This was the most exciting week of WWE programming in 2019 and possibly all of 2018. RAW had possibly their best episode in years and SmackDown had some exciting events take place as well. Monday night kicked off with Roman Reigns giving an update on his medical status. In October, he had to relinquish the Universal Championship due to his Leukemia diagnosis. He announced that his cancer is in remission and the crowd erupted with applause. It was one of the most, if not the most, positive announcements ever in the history of the WWE. Becky Lynch made an appearance, only to be taken out of the arena in handcuffs. Ronda Rousey confronted Stephanie McMahon, which resulted in the champ leaving her title in the ring. Dean Ambrose wanted a No-DQ match with Drew McIntyre and he got his wish. He lost the match, but after the pinfall, Bobby Lashley, Elias, and Baron Corbin came to the ring to attack Ambrose, but out came Seth Rollins with a chair and another friend tagged along, it was none other than Roman Reigns. The two made their way to the ring and Reigns was the star of the moment. He successfully executed a few superman punches and hit McIntyre with a spear. It was truly a great moment and the start of a storyline that we will probably see fully develop in the coming weeks. The last segment of the show was dedicated to Ric Flair. It was his 70th birthday and the WWE threw him a celebration. They invited some legends including Shawn Michaels, Sting, and Ricky Steamboat. When Flair was scheduled to come out, he didn’t show up. The camera was directed to the backstage area where we saw Batista attack the Nature Boy behind closed doors. This is obviously setting up for a match at WrestleMania and there couldn’t have been a better way to gain quick heel heat for The Animal. I felt like I should’ve put Batista in the Top 10, but I think he could make the cut next week. I knew SmackDown had to step up their game if they wanted to compete for the best show of the week and they ended up putting together a solid show.

A few members of The Sports Chief were in attendance for SmackDown Live Tuesday night and it was a blast. The events surrounding the matches I thought were more exciting than the actual matches on TV, but obviously the matches were a lot more exciting in person. To start the show, they had the contract signing between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston for their upcoming PPV match, but Mr. McMahon crashed the signing and said that Bryan would face someone else. Kevin Owens was inserted into the title match and Kofi and The New Day were obviously upset. It feels like that story isn’t over, but we will find out in a couple of weeks. To everyone’s surprise, Matt Hardy made his in-ring return and the Hardy Boyz were reunited. R-Truth defended his US Championship in an open challenge against Andrade and Rey Mysterio and retained. Charlotte Flair told us that she is going to be on RAW to claim their Women’s Championship and the show ended with a tag team match featuring Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston. They teamed up to take on Daniel Bryan and Rowan. Monday and Tuesday were great shows and we now have a little more insight to the WrestleMania card, so now let’s see which superstars landed in the Top 10 of this week’s WWE Power Rankings.

- 10: The Hardy Boyz (NR)

The Hardy Boyz are back! After a six-month hiatus, Matt Hardy returned to action and it was a complete surprise to everyone. The last time I attended a WWE event was a RAW in Greensboro, which was Matt’s last televised match. I genuinely thought that it was his last match in a WWE ring, as did many fans. I’m glad a few of us from The Sports Chief had the chance to witness his comeback. It was announced a few days before SmackDown that Cesaro would take on Johnny Gargano, but it was awesome to see that wasn’t the case. It appears the team will be SmackDown regulars from here on out, because WWE opted to keep them in action. Their contracts had a third-year option that was going to expire in April, but it looks like the Hardy brothers are going to stick around for at least another year. It also appears that Matt Hardy’s broken gimmick is over, which I am sad to see, but I’m glad Matt Hardy got the green light to make a return.

- 9: Daniel Bryan (7)

I debated putting the WWE champ on the list this week, because he really didn’t do much. He was obviously vital in the contract signing, but he wasn’t a huge player in the main event tag team match. He and Rowan lost the match and moving forward, I’m not sure how long he will keep the title. Mr. McMahon delivered a surprise changeup to the title match at Fastlane, so we will see how that unfolds in the coming weeks. This is still the biggest SmackDown centered story heading into WrestleMania, so Daniel Bryan stays in the Top 10.

- 8: Ricochet and Aleister Black (9,5)

Although they were separate entries in last week’s Top 10, this week they get a combined spot. This is only because they were booked as a team in this week’s contests on both RAW and SmackDown. They picked up two big wins against very formidable opponents. On RAW, they defeated the current RAW Tag Team champs and on SmackDown they took down the team of Rusev and Nakamura. I’m not sure what they have planned moving forward for the up and coming superstars, but their future looks promising if they are booked correctly. I was excited to see these two in action live for the first time and both of their entrances were awesome. The two superstars are above 30 years old, so if they are planning big things for them, they need to move fairly quickly.

- 7: Bayley and Sasha Banks (4)

The Women’s Tag Team Champs come in at number 7 this week. Only Bayley was in action this week against Nia Jax and she walked away with a victory on RAW. It was announced that the two will be defending their championships for the first time ever at Fastlane. This is exciting, but obviously they’re not going to lose at the next PPV. The two also appeared on NXT. In a promo and announced that they will defend the championships against NXT opponents as well as RAW and SmackDown teams. This is big news not only for the women’s tag team division, but for NXT also. This signifies that the ones that make the big decisions are willing to see NXT as another brand instead of a developmental crutch. I’m looking forward to potentially seeing the Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection take on the team of Kairi Sane and Io Shirai.

