“The Triple H Era” has brought with it the return of some familiar faces, many who have been viewed as his “favorites.” It’s only natural that the future of Johnny Gargano has been a topic of conversation during this recent stretch. And with Raw in Gargano’s hometown of Cleveland two weeks ago, the timing couldn’t have been better for a return to WWE. However, Triple H apparently wanted to keep us on our toes, instead saving him for Toronto this past week. The pop was still a great one.
What followed was an impassioned in-ring promo from Gargano, who mentioned his nine-month-old son and how his experience as a dad reminded him what his dreams were in life, namely making a run at championship gold in WWE and wrestling at Wrestlemania. It wasn’t long before Theory made his way to the ring, but instead of a reunion of “The Way” faction from NXT, he did everything he could to put down his former mentor. Gargano laid him out with a superkick to put an exclamation point on his surprise return.
We really wanted to find a spot for Gargano in this week’s WWE Superstar Power Rankings, but it was a much taller task than originally anticipated. If all goes as hoped, he’ll be on the list in no time. More than anything, this is an acknowledgment that there’s a lot of great stuff happening with the product.
Let’s get to the ranks. And for a further breakdown, be sure to read on beyond the table.
Change Key:
NC = No Change from last week
NR = Not Ranked last week
Plus = Moved up from last week
Minus = Moved down from last week
| Rank | Superstar | Brand | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Lashley – United States Champion | Raw | NC |
| 2 | Roman Reigns – Undisputed WWE Universal Champion | SmackDown | NC |
| 3 | Drew McIntyre | SmackDown | +3 |
| 4 | Bianca Belair – Raw Women’s Champion | Raw | NC |
| 5 | Gunther - Intercontinental Champion | SmackDown | -2 |
| 6 | The Usos - Undisputed Tag Team Champions | SmackDown | -1 |
| 7 | Bayley, IO SKY & Dakota Kai | Raw | +1 |
| 8 | Liv Morgan – SmackDown Women’s Champion | SmackDown | +1 |
| 9 | Seth “Freakin’ ” Rollins | Raw | -2 |
| 10 | Kevin Owens | Raw | NC |
| 11 | Edge | Raw | +8 |
| 12 | A.J. Styles | Raw | -1 |
| 13 | Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett | SmackDown | +1 |
| 14 | The Judgment Day | SmackDown | -2 |
| 15 | The Viking Raiders | SmackDown | NC |
| 16 | Sheamus | Smackdown | NR |
| 17 | Shayna Baszler | Smackdown | NR |
| 18 | Sami Zayn | SmackDown | NR |
| 19 | Hit Row | SmackDown | -1 |
| 20 | Riddle | Raw | NC |
WWE returns to the UK for its first major stadium event in 30 years with WWE Clash at the Castle. Stream exclusively on Peacock on Saturday at 1pm ET.
1. Bobby Lashley – United States Champion (NC)
Bobby Lashley holds on to the top spot this week even though his tag team match ended abruptly on Raw. After defeating A.J. Styles to retain his U.S. title last week, he teamed up with “The Phenomenal One” on Monday to take on The Miz & Ciampa. It was a fun, hard-hitting match until Dexter Lumis abducted The Miz to cause a disqualification. You know, typical pro wrestling stuff.
Lashley is no stranger to everyone who was involved in Monday’s tag team match — including wins over Styles and Ciampa in recent weeks — so it might be time for something new from a storyline perspective. Still, there’s no denying that “The All Mighty” has been the most dominant and consistent performer on either brand in recent months.
2. Roman Reigns – Undisputed WWE Universal Champion (NC)
Hey, would you look at that, Reigns was actually on WWE television last Friday. It started out well for him, as he was involved in a dynamite backstage segment with Sami Zayn which showed a range of emotions and motivations. Not only did Reigns manipulate Zayn to get on his good side with The Usos unavailable, but he also told him to send a message (or a threat, really) to Kevin Owens.
