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 wasn't so much the heavily-laden racism of Jinder Mahal's promo that gives him dishonorable mention this week - it's not like he would be the only character on television to behave in this manner. But the fact this facet of his character has come out of nowhere and led to one of the most painfully awful promo segments on WWE this year means Mahal (and whoever wrote this criminally bad segment) deserve this unwanted honor.


I will admit that the manner they are building towards Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode is vaguely interesting. But, knowing that is almost certainly the outcome makes these Ziggler copycat segments just another waste of time before his inevitable loss.


It's much easier to win a promo battle when you're the only one involved. Roman Reigns finally was able to deliver some decent shots against John Cena before their No Mercy clash, calling Cena a hypocrite for being the part-time movie star that The Rock was portrayed as during their 2012 feud. Still, the promo was still lukewarm compared to several other superstars this week.


From complete obscurity Aiden English has become one of SmackDown Live's ever-presents. Whether it's a pre-match song or a fairly competitive match like this week's bout with Randy Orton, English is now a staple of the blue brand and is building momentum week after week.


TJP seems to be chasing down Big Show's record of face/heel turns, and he's only been in WWE a year. After renewing his friendship with Rich Swann last week after their hard-fought match, TJP took out both Swann and Lince Dorado in a vicious attack, returning to the dark side. The alignments on 205 Live are odd to say the least.


Crazy, egomaniacal Natalya is the best Natalya. The SmackDown Women's Champion rained all over Charlotte's return and tried to make it all about her and why she is the most important thing in all of women's wrestling. Of course, this attracted response from the entire women's roster on SmackDown Live, and Charlotte became the next contender for the Queen of Harts's crown.


The Perfect 10 had revenge on his mind on SmackDown Live this week. After being assaulted by Baron Corbin last week, Tye Dillinger interrupted Corbin's opportunity at the United States Championship against AJ Styles. This is the most action we've seen from Dillinger since he was called up from NXT, and he looks poised to stay in the US title picture heading towards Hell in a Cell.


Sasha Banks was not going to stand idly by when Alexa Bliss tried to escape her match with Nia Jax. She chased the Raw Women's Champion back to the ring to suffer defeat to the giant Jax, and then combined forces with the returning Bayley to take out both their rivals before No Mercy's Fatal Five-Way match.


Before their Raw Tag Team Championship defense at No Mercy, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins tangled with Sheamus & Cesaro on Monday, with Gallows & Anderson's involvement making things a Triple Threat. Of course, The Club would suffer an inevitable loss, but it was The Bar that scored the win, leaving Ambrose & Rollins defeated.


On the plus side for Cedric Alexander, he enjoyed another win over The Brian Kendrick on 205 Live this week, as he tries to build momentum towards a Cruiserweight Championship opportunity. However, he probably doesn't remember any of this, as a post-match attack by Jack Gallagher, including a violent headbutt to the jaw, left Alexander laid out.


A rare Apollo Crews sighting took place on Raw this week, and he recorded a win on his return. However, as has often been the case in Crews's ill-fated WWE tenure, he wasn't the focus of this match, as it was his opponent Curt Hawkins's 115-match losing streak that took all the attention. Still, better than nothing for the Titus Worldwide member.


I think it's safe to say AJ Styles's United States Open Challenge has been significantly less compelling than John Cena's version. In this week's clash with Baron Corbin, the match never even had the chance to get underway before Tye Dillinger interfered to assault Corbin. Styles had the last laugh, locking Corbin for a considerable time in the Calf Crusher to damage the Lone Wolf's leg.


It's been a rapid fall from grace for former Cruiserweight Champion Akira Tozawa. Only a month since defending the title at SummerSlam, Tozawa finds himself in a place-holder feud with Drew Gulak on 205 Live. Still, he picked up a decent win this week against Noam Dar.


