SK Power Rankings: April 15th
If last week was huge in changing the landscape of WWE, this week was monumental. Not only did we have several title defences and big matches on Raw and SmackDown, but the “Superstar shake-up” also changed things drastically for both brands.
With the shake-up causing such a stir, our Power Rankings took on quite a shake-up themselves. Let’s take a look at some of the superstars or tag teams that just missed out on making our Rankings and superstars or teams that fell out of the Rankings from last week.
Honourable Mentions:
The Usos – Since defeating American Alpha a few weeks ago for the SmackDown Tag Titles, the Usos have become the premier tag team on the blue brand. This week, Jimmy and Jey defended their tag titles in a rematch with Alpha on SmackDown LIVE and picked up the win after a fantastic match. With New Day coming over to SmackDown LIVE, the blue brand’s tag division looks as promising as ever.
Naomi – After winning the SmackDown Women’s Title back at WrestleMania 33, Naomi may be the most popular women’s superstar currently on the WWE roster. Her in-ring skills and performance on the mic have improved dramatically since returning from an ankle injury back in July of last year, and she has been the most improved women’s star, along with Alexa Bliss, since the brand split. Now that Charlotte has made her way to SmackDown, expect this division to be a highlight of the show.
Bray Wyatt – Although he was #1 in our Rankings for several weeks after Elimination Chamber, “The Eater of Worlds” has fallen out of our Power Rankings. After losing the WWE Title to Orton at WrestleMania and losing in a tag match the following week, Wyatt was inexplicably moved to Raw. However, Wyatt will still get his rematch with Orton at Payback in a “House of Horrors” match for the WWE Title, but don’t expect Bray to take that title over with him to Raw.
Finn Bálor – After showing up in our Rankings at #10 last week after his return from injury, Bálor falls just outside of our top ten this week. With the roster shake-up and a couple of new additions to the Rankings, Bálor didn’t do enough this week to stay in the top ten. However, Bálor seems destined for a huge push moving forward, so he shouldn’t stay out of our Power Rankings for long.
Shinsuke Nakamura – Nakamura debuted on SmackDown LIVE last week, and while his debut wasn’t very impactful, it was evident that Shinsuke was here to make an impact sooner rather than later. After interrupting Dolph Ziggler during his promo this past week, “The King of Strong Style” and “The Show-Off” seem to be heading towards a match next week or at SmackDown’s next exclusive PPV, Backlash.