As far as in the ring, we finally got a face-to-face moment with Drew McIntyre. It ended up turning into a brawl, with Zayn stepping in the way of a Claymore Kick. Just when it appeared that Reigns had McIntyre where he wanted him, he ended up taking a Claymore Kick of his own to close out the show. It’s rare that we have actually seen Reigns look vulnerable during this historic run, but the story is being set up nicely in advance of WWE Clash at the Castle.
3. Drew McIntyre (+3)
The arrow is up with Drew McIntyre coming off his face-to-face meeting with Roman Reigns last Friday. “The Scottish Warrior” was able to talk to “The Head of the Table” with no Usos or Paul Heyman, a fact that wasn’t lost on him. With all the talk about “God Mode,” McIntyre said that Reigns is “just a man” and that there’s not a man alive that he can’t tear apart with his own hands.
If the exchange on the mic wasn’t enough for you, McIntyre also got the upper hand when blows were exchanged, ultimately dodging a spear and delivering a Claymore Kick to the champ. He held both titles high to close out the show. Karrion Kross is still lingering in the background here, but McIntyre appears singularly focused heading into his big match against Reigns in Cardiff.
4. Bianca Belair – Raw Women’s Champion (NC)
Bianca Belair hasn’t actually wrestled a match since the day after SummerSlam on August 1, but she continues to be a presence on the show as the build with Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai continues. The aforementioned trio interrupted Toronto native and WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus during her promo on Monday, but “The EST” quickly emerged for a little damage control. In one of her most effective segments on the mic, Belair did her best to remind Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai about Stratus’ accolades and her importance as a lasting influence to the women’s division. It was very well done. Perhaps in the past, we might have already seen Belair mix things up with Bayley in advance of the three-on-three tag team match at Clash at the Castle, but they have done well to keep them apart. Only one more week to go.
5. Gunther – Intercontinental Champion (-2)
After retaining the Intercontinental Championship in an outstanding match against Shinsuke Nakamura, Gunther was absent from SmackDown last week. But he does have a new challenger in Sheamus, who won a Fatal Five-Way Match against Sami Zayn, Ricochet, Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin to challenge “The Ring General” at WWE Clash at the Castle. Both Gunther and Sheamus employ physical styles, so it promises to be a war and quite possibly the match which steals the show. That it’s taking place in the UK makes it all the more appropriate. The IC title hasn’t been defended in a Premium Live Event since last year’s WrestleMania, so Triple H is already going a long way toward reestablishing the prestige of the title. Bring it on.
6. The Usos – Undisputed Tag Team Champions (-1)
The Usos move down a spot in our Power Rankings this week, but they still found themselves in the middle of one of the most entertaining segments of SmackDown on Friday. They can thank Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn for that. Zayn, who has been repping The Bloodline, complained to Reigns about Jey’s attitude in recent weeks and the champ ended up agreeing with him. It’s easy to see this as manipulation, but Reigns managed to get Zayn on his side with The Usos having some “trouble at the border” preventing them from getting into Canada. The Usos haven’t had a legitimate threat at their titles since The Street Profits and it’s easy to see a bit of a slow build here with Zayn. For now, we’ll just have to sit back and watch how it develops.
7. Bayley, IYO SKY & Dakota Kai (+1)
This ascendant trio dominated Raw this past week and deserve major kudos for doing so. Bayley, IYO SKY, & Dakota Kai rudely interrupted an appearance by Hall of Famer Trish Stratus in her hometown of Toronto at the start of the show, but that was just the start of their great night. IYO SKY & Dakota Kai defeated Asuka & Alexa Bliss in a hard-fought match to advance to the finals of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Tournament before Bayley made her first appearance back in the ring since her knee injury and defeated Aliyah in the process. A Six-Woman Tag Match against Bianca Belair, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss awaits at Clash at the Castle, but lots of gold could also be in this trio’s future.
