WWE top 10 standings of the week (August 24-31, 2018)

SmackDown Men's Division

This deserves the cell.

#1 WWE Champion AJ Styles

#2 Samoa Joe (No.1 contender)

#3 The Miz

#4 Daniel Bryan

#5 Jeff Hardy

#6 Randy Orton

#7 United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura

#8 Andrade "Cien" Almas

#9 Rusev

#10 Aiden English

Summary

AJ Styles has been more relevant as champion than he has in a long time thanks to his feud with Samoa Joe, but the Samoan Submission Machine proves each and every time that the spotlight really should be his.

Beyond the main event, the mid card is in a curious spot, because the United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura, feels like the least important part of it. Both Daniel Bryan's feud with The Miz and Jeff Hardy's with Randy Orton are strong programs without any title involved in them. Nakamura is currently teasing that he won't defend his title, but it's clear that SmackDown's heel-heavy nature has left some holes in the programming. Aleister Black's services would help the situation.

Meanwhile, Andrade "Cien" Almas hovers around the lower portion of the top 10, seemingly biding his time until an opportunity presents itself.

Rusev and Aiden English are in a confusing position. Are they disbanding or not? In any case, SmackDown's men's division is incredibly strong, with the US title being the only flaw.