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?



Normally, we wouldn't mention people that have had notably terrible weeks, but I felt this was a special occasion. Baron Corbin's failed cash-in on SmackDown Live was undoubtedly the worst in history, as instead of focusing on the fallen WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, he turned his attention to John Cena, allowing Mahal to roll him up in seconds. It was an embarrassing moment Corbin will do well to recover from, and wasted Money in the Bank for another year.


How the mighty have fallen. Leading into Great Balls of Fire, Samoa Joe was arguably the most over superstar in WWE. Since then, his momentum has slowly stalled following defeats to Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, to the point that Joe enters SummerSlam as the underdog. However, with how WWE tends to book matches, that could be a sign he walks out of SummerSlam as the Universal Champion.


Speaking of falls from grace, it has been quite a drop for Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson. The duo that walked into WrestleMania 33 as Raw Tag Team Champions have now been reduced to heavies for Big Cass for no explicable reason. Still, at least this week they were able to help decimate Big Show rather than get manhandled by the giant.


He may not have had a match, but Akira Tozawa's Cruiserweight Championship was the biggest win that Titus Worldwide has had since it formed. Titus O'Neil has made a great transition into a promoter, putting his charismatic persona to better use than he did between the ropes.


Prior to his first opportunity at the WWE Championship at SummerSlam, Shinsuke Nakamura finally came face-to-face with Jinder Mahal at the start of SmackDown Live. The segment though did little to build any more anticipation for their match, but it was nice to see Nakamura's entrance.


Once again, Nia Jax fell short of earning a Raw Women's Championship shot, losing a number one contender's match to Sasha Banks. Regular losses in these situations are taking the shine off her status as the monster heel of the women's division. But, on the plus side, this was one of her best matches to date, building to an excellent finish.


Elias remains somewhat lost in the shuffle while WWE focus on the SummerSlam feuds, but he had a short chance in the spotlight on Raw this week. Interrupted by another musical superstar in R-Truth, Elias jumped him before the match and laid him out with a swinging neckbreaker (that took about ten seconds for him to hit).


Rusev is always great when his aggression is allowed to be unleashed, and Chad Gable was the unfortunate recipient of that anger on SmackDown Live. Rusev decimated Gable outside of the ring, leading to a double count out, before applying the Accolade on the Olympian on the announce table. But, the Bulgarian did not stand tall at the end of his segment, falling victim to an RKO from SummerSlam opponent Randy Orton.


In the Universal Championship match at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns might be the biggest wildcard, as there is no clear direction for the Big Dog after the PPV whether he wins or loses. Reigns started the fracas that ended Raw this week, spearing Samoa Joe immediately, but was then quickly taken out by a Braun Strowman powerslam.


All it takes in one RKO from Randy Orton to send a message, as he demonstrated on SmackDown Live. Orton hit a particularly sweet RKO on Rusev to respond to last week's sneak attack by the Bulgarian, giving the former WWE Champion the upper-hand heading into SummerSlam.


Last week, AJ Styles and Shane McMahon were manipulated by Kevin Owens to place a wedge before SummerSlam's United States Championship match. So, it was the champion's turn to get the upperhand in this scenario, dodging an attempted superkick by Owens that floored McMahon, which places even more doubt into what allegiance the special guest referee will have on Sunday.


With a new champion in the Cruiserweight division, there might be new opportunities for a 205 Live star to rise up and challenge Akira Tozawa for his purple prize. Cedric Alexander would be many people's choice for that role, and teamed with Gran Metallik to victory over Drew Gulak and Tony Nese on the most recent episode.


The Jason Jordan experiment continues on Raw, as he was scheduled to take on Curtis Axel in his ongoing feud with the Miztourage. That match ended prematurely thanks to interference from the Miz and his cronies, but this led to a six-man tag that Jordan won alongside his partners, The Hardy Boyz. Will they repeated this in the return match at SummerSlam?


The closing image of Raw was a memorable one, as superstars and security attempted to hold back Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar before SummerSlam's Universal Championship clash. This appears to be the money feud going forward, and could be the key to cementing Strowman as a main event monster for years to come.


