Wrestling Power Rankings 10/27/18

I know this is weeks late, but I have to talk about Roman Reigns's shocking announcement on Raw. Leukemia is such a horrible disease and it was lovely to see wrestlers, fans, and others all rally around him. The man is a true fighter and I truly believe he will one day be back in the ring. Thank you, Roman.

On a lighter note, I want to talk the Irish promotion. This week I saw two of their events: their Four Year Anniversary event and their 2019 WrestleRama event. I was introduced to some fantastic wrestlers such as Angel Cruz and LJ Cleary. However, the clear star was a man NXT UK fans know well: the Irish Ace Jordan Devlin. He may be a heel stateside, but in OTT he is their top face and known as the Import Killer. At WrestleRama, he and WALTER had a phenomenal match in which Devlin played the quintessential babyface (although I may give match of the week honors to Meiko Satamura and Toni Storm). He showed a ton of fire and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, he lost both the match and his title to the Austrian giant, but the match was one of the best I've seen in 2018. I can't wait to watch it again.

One last thing before we get started: it was a slow week this week, so I'm only giving out two Wrestler of the Week awards. I want to give these out when I feel like a wrestler has really earned them, not just because I have a number to meet. So, from now on, I will give a maximum of five awards out every week, but it could be lower than that.

Let's get started.

Raw 8: 

10. Authors of Pain (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 8, Peak: 9)

9. Bobby Lashley (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 19, Peak: 6)- Lashley drops a spot after being upset by Finn Balor on Raw.

8. Elias (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 8)- For the first time in his WWE career, Elias is a face. It was done masterfully as Elias attacked the hated Constable Corbin to loud cheers. This came out of nowhere, but I love the call. 

7. Dean Ambrose 2 (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 11, Peak: 7)- Ambrose was BRILLIANT on this episode of Raw. Yes, he and Rollins won the tag titles in a very good match that was emotionally charged, but he really deserves some spotlight for his post-match assault on his partner. His facial expressions were top-notch and he sold his anguish really well. It was as if he didn't want to attack his brother, but he felt he had to. 

6. Ronda Rousey (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 12, Peak: 6)

5. Dolph Ziggler 1 & Drew McIntyre 1 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 21, Peak: 3)

4. Finn Balor (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 66, Peak: 2)

3. Seth Rollins 3 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

2. Braun Strowman (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 69, Peak: 1)

1. Brock Lesnar (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

SD 7: 

10. The Bar (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)

9. Randy Orton (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 5, Peak: 9)

8. Daniel Bryan (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 33, Peak: 1)

7. Charlotte Flair (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 10, Peak: 7)

6. New Day (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 14, Peak: 4)

5. Andrade "Cien" Almas (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 16, Peak: 5)

4. The Miz 1 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 25, Peak: 3)

3. Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

2. AJ Styles 1 (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

1. Becky Lynch 3 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 1)

205 Live 4: 

10. Mike Kanellis (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 10)- The former X-Division Champion had an impressive in-ring 205 Live debut. If this keeps up, he'll be one of the show's top heels in 2019. 

9. Tony Nese (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9)

8. Lince Dorado (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 398, Peak: 2)

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

6. Cedric Alexander (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 74, Peak: 1)

5. Mustafa Ali 2 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)- Ali and Itami had a really great Falls Count Anywhere match in this week's main event. That final spot with the 450 through the table was so cool to watch, that table absolutely exploded.

4. Kalisto (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 55, Peak: 1)

3. Buddy Murphy 1 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 9, Peak: 3)

2. Hideo Itami (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 48, Peak: 1)

1. Drew Gulak (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 28, Peak: 1)

NXT 5: I'm here for heel Kassius Ohno. Also, I loved those Matt Riddle vignettes. 

10. Nikki Cross (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)

9. The Forgotten Sons (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 8)

8. Aleister Black (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 8)- Black has looked like such a badass these last two weeks. His rampage this week was a thing of beauty, I'm pretty sure he murdered one of those security guards with a Black Mass. 

7. Velveteen Dream (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 11, Peak: 7)

6. The Undisputed Era (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 63, Peak: 1)

5. Shayna Baszler (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 43, Peak: 2)

4. Johnny Gargano 1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 47, Peak: 1)- The reveal of Gargano as Black's assailant was as effective as it was shocking.

3. Tommaso Ciampa (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 30, Peak: 1)

2. Ricochet 2 (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 30, Peak: 2)

1. Kairi Sane (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 15, Peak: 1)

NXT UK 1:

10. Ligero (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 10)

9. Dakota Kai (Last Week: NR, Weeks in Rankings: 1, Peak: 9)

8. Mark Andrews (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 8)

7. Flash Morgan Webster (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 7)

6. Dave Mastiff (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 6)

5. The Coffeys (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 5)

4. Toni Storm (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 3)

3. Zack Gibson (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 3)

2. Pete Dunne 2 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 1)

1. Moustache Mountain (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 1)

Impact 3:

10. Willie Mack (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 9)

9. Rohit Raju (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9)

8. Pentagon 1 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 28, Peak: 1)

7. LAX (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 14, Peak: 7)

6. oVe (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 62, Peak: 2)

5. Moose (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 22, Peak: 3)

4. Tessa Blanchard 1 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 15, Peak: 4)

3. Eli Drake (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 63, Peak: 1)

2. Brian Cage (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 36, Peak: 1)

1. Johnny Impact 1 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 1)

ROH 9: 

10. Sumie Sakai (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 6, Peak: 8)

9. Chris Sabin (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 9)

8. Marty Scurll 1 (Last Week: 8, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 2)

7. Adam Page (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

6. Young Bucks 2 (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

5. Jeff Cobb 1 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 5, Peak: 5)

4. The Kingdom (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 18, Peak: 4)

3. Cody 2 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 70, Peak: 1)

2. The Briscoes (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 77, Peak: 1)

1. Jay Lethal 3 (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

NJPW 9: Making the Super Jr. Tag Tournament into a round-robin tournament has really energized the whole division, kudos to Gedo. Also, Roppongi 3K and Super 69 had the match of the tournament so far.

10. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI 1 (Last Week: 10, Weeks in Rankings: 2, Peak: 10)- Shingo has provided an unbelievable spark to this division.

9. KUSHIDA (Last Week: 9, Weeks in Rankings: 3, Peak: 9)

8. Kazuchika Okada 1 (Last Week: 7, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

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

6. Hirooki Goto (Last Week: 6, Weeks in Rankings: 19, Peak: 3)

5. Jay White 2 (Last Week: 5, Weeks in Rankings: 15, Peak: 5)

4. Guerillas of Destiny 1 (Last Week: 4, Weeks in Rankings: 13, Peak: 3)

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi 1 (Last Week: 3, Weeks in Rankings: 12, Peak: 2)

2. Kenny Omega 3 (Last Week: 2, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

1. Tetsuya Naito (Last Week: 1, Weeks in Rankings: 80, Peak: 1)

Thanks for reading everyone.