WWE Power Rankings: Forget The Rock, Cena and Punk Real WWE Champs

The most entertaining RAW on the road to Wrestlemania, there was plenty of action and storyline development this week. Between the return of Triple H and an amazing main event, the card for this year’s Wrestlemania is quickly shaping up.

Check out our weekly power rankings and find out who’s peaking at just the right time. With the company’s biggest pay per view a month away, these guys could steal the show.

5: Ryback: Although he botched a few power moves, Ryback’s performance this week was one of his best. In addition to selling more than he has before, Ryback was able to overcome the onslaught of Big E. Langston and the trickery of AJ Lee. As far as cementing his status as an elite face, this match will play a part in that process. He still has a ton of work ahead of him, but this week, Ryback did as much as he possibly could.

4: Randy Orton: A big win over United States Champion Antonio Cesaro and his hit-and-run RKO on Seth Rollins keeps Orton relevant, for now. The finish to Orton’s match was solid, as The Viper caught Cesaro in mid-air with the RKO. But with no match or definitive angle in the works for Wrestlemania, Orton may be the odd-man out on the card come April. Unless something shapes up between Orton and The Shield, who does Orton face at Wrestlemania?

3: Mark Henry: “The World’s Strongest Man” easily destroyed The Great Khali again on RAW this week. It’s time Henry gets some real competition. One of the best big men in the company and one of the nastiest heels, Henry is being underserved. Much like Orton, Henry needs a match for the company’s biggest pay per view.

2: Jack Swagger: After he took The Miz out after his MizTV segment, Swagger beat The Miz in the ring with his patented Patriot Lock later in the show. Regardless of his recent troubles with the law, his association with “Dirty” Dutch Mantell has gotten mainstream attention. As a result, Swagger has more momentum than ever.

1: John Cena/CM Punk: The best match on RAW in years. Cena and Punk proved that they are still the future of the company. They, not The Rock, hold the hearts of the WWE Universe. Combining a break-neck pace and utilizing maneuvers they don’t often use, Cena and Punk were amazing. Cena gets bonus points for the sit-out Powerbomb and Hurricanrana, while Punk’s speed, technical skill and relentlessness was the straw the stirred the match’s drink.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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