Wrestling Rankings for 5/7/16

The biggest wrestling event of the week emanated from Chicago at WWE's Payback. Overall, it was a better event than WrestleMania 32, something which many did not see as a possibility at the end of last year. In other news, this will be the first week we have Lucha Underground on the rankings. I hope to have ROH next week after their Global Wars pay-per-view on Sunday. Let's get started.

WWE:

15. The Vaudevillains (Last Week: 15, Weeks in Rankings: 3)- Aiden English and Simon Gotch are the new #1 Contenders for the tag titles.

14. Natalya (Last Week: 14, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- She didn't get the job done against Charlotte at Payback, but she'll get another chance at Extreme Rules.

13. Sami Zayn (Last Week: 13, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Though he lost cleanly at Payback, Zayn now finds himself back in the IC title picture.

12. Karl Anderson/Luke Gallows (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The former NJPW stars make their debut on our rankings after maineventing both Raw and Smackdown.

11. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Enzo Amore is out with a concussion, but Big Cass still tore it up on Raw and Smackdown.

10. The Miz (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The Awesome One escaped Chicago with his IC title, but now finds himself with three challengers.

9. Charlotte (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The WWE Women's Champion walked out Payback with her title, but did so under dubious circumstances.

8. Chris Jericho (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Y2J may have lost to Dean Ambrose on Sunday, but he dished out a savage beating on Raw.

7. Kevin Owens (Last Week: 12, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- KO was undoubtedly the star of Payback. Not only did he beat Sami Zayn cleanly, but he also entertained on commentary.

6. Cesaro (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The Swiss Superman impressed in Chicago, but he failed to capture the Intercontinental Championship.

5. Triple H (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- We haven't seen The Game since Dallas, and he keeps dropping as a result.

4. Dean Ambrose (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The Lunatic Fringe beat Y2J at Payback, giving him a much-needed win.

3. The New Day (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Though they didn't have a match on Sunday, they did team with Colin Cassady for a win on Raw.

2. AJ Styles (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Despite looking very impressive, the former New Japan star failed to capture the World title.

1. Roman Reigns (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Reigns is still the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, which is enough to keep him at #1.

NXT:

10. No Way Jose (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 3)- No Way Jose picked up the second win of his career this week.

9. Nia Jax (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 3)- Jax spoiled the debut of Tessa Blanchard on NXT.

8. Austin Aries (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Aries picked up a win over Tye Dillinger on the most recent episode of NXT, but a lot of the fans were cheering for Dillinger.

7. American Alpha (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- We've only seen the NXT tag champs compete once since winning the titles at Dallas.

6. The Revival (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The Revival defeated The Hype Bros, continuing their impressive run since Dallas.

5. Bayley (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Bayley was nowhere to be seen this week.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The King of Strong Style will face Alex Riley next week in Riley's last ever match under the WWE umbrella.

3. Finn Balor (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- We didn't see Balor this week, but an awesome vignette told us we would see him next week.

2. Asuka (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The NXT Women's Champion stayed away from the ring this week.

1. Samoa Joe (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The NXT Champion beat Eric Young in the former TNA Heavyweight Champion's NXT in-ring debut.

TNA:

10. Maria (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- At this point, Maria is getting more attention than any other woman in TNA, including Jade, Rosemary, and Dixie Carter.

9. Trevor Lee (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The X-Division Champion was nowhere to be seen this week.

8. The Decay (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 2)- Abyss beat James Storm on this week's episode of Impact.

7. Bram (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 3)- A week after winning the KOTM belt, Bram successfully defended it against four other men, including Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards.

6. Ethan Carter III (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The two-time TNA World champ didn't have any matches this week.

5. Michael Bennett (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- The Miracle came up short in the main event match to become #1 Contender for the TNA World title.

4. Matt Hardy (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- We haven't seen Matt compete since his brother Jeff took him out in a I Quit match.

3. Jeff Hardy (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Jeff was unable to become the #1 Contender for the TNA World Heavyweight title.

2. Lashley (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Lashley jumps four spots after becoming the #1 Contender for Drew Galloway's TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

1. Drew Galloway (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 4)- Galloway will soon defend his title against Lashley in what should be a very physical match.

Lucha Underground:

10. The Mack (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The Mack defeated Marty Martinez to win one of the ancient Aztec medallions.

9. Fenix  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- Fenix may not have won the Trios Titles (along with Jack Evans and PJ Black), but he's still one of the brand's most popular stars.

8. Aerostar  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- Thanks to his win over Drago a few weeks back, Aerostar has one of the seven medallions.

7. Texano  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- Texano was the first LU star to win a medallion.

6. Siniestro de la Muerte  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The former Trios champ beat King Cuerno in a short affair to win a medallion.

5. Sexy Star  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- In a brutal, bloody bout, Sexy beat her rival Mariposa to win a medallion in this week's main event.

4. Cage  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- Cage beat Mascarita Sagrada, but then had his medallion stolen by Chavo Guerrero.

3. Rey Mysterio Jr., El Dragon Azteca Jr., & Prince Puma  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The three lucha stars are riding high after their recent coronation as Trios champs.

2. Mil Muertes  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The former Lucha Underground champ will get another shot at the title next week.

1. Matanza Cueto  (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1)- The monster has been undefeated since debuting in Aztec Warfare II.

Thanks for reading everyone.