Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Power Rankings from Smark Out Moment!

Each week, we will break down the current roster and examine who has gone up the WWE hierarchy and who has unfortunately taken a step down the ladder. Factoring in things such as wins and losses, suspensions, injuries, making a name for one's self, being humiliated, and more, who is at the top of the food chain and who needs to make up some ground next week?


Dipping into the Animal Kingdom for the first member of this list, The Bunny has continued to persist with his antics, whether the WWE Universe is bored of them or not. After once again failing to help Adam Rose defeat Tyson Kidd on RAW (and humping him for good measure), the pair then lost to Kidd and Natalya on Main Event. But, at Survivor Series The Bunny single-handedly dispatched of Slater Gator, leaving being cheered by the Rosebuds.


The World’s Strongest Man walked into Survivor Series as a member of Team Authority, but his entrance lasted longer than his actual time in the match. Despite his imposing strength and the manner in which he demolished Big Show and Sheamus on RAW, on Sunday he charged straight into a WMD by his former tag team partner to be eliminated within seconds.


The Norwich-born lass was up against it at Survivor Series, and in spite of persistently screaming it was her house, she was eventually evicted. The week had already been less than spectacular when she lost to Alicia Fox on Main Event with the unbeatable roll-up. But it took an even greater nosedive at the PPV, as Paige was the last woman standing on her team, and in spite of a strong effort, was finally eliminated by Naomi to complete their clean sweep.


The matador tandem of Diego and Fernando received a Tag Team Championship match, earned through some notable scalps regardless of their goofy gimmick. On RAW they were on the losing side of an 8-man tag team match against Gold/Stardust and the Miz & Mizdow. But, they avenged that with a victory on SmackDown over the A-Lister and his stunt double. At the PPV in a solid fatal-four way tag, they were not able to walk out with the championships behind their splendid capes.


A less remarkable week than has recently been the norm for Tyson Kidd in the last two months, but he still managed to go through it unbeaten. On RAW, he defeated Adam Rose due to some ill-advised distractions from the Bunny humping his wife Natalya outside the ring. Kidd defended his wife’s honor on Main Event with a victory in an inter-species tag against Rose and the Bunny. And although he wasn’t involved personally, he celebrated his wife’s victory at Survivor Series as if it was his own.


Brie Bella left a noticeable impression at Survivor Series, mainly on the lips of AJ Lee. On RAW, she dressed as AJ to defeat her sister Nikki, thanks to a distraction from the real Divas Champion. She was dropped by AJ following the match for the imitation, leading to a match between the two on SmackDown which Brie lost to AJ dressed as Nikki. But all that faded to three seconds at the PPV, when Brie kissed AJ, leaving her stunned and open to an assault by Nikki to hand her the title. Brie looked surprisingly happy, leaving her allegiances in question for the future.


The Real American managed to compete at Survivor Series, after supposedly being ruled out of Team Cena due to an assault by Seth Rollins. This week did bring moderate success however. A physical encounter with Bray Wyatt ended in defeat on Main Event. But, on the PPV Pre-Show he scored a victory over his former Real American partner Cesaro, who has fallen off a cliff in the last month.


The Corporate Monster may find himself out of a job soon following the Authority’s defeat at Survivor Series. On RAW he looked to assault any member of Team Cena he could to weaken their chances on Sunday, and took that aim to SmackDown, losing to Ryback and Big Show by disqualification but helping decimate the entirety of the opposing team. Yet, at Survivor Series Kane was the third man from his team eliminated, and the first in the remarkable comeback of Dolph Ziggler.


Alicia Fox struts her way up the Power Rankings with a pair of victories this week. On Main Event, despite being utterly dominated by her former BFF Paige, she picked up the victory with a flexible roll-up. The knack of winning over her British rival extended into Survivor Series, when Fox was on the winning team in defeating the heel divas in a traditional elimination match. Fox herself eliminated Layla on course for her team’s shut-out victory.


The now former Tag Team Champions had a less than monumental week that has typified the majority of their reigns. On RAW they were on the winning side of an 8-man tag team match against The Usos and Los Matadores, but ended up suffering defeat to the Samoan brothers on Main Event. But, worse was to come at Survivor Series for the golden pair, as they relinquished their tag team titles to the Miz and Damien Mizdow, after the stunt double pinned Goldust following an Uso splash.


