The Power Rankings felt a little weird this week, because it was more about building storylines rather than focusing on matches. All of the shows were solid, but I think SmackDown had the best show last week. I felt like the utilized all of their segments better than any show last week. The next couple of weeks will be interesting, not only to see performers announcing that they will be in the Rumble, but to see some possible surprises to come from the next couple of weeks.

- 10: Drew McIntyre (7)

McIntyre had another impressive squash match last Monday against No Way Jose. Seemingly as of late, the squash matches in general are being booked better on TV and that is a good sign. McIntyre looks to be a strong entry in the Royal Rumble in a couple weeks and matches like these will keep him fresh.

- 9: Big Show (NR)

Weeeeeeeell, The Big Show is back! Big Show was brought out as the mystery partner for Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe and it was exciting to see him back in the ring again. I don’t know how long of a run he will have, but apparently, he had to undergo numerous surgeries while he was away in 2019. He clearly won’t be an every week competitor, but seeing him from time to time will be cool.

- 8: John Morrison and The Miz (NR, NR)

After making a brief appearance on SmackDown a couple weeks ago, John Morrison was fully featured on this week’s SmackDown. It looks like we are going to get a full run with Miz and Morrison teaming up again. This is cool to see and hopefully they get a proper booking in 2020. I haven’t seen Morrison in the ring a ton since his WWE departure, but I’m sure he can still get it done.

- 7: Braun Strowman (NR)

This seems like an odd storyline for Strowman, but I think it is the one that he needs right now. He wasn’t featured well in 2019, so putting the Intercontinental title on him could be the boost that he needs. Once he wins the title though, who will take it from him? That remains to be seen, but for now, I’m going to enjoy Strowman potentially winning a singles title within the next couple of weeks.

- 6: Keith Lee (NR)

Keith Lee put on another great performance this week in NXT’s main event. It was a Fatal 4-way to figure out the number one contender for the North American Championship and having Lee win it was totally the right move. I think it would be a wrong move for Lee not to beat Roderick Strong at TakeOver.

- 5: Becky Lynch/ Asuka (NR, NR)

Becky and Asuka have been great ever since they revisited this short-lived feud in early 2019. This week saw Becky Lynch getting the upper hand, but Asuka made the segment entertaining and it is one of the matches I am most looking forward to in a couple weeks.

- 4: Bayley/ Lacey Evans (NR, 4)

Talk about another great storyline, this feud between Lacey Evans and the team of Sasha Banks and Bayley has been great. Lacey Evans is getting more and more comfortable each week and she was already pretty sure of herself in the beginning. If they want to move on from Bayley as champ, I think Lacey Evans is the right woman to take the title from her.

- 3: The Viking Raiders (NR)

The Viking Raiders picked up another strong, successful title defense last week on RAW. They defeated the Street Profits and The O.C. in a triple threat tag match and wound up on top. They have a strong team since getting their call-up last year and it looks like they will get a more favorable push in 2020.

- 2: Andrade (8)

Speaking of successful title defenses, Andrade had a US Championship match with Rey Mysterio and it was probably the match of the week. Andrade retained the title and along with it he is getting a lot of momentum in the early stages of the year. Hopefully this continues, because he is one of the more underutilized performers in the WWE.

- 1: Brock Lesnar (NR)

Obviously Lesnar didn’t compete this week, but the fact that Paul Heyman announced that Lesnar would enter the Rumble at number one is worthy of the top spot. A champion entering the rumble has been done before, but the fact that the title isn’t on the line tells me this is definitely a build up for WrestleMania. I’m interested to see how they use Lesnar in the Rumble in a couple of weeks, because there are a lot of different ways that they can go with this.

Yacs

WWE Power Rankings: Week of January 13th, 2020