ROCKET STRAPS (Debut Column): Ranking the Top Ten Wrestlers that WWE is Prioritizing based on key metrics from Judgment Day to Jey Uso

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If you’ve ever shared an opinion online, chances are you’ve been in a pointless argument. As wrestling fans, we’re just as guilty as the political forums and sport subreddits in partaking in this most beloved pastime. And yet pro wrestling in 2023 is amazing.

In WWE alone, the much maligned three-hour marathon that is Monday Night Raw suddenly seems to be flying by. The main storyline on Smackdown has been as gripping to most fans as any Netflix or Hulu series. And still we argue.

The Universal Championship should be defended more and the World Heavyweight Championship is a consolation prize. L.A. Knight deserves a bigger push but is an Attitude Era ripoff. Rhea Ripley is the most complete women’s wrestler ever but is totally boring. J.D. McDonagh is absolute fire in the ring but looks weird. Jey Uso is a tag team wrestler but deserves to be the one who dethrones Roman Reigns.

These are not my opinions. Well, half of them more or less are, but these can all be found daily in r/WWE or various other comment threads. Fortunately, we have lots of information at our disposal to help us decide which opinions align with those of the folks in charge.

As I was looking over some data last week, it occurred to me that there are pretty obvious ways to see where WWE’s priorities lie in regards to booking. Is the Bloodline too much of a focal point, even in Roman Reigns absence? Is L.A. Knight getting the push he deserves? Does the company realize what they have in the Judgement Day?

Using Raw and Smackdown quarter-hour ratings and estimated monthly merchandise sales as the primary support structure, we get a good idea of who the major players are. The ratings tell us who is being used at the more crucial moments of the show as well as who is drawing and/or maintaining viewers.

Obviously, t-shirt sales aren’t a direct indication of who the company is getting behind. Rather, I feel this is a significant factor where the company is adjusting certain elements of booking to reflect a wrestler’s popularity. Essentially, the wrestlers topping the estimated sales charts are starting each week with a higher floor than the rest of the roster.

I then peppered in a few other factors:

Which wrestlers are featured in the show opening match/segment, at the top of each hour, and in the main event
Who is advertised in the title and body of each show’s official preview
Wins
Current title holders

Formulating these various factors into an overall weekly ranking gives us a pretty good idea of how WWE views their talent. And that’s the idea behind this new PWTorch feature,Rocket Straps, in a nutshell.

Before getting to this weeks rankings, I want to mention a few conditional items. First, how factions are considered. In the event that a member of the faction is given a stand alone match or segment that doesn’t pertain to the rest of the group, such as Rhea Ripley in this week’s Raw main event, they are ranked individually. Otherwise, they are listed as a group.

NXT is not factored into these rankings, as it is not considered to be a main roster show. As such, crossover appearances like that of Becky Lynch are not taken into consideration. Should the trend evolve into a weekly occurrence, things can be adjusted.

As for Roman Reigns, for as long as he holds the Universal Championship, he is considered the top booking priority of the company. He is not taken into consideration in these rankings, however, for the weeks in which he doesn’t appear on Smackdown. This is simply meant as a glimpse into the companies booking priorities on a week-to-week basis.

WWE Wrestler Priority Rankings from Smackdown (9/8) and Raw (9/11):

1. Judgement Day

Since the draft, Judgement Day had served as almost Bloodline Lite. Too often were their segments filled with dissension and bluster while they lost nearly every match. Since the tag title win over Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens, however, the group has been shot to the moon.

Consider that their top standing this week doesn’t even factor in Rhea Ripley’s main event match on Raw. Instead, she earned herself an additional spot on this list.

They’re regularly in the mix with the top storylines on both brands and draped in titles. While Dirty Dom’s heat on the mic is clearly a novelty to fans, there’s no denying how stunning the reaction is every time it happens, which lately has been more than once on each show.

Here’s to hoping WWE’s new found appreciation for long-term storytelling gets us all the way to WrestleMania before we revisit any hints of Priest vs. Balor.

2. Jey Uso

His soft reintroduction seemed to indicate a slower build was in store. Instead, the volume was turned way up this week on his unwelcome arrival. With potential feuds imaginable with multiple players, Jey certainly looks primed to be one of the primary faces of Raw for the remainder of the year and beyond. A run with the Heavyweight Title only feels like a matter of time.

