By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Earlier this month, ESPN.com launched a "Power Rankings" of WWE stars following each week's Raw episode. Credit to Jon Robinson for growing ESPN's coverage of pro wrestling, but we will take a deeper look into the industry to create a snapshot of wrestling's top stars.

In the tradition of PWTorch editor Wade Keller's PWTorch Newsletter Rankings of the top powerbrokers in the wrestling industry, I present PWTorch's Monthly Power Rankings, which will track both WWE and TNA separately. The criteria is simple, yet core to pro wrestling: (1) Who are positioned as top stars to draw money? (2) Who best-performed in his or her position? This opens it up to non-wrestlers who are positioned to sell big matches and feuds.

On the WWE side, non-wrestler Paul Heyman lands near the top of the list in January for his overall work with C.M. Punk this month and, specifically, for his work with Vince McMahon at the end of Monday's Raw. Heyman was positioned in the final segment of the most-watched Raw episode since Raw 1,000 and delivered an all-time great performance that elevated the big-money WrestleMania issues.

On the TNA side, Bully Ray continues to be the top act in the promotion despite Jeff Hardy holding the TNA World Title. Because Ray is positioned as the central figure in two storylines TNA has invested gobs of TV time in - Hogan Family Drama and Aces & Eights vs. TNA - and because Ray has performed admirably in his role, Ray tops the TNA rankings. And, with TNA's PPV business struggling until the Remaining Four becomes the Big Four, the promotion's #1 vehicle is television.

January WWE Power Rankings

(1) The Rock. For the third consecutive WrestleMania Season, Rock's return has raised all boats. Rock is new WWE champion, his presence in WWE draws eyeballs to the product, and he's given C.M. Punk a new target to draw a new level of hatred out of Punk. (Last Month: n/a)

(2) John Cena. Cena won the Royal Rumble and is heading toward the main event of WrestleMania, which has a chance to be the biggest wrestling event in the history of the industry. Cena may not be the central figure right now, but WWE has invested heavily in Cena's Year of Redemption. (Last Month: n/a)

(3) C.M. Punk. Punk Fans, relax, losing the WWE Title to Rock has potential to be the best thing to happen to Punk since he won the title in November 2011. As Punk demonstrated at the start of Monday's Raw, a refreshed, vile, angry, mad, intent-on-destruction version of Punk has him positioned for a lot of TV time leading to Mania. He's either in the WWE Title match at Mania or in a big-time special attraction match against The Undertaker. Not a bad place to be. (Last Month: n/a)

(4) Paul Heyman. Last segment with Vince McMahon the night after Royal Rumble shows how much confidence WWE had in Heyman to deliver on The Shield Reveal. Heyman could be a central figure in selling Mania this year. (Last Month: n/a)

(5) Brock Lesnar. Lesnar's big return in the final segment of Raw was supposed to be the buzz-worthy item from Raw, but an awful Raw Roulette theme and Heyman's performance seemingly over-shadowed Lesnar's return. But, wait until Triple H returns and Lesnar could shoot up this list in February. (Last Month: n/a)

(6) Vince McMahon. The Mr. McMahon character was off and on Raw throughout January, but was the key victim of a key angle on the most-watched wrestling show of the year on Monday night. He also played a great set-up man for Paul Heyman to deliver his performance for the ages. (Last Month: n/a)

(7) The Shield. Shield dismantled John Cena the night after Cena won the Rumble, "injured" Sheamus, and took down Ryback all in one segment during Raw. Plus, their role in Punk's title reign was revealed in the final segment of Raw. This group is not going anywhere; it's just a matter of where they fit in the WrestleMania build-up. (Last Month: n/a)

(8) Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio is on-track for a big WrestleMania push, but WWE did not do him any favors with the Duct-Tape victory at Royal Rumble. WWE is finding it difficult to get sympathy on Del Rio, despite the presence of Ricardo Rodriguez. (Last Month: n/a)

(9) Ryback. Where does Ryback fit in the WM29 plans? Rumors of Chris Jericho, Big Show, or a tag match against Shield abound, so until his WM29 path is clearer, he'll be closer to #10 than #5. But, being positioned as the runner-up to John Cena in the Rumble was a good "vote of confidence." (Last Month: n/a)

(10) Sheamus. WWE is trying to keep Sheamus strong while they figure out his Road to WrestleMania. The problem is Sheamus is greatly affected by the shifting-sands World Title picture. Del Rio doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so that leaves Sheamus to simply pick up impressive wins until WWE decides whether to put Sheamus against Randy Orton or a sidelined Mark Henry. (Last Month: n/a)

(11) Chris Jericho. WWE under-played Jericho's big Rumble return the following night on Raw, but he was positioned in the TV main event with Dolph Ziggler. Jericho doesn't seem like a major player this time around, but he could be involved in a big WrestleMania program. Time will tell if he moves up the list. (Last Month: n/a)

Waiting List: (12) Dolph Ziggler, (13) Big Show, (14) Randy Orton, (15) Team Hell No, (16) Antonio Cesaro, (17) Wade Barrett, (18) Vickie Guerrero, (19) A.J. Lee, (20) Big E. Langston.

Looking Ahead: Triple H and The Undertaker will cause chaos to the Top 10 when they return to television to set up WrestleMania matches. How that affects the rest of the roster remains to be seen.

