Another week closer to WrestleMania and another week of RAW and SmackDown in the books. The biggest stories headed into to this week’s episodes were the debuts of four NXT superstars. Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, Ricochet, and Tommaso Ciampa all made their debuts this week and performed on both shows. I’m not sure if this will be a lasting thing or if it was just a one-time thing to get them recognized, but we shall see. At this point, it is pretty obvious that the RAW Women’s Championship match will go on last at WrestleMania, because Seth Rollins nor Brock Lesnar showed up Monday night and this has happened multiple weeks since Rollins won the Rumble. To start RAW, there was a Corbin/Strowman rematch, but this time it was a Tables Match. We had a few new champions at Elimination Chamber, but only one of them was in action on either show. Dean Ambrose is still on TV, but at this point it looks like he is just around to put over talent. We also go to see another rematch of the Rousey/Riott squash at Elimination Chamber.

SmackDown was a better show this week, but it wasn’t spectacular. Shane McMahon announced that there would be a rematch for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship at Fastlane and he announced the new number one contender for the WWE Championship at the closing of the show. We finally saw Asuka in action for the first time in a few weeks against Mandy Rose and SAnitY appeared for the first time in months. Lacey Evens appeared on both shows and the PPV, but has not been in action yet, other than the Royal Rumble. It looks like she may be in line for a mega push. The main event of the show was a 6-man tag match with the guys that were in the WWE Championship Chamber match on Sunday night. With that out of the way, let’s get to this week’s WWE Power Rankings.

- 10: Mandy Rose (NR)

The Golden Goddess makes the Top 10 for the first time as a solo competitor, although it is her second time on the list for the year. On Sunday night, she and her tag team partner, Sonya Deville, had an impressive run in the Elimination Chamber match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships. It appeared that they had a legitimate shot of winning the match, but ultimately came up short. On Tuesday night, Asuka issued a challenge to the women of SmackDown and Rose stepped up. She looked pretty sharp in the match, but a distraction from Lacey Evans and faking an eye injury were the ultimate factors in securing her victory over the

SmackDown Women’s Champion. This was a big win for her and I’d be shocked if she doesn’t receive a title shot at Fastlane. She looks to be in line for a serious push and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m not expecting a title reign this soon for her, but it is possible.

- 9: Ricochet (NR)

There are three NXT entries in the Top 10 this week and it is the first time any NXT superstars have been on my list this year. I normally wouldn’t have NXT performers on here, but this week was different. Four superstars had their in-ring debuts on the main roster and each competitor picked up wins on both RAW and SmackDown. The fact that these superstars were pushed would be an understatement and at the 9 spot, I chose Ricochet. I try to keep up with what is going on with NXT, but I don’t regularly watch it like I do the main roster. Ricochet is a special in-ring competitor that doesn’t come around too often. He didn’t really need to start out in NXT, so I’m glad he received the chance to debut on RAW and SmackDown this week. He teamed up with Finn Bálor on RAW and the duo defeated Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. On Tuesday night, he took on Eric Young of SAnitY. This was the first time in quite a long time that we have anyone from this group in action, but once again, they lost on live TV. Of all the NXT debuts this week, Ricochet was probably the weakest. I’m not saying he looked weak, because he didn’t. It looked like the other competitors were pushed more and it’s never a bad week when you pick up two pinfall victories in consecutive days.

- 8: Finn Bálor (NR)

Bálor is back in the Top 10 after a strong week. He teamed with Ricochet to defeat the team of Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush as I just mentioned, but the reason why I chose him above Ricochet is simply because I think he looked slightly stronger in the match. He didn’t secure the pin, but it was the little things during the match that made Bálor look strong. Plus, he is a weekly attraction on the red brand, which is another reason why I placed him higher. He also was the only new champion from the PPV that was in a match on either night. I think his feud with Bobby Lashley will last a little while longer, but I don’t think it will go all the way to WrestleMania.

- 7: Daniel Bryan (8)

He didn’t have a particularly strong week, but the fact he is still champion is the reason why he moved up one spot this week. Like usual, he was in championship form on Sunday night in the Elimination Chamber match for his WWE title. Although many fans wanted to see Kofi Kingston take the title Sunday night, Bryan won the match in believable fashion and left us wanting a rematch. He obviously doesn’t look as strong without Rowan’s help, but that is the point. He was pinned on Tuesday night by the man that he had such a strong showing with on Sunday night, but more on that later. A pinfall victory in arguably the best Elimination Chamber match of all time is the reason why he stays in the Top 10. Look for him to stay here until WrestleMania.

