We have officially stepped into a New Year. For WWE fans, the end of WrestleMania would probably be the start of a New Year, but then again, following the conventional non-wrestling calendar every now and then wouldn’t be a bad thing. As for the Power Rankings, the last edition came in 2016 and had Miz on top.
It was a great year for the reigning Intercontinental Champion and he would look to carry his momentum forward this year. A week of WWE programming has passed after we rolled out the last Power Rankings article where Miz reigned supreme and with the latest edition, we are going to take a look at how things have shaken up.
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#10 Alexa Bliss (NR)
Alexa Bliss makes a return to the Power Rankings this week thanks to her win over Becky Lynch on SmackDown live. Alexa defended the SmackDown Women’s Championship on Tuesday night and got unexpected but welcome assistance from La Luchadora as well.
The distraction and interference from the mystery Luchadora helped Alexa defeat Becky and keep the title.
Though it came in a tainted manner, the win is a win at the end of the day and it strengthens Alexa’s reign. With Becky now having to deal with La Luchadora, Alexa might move on to a different feud where she can showcase her talents once again.
#9 American Alpha (NR)
American Alpha made a big leap this week when they got hold of the SmackDown Tag team championships. The Wyatt Family’s title was up for grabs in a four-way elimination match and the match featured all the main tag teams from the brand.
Coming out with a win in such a match not only helped Chad Gable and Jason Jordan get a win but it also helped them cement their position on top of the division. American Alpha starts 2017 on a high note and they could be here to stay for a long time. The title win gets them a spot in the rankings.
#8 Dolph Ziggler (-1)
Dolph Ziggler’s gradual rise to the top was put to an abrupt stop at SmackDown this week. The Showoff started his journey winning a shot at AJ Styles but soon, Baron Corbin was introduced into the angle making it a three-way battle for the title. This week, the Triple threat match headlined the show and all three Superstars involved impressed.
As for Ziggler, he failed to capture the gold from AJ Styles and this is why he slips one place in the rankings. Even in defeat, the brilliant performance stands out and with so much momentum still with him, WWE could invest Ziggler elsewhere.
#7 Wyatt Family (-1)
The title reign of Wyatt Family ended this week as American Alpha won the tag team titles on SmackDown. Defending their titles against three strong teams was bound to be a headache for the faction but a good portion of the fan base expected Wyatts to retain.
Some friction within the team led to the title drop instead and this could even mark the exit of Wyatt Family from the tag team division.
A rematch with American Alpha could be on the books and considering how dominating they were till dropping the titles, they could win it back sooner or later. For now, they drop down a place
#6 Cesaro and Sheamus (+2)
While the title reign of Wyatt Family came to an end on SmackDown Live, Cesaro and Sheamus impressed yet again this week. The Champions got the better of New Day on Monday Night Raw and continued their impressive run. The win catapults them two places in the rankings and also calls for new challenges.
Despite being the longest reigning champions, New Day’s contention for the title seems to be over by now and it’s about time WWE brought in new challengers for the team. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows seem to be a right choice after the controversial angle that they had this past week.
#5 Kevin Owens (-2)
The reigning WWE Universal champion had another disappointing week. Owens, who is set to defend his Universal title against Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble, had a shot at the United States Championship on Raw. If Owens had won, he could’ve been a double Champion but Reigns had other plans.
Owens suffered a defeat despite a distraction from Chris Jericho and the loss will do him no good in the buildup to his title defence at the Rumble. He is in desperate need of a stronger booking and due to his defeat against Reigns, Owens slips down to fifth in the Power Rankings.
#4 Charlotte (+1)
Charlotte locked horns with Bayley this week on Raw with a title shot on the line. If Bayley won the match, she would’ve got the title shot against Charlotte, but since Dana Brooke was the special guest referee, Charlotte managed to keep Bayley away from the Women’s Championship.
The win is not impressive, considering Charlotte’s recent run against Sasha Banks but in the record books, it’s still a win and that’s what matters the most. After the recent setbacks, Charlotte will be happy that she got this win and it also helps her climb up one place. The Bayley storyline is not probably over and we will get more of it in the coming weeks.
#3 The Miz (-2)
The Miz stole the show a couple of weeks back when he took an unexpected shot at Renee Young. WWE resumed this storyline on SmackDown this week but Miz was kept on the sidelines. The non-wrestling angle that involved Miz, ended with Ambrose getting the upper hand.
It was a setback for Miz but it gave us an idea as to where WWE is going with this angle.
A full-blown feud between Ambrose and Miz is in the works and Miz will once again have a great platform to showcase what he is capable of. The inactivity and the Ambrose segment, however, costs him this week.
#2 Roman Reigns (+2)
Roman Reigns could be on his way to becoming a double champion. He successfully defended his United States championship against Kevin Owens this week and continued his momentum. It was a good week for Reigns and he will look to carry forward this momentum all the way to Royal Rumble.
While Chris Jericho was a factor this week on Raw, it wouldn’t be a major headache for Reigns at Rumble.
Getting some timely help from Seth Rollins is also a good thing for Reigns. WWE should, however, make sure that Reigns doesn’t get stale as they are running out of fresh ideas for the ongoing Owens – Reigns feud as Jericho is probably the only entertaining factor.
#1 AJ Styles (+1)
As the top Champion of Monday Night Raw is struggling, AJ Styles secured yet another strong win on SmackDown Live. He defeated Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin after a standout Triple threat match and once again showed the world that he deserves to be on top.
The win was overshadowed by the return of John Cena who has set his eyes on the WWE Championship.
The AJ Styles vs. John Cena feud will be the biggest draw for SmackDown in the coming weeks and a strong opponent like Cena will help AJ cement his place on top of the Power Rankings.
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