Wrestling Power Rankings 8/25/18

AN INTRODUCTION? I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR AN INTRODUCTION, I'M TWO MONTHS BEHIND. LET'S GET STARTED.

But... before we get started, I'm announcing a change to Wrestlers of the Week. Instead of giving out one Wrestler of the Week for each promotion or show, I'm going to give out five across the board. So, every wrestler who is ranked on a given week has a chance to be one of five Wrestlers of the Week. With this new format, all previous Wrestler of the Week totals will be done away with. Why am I making the change? Reason #1: a lot of promotions didn't really have a standout star on a lot of weeks. Reason #2: wrestlers should be competing with those across the world, not just those in their promotion. I'll also be noting how many Wrestlers of the Week each show has.

Raw 1: Side note: the Bellas backstage segment at Summerslam was cringe-inducing and awful.

10. Dean Ambrose (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)- Ambrose's facial expressions at Summerslam were excellent. And The Shield reunion was a ton of fun.

9. Ronda Rousey (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9)- That Rousey/Stephanie segment on Raw was super skippable (my kind of Stephanie McMahon segment).

8. The B Team (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 7)

7. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 12, Peak: 4)- How great was that inverted superplex spot at Summerslam?

6. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 10, Peak: 6)

5. Seth Rollins 1(Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)- Another week, another Rollins match steals the show. The IC title match at Summerslam was excellent and Rollins's stock bumped even higher after The Shield reunion. 

4. Finn Balor (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 56, Peak: 2)

3. Brock Lesnar (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

2. Braun Strowman (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 60, Peak: 1)

1. Roman Reigns (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

SD 2: After more than half a year in our power rankings, we say goodbye to the Bludgeon Brothers thanks to Rowan's injury. Kudos to him for performing with that. 

10. Randy Orton (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)

9. Samoa Joe 1 (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 9)- How great was Joe this week? The WWE title match with AJ Styles at Summerslam was easily MOTN and Joe was incredible once again on Smackdown. He brings an intensity and legitimacy to the business that few others bring. 

8. Charlotte Flair (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 8)

7. Daniel Bryan (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 24, Peak: 1)

6. New Day (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 5, Peak: 6)- New Day won the Smackdown Tag Titles in a fantastic match with the Bludgeon Brothers on Smackdown. 

5. Andrade "Cien" Almas (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 7, Peak: 5)- Messy finish to the mixed tag match at Summerslam, Lana is still not a good worker. 

4. The Miz (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 16, Peak: 3)

3. Becky Lynch 1 (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 3)- Is there anyone hotter in all of wrestling than "Stone Cold" Becky Lynch right now? The crowd absolutely erupted when she attacked Charlotte at Summerslam and she followed that up with some excellent stuff on Smackdown two nights later. When it was time to give out the first ever Wrestler of the Week awards, Lynch and Joe were the two most obvious picks. 

2. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

1. AJ Styles (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

205 Live 1: 

10. TJP (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 14, Peak: 8)

9. Lio Rush (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 8)

8. Gran Metalik 1 (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 32, Peak: 5)- Incredible tornado tag match between Lucha House Party and Murphy & Tony Nese. Gran Metalik had some incredible moves and was the star of this match.

7. Mustafa Ali (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

6. Noam Dar (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 8, Peak: 6)

5. Lince Dorado (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 30, Peak: 2)

4. Kalisto (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 46, Peak: 1)

3. Drew Gulak (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 19, Peak: 1)

2. Hideo Itami (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 39, Peak: 2)

1. Cedric Alexander (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 65, Peak: 1)

NXT:  

10. Street Profits (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)

9. Velveteen Dream (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 9)

8. War Raiders (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 11, Peak: 8)

7. Shayna Baszler (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 34, Peak: 2)

6. Pete Dunne (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 35, Peak: 4)- Excellent UK Title match between Dunne and Zack Gibson. This is another case of the sequel being better than the original. Dunne was great as usual, but I think the star of the match was Gibson. He sold really well and heeled it up beautifully.

5. The Undisputed Era (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 54, Peak: 1)

4. Johnny Gargano (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 38, Peak: 1)

3. Kairi Sane (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 3)

2. Ricochet (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 21, Peak: 2)

1. Tommaso Ciampa 4 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 21, Peak: 1)

Impact: I love lunatic Eddie Edwards. 

10. Allie (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 10)

9. Su Yung (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 12, Peak: 7)

8. LAX (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 5, Peak: 7)

7. oVe (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 53, Peak: 2)

6. Tessa Blanchard 1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 7, Peak: 5)

5. Moose (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 13, Peak: 3)

4. Brian Cage (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 27, Peak: 1)

3. Pentagon (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 19, Peak: 1)

2. Eli Drake (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 54, Peak: 1)

1. Austin Aries (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 30, Peak: 1)

ROH 1: How great was it seeing Jeff Cobb come in and lay waste to the prospects?

10. Sumie Sakai (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 20, Peak: 8)

9. Chris Sabin (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9)

8. Adam Page 6 (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

7. Punishment Martinez (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 6)

6. Marty Scurll 6 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 2)- Kenny King and Scurll had a really fun match on ROH TV. Kenny King is slowly turning heel and I love it, it's not like he was getting over as a face anyways. Scurll was the perfect foil for King's slow burn here. For that match, and his win over Jay Briscoe in London, Scurll is our first ever Wrestler of the Week honorable mention. It was a close call with him and Gran Metalik, but seeing as the match with Briscoe was pretty meh, I gave the nod to the luchador.

5. The Kingdom 1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 5)

4. The Briscoes 3 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 68, Peak: 1)

3. Young Bucks (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

2. Cody (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 61, Peak: 1)

1. Jay Lethal 1 (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)- Lethal and Mark Haskins had the match of the Reunited tour.

NJPW: New Japan didn't have any events this week. 

10. Taiji Ishimori (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)

9. Jay White 1 (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 7, Peak: 8)

8. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 21, Peak: 5)

7. Minoru Suzuki 2 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 31, Peak: 2)

6. Hirooki Goto 1 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 10, Peak: 3)

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi 1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 5)

4. Kazuchika Okada 3 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

3. Guerillas of Destiny (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 3)

2. Tetsuya Naito 1 (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

1. Kenny Omega 11 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 71, Peak: 1)

Thanks for reading everyone.