian Brute held his head high at SummerSlam when he came over the Real American. The celebration was cut short by Mark Henry on Raw and Rusev and Lana now literally has a bigger problem in their hands.

#12 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 10)

AJ was shell shocked at the biggest party of the summer when Paige took the title away. However, AJ is showing no signs of backing down to her ‘frenemy’. She would be desperate to get back the title, but for the time being, AJ might have to limit it to the distractions.

#11 Chris Jericho (Previous Rank 9)

The human highlight reel was crept out to the core by Bray Wyatt and his crab walk at the Staples Centre. He got some criticism for the way he performed between the ropes as well and apparently has one last chance at Night of champions to prove his worth.

#10 Paige (Previous Rank 11)

Divas division saw another crazy turn at SummerSlam when Paige came away with the title. The week that followed however didn’t go well for the champion as she took two losses at the hands of Natalya thanks to distractions from AJ Lee.

#9 Wyatt Family (Previous Rank 12)

A sweet and sour week for the Wyatts passed when Bray managed to pick up a big win while Erick Rowan and Luke Harper booked to lose. Bray’s win is a big game changer for the eater of the worlds who was slowly slipping out of relevance.

#8 The Usos (Previous Rank 7)

The Usos not only failed to make it into the SummerSlam card, but also lost a non-title match against the Dust Brothers. They will be having a tough road ahead with all those teams trying to get a piece and Night of Champions might prove to be the stage for this slaughter.

#7 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 2)

He might’ve got beaten up, but Ambrose is slowly rising to that stage which once belonged to Daniel Bryan. Ambrose is hands down the most over face in the company right now and all he needs now is a good win against Rollins which will sort out the numbers game.

#6 Sheamus (Previous Rank 8)

Just like the Usos, Sheamus was also overlooked by WWE when they booked SummerSlam. However, the Celtic warrior came out strongly with two wins in this week. This puts him back in the hunt for a top five spot but we all know that the United States championship deserves better.

#5 John Cena (Previous Rank 1)

Cena would want to take away the word suplex from his dictionary because Lesnar gave him a lesson that he won’t forget. His absence was a big blow in terms of narrative for the company this week but Cena is sure to make it big when he comes back from the hospital bed.

#4 Randy Orton (Previous Rank 3)

It didn’t go as planned for the Viper at SummerSlam as Reigns proved too good for him. Orton however got one over the Samoan at SmackDown as the feud looks set to go all the way to Night of Champions when what the fans want is a Triple H – Reigns showdown.

#3 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 6)

If Ambrose is turning out to be the most over face in WWE, Rollins is an exact contrast. With the authority in his pocket, Rollins is climbing the stairs fast but he will not be looking to cash in the contract when Brock Lesnar is holding the title.

#2 Roman Reigns (Previous Rank 4)

Reigns had it all figured out at SummerSlam when he came over a former World Champion like Orton. The feud between the two however is far from being over and Reigns is looking to carry his momentum forward after getting one over the viper.

#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 5)

WWE no longer belongs to Cena, it belongs to the beast. He broke the Streak at WrestleMania and he conquered a 15 time World Champion at SummerSlam. It couldn’t have been any better for Lesnar in 2014 and anyone who goes up against him would have a big task in their hand.