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?



It was a short set for Elias this week. After a decent showing in Raw's Battle Royal, he came out to play for the Memphis crowd on Raw, only to be interrupted by Jerry Lawler and his guest, Southpaw Regional Wrestling's Pelvis Wesley. Elias fortunately cut this abomination of a segment short with a guitar shot to Wesley.


This feud must continue… Bray Wyatt cost Finn Balor his opportunity to challenge for the Intercontinental Championship by eliminating him from Raw's Battle Royal, despite not being in the match himself. After losing the bout at SummerSlam, Wyatt took the advantage in this feud that nobody wants to see continue.


Four Raw Women's Championship victories, zero successful title defenses. Sasha Banks' most unwanted of runs continued on Raw this week, as she failed to defend her title against Alexa Bliss in the main event. The match itself was arguably their best yet, but once again Banks can't keep hold of her gold.


Jinder Mahal started the night being worshipped by the Singh Brothers, and ended it on the end of another loss on SmackDown Live. The WWE Champion teamed with Rusev in defeat to Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton, the two men who will battle for a title opportunity next week. The only saving grace for Mahal wasn't the one pinned at the end.


Consolation points for Jason Jordan this week, as he was the runner-up in Raw's Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship. He was able to single-handedly eliminate both members of the Miztourage and Elias before falling to Jeff Hardy.


It seems impossible that Brock Lesnar can outshine most of Raw this week with just one sentence, but that's exactly what happened. With one utterance of 'Suplex City bitch', Lesnar built on what Paul Heyman said previously and let the world know that he is ready to take down Braun Strowman at No Mercy.


After weeks of meaningless squash victories, Nia Jax finally forced herself into the Raw Women's Championship scene. Seemingly out to celebrate with new champion Alexa Bliss, Jax decimated Sasha Banks, and then turned on Bliss to stand tall with the title belt at the end of the night.


The return of the United States Championship Open Challenge will hopefully be a big opportunity for SmackDown's beleaguered midcard to enjoy some spotlight. Tye Dillinger accepted AJ Styles' challenge, but due to a pre-match attack by Baron Corbin and his own over-enthusiasm, the Perfect 10 lasted only a couple of minutes before tapping out to Styles.


No matter his storyline or position on the card, Kevin Owens always finds a way to stay entertaining. On SmackDown Live, Owens called out Shane McMahon for unfair officiating, delighted on commentary for a while, then inserted himself in the Sami Zayn vs. Aiden English match to 'referee' it. Which led to Owens powerbombing Zayn and counting the pinfall for English, once again sticking it to McMahon's management.


The Raw Tag Team Champions went back to the tried and tested approach of 50/50 booking on Monday, as their shared wins and losses with their upcoming challengers, Sheamus & Cesaro. First, Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose evened the score with a victory over Sheamus.


Same results as above, but Sheamus & Cesaro get the edge because Cesaro defeated a champion in Seth Rollins. It's little details like these that affect how you place in these most prestigious of WWE Power Rankings.


Alert the media - Emma actually won a match on Raw. Although, she'll probably do that herself on social media. In a match with arguably the dumbest stipulation in history, revolving around hashtags and the 'Women's Revolution', Emma defeated Mickie James to end her recent losing streak.


In a segment that divided fans over it's quality and content, one thing most could agree on was that Roman Reigns came up second best in his war of words with John Cena. In what can only be described as character assassination, Reigns could only watch as Cena tore him to shreds on the microphone, and a tag team victory over Gallows & Anderson later could do little to massage his damaged ego.


Lana's mission to unleash the monster inside Tamina started in earnest on SmackDown Live, as the Samoan defeated the unknown Tina Stock with complete ease. Then, Lana paraded her in front of the cameras to give Tamina a star treatment. A low key start, but the story is there at least.


Two weeks, two wins for Bobby Roode as he starts to cement his spot on SmackDown Live. Roode defeated forgotten man Mike Kanellis relatively comfortably, and the crowd continues to bask in the former NXT Champion's gloriousness.


Another new face, albeit a familiar one, on SmackDown Live is Shelton Benjamin, who has joined forces with former American Alpha member Chad Gable. This new alliance had a successful start on Tuesday, defeating The Ascension. With the tag team division threadbare in WWE, Benjamin & Gable's budding chemistry is a welcome sight.


Still firmly in the WWE Championship picture, Shinsuke Nakamura will battle Randy Orton next week for a title opportunity. This week, Nakamura and Orton were on the same side, defeating Jinder Mahal and Rusev. However, in the post-match celebrations, Nakamura was floored with an RKO, giving Orton the clear mental edge for next Tuesday.


In their five millionth match in the last four months, The Usos and The New Day battled on SmackDown Live for the right to choose the stipulation for their upcoming title match. The Usos won the contest and will decide the stipulation soon, likely with the goal of keeping the championships around their waists.


AJ Styles finally kicked off the United States Championship Open Challenge on SmackDown Live after a few weeks delay, and he clearly has no shortage of challengers. In fact, Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin were fighting to get the opportunity, with Dillinger winning out on this occasion. This hectic confusion led to a simple defense for Styles, forcing Dillinger to tap out to the Calf Crusher in a few short minutes.


It may have been retrospectively stricken from the record, but to everyone watching, Aiden English defeated Sami Zayn on SmackDown Live. Again. This time it took the assistance of Kevin Owens as a very biased referee to secure this 'win', but English now has a streak over one of the blue brand's biggest babyfaces. Yes, I don't believe it either.


Enzo Amore is now officially part of the 205 Live crew, and experienced his first taste of Cruiserweight action on Raw. His match with Noam Dar was far from the quality we witnessed in the Cruiserweight Classic, but Amore scored the win. This was followed by him pinning Tony Nese on 205 Live in a six-man tag match.


After two failed attempts to reclaim the WWE Championship from Jinder Mahal, Randy Orton is just one match away from trying to make the third time a charm. Shinsuke Nakamura stands in his way next week, but this week they teamed together to defeat Jinder Mahal and Rusev in the main event of SmackDown Live. But it was Orton alone celebrating at the end, having laid out Nakamura with an RKO post-match.


John Cena got two wins this week: one in the ring and one on the microphone. The latter of these was undoubtedly the most memorable, as Cena flexed his promo muscles against Roman Reigns, eviscerating his character in a one-sided debate. Then, they out of nowhere decided to team up and get along to defeat Gallows & Anderson immediately following this. Because WWE logic is not actually logical.


Jeff Hardy kicked off Raw in style this week, winning a Battle Royal to earn a shot at The Miz's Intercontinental Championship. Overcoming 14 other opponents, including his brother Matt, Hardy has the chance to become a five-time Intercontinental Champion on the next episode of Raw. But, will singles success breakup The Hardy Boyz?


The Bliss is back on top of the Raw Women's Division. Alexa Bliss took full advantage of her rematch clause to defeat Sasha Banks on Monday and reclaim the Raw Women's Championship, starting her third title run in less than a year. Of course, Bliss did suffer the wrath of Nia Jax immediately following her victory, but having gold around her waist once more should be enough of a comfort for her.