It’s already the middle of October and Crown Jewel is coming up in a little less than 3 weeks. Feuds are heating up and things seem a little different at the moment, because the draft is currently taking place and the two biggest feuds are going to be matches that aren’t even involving wrestlers. It will be interesting in the coming weeks, but it just feels different. I apologize for my Power Rankings being a day late, but it has been a busy couple of days. Here are my Power Rankings for this week.

- 10: Natalya (NR)

The match between Natalya and Lacey Evans didn’t get a lot of love on Monday night, but I loved it. It was a Last Woman Standing match and the goal was to get Lacey Evans over without getting a win, and I felt that goal was accomplished and then some. Evans looked very strong on Monday despite taking the loss. I feel like she is in line for another title shot pretty soon and she was drafted to RAW on Friday, so getting another match between she and The Man will be awesome to see.

- 9: Brock Lesnar/Cain Velasquez (1, NR)

These two probably should be a little higher on the list, but I feel like it hasn’t lived up to the hype yet. I know that Velasquez is a solid in-ring performer based on some of the independent events I’ve seen him appear at, but I just don’t think the build is there yet. It was reported that Velasquez and the WWE agreed to a multi-year contract and it looks like he will immediately get a WWE title shot in his WWE debut. I personally don’t like that, because Ronda Rousey didn’t jump right into a title match and Ronda is a bigger draw than Cain Velasquez. I don’t expect Velasquez to win, but the thought of him becoming champion in his first match is just ridiculous.

- 8: Braun Strowman/Tyson Fury (NR, NR)

Speaking of another non-wrestler, Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman have been in a heated feud. I feel like this storyline has been better than the one above, but not by a huge margin. The two had a face-to-face meeting on Monday night and it ended in a huge brawl. I don’t think this match at Crown Jewel will ultimately be as entertaining as the Velasquez/Lesnar matchup, but I guess we will find out in a couple weeks.

- 7: Rhea Ripley (NR)

The first time I saw Rhea Ripley compete was when she became the first NXT UK Women’s Champion last year. She is an awesome performer and one that they could build the whole NXT women’s division around. She defeated Aaliyah in quick fashion on Wednesday night, but the squash was done to perfection. After the match, she called out the NXT Women’s champ, Shayna Baszler and challenged her to a match. I personally think she will be the woman to take down Baszler and her 2ndtitle reign which is closing in on a year in just 3 weeks.

- 6: Rusev (NR)

There isn’t much to say here, but Rusev looked strong in the opening segment of RAW. He wasn’t in a match, but he was clearly angered by the relationship between his wife and Bobby Lashley and took all that anger out on Randy Orton and King Corbin. It’s good to see Rusev back, but I’m still not sure how I feel about this storyline.

- 5: Becky Lynch/Roman Reigns (5, 6)

The Man and the Big Dog are in the Top 5 this week simply because they were the first two superstars chosen in the draft. Both also picked up big wins last Sunday at Hell in a Cell and they clearly are the top two superstars moving forward for the WWE. They desperately need stars to lead the pack and I don’t think they could find two better ones to do so.

- 4: Walter (NR)

Ever since I saw Walter’s NXT debut match, I have been a fan. He is an old school big wrestler with a hint of new school. He is called the Ring General and that’s exactly who he is. He takes firm command of matches and is absolutely dominant. He faced Kushida in a non-title match to close the show on Wednesday night. I’ve never seen Kushida perform until this week and I have to say, I was very impressed with him as well. NXT has a wealth of talent and I think they will be just fine on network television.

- 3: Kabuki Warriors (NR)

The team of Asuka and Kairi Sane had a huge week. They became Women’s Tag Champs on Sunday and on Monday, they defeated the team of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. The picked up both wins with the help of Asuka’s green mist. Making these two a heel team is the right move at the moment. The women’s division is in desperate need of heels and we’ll talk about that later on as well. It’s good to see Asuka and Sane on TV and hopefully they will be in the singles title picture pretty soon.

- 2: Lio Rush (NR)

Lio Rush basically came out of nowhere and now he is the NXT Cruiserweight Champion. They rebranded the 205 Live belt as an NXT championship and I think that is the perfect move. There just was much viewing opportunity for them on the WWE Network and it will be cool to see those wrestlers getting a shot to prove themselves on network television every week. Lio Rush and Drew Gulak was a great opener on Wednesday night and it will be cool to see what is next.

- 1: Bayley (NR)

I’ve been saying for weeks that Bayley needs to be a full-blown heel or not be one at all and this week things changed for the absolute good. She has a different look, the wacky arm flailing inflatable tube men are gone, and she defeated Charlotte Flair in a rematch for her SmackDown Women’s Championship on Friday night in the main event. Bayley now has the look and the sense of a strong champion and I’m anxious to see more.

Yacs

WWE Power Rankings: Week of October 13th