SK Power Rankings: July 8th, 2017
In a pleasant surprise, WWE television has been pretty good lately. After a wild Money in the Bank PPV, and with the Great Balls of Fire PPV coming up this weekend, our Rankings have taken on quite a different look.
An influx of women Superstars has reflected on our rankings with some fresh faces that haven’t been featured before, present in this list. With several marquee matchups coming at GBOF, we have some interesting names climbing the Power Rankings.
Before we reveal which Superstars have performed well enough recently to earn a spot in our Rankings, let’s take a look at the Superstars or tag teams that just missed out on making the top 10 this week:
Roman Reigns – Since losing the Fatal 5 Way match at Extreme Rules, “The Big Dog” had been on a bit of a roll on Monday nights. That all changed a few weeks ago when “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman made his return and set his sights on exacting revenge on the man that put him out of action for a couple months.
Strowman returned on June 19th to cost Reigns his match against Samoa Joe, and then came into the ring and destroyed his rival while also challenging him to an Ambulance Match at the Great Balls of Fire PPV, which Reigns gladly accepted.
This past week on Raw, Reigns got revenge on Strowman by popping out of an ambulance (a trick he learned from his rival) and eventually speared the monster off the stage and through multiple tables. Even after standing tall this week, most expect “The Big Dog” to fall to Strowman at GBOF, which would keep Roman on the outside looking in at our Rankings.
The Miz – The Miz won the Intercontinental title back from Dean Ambrose at Extreme Rules, and since then, “The Lunatic Fringe” has made life miserable for “The A-Lister” and his wife, Maryse.
However, recently The Miz turned the tables of this rivalry. He took full control of the feud a couple weeks ago when he lured Ambrose to the ring, to unveil his new “Entourage” consisting of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, who were dressed in bear costumes, and laid out the former IC champ. While his relationship with his wife is on the rocks, The Miz has solidified a new partnership that may just keep the Intercontinental title around his waist for a long time.
Carmella – “The Princess of Staten Island” walked out of the Money in the Bank PPV as the first ever Ms. Money in the Bank. However, the following Tuesday night on Smackdown Live, returning General Manager Daniel Bryan decided to strip Carmella of the briefcase, due to James Ellsworth being the one to actually retrieve the briefcase, and an MITB rematch was announced for the next week’s Smackdown Live.
The next week, Carmella was able to prove that the first win was no fluke as she pulled off the biggest win of her career (again), becoming the first-ever Ms. Money in the Bank. There is little doubt that Carmella has impressed and improved lately and it’s no secret that the MITB contract holder is almost certain to become Champion when they choose to cash-in.
However, if she plans on cashing in during the next 30 days, she’ll have to do so without the help of her “friend”, James Ellsworth, who got suspended by Smackdown GM Daniel Bryan this past week.
#10 Sasha Banks (#1 Contender to Raw Women’s Title)
“The Boss” had been missing from Raw’s Women’s title picture over the past few months. She was even relegated to a program on 205 Live and a less than engaging feud with Alicia Fox last month.
However, her time out of the limelight ended a couple weeks ago when she outlasted Nia Jax in the first ever Women’s Gauntlet Match on Raw. “The Legit Boss” became the #1 contender to Alexa Bliss and her Raw Women’s title and will face the champ at the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view this Sunday.
This past week on Raw, she teamed with her bestie, Bayley, to take on Bliss and Jax. However, Bayley was injured early in the match and “The Boss” was left on the wrong end of an unfair 2-on-1 disadvantage. However, she took out Jax and her injured knee first, then the challenger for the title match this Sunday forced the champ to tap to the Banks Statement and picked up some huge momentum heading into Great Balls of Fire.
Although Banks went through a recent rough patch on Raw, she has remained the most popular women’s superstar in the company. With a win on Sunday, “The Legit Boss” could become a four-time Raw Women’s champ and cement her spot as one of the elite women in the world of professional wrestling.