8. Liv Morgan – Smackdown Women’s Champion (+1)
Morgan’s credibility as a champion took a bit of a hit after the questionable ending to her match against Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam. With a match against submission expert Shayna Baszler lined up for Clash at the Castle, Morgan needed a clean win in the worst way and she managed to do that by defeating Shotzi on SmackDown this past week. Interestingly, it was Shotzi calling Morgan a “phony” that caused the champion to ramp up the aggressiveness in order to score the pinfall. Already vulnerable, Morgan was attacked by Baszler after the match and nearly had her arm broken in the process. The win was a good one for her confidence, but she still has a lot to prove going into their match in Cardiff, Wales.
9. Seth “Freakin’” Rollins (-2)
There’s certain expectations associated with Raw in recent years. The theme music plays, followed by entrance music from a superstar or authority figure. It ends up being a lengthy segment on the mic to set up the main conflict for the evening. Triple H continues to show that he’s willing to throw expectations on their ear. We saw the latest example of that when Monday’s show began with a backstage brawl between Rollins and Riddle. It eventually spilled into the crowd before WWE officials were eventually able to separate the rivals. Rollins moves down in our rankings because of some of the surrounding events of the past week, but he played his part perfectly on Monday to set up a highly-anticipated matchup at Clash at the Castle.
10. Kevin Owens (NC)
The “Prize Fighter” continues to build momentum. Owens showed off a new attitude on last week’s Raw with his mic work and match with Drew McIntyre, but he followed that up with another fine showing on Monday. With the nice touch of his old “Duct Tape” KO shirt, Owens defeated Chad Gable on the strength of a pop-up powerbomb. While he was attacked by Otis after the match, he managed to counter that with a stunner before powerbombing Gable on top of him. It was an effective way to remind fans of the brawling and ruthless version of KO. With even Roman Reigns mentioning him on SmackDown, it will be fascinating to see where things go from here.
11. Edge (+8)
Edge is the biggest riser on this week’s list and it’s really not close. Wrestling on his home turf in Toronto for the first time since his sudden retirement over a decade ago, Edge exacted revenge on The Judgment Day by beating Damian Priest in the main event of Raw. The “Rated R Superstar” took quite a beating in the match, including a Razor’s Edge through a table, but he managed to wiggle his way out of a second one to turn it into a Canadian Destroyer, of all things. He followed that up with a spear to dispose of his one-time mentee. Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley attacked Edge after the match, but his wife Beth Phoenix emerged to come to his aid to close out the show. This rivalry likely isn’t close to its conclusion just yet. Interestingly, Edge hinted to the crowd after Raw that he envisions potentially retiring on his own terms a year from now in Toronto. What could the next 12 months hold for the Hall of Famer?
12. A.J. Styles (-1)
After coming up short in his U.S. Championship match against Bobby Lashley last week, Styles teamed up with the champion on Raw in order to take on The Miz & Ciampa. While it looked like the mysterious Dexter Lumis was targeting Styles in recent weeks, it might have actually been an elaborate misdirection. A (presumably) random person in a hoodie grabbed at Styles during the match before being hauled off my security. This distraction allowed Lumis to emerge and abduct The Miz, resulting in a disqualification. Where this leaves Styles is anybody’s guess. He’s already lost to Lashley and the storyline with Lumis might not actually be about him, after all.
13. Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett (+1)
We’ve yet to see Kross in the ring since his return, but he continues to be a factor. And in the case of McIntyre, he’s doing the best he can to get into his head. In his latest vignette on SmackDown, Kross ranted about McIntyre once being known as “The Chosen One” and ultimately failing in that regard. He also noted that McIntyre’s opponent at Clash at the Castle, Roman Reigns, eventually became the new “Chosen One” and was able to succeed where he once failed. It’s very good stuff. The presentation of Kross was all wrong the first time around on the main roster, but Triple H and company are playing to his strengths this time.
14. The Judgment Day (-2)
This week’s Raw was a mixed bag for The Judgment Day, as Damian Priest lost his highly-anticipated match against Edge, but Finn Balor (with brand new entrance music) was able to defeat Dolph Ziggler. Of course, Balor needed some assistance from Rhea Ripley in order to do it. We probably haven’t seen the last of The Mysterios in this saga and it looks like another chapter could be written in regard to Edge. However, it feels like something fresh needs to happen here for all involved.
