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?



The Corporate Demon sunk to perhaps the biggest low of his career on RAW this week, and that is saying something for the former Isaac Yankem. Kane was instructed by Seth Rollins to lay down for him in a match so he could thus choose a stipulation for his WWE Championship defense against Randy Orton. Kane appeared to refuse when he chokeslammed Rollins, but then allowed his opponent’s lifeless body to pin him to the ground in a disgusting display.


The Miz didn’t best enjoy his tour of Europe, as it didn’t prove to be the Cannes Film Festival. He first would battle former assistant Damien Mizdow on RAW, and unlike the prior week this would end in defeat. Then he seemed to be back in full A-List mode as he was set to battle Bad News Barrett on SmackDown. But Miz’s expression soon changed to unconscious with a massive Bullhammer after a few seconds.


The Tag Team Champions should hope after this week they don’t have to put their belts on the line in more handicap matches. Cesaro was set to have a one-on-one match with Randy Orton, but this was soon interrupted by Tyson Kidd at ringside to cause a disqualification. Kane thus turned this into a handicap match, but even these better odds did nothing to benefit them, as Kidd was caught in an RKO. And things didn’t improve in an all-champions match on SmackDown, as their tandem fell to the combination of John Cena and Daniel Bryan.


It is a rare thing to see Roman Reigns this low down the rankings, but the state he left RAW explains it. He discussed first that he is gunning for Seth Rollins and the WWE Championship soon, and then proceeded to insult Big Show who looked on from backstage. Yet the Giant made his presence soon felt, ambushing Reigns on the stage and tossing the Samoan all over the place, finally finishing him off by chokeslamming him through a taxi’s roof.


Fandango has not made any noticeable impact since being repackaged with his new, more serious persona. His quick loss on RAW to Stardust demonstrated that his career had decisively stalled. So, he made the decision to dump Rosa Mendes and his Latin ways to embrace the fans, returning to his original, bouncy theme music in the process. And early signals seem promising, as Fandango is over again and scored a win over Adam Rose on SmackDown.


The New Day have been on the receiving end of a sea of boos over in England this week, but didn’t let it take them completely off their stride for once. Main Event wasn’t great for Xavier Woods, as he was defeated by Jimmy Uso. But, things were redeemed on SmackDown, as due to some shady behavior the New Day defeated Los Matadores in tag team action.


Stardust is another superstar that has been treading water since WrestleMania, as he has not enjoyed any direction towards a feud at this time. However, the bizarre superstar has still been getting on television, and earned a victory on RAW when he laid out Fandango with a disaster kick.


Remaining typically cryptic over his latest motives and targets, Bray Wyatt has simply been turning up for matches and taking victims. The Eater of Worlds was on SmackDown in a match against R-Truth, and it didn’t take him very long to take the rapper down with Sister Abigail.


The Divas were given a showcase to perform on SmackDown this week in an impressive contest, and Cameron was its biggest beneficiary. Of course, it wasn’t to be for her on RAW in the battle royal to crown a number one contender for the Divas Championship as she was eliminated by Naomi. But, she earned an impressive win in a triple threat match later in the week, beating Natalya and Alicia Fox.


The Big Guy continues to rack up the victories in recent weeks, but this one will likely not go down as one of his most memorable. Placed in a match with Luke Harper once again following his triumph last week, Ryback looked good in the early going. However, that was brought to a shuddering conclusion when Harper threw part of the announce table at him.


The stunt double finally received star billing on RAW as he battled former employer the Miz. Damien Mizdow had the beautiful Summer Rae by his side, and she watched him defeat Miz to level their series at 1-1. Perhaps it will be at Extreme Rules when their feud is finally settled, and Mizdow will be desperate to prove himself the better man.


Neville continues to show no fear in the presence of experienced superstars, and is making quite the name for himself in the process. On RAW, he took up an open challenge by Dolph Ziggler, and they produced a wrestling clinic that stole the show, but ended with Neville losing. And, after a post-match Brogue Kick by Sheamus, he faced the Irishman on SmackDown, and won by disqualification at the expense of a significant beating.


The Celtic Warrior clearly hasn’t returned with a severe focus on wins and losses, but with the goal of putting little men in their place and showing himself off as a real man. This led to him assaulting both Dolph Ziggler and Neville after their epic match on RAW, with a Brogue Kick flooring both men. Sheamus would lose to Neville on SmackDown, but that was mainly due to his desire to take the smaller man out of commission leading to a disqualification.