The Usos’ mixed week began badly on RAW, as they alongside Los Matadores lost an 8-man tag team encounter against the remaining two teams of the upcoming Tag Team title match. They avenged this defeat on Main Event by beating the champions in a non-title match, building momentum leading into Survivor Series. That looked to be paying off when they were flying around the ring building to an exciting climax. But their work went unrewarded, as a blind tag by Miz meant Jimmy’s splash was capitalized on by Mizdow to hand their team the championships.


Another former champion as of Survivor Series, AJ Lee’s defeat came in more controversial circumstances. On RAW she was the victim of a doppelganger in the form of Brie Bella, but turned the tables by helping her lookalike defeat her title rival Nikki Bella. AJ followed this up by defeating Brie on SmackDown dressed as Nikki, including some ample body enhancements. But, these seemed to catch the eye of a certain diva, as within a few seconds of her title defense on Sunday, she was caught in a lip-lock by Brie. Mirroring what AJ and Daniel Bryan suffered at WrestleMania 28, the distraction meant AJ was rapidly beaten by Nikki for the title.


The previous follower of Bray Wyatt had recently been set free, and seemed destined for a dead-end storyline stalking Renee Young. But, Erick Rowan shocked the WWE Universe and the Authority on RAW by aligning himself with Team Cena, much to the chagrin of former partner Luke Harper. He built upon this momentum on SmackDown by soundly defeating Cesaro with a Torture Rack submission. As part of Team Cena, he showed a willingness to fight and battle against all odds, but in the end was the second man of his team eliminated by Harper.


The Lunatic Fringe may continue to receive some of the best reactions from the crowds, but was absent from in-ring action until Sunday. That naturally didn’t stop him looking for a fight anyway, as he ambushed Bray Wyatt on RAW before their match at Survivor Series to try and get a mental edge. When the contest actually took place, it was a methodical and physical affair with few technical moves and a lot of psychology. Ambrose though was disqualified by attacking Wyatt with a steel chair, before proceeding to smash the Cult Leader through a table.


Out of absolutely nowhere, Naomi became the MVP of the divas’ traditional Survivor Series elimination tag. The former Funkydactyl has been in limbo as other divas have taken the spotlight, and has been out of relevant action since ending her feud with former friend Cameron. At the PPV, however, she stood out from the crowd through her athleticism and acrobatics. Naomi eliminated Cameron with a flexible roll-up, before securing the final and crucial pin of Paige to complete her side’s clean sweep.


The Eater of Worlds has had his sights firmly set on Dean Ambrose since his return, looking to recruit the Lunatic Fringe into his way of thinking. He was caught out on RAW however by a sneak attack by Ambrose, but didn’t allow that to bother him long, as he defeated Jack Swagger on Main Event. At Survivor Series, Wyatt unleashed all he could against Ambrose in an old-school fight, looking to subdue rather than just beat his rival. But, this fell apart as although Wyatt won by disqualification, he was for once the victim of a number of hard chair shots, followed by an elbow through a table.


The World’s Largest Athlete demonstrated that job security became his primary concern in the important elimination match at Survivor Series. As part of Team Cena, he became a firm target of the Authority’s wrath, forced into a match with Sheamus on RAW (leading to a Mark Henry assault) followed by a less than satisfactory victory over Seth Rollins and Kane on SmackDown with another beating. Yet on Sunday the tide seemingly turned as he eliminated Henry with ease. But, when it came to 3-on-3, Show clearly lost faith in his team’s chances, choosing to knock out Cena causing him to be eliminated and protecting him from the axe.


The Big Guy has returned with such a great deal of fan support and victories that his performance at Survivor Series could be described as little more than disappointing. On RAW, he finally bit the bullet in his decision to side with Team Cena instead of the Authority, staring down Triple H and beating Cesaro in the process. Ryback then teamed with the Big Show to defeat Seth Rollins and Kane by disqualification on SmackDown, but along with the other team members suffered a beating afterwards. But, despite being seen as a key member of his side, Ryback came out strong but was the first eliminated for his team at the feet of Rusev.


