Wrestling Power Rankings- 4/22/17

I know it's been a number of months since I last did this, but it's time to get back in the saddle. I was incredibly busy then, but I think I now have the time to devote to this. It will take a while, as I would like to cover all of the major promotions, but I want to do it right. 

I will cover Raw, 205 Live, Smackdown, NXT, Impact, ROH, Lucha Underground, and New Japan. Since LU is currently on hiatus, that won't be covered for some time. Our criteria for rankings will include a number of factors: championships, wins, big matches, placement on the card, current storyline, whether they are active, crowd response, etc. I'll try to give a short description most of the time, but it depends on how much time I have. Let's get started.

Raw:

10. Alexa Bliss- Little Miss Bliss is the #1 Contender to the Raw Women's Championship. 

9. Finn Balor- The Demon King has been hot ever since he returned, but the lack of a real story has hurt his momentum.

8. Dean Ambrose- The current Intercontinental Champion seems like he's going to drop the title to The Miz soon.

7. Roman Reigns- Reigns has not been seen since Braun Strowman sent him to the hospital.

6. Bayley- The current Raw Women's Champion next challenger is Alexa Bliss.

5. Samoa Joe- The undefeated monster will face Seth Rollins at Payback.

4. The Hardy Boyz- The Raw Tag Team Champions will defend their titles against Cesaro & Sheamus in Chicago.

3. Braun Strowman- The giant is one of the hottest stars in wrestling ever since he put Reigns in the hospital.

2. Seth Rollins- The Architect's babyface run got off to a tepid start, but he's heating up now.

1. Brock Lesnar- The Beast Incarnate is absent for the time being, but he's still the Universal Champion. 

SD:

10. Naomi- The current Smackdown Women's Champion will defend her title against Charlotte next week.

9. Luke Harper- The former IC champ is treading water right now, but it looks like he will face Erick Rowan at Payback. 

8. Mojo Rawley- Rawley hasn't done much of note since winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

7. Tye Dillinger- The Perfect 10 needs a good feud to really integrate him into the main roster. 

6. Jinder Mahal- I can't believe I'm writing this, but Mahal is the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship.

5. Charlotte Flair- Charlotte has a great chance at winning the SD Women's title next week.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura- The King of Strong Style has yet to have a match on SD, but he's still super hot. 

3. Kevin Owens- The United States Champion has been killing it as the "New Face of America."

2. Randy Orton- The WWE Champion will face Bray Wyatt at Payback in a House of Horrors match.

1. AJ Styles- He may not have gold around his waist, but he's still the top star on Tuesday nights. 

NXT

10. Andrade "Cien" Almas- Almas will face McIntyre next week.

9. Ember Moon- It looks like Ember Moon will get another shot at Asuka, but that remains to be confirmed.

8. SAnitY- The group is trending a little downwards after Eric Young's loss to Tye Dillinger.

7. Kassius Ohno- The former Chris Hero doesn't really have anything going on right now. 

6. Hideo Itami- It looks like Itami is the next challenger to Roode's title.

5. Drew McIntyre- McIntyre faces Almas next week.

4. Aleister Black- Black's only had two matches in NXT, but he's still massively over.

3. The Authors of Pain- The undefeated duo has no clear opponents lined up.

2. Asuka- Asuka is still undefeated and will probably be for at least a few more weeks.

1. Bobby Roode- The NXT Champion was laid out by Itami on NXT, but he's still the brand's top star. 

205 Live

10. Ariya Daivari- Daivari has a new gimmick of a rich snob. It's by no means original, but it could push him upwards.

9. Drew Gulak- Gulak's new gimmick has the potential to push him to the top of the division.

8. The Brian Kendrick- The former Cruiserweight Champion is in the midst of a feud with Tozawa.

7. Rich Swann- The dancing star has fallen a bit over the last few months, but he's still doing quite well for himself.

6. Mustafa Ali- Ali is at the beginning of his first main roster feud, so this should push him to new heights.

5. Gentleman Jack Gallagher- Despite not having a major program, he's still one of the hottest stars on the brand.

4. Akira Tozawa- The Japanese star is currently getting the best of his nemesis, Brian Kendrick.

3. TJ Perkins- Perkins has been on fire ever since turning heel.

2. Austin Aries- Aries is the #1 Contender to Neville's title.

1. Neville- Neville- The current Cruiserweight Champion is on fire right now, and is undefeated ever since turning heel.

Impact

10. Eddie Edwards- We haven't seen Edwards since his lost to Davey Richards a few weeks back.

9. James Storm- Storm failed to beat Lashley for the World title this week.

8. Decay- Crazy Steve has left Impact, so it's just Abyss and Rosemary.

7. Low-Ki- The former ROH World Champion made a surprise return to the promotion and won the X Division Champion.

6. Davey Richards- It looks like Richards is the next challenger for Moose's Grand Championship. 

5. Moose- The current Grand Champion has been running roughshod through Impact thus far.

4. Ethan Carter III- EC3 turned heel this week by attacking James Storm.

3. Alberto El Patron- At some point in the future, it looks like the former WWE Champion will take on Magnus.

2. LAX- Ever since they returned, LAX has been very dominant. 

1. Bobby Lashley- It's quite possible that no one in Impact history has been more dominant than Lashley has. 

ROH

10. Punishment Martinez- He's been somewhat dormant since cutting ties with Kevin Sullivan and BJ Whitmer.

9. Frankie Kazarian- It looks like Kazarian's next feud will be against Hangman Page.

8. Hangman Page- Page and the rest of Bullet Club are among the top stars in ROH today. 

7. The Briscoes & Bully Ray- The trio are the brand's second-ever Six Man Tag champs. 

6. War Machine- Hanson and Rowe are the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. 

5. The Young Bucks- Matt & Nick Jackson are the current ROH tag champs.

4. Jay Lethal- Lethal may not be in a top story, but it won't be long before he is back in the main event.

3. Adam Cole- The former ROH champ has been absent ever since his argument with the Jacksons.

2. Marty Scurll- The current ROH Television champ has been absolutely brilliant ever since debuting in ROH last year. 

1. Christopher Daniels- The World champ's next opponent for his title will be Matt Taven. 

NJPW

10. Ricochet- Ricochet will take on Hiromu Takahashi for the Junior Heavyweight title on April 29th. 

9. Tomohiro Ishii- The Stone Pitbull takes on Kenny Omega at the Wrestling Dontaku iPPV in Fukuoka. 

8. Kenny Omega- Omega has been pretty quiet since losing to Kazuchika Okada in January.

7. Bad Luck Fale- The former IWGP Intercontinental Champion will face Okada for the World title at Fukuoka.

6. Katsuyori Shibata- Shibata is out with an injury right now, but no one knows when he'll be back. 

5. Juice Robinson- The former NXT star will face Naito for the IC title in the main event of the Wrestling Toyonouki iPPV. 

4. Hirooki Goto- Goto is the current NEVER Openweight Champion. 

3. Hiromu Takahashi- The current Junior Heavyweight Champion next's challenger is Ricochet.

2. Tetsuya Naito- The Intercontinental Champion is one of the hottest stars in wrestling.

1. Kazuchika Okada- Okada's next challenger is Bad Luck Fale.

Thanks for reading everyone.