The Lunatic Fringe returned from a short, enforced absence at the hands of Luke Harper on RAW, and didn’t take long to get back into the swing of things. Adam Rose was the man that would endure the punishment his return wrought, Dean Ambrose recording a simple victory. And then he would show that his dealings with Harper are far from over, attacking him after his own match with Ryback.


Naomi certainly was a top contender for the most shocking moment of the week when she went to dramatic lengths to deal with disappointment. She had enjoyed two recent victories over Nikki Bella, but fell short in the Battle Royal to crown a number one contender for her Divas Championship to Paige. This caused Naomi to snap, attacking Paige after the match and bashing her across ringside, putting the Brit out of action indefinitely.


Rusev has been biding his time, but finally made his intentions clear early on RAW. The Bulgarian will take his rematch clause for the United States Championship at Extreme Rules, and following his ambush of John Cena, it was named a Russian Chain match. Then, building momentum towards that important match, Rusev took on Dolph Ziggler on Main Event, forcing the Show-Off to tap out to the Accolade.


It was a bittersweet homecoming for Bad News Barrett, as he was shown a great deal of support from his fellow countrymen, but was not as successful in the ring as he would have hoped. Barrett took up John Cena’s Open Challenge on RAW, and despite producing an excellent battling performance, fell short in bringing a title back to Britain. However, his match on SmackDown was far simpler, as he took advantage of the Miz’s pandering to connect with a Bullhammer to win.


Desperate to Show-Off at every possible opportunity, Dolph Ziggler did not hesitate to challenge any superstar to a match following Seth Rollins’ refusal to compete. Neville made a fine replacement, as they produced an excellent match that Ziggler was fortunate to come out of the victor against the rookie. Although, his celebrations there were first cut off by an attack by Sheamus afterwards, and then he suffered a loss to Rusev on Main Event.


Paige was another that had a mixed week back in the UK, but it could still end up to be a great passage of events. The Anti-Diva would compete in a Divas battle royal and came out the winner, lastly eliminating Naomi to become the next challenger for Nikki Bella’s championship. But, her celebrations were cut short by an attack by a sore loser in Naomi, throwing Paige across the ringside area and putting her out of action. Will she return in time for her title match?


The Tag Team Championship picture has certainly got to feature the latest tandem on the roster. The Lucha Dragons have delighted the WWE fans with their NXT exploits and amazing athleticism, and added another notch to their belts with a defeat of the Ascension. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd were likely watching on as the masked pair continued their run thanks to a diving senton from Sin Cara.


The WWE Champion is a master of stacking the odds in his favor, and looked to do so again on RAW with the help of his Authority cohorts. With the stipulation of his title defense against Randy Orton at stake, Seth Rollins chose to face Kane. The Director of Operations relented at first, sending the champ down to the mat with a Chokeslam, but would lay down for one of Rollins’ most straightforward victories. This allowed him to add the stipulation that Orton cannot use the RKO in their match.


News has been centered on Daniel Bryan potentially suffering a recurrence of his neck injury during the European tour. Yet, the Intercontinental Champion did not let this speculation derail his momentum, as he would feature in the SmackDown main event. Alongside John Cena, Bryan scored a win against the Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Tyson Kidd.


Whilst he didn’t compete in a match this week, Big Show left a sizable impact on RAW and on the spine of Roman Reigns. Enraged by the insults slung in his direction by the Samoan, Show assaulted his rival on the stage, flinging him into any structure or object nearby. The Giant then left a significant explanation point, hoisting Reigns into a Chokeslam and smashing him hard onto the roof of a London taxi, sending a message before their Extreme Rules Last Man Standing match.


Randy Orton would not let the shady dealings of the Authority get the better of him as he pursues the WWE Championship. He was placed in a match with Cesaro for the right to choose a stipulation for his match with Seth Rollins, and after Tyson Kidd caused the disqualification, Kane turned it into a handicap match. This didn’t throw Orton off his goal though, as he overcame both Tag Team Champions. Although his greatest weapon, the RKO, will be banned, Orton will have Rollins trapped inside a steel cage.


The number one spot this week goes to the United States Champion, who has persisted in not shying away from a challenge since capturing the title. John Cena walked into a testing environment in London on RAW, as he was challenged by the British Bad News Barrett for the belt, and following a typically strong contest, was able to defend his championship. Although, Cena didn’t get much chance to revel, as Rusev floored him with a steel chain prior to their match at Extreme Rules. But this didn’t slow Cena’s momentum, as he teamed with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown to defeat Cesaro & Tyson Kidd.