Randy Orton picked one fight too many on SmackDown Live this week. After defeating Aiden English in Tuesday's opening match, Orton was immediately challenged by Rusev, who was still bitter from being squashed by the Viper at SummerSlam. Orton accepted, and after a brief distraction from English, was beaten with a superkick by Rusev in a matter of seconds.


A fairly quiet week for Braun Strowman before the biggest match of his career at No Mercy. The Monster Among Men had a verbal battle with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman via satellite to build to their titanic match on Sunday. Then, to the joy of most, Strowman decimated Enzo Amore for no other reasons than he could. I for one was not complaining.


After defeating Bray Wyatt defeated and humiliated Goldust last week, on Raw he had to contend with Goldust's alter-ego, Dustin Rhodes. Although Rhodes came out more fired up than the previous match, Wyatt connected with Sister Abigail to score a second successive victory on the road to his match with Finn Balor at No Mercy.


A hometown return for Bayley from her recent injury ensured she received a great reaction from the crowd. Bayley immediately turned her attention to Nia Jax, who caused her shoulder injury before SummerSlam, helping Sasha Banks take the giant down. Then, the best friends turned their attention to Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, earning Bayley a spot in the title match at No Mercy.


While another meeting with The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships seems inevitable, The New Day took on some fresh opposition in the form of the Hype Bros this week. A short but competitive match ended in a victory for the champions, following a Midnight Hour to Zack Ryder.


The King of the Cruiserweights was quick to pounce on Enzo Amore following Braun Strowman's unprovoked attack, flattening his challenger with a Red Arrow. Neville would go on to defeat Gran Metallik on Raw, with the only down note for him being a kick to the groin from Amore during a promo battle on 205 Live.


The Miz is carrying the midcard of Monday Night Raw currently, with the Intercontinental Champion's captivating promos turning many heads. Miz sat at ringside during a Six-Pack Challenge to determine his challenger at No Mercy, won by Jason Jordan. Although he then suffered a few overhead throws from Jordan, Miz left a message with a Skull Crushing Finale.


Speaking of people carrying shows, Kevin Owens is doing his best to keep SmackDown Live compelling through his bitter feud with Shane McMahon. Nothing was going to top him decimating Vince McMahon last week, but his promo via satellite this week was a perfect heel justification for his heinous actions. Nobody is nailing how to be a great heel more than Owens at the moment, though The Miz is a close second.


He may have only earned a quick victory over Randy Orton after the Viper had already competed against Aiden English, but Rusev celebrated like he had just won the WWE Championship and Universal Championship in the same night. Rusev avenged his devastating loss at SummerSlam (at least in his own mind) and prolonged this feud for the time being.


Nia Jax continues to reign supreme on Raw between the ropes, the dominant superstar defeating Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss on Monday before No Mercy's title match. However, she was left scrambling post-match after being ganged up on by Bliss, Sasha Banks and the returning Bayley. Will Jax suffer from the numbers game on Sunday?


The Bar built momentum into their Raw Tag Team Championship rematch on Raw in a Triple Threat match against the champs, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins, and perennial whipping boys Gallows & Anderson. No prizes for guessing who took the pin here, as Sheamus swooped in to defeat Anderson after Ambrose's Dirty Deeds.


It was a predictable outcome, but in the last few weeks Jason Jordan's stock has risen significantly. Kurt Angle's son scored a big win after weeks of high-profile losses in a Six-Pack Challenge also involving Elias, The Hardy Boyz and the Miztourage. Jordan pinned Curtis Axel to earn an Intercontinental Championship match with The Miz at No Mercy, but the threat of the Miztourage at ringside might be too great an obstacle to overcome.


Charlotte Flair made a triumphant return to SmackDown Live after weeks away due to her father Ric's health problems. Given a warm welcome back from the crowd, SmackDown Women's Champion Natalya attempted to steal the spotlight for herself. But, in the end she could only watch on as Charlotte won a Fatal Four-Way against Tamina Snuka, Becky Lynch and Naomi to become the next Number One Contender.