The captain of Team Authority had the weight of his entire team on his padded shoulders, and unfortunately for him the burden proved too great. On RAW he proceeded to take down Dolph Ziggler prior to his unsuccessful title defense against Luke Harper. Rollins then lost on SmackDown alongside Kane against Ryback and Big Show, but lead the assault of Team Cena to close the show. But, at Survivor Series he was left with the unenviable task of being the last surviving member of his team, albeit against a worn down Dolph Ziggler. After an epic conclusion, including interference from Triple H and Sting, Rollins was vanquished as the Authority fell.


The captain of Team Cena also had a Survivor Series he would want to forget for his individual performance, but remember always for the result. Leading the charge against the oppression of the Authority, Cena learnt on SmackDown, after slamming Triple H through a table on RAW, that he would carry the burden of his teammates careers at the PPV if they lost. Cena fought valiantly, but did not score an elimination of his own. In fact, he hardly got the opportunity as he was knocked out by his teammate the Big Show and eliminated by Seth Rollins. However, he got the last laugh as he now holds the future of the Authority in his hands.


The A-Lister finally got the spotlight back on him, although he will now have to reluctantly share it with his stunt double. The Miz and Mizdow’s week started well with a victory in an 8-man tag team match against the Usos and Los Matadores. But, on SmackDown this good feeling deteriorated, as they lost to the bullfighters and signs of dissension were apparent. But, all this dissipated at Survivor Series. Well, almost. At the climax of an excellent Tag Team title fatal-four way, The Miz’s blind tag caused the Usos to be thrown from the ring, when Mizdow took the limelight by pinning Goldust. The Miz celebrated with both titles, as Hollywood just got a little bit more golden.


There is a new alpha female atop the Divas division in the form of the catty Nikki Bella. Exploiting her position of owner of her sister Brie for a month, she placed herself in an exhibition match on RAW against Brie dressed as then-champion AJ Lee. However, a distraction from AJ caused this to backfire as Brie took the victory, and then Nikki watched angrily on SmackDown as AJ parodied her on SmackDown. However, all this washed away on Sunday, as a distracting kiss from Brie on AJ allowed Nikki to quickly hit the Rack Attack and steal the title.


The United States Champion was a prized acquisition for the Authority in their Survivor Series team, and for a while it seemed he would carry his side to victory. The Russian hero handily crushed Heath Slater on RAW, before building his own momentum with a great performance and win over Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown. And at Survivor Series, the stage looked set for him to dominate, when he pinned Ryback and assaulted Ziggler. But, in a rare act of overzealousness, Rusev looked to headbutt Ziggler through the announce table, only to miss his opponent. The crash caused him to be counted out, saving his unbeaten record, but helping to cost his team victory.


Whilst Erick Rowan’s rise to prominence was a shock, Luke Harper’s new status as champion is even more remarkable. Whilst being widely considered the most polished performer of the Wyatt Family, Harper’s move to Team Authority happened quickly, and then he was awarded an Intercontinental title match against a beaten down Dolph Ziggler. Despite a gutsy performance from Ziggler, he fell to Harper who claimed his first championship. At Survivor Series, he continued to show his potential as a powerful champion, eliminating former partner Erick Rowan, until Ziggler got a measure of retribution by rolling up Harper for the elimination.


After RAW and SmackDown this week, the chances of Dolph Ziggler achieving a second consecutive week at No. 1 on this list seemed slim to none. On Monday he lost his Intercontinental Championship after gallantly defending it against all comers to Luke Harper, following a pre-match assault by Seth Rollins and the stooges. Then on SmackDown he lost to Rusev, despite arguably going the closest anybody has come to winning against the Bulgarian. Yet at Survivor Series, everything came together for the perennial underdog. After causing Rusev’s count out, Ziggler was left with insurmountable odds against Kane, Luke Harper and Seth Rollins. But, after eliminating Kane and Harper, enduring all their abuse, he seemed to have done the impossible by hitting the Zig-Zag on Rollins. Triple H’s interference seemed to have robbed him of victory, but some timely and unexpected help from Sting allowed Ziggler to get the remarkable victory. Sting may be the word on everybody’s lips, but Sunday night in my opinion deservedly belonged to Ziggler.