- 6: Kevin Owens (NR)

Literally nobody expected to see Kevin Owens on Tuesday night. We knew he was close to a return, but I figured it would be just before WrestleMania. Mr. McMahon interrupted the contract signing between Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan and announced that Kofi was going to be replaced at Fastlane. The last time Owens competed was at Super Show-Down in Australia, then he announced that he was going to have double knee surgery. On Tuesday night, he not only signed a contract to take on Daniel Bryan at Fastlane for the WWE title, but he teamed up with Kofi Kingston to face Daniel Bryan and Rowan in the main event. Owens secured the pin over the WWE champ. He used his signature pop-up powerbomb, but he brought out the stunner to seal the victory. I can’t imagine Owens taking the title, but it is great to see him back in action.

- 5: Roman Reigns (NR)

The Big Dog is back! Those are words the we weren’t sure we would ever hear again, but I’m thrilled that we did on Monday night. Roman Reigns comes in at number 5 this week, but he honestly should’ve been number one. He was the biggest star of the week, but the only reason there are four superstars above him is only because of storylines. He kicked off RAW by announcing that his leukemia is in remission and that he will be returning to action. I’m not sure if he will immediately be put in a story or if they will take a little time before doing so, but it appeared he is ready to go right now. Later in the show, he and Seth Rollins came to the aid of Dean Ambrose and Reigns delivered a few superman punches and even executed a spear on Drew McIntyre. I think that alone tells the WWE Universe that he is ready to compete again. He obviously received the most positive reaction from the fans that he likely ever has in his career, so that is a true testament to the overwhelming support of WWE fans. He is back quite a bit sooner than I expected, but Leukemia is a complicated form of cancer, so it was really unpredictable as to when he would make a return. I don’t think he will be immediately inserted into the Universal Championship conversation, but I personally would not mind it. I think he will somehow be associated with Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania, not necessarily competing with him, because it could be against him. Whatever takes places within the next few weeks will be exciting to see and I think that I speak for all of the WWE Universe in saying, welcome back Roman.

- 4: Kofi Kingston (1)

Although I’m glad to see Kevin Owens back, I feel like the fans got shafted on this one. As much as the WWE has built up Kofi in the last couple of weeks, they’re just going to take away his title shot? This is the classic, what is “best for business” angle, that we often hear in the WWE, but we seriously were short-changed on this one, or were we? The reason I kept Kofi in the Top 5 this week is only because I think we aren’t seeing the last of Kofi Kingston in the WWE title picture. I truly believe this is a setup for a WrestleMania match. Like I said earlier, I don’t think Kevin Owens is going to take the WWE title, so saving Kofi for WrestleMania makes a lot of sense at the moment. Next week’s SmackDown will be interesting to see, but as of today, I personally feel like that is the plan moving forward.

- 3: Charlotte Flair (NR)

After missing the Power Rankings last week, The Queen is back in the Top 5. This is because she is simply reaping the benefits of being in the middle of the biggest storyline in WWE. She delivered a promo on Tuesday night in her hometown. It wasn’t particularly great, but it didn’t have to be. She got her point across and said what she needed to. She also stated that she would be on RAW to claim the title that Ronda Rousey left in the middle of the ring. We’ll see what happens on Monday, but I feel a intriguing match coming on at the next PPV.

- 2: Becky Lynch (3)

The Man made big waves by interrupting the women’s tag match involving Ronda Rousey on Monday night. She caused the match to end in a no contest, but her presence this week was just enough for her to lock in a spot in the Top 2. Lynch was also arrested on Monday for trespassing and violating the terms of her suspension. Part of me wishes she was given a fresher angle instead of the recycled Stone Cold arrest angle, but it works and every time she is on TV it is pure gold. I wish I would’ve gotten the chance to see her live, but it makes sense. She put on her social media today that she is out of “jail”, so I would expect her to be on TV either next Monday or Tuesday night. I’m thinking Fastlane will be an opportunity for her to earn her way back into the title picture. At this point, I feel like it will be a triple threat at WrestleMania, but I could also see Lynch and Flair having a match at Fastlane to decide who gets to be in the main event. There are a lot of possibilities.

- 1: Ronda Rousey (2)

For the second time this year, Ronda Rousey secures the number one spot in the Power Rankings and like most of the Top 5, it is purely based on storyline. She was in a tag team match on Monday night against the Riott Squad and her partner was Natalya. The match ended in a no contest, because the match was interrupted by Becky Lynch. Arena security was having a tough time keeping the two away from each other, but after the end of the segment. Ronda demanded that Mr. McMahon show up to the ring. She didn’t get her wish, but Stephanie McMahon showed up and Ronda demanded that she put Becky Lynch back in the WrestleMania main event. Stephanie said that it wasn’t going to happen and Ronda placed her title in the ring and left. This was a moment where I was thinking, did she really do that? I did not expect that at all and it adds another pathway to the Road to WrestleMania. This basically guarantees that Becky Lynch will be in the main event, but I’m interested to see what happens at Fastlane.

Yacs

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*Here are some clips of Tuesday night from the Spectrum Center. Also, check out the article from The Sport Chief’s CEO, Garett, on his first WWE experience.

WWE Power Rankings: Week of February 28th - March 5th