- 6: Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano (NR)

The next NXT entry on the list is a tag team, because they were presented as such on this week’s programs. Although they both have singles championships on NXT, as of

Tuesday night, they were in tag team matches on RAW and SmackDown and won both matches. Ciampa and Gargano are two of the best technical wrestlers in the whole company and they got the chance to showcase their talents to the main roster. The had a huge win against the new RAW Tag Team Champions on Monday night and Tuesday night, they picked up a win against The Bar. They were a former tag team on NXT, but for nearly the last year, they have had one of the best rivalries in all of WWE. The same applies for Ricochet and the other NXT entry, but it is unknown if they will continue to be featured on the main roster, but if they do, look for them to be in and out of the Top 10 for a little while.

- 5: Aleister Black (NR)

Making your debut on the main roster, picking up two wins, and making The Sports Chief WWE Power Rankings Top 5 in the same week is very impressive. Aleister Black appears to have the best combination of talent and potential among the competitors from NXT that made their debuts. Although Ciampa and Gargano were probably in better matches, Black looks like he Is ready for a permanent stay on the main roster. He does everything well and his character looks like a finished product rather than a work in progress. Casual WWE fans were likely seeing these NXT guys for the first time ever, so I would imagine they were impressed with their debuts. I feel like that if I were a casual watcher, I would be most impressed with Black as a total package. Ricochet is probably more exciting from a high-risk standpoint, but Black doesn’t really have many weaknesses at this point. On Monday night, he defeated Elias and on Tuesday night, he defeated Andrade. These are two guys that are looking to get title opportunities in the near future and Black basically stole their spotlight in two nights. I don’t know what this means for Andrade and Elias, but Aleister Black is a hot topic right now. I hope we see these NXT guys get called up for good, if they haven’t been already.

- 4: Bayley and Sasha Banks (7)

I expected to put these two ladies in the Top 5 prior to the PPV and I feel like they earned it. They looked very strong in the Elimination Chamber match and wound up becoming the first ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The duo winning the titles was the opposite of a shock, but the outcome didn’t need to be a shock. They did the right thing picking these women to be the inaugural champs. They didn’t compete on Monday night, but did cut a promo. They were interrupted by the team of Nia Jax and Tamina. Moving forward, I’m not sure how their storylines will be handled, but the fresh sight of Women’s Tag Team titles will be something that will keep the interest of WWE fans for a little bit.

- 3: Becky Lynch (2)

Becky Lynch lost another spot in this week’s ranking. She did not appear on either RAW or SmackDown, but her impact on Sunday night was enough to keep her in the Top 3. Lynch made her way through the crowd on crutches and proceeded to beat Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey with her crutches and was escorted out of the arena. She was suspended for 60 days by Mr. McMahon last Monday night and hasn’t been seen as much as I thought, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still part of their WrestleMania plans. I fully expect her to still be in the main event at WrestleMania despite her suspension. There is a lot of speculation that she may make an appearance next week on RAW at Ric Flair’s birthday celebration, but I don’t think that would be the wisest thing for her character. There is also speculation it could be to set up a match for Batista and Triple H, but as far as Becky Lynch goes, I’m not sure how she will be worked into the next few weeks of television, but don’t expect her to be off-screen for long. The Sports Chief will be in attendance for SmackDown Live next Tuesday and hopefully we see her in a heated confrontation.

- 2: Ronda Rousey (1)

Rousey dropped a spot in the ranking, but had another strong week. She picked up a quick victory against Ruby Riott on Sunday night and in a rematch, she picked up another victory on Monday night. I don’t quite understand why they booked a rematch, but I’m glad they did. This gave Ruby Riott an opportunity to properly showcase her skills. After the match at Elimination Chamber, Rousey was attacked by Becky Lynch with a crutch and received a pretty nasty cut on her head. This is a testament to her toughness, but would you expect anything less from a fighter of her caliber. Rousey will benefit from being the focal point of the biggest rivalry heading into WrestleMania in the Power Rankings from here on out.

- 1: Kofi Kingston (4)

No superstar in the company had a bigger week than Kofi Kingston and hopefully that momentum continues. The New Day member will compete at Fastlane for the WWE Championship and this has been a long time coming for the superstar. The WWE Universe clearly wants him to take the title, but will the ones in charge listen? We’ll see, but as of now he has the winning edge. Although he took the pin on Sunday night, he picked up a huge pinfall victory in the 6-man tag match to close SmackDown, not to mention he pinned the WWE Champion to claim the victory. I still hope to see this rivalry continue past Fastlane, but that is still uncertain. At this point, SmackDown doesn’t have anybody in line to challenge Bryan for the title at WrestleMania unless they intend on bringing someone like Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt into the mix. If they keep rolling with Kofi, this would be a great opportunity to win fans over.

Yacs

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WWE Power Rankings - Week of February 21st-26th