WWE Power Rankings: 27 September, 2014

Night of Champions turned out to be a disaster outing for the WWE. The expectations bar set by the WWE universe was well above the show that the company delivered last Sunday.The week that followed the pay-per-view didn’t impress as well since the lack of good storylines haunted WWE as always. The return of Dean Ambrose was a big boost to the otherwise depleted roster and the lunatic fringe was all over the programming this week.Absence of Brock Lesnar was another big void that was felt. Cena and Ambrose running behind Rollins made it clear that Mr. Money in the bank was in grave danger. There weren’t much to celebrate on the course of seven days and here is a look at the Power Rankings.

#25 Natalya (Previous Rank Nil)

The former divas champion secured a win against Summer Rae on Raw and along with some Total Divas spotlight; she has managed to get a place in the Power Rankings. It’s the title picture where Natalya deserves to be in and hopefully this momentum would help her achieve that.

#24 Miz (Previous Rank 25)

Miz got his hands back on the Intercontinental championship at NOC thanks to his stunt double’s distraction but couldn’t build a reign longer than 24 hours. He apparently has his eyes set higher after the loss but losing to Ambrose wasn’t something on that list.

#23 Naomi (Previous Rank 23)

Naomi was restricted to the ‘B’ Shows this week. She had a forgettable outing at Main Event against the Divas Champion but managed to keep her ranking intact with a win over Alicia Fox at Superstars. Naomi getting regular matches is a good sign and she will be looking to head up the rankings soon.

#22 Bo Dallas (Previous Rank 21)

Despite being inspirational to everyone around him, Bo couldn’t find a place in the Night of Champions. His week didn’t go good as well when he picked up three loses in the span of seven days meaning that he is the one who needs some inspiration right now.

#21 Brie Bella (Previous Rank 24)

Daniel Bryan’s presence in the roster was one thing that made Brie Bella flourish. And even in the absence of Bryan, Brie is showing improvements both inside and outside the ring. Being in the centre of a big storyline has helped Brie to climb up three places in the Power rankings.

#20 Adam Rose (Previous Rank 22)

Rose is having an unorthodox partnership with his bunny but it doesn’t take away his winning momentum. The wins alongside the bunny has helped the Exotic Express to progress further into the Power Rankings of this week.

#19 Chris Jericho (Previous Rank 10)

Another spell of Jericho’s career in the WWE came to an end at Night of Champions. He would’ve loved to head out in a winning style but the Viper had other plans. The big loss against Orton has dragged Jericho nine places in the rankings, from which he will soon disappear.

#18 Jack Swagger (Previous Rank 19)

Swagger would’ve loved to face Bo Dallas at Night of Champions but he had to wait till Monday Night Raw. A victories effort against the inspirational superstar helps Swagger to improve his ranking and in turn over shadowing the battle royal elimination at SmackDown.

#17 Cesaro (Previous Rank 16)

The Swiss Superman delivered a solid performance against Sheamus on NOC but couldn’t still get his hands on the gold. His failure to capture the US title has steered Cesaro’s attention to another midcard title in the form of Dolph Ziggler’s Intercontinental championship.

#16 Nikki Bella (Previous Rank 15)

Just when the fans thought that the WWE would do a worst booking decision by letting Nikki win the Divas Championship, the exact opposite happened. Nikki is on the receiving side of the matches right now and her failure to capitalize on the opportunities reflects on the rankings.

#15 Big Show (Previous Rank 17)

The rumors of Big Show going up against Lesnar were buried this week when the World’s largest Athlete went out to seek revenge for his partner, Mark Henry. Show has a mammoth task in his hands now as he is pitted up against the Bulgarian Brute himself.

#14 Wyatt Family (Previous Rank 14)

Bray Wyatt’s impressive continuous run in the pay-per-views was stopped by NOC, as the company couldn’t find an opponent for the eater of the worlds. He went missing this week as well which has raised many questions among the WWE Universe about what his next move would be.

#13 Mark Henry (Previous Rank 11)

Henry’s mission of hoisting the American Flag high at Night of Champions hit a roadblock called Rusev. The same happened on Raw as Rusev dominated Henry. Two back to back losses have dragged Henry down two places in the rankings.

#12 Paige (Previous Rank 8)

Paige had the luxury of being a two time divas champion within her first year in the main roster and she could make it three after Night of Champions. She dropped the title to her ‘frenemy’ AJ Lee, and the feud between the two is far from over as things stand now.

#11 Rusev (Previous Rank 12)

The Bulgarian Brute’s resume skyrocketed last Sunday when he dispatched a former World Champion. It was more dominating performance in the night that followed. Rusev now has Big Show to aid his rise and the following weeks would prove to be ideal stage for the same.

#10 The Usos (Previous Rank 6)

The long reign of the Usos came to an abrupt end at Night of Champions when they dropped the titles to Dust Brothers. The result was completely against the predictions but the majority of the WWE Universe would know that they can’t count out Usos from the situation.

#9 AJ Lee (Previous Rank 13)

AJ came out with her heads high and gold around her waist from the triple threat match. The title win alongside an impressive win on Raw has helped AJ crack the top ten. Her feud with Paige might be continuing for the time being, but the champion would have eyes behind her head for any other threat.

#8 Dust Brothers (Previous Rank 18)

Despite the character of Cody Rhodes having a lot of potential, WWE needed this much time to give the duo a deserving push. The tag titles seem to be staying with the team for some time and the win has given them the biggest jump of the week from 18th to 8th.

#7 Dean Ambrose (Previous Rank 20)

The concerns of WWE fans about Ambrose being pushed back due to other commitments were wiped off when the Lunatic fringe returned to an epic reception. He was clearly the biggest star of the week and knows what he has to do in order to get his hands on Rollins.

#6 Sheamus (Previous Rank 7)

The Celtic Warrior’s latest opponent, Cesaro also failed to take the title away from Sheamus. Night of Champions saw one of the performances of the year from the United States champion who is silencing the critics who had doubts about his ability.

#5 Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank 9)

The fans were shocked when they saw Ziggler drop the Intercontinental title at NOC as they thought that his fairy tale run was going to end. However, a win on Raw kept the story alive and Ziggler is still the champion who has a Superman problem now.

#4 Randy Orton (Previous Rank 5)

Orton secured a big win against Chris Jericho last Sunday and has managed to dig a bit deeper thanks to that. He now has the protection of Seth Rollins as his primary aim but it would only be a matter of time before he turns back and bite the hands that feed him.

#3 Seth Rollins (Previous Rank 4)

The Authority seems to have chosen the right guy as Rollins made it big at NOC. Curb stomping the beast wasn’t a good idea and now he has friction with Cena, Lesnar, and of course, Dean Ambrose. Mr. Money in the bank has a long way to travel now and his eyes are set firmly on Lesnar’s championship.

#2 John Cena (Previous Rank 2)

It was a spirited performance by Cena at NOC as he fought back hard against Lesnar. The interference from Rollins however made it a complete mess leaving Cena in fury. Rollins is the one that he wants to get his hands on before he goes once more against Lesnar.

#1 Brock Lesnar (Previous Rank 1)

Lesnar might’ve lost out his match against Cena but the beast is still the WWE Champion. He will have a score to settle with the Authority after what went down at NOC and it would only be a matter of time before he shows up and destroys everything in the path.