15. The Viking Raiders (NC)
Never seen a “Viking Funeral” before? Well, now you have, as The Viking Raiders sent their latest message to The New Day on SmackDown last Friday. And it turns out that it’s a haunting vignette reminiscent of various other creepy characters in WWE history. Eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that Sarah Rowe (formerly known as Sarah Logan in WWE; married to Erik from the Viking Raiders) also made an appearance. Setting a box of Booty O’s on fire was a bridge too far, but that’s just our opinion. The “funeral” was obviously aimed at chipping away at the confidence of The New Day, so the question now is how they’ll respond.
16. Sheamus (NR)
The Brawling Brutes have been absent from the Power Rankings for the last few weeks, but Sheamus reemerged in a big way this week on SmackDown. While Sami Zayn may have been the star of the match (more on that in a little bit), it was Sheamus who emerged with a victory over Zayn, Madcap Moss, Happy Corbin and Ricochet to become the No. 1 Contender for the Intercontinental Championship. While the Montreal crowd, and our group of rankers, may have been pulling for Sami, getting to see Sheamus and Gunther beat (and chop) the daylights out of each other at Clash at the Castle is a nice consolation prize. Can you say slobberknocker?
17. Shayna Baszler (NR)
Despite winning a Gauntlet Match to become the No. 1 Contender to Liv Morgan’s SmackDown Women’s Championship last week, it wasn’t enough to propel Baszler into the rankings. But she would be denied no more after embarrassing the champ on Friday. After Liv defeated Shotzi, Baszler attacked her Clash at the Castle opponent and appeared to be preparing to break Morgan’s arm. But cooler heads prevailed as Baszler realized she may lose her championship match if Morgan were out of commission. Now she has all the momentum heading into Cardiff.
18. Sami Zayn (NR)
Whenever he’s been given an opportunity, Zayn has proven to be one of the more entertaining characters in WWE. But it’s been quite a while since he had such a bright spotlight shone on him like he did on Friday’s SmackDown. And not only was he entertaining, but he also reminded everyone why he’s one of the better in-ring technicians in the company. He’s been in so many mid-card (at best) programs on the main roster for so long, it’s easy to forget some of the classics he had in NXT against the likes of Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura to name a few. But that level of in-ring precision was on full display in the Fatal Five-Way Match on Friday. But perhaps more importantly, he shared plenty of screen time with “The Head of the Table.”
With The Usos absent from the building, Sami was Roman Reigns’ right-hand man. He had a tremendously entertaining exchange with “The Tribal Chief” in the backstage area explaining the issues he’s been having with Jey Uso, but he also came to Reigns’ rescue in the main event segment, temporarily saving him from a Drew McIntyre Claymore Kick. There have also been some teases of Zayn and long-time frenemy Kevin Owens being involved in some storylines under the Triple H regime. Sign us up for all of it!
19. Hit Row (-1)
After winning a squash match in their re-debut last week, Hit Row followed that up by interrupting a Maximum Male Models segment, clearing the ring in short order. They followed that up with a musical performance that started out fine, but went on for about two verses too long. Even Pat McAfee seemed to be confused by what was going on. Regardless, that’s two weeks in a row Top Dolla, Ahante “Thee” Adonis and B-Fab looked strong.
20. Riddle (NC)
Riddle made his return to the Power Rankings last week, and stays in the same spot after Raw on Monday. “The Original Bro” and Seth “Freakin’” Rollins kicked off the show with a fun brawl through the crowd. There was no clear winner of the fracas, but their matchup at Clash at the Castle can’t come soon enough. Riddle is another name who could be in for a major push under the new Triple H regime. Will that start with a big win over Rollins in Cardiff?
On the Cusp: Dexter Lumis, Theory, Ronda Rousey, Johnny Gargano, The Miz & Ciampa, Raquel Rodriguez, Madcap Moss
Who’s NXT: Bron Breakker, Mandy Rose, Carmelo Hayes, Tyler Bate, Tony D’Angelo, Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, The Creed Brothers, Cora Jade