After repeatedly ending a show flat on his back courtesy of a KO Punch, Big Cass outsmarted and outmuscled Big Show on Raw. With the assistance of Gallows & Anderson, Cass injured Show's right-hand with the shark cage that will suspend Enzo Amore in the air at SummerSlam. In the battle of the bigs, it's advantage Cass on Sunday.


Mickie James scored a rare victory on Raw this week, as Emma's Twitter game couldn't translate to her wrestling ability. James challenged Emma to put up or shut up, and while this match didn't generate much of a reaction, the former six-time Women's Champion earned an unexpected victory with the Mick Kick.


The Universal Champion carries the most momentum into his SummerSlam title defense, without even wrestling since Great Balls of Fire. This top ten rating for Brock Lesnar is largely down to Paul Heyman's masterful promo skills and the stakes surrounding him leaving WWE if he loses. The lasting image of Lesnar and Braun Strowman being held back from brawling was a fitting way of closing the build to this highly-anticipated match.


In a match many expected to take place at SummerSlam, John Cena clashed with Jinder Mahal in the main event on SmackDown Live. The WWE Championship was not on the line which was lucky for Mahal, as Cena had him beaten with an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment. Cena's victory was marred by interference by Baron Corbin, who caused the DQ. But, Cena had the last laugh, as Corbin failed miserably in his Money in the Bank cash-in attempt after being distracted by Cena's presence.


The loss of The Revival thanks to Scott Dawson's injury has left the Hardy Boyz in limbo. They will be on SummerSlam's kickoff show, as after they helped Jason Jordan defeat The Miztourage on Raw, a rematch was signed for Sunday. Hopefully, some of the Hardy Boyz's irrepressible talent will rub off on Kurt Angle's offspring.


Natalya earned some much-needed momentum heading into her SmackDown Women's Championship match at SummerSlam by defeating Becky Lynch. With champion Naomi watching from commentary, Natalya forced Lynch to submit to the Sharpshooter, before locking it in post-match to send a message to her rival. Will Natalya fulfil her promise to restore prestige to the Women's Championship on Sunday?


It seemed as though Jinder Mahal was heading for another miserable week before SummerSlam, as he was outshone by his challenger Shinsuke Nakamura and then outclassed by John Cena in the main event. However, Baron Corbin turned Mahal's fortunes around. Corbin's interference meant Mahal only lost to Cena by DQ, and then the Lone Wolf's incompetence meant he was one of the few champions to survive a Money in the Bank cash-in, rolling up Corbin in a matter of seconds.


It finally happened: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose fisted each other. Maybe a bad choice of phrase, but it's accurate! Rollins and Ambrose kicked off Raw by brawling with each other as both remained reluctant to reunite. But, another attempt at a sneak attack by Sheamus & Cesaro led to the former Shield members fighting back and reforming as a team, just in time to challenge for the Raw Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam.


The Usos and The New Day have been trading victories for months on SmackDown Live, and this week it was a win for the brothers in a prelude to SummerSlam's title match. Taking on the combination of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, Jimmy & Jey targeted the legs of Kingston and pinned him following a superkick. With Big E and Woods the combo they will face at SummerSlam, the Usos seems to have a leg up on the champions in this even feud.


Bray Wyatt has been picking up a number of big wins as of late, almost flying under the radar in the process. In a 'SummerSlam Come Early' match, Wyatt dispatched of his rival Finn Balor, before covering him in red liquid following his victory. This signals the appearance of the Demon on Sunday. The question is: has Wyatt unleashed something even the Eater of Worlds can't swallow?


The number one contender for the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam was decided on Monday, as Sasha Banks overcame the power and size of Nia Jax to earn her rematch with Alexa Bliss. Their last outing ended in controversy as Bliss intentionally counted herself out. Now, thanks to Bayley's injury clearing the way, it could be time for Banks to take back the title she held walking into last year's SummerSlam.


The King of the Cruiserweights was finally dethroned on Raw, as Akira Tozawa reached the summit of 205 Live with a shocking victory. The Power of Tozawa proved too much for Neville on this occasion, as the Japanese superstar's fighting spirit and senton bomb was enough to end the Brit's eight-month reign. Their rematch takes place on SummerSlam's kickoff show, so which one will take a place on next week's Power Rankings?