3. Jimmy Uso (tie)

In a preliminary ranking of last week’s shows, no one scored higher than Jimmy Uso, who was practically a part of every Smackdown segment. Dropping to third on this list is no indication of a fade, but says more about the group above him. If the Bloodline were the Sopranos, Jimmy is currently starring in an episode centered around Christopher in James Gandolfini’s absence. And just like Tony’s nephew, Jimmy has perfected the art of seeming sympathetic and loathsome at the same time.

3. A.J. Styles (tie)

In a matter of weeks, Styles has leapt from being a non-factor to winning a main event match. Granted, the victory seems to be more about who lost than who won, but the leader of the OC was all over this weeks show. Speaking of the group, could Styles’s blow up at Karl Andersen and Luke Gallows backstage be an indication of the duo finally getting a more prominent role? The whole show appears to be splitting into faction warfare and with Styles’s performance this week, the OC now looks to be squarely in the mix.

5. Rhea Ripley

Appearing only on one show and rarely with her red hot group did nothing to stunt the Women’s World Champion this week. Not only did she win the main event of Raw, her match was used as one of the major hooks heading into the show. She’s the leader of the hottest faction in the company and has one of the top selling t-shirts of any wrestler. WWE seems well aware of Rhea’s potential.

6. Damage CTRL

Our first real surprise of the week comes from the team that lost in the opening match on Smackdown. Kicking off the show in the two highest rated segments was a boost, but additional mic time backstage afterwards kept them in the spotlight. Their match was promoted in the official preview and the group features the WWE Women’s Champ. This could be a mirage having more to do with the overall balance of the show, as the group (and Iyo Sky’s title) have not felt like a priority recently. Still, Asuka has historically been a Triple H favorite, and with her now in the mix, it’s possible this push has legs.

7-9. Imperium, Alpha Academy, Tommaso Ciampa (tie)

Without a show-stealing main event title match, Gunther could have easily found himself relegated to “and the rest” duty this week. Instead, all players involved managed to shine. Not only was their match featured in the highest-rated portion of the show, they also starred in both top-of-the-hour segments at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. That tells us the company has faith in their ability to catch and maintain the eyes of viewers. The biggest surprise this week is Tommaso Ciampa who, in just a couple weeks, shifted from “Just Joe” status with some brief backstage bits to batting (and thriving) in the heart of the order.

10. Kevin Owens

After taking a week off and leaving us with questions of where he stood on the issue of Jey’s arrival, KO returned and immediately made things clear. With his promo, match, and backstage fallout stretching over the first three segments of Raw, Owens enjoyed some prime exposure. His t-shirt sales appear to be justifying the push.

Noteworthy…

L.A. Knight

Finishing just outside of this weeks top 10, and no doubt instantly killing the credibility of this column in some folks’ eyes is the current merchandise chart-topper. Knight’s somewhat by-the-numbers victory and subsequent exposure on this week’s Smackdown may have felt peculiar were it not for what could be seen in hindsight as the catalyst for a major PLE main event match. Certain intangibles like Knight’s initial face-to-face with Paul Heyman are difficult to quantify with any formula, but such a thing most certainly means a string of top 10 placements are just around the corner.

Charlotte Flair, Shotzi

They were featured in the promo material for the show and then surprisingly kicked things off. Charlotte’s detractors point to her unflinchingly consistent pretentious character and dismissal of any potential equal rivals. This new association with a slightly repackaged, more aggressive Shotzi could help change that perspective. If Charlotte is open to showing some vulnerability by truly leaning into this odd couple pairing, it could provide her with the depth so many have waited to see.

Seth Rollins

The WWE Heavyweight Champ opened the third hour of the show with a fun promo discussing his past gimmicks. Beyond that, the appearance felt almost obligatory. Hopefully, he’s getting a chance to rest that bad back.

Cody Rhodes

He was pushed heavily heading into the show as having insight to offer on his involvement with Jey Uso’s arrival. He even mentioned it for a moment before the Judgement Day took over. This feels perhaps like WWE understanding that sometimes little doses are better than consistently large ones.

Drew McIntyre

Shades of a heel turn raised eyebrows last week and gave a lift to his stock. He dropped a bit this week, but remained in the spotlight with a decent match and more backstage development. His facial expressions alone are telling a great story right now. I’m looking forward to the week he reaches his breaking point.

Thanks for reading. Quarter-hour and merchandise information is obtained from Wrestlenomics. Please hit me up on Twitter/X with any comment or critique @jeffsjeffsyall.

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