The Wrestling Examiner

The big stories of this week all came from New Japan's Dontaku shows. We got the debut of a new Bullet Club member, two thrilling title matches, and much more. In WWE, we also had our one and only week of Backlash, the return of Buddy Murphy, and Raw:  Special shoutout to Ruby Riott and Sasha Banks who surprisingly had a very good match on Raw. 10. Elias (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10) 9. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 4, Peak: 9) 8. Nia Jax (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 4, Peak: 8) 7. Roman Reigns 7 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 54, Peak: 1)- My god that Montreal crowd hated Reigns. 6.  Finn Balor  3 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 41, Peak: 2)- Balor may have lost his Intercontinental title match to Seth Rollins but he was the star of the match. The Falcon Arrow spot in particular was excellent. 5. Ronda Rousey 2 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 5) 4. Matt ...

So, as it turns out, I'm much more behind on wrestling than I thought. I'm currently watching Night 1 of Dontaku and have not even thought about Backlash yet. Catching up by Sunday is now beginning to feel like a pipe dream. But hey, a guy can dream right? Let's get started. Raw:  10. Elias (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 10)- Elias takes Roode's spot by beating him on Raw. 9. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9) 8. Nia Jax (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 8) 7. Roman Reigns 7 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 54, Peak: 1)- I thought for sure Reigns would win the Universal Championship at GRR. 6. Ronda Rousey 2 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 8, Peak: 6) 5. Finn Balor 2 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 40, Peak: 2) 4. Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt 3/1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 8/3, Peak: 4) 3. Seth Rollins 11 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 54, Peak: 1)- The ...

I'm making a commitment to catch up by this Sunday. Seeing as I'm only behind by a few posts, I believe that's very doable. Let's get started. Raw:  10. Bobby Roode (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 10)- Yes, Roode lasted more than half a year on the Smackdown top 10 but that means nothing to the Raw power rankings. 9. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 9) 8. Nia Jax (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 8) 7. Ronda Rousey 2 (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 7, Peak: 7) 6. Roman Reigns 7 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 53, Peak: 1) 5.  Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt  3/1 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 7/2, Peak: 5)- Hardy and Wyatt have suddenly become one of the company's most interesting tag team thanks to their zany antics and an excellent finisher. 4. Finn Balor 2 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 39, Peak: 2) 3. Seth Rollins 11 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 53, Peak...

WrestleMania weekend was quite possibly the craziest wrestling weekends in history. In this post, we're going to cover the last day of that as well as the ensuing week after that. Also, it has been a year since we started these power rankings. In honor of this anniversary, I'm going to designate a wrestler of the year by putting them at the top of the headings. It won't count as a wrestler of the week, it's just an extra little something. Let's get started. Raw:  Seth Rollins 10. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 10)- Lashley returned to a huge pop on the Raw after Wrestlemania. 9. Nia Jax (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 9)- It took a little longer than people expected, but Nia Jax is finally a champion. 8.  Ronda Rousey  2 (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 8)- It's absolutely insane to think about but Rousey was the biggest star over the entire weekend. The mixed tag match was arguably the best match of Wrest...