January TNA Power Rankings

(1) Bully Ray. As the central figure in TNA's two biggest storylines in terms of TV time invested, and considering Ray's break-through singles performance in 2012, Ray tops the first list of 2013. (Last Month: n/a)

(2) Jeff Hardy. TNA's World Hvt. champion has proven to be one of TNA's only drawing cards on pay-per-view. Genesis PPV buys reportedly increased one stair-step from where TNA was at the end of 2012 for Hardy's first title defense of the new year. Hardy being secondary to Bully Ray on television puts him at #2, though. (Last Month: n/a)

(3) Hulk Hogan. TNA has positioned Hulk Hogan as a central figure on television - along with Bully Ray - but his performances have been hit or miss. Also, Hogan is not wrestling a big-money match any time soon, so his drawing power is limited to television, only. (Last Month: n/a)

(4) Taz. TNA positioned non-wrestling announcer Taz as a central figure in the TNA product via his heel turn to join Aces & Eights. Also, TNA kept Taz on commentary to be the "voice of Aces & Eights," which places his new heel role front-and-center on Impact two hours at a time. He can't wrestle, though, which means no chance to book him in a grudge match. But, finding a fire in his belly to help drive this sputtering A&E vehicle could move him up the list. (Last Month: n/a)

(5) Sting. Another non-wrestler (did you watch the Genesis PPV?!) is positioned as a central figure in the biggest storyline in the promotion, but his performances have been lackluster, at best, and sad, at worst. Couple that with the decision to give Sting decisive, clean wins over the "top henchmen" in Aces & Eights, and Sting hasn't helped out much. (Last Month: n/a)

(6) Brooke Hogan. Brooke was the central figure of TNA's highest-rated show of 2013, but her performances have been suspect. TNA's attempt at Stephanie McMahon and Triple H marrying while Vince McMahon watches with a wary eye hasn't caught fire yet, which puts Brooke further down the list despite the TV focus. (Last Month: n/a)

(7) Austin Aries. Working with Jeff Hardy and Bobby Roode this month, Austin Aries absolutely delivered in all aspects of his character. Being in the Genesis PPV main event kept him in the Top 10, but he was part of a program with Roode and Hardy that was positioned as third-most-important behind Hogan Drama and TNA vs. Aces & Eights.

(8) Bobby Roode. Roode was terrific, as well, working with Aries and Hardy in the TNA Title program, but Aries gets the nod above Roode this month. It will be interesting to see how they perform individually in their new tag team pairing. (Last Month: n/a)

(9) Daniels. Daniels has been a great long-term heel for TNA. This month, he challenged for the TNA World Title on Impact, but the match was presented with an odd tone that Daniels was on an inspirational quest for his first TNA Title. Better marketing would have been Daniels potentially tearing down TNA if he were to become champ - just like he did to A.J. Styles. This would have elevated Daniels, Hardy for defeating Daniels, the value of the TNA World Title, and their TV main event. (Last Month: n/a)

(10) Kurt Angle. Angle is positioned as the top full-time TNA wrestler butting heads with Aces & Eights. That may not be a good thing considering the poor quality of some A&E segments throughout January, but Angle is a central figure in a feud receiving plenty of TV time. (Last Month: n/a)

(11) James Storm. Similar to John Cena in WWE, Storm began a Redemption Year campaign with a decisive victory in the first TV match of 2013. Since then, though, Storm lost to Daniels on the Genesis PPV and has drifted in and out of importance. Follow-through continues to be an issue for TNA with James Storm. (Last Month: n/a)

Waiting List: (12) Joseph Park, (13) Samoa Joe, (14) Mr. Anderson, (15) Devon, (16) Kazarian, (17) Rob Van Dam, (18) Kenny King, (19) Tara, (20) Christian York.

Looking Ahead: Joseph Park may be a bit under-rated, but the character is also a little too goofy to be a serious player, A.J. Styles will probably have to wait another month before he can crash this list, Matt Morgan continues to be the most-underutilized wrestler on the roster, and the U.K. wrestlers will get plenty of focus in February with four episodes emanating from England. Watch out for Velvet Sky possibly joining the rankings in February.

WWE Rankings - January

(1) WWE champion The Rock
(2) John Cena
(3) C.M. Punk
(4) Paul Heyman
(5) Brock Lesnar
(6) Vince McMahon
(7) The Shield
(8) World Hvt. champion Alberto Del Rio
(9) Ryback
(10) Sheamus
(11) Chris Jericho
(12) Dolph Ziggler
(13) Big Show
(14) Randy Orton
(15) WWE tag champions Team Hell No
(16) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro
(17) IC champion Wade Barrett
(18) Vickie Guerrero
(19) A.J. Lee
(20) Big E. Langston

TNA Rankings - January

(1) Bully Ray
(2) TNA World champion Jeff Hardy
(3) Hulk Hogan
(4) Taz
(5) Sting
(6) Brooke Hogan
(7) Austin Aries
(8) Bobby Roode
(9) Daniels
(10) Kurt Angle
(11) James Storm
(12) Joseph Park
(13) Samoa Joe
(14) Mr. Anderson
(15) TV champion Devon
(16) Kazarian
(17) X Division champion Rob Van Dam
(18) Kenny King
(19) KO champion Tara
(20) Christian York

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