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This week offered perhaps the most revealing glimpse of which wrestlers WWE trusts and sees as being the most vital to their future success. On the Smackdown side, the two men strongly rumored to be main eventing WrestleMania 40 have made a combined single appearance in the past two months.
On Raw, with major players like Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens – absent or injured – and a planned main event of Damien Priest vs. Jey Uso scrapped, the company was forced to rely on an undercard they’ve committed heavily to over the past couple of months. In the case of both shows, the investment is paying off.
The majority of this weeks Priority Top 10 is filled by those who were unranked last week. Several names are making their debut on this list, including Gunther and Imperium, who were factored in separately. With Gunther occupying two major segments on his own, his prioritization was clearly placed apart from his faction mates. For their part, Kaiser and Vinci received enough pivotal exposure to earn their own spot.
Beginning this week, in addition to the overall priority rankings, I’ll be including a Top 10 from each show along with where an individual or group has placed on that list each week over the past month. This will allow us not only to see how close some wrestlers outside of the Priority Top 10 have placed, but also help expose trends where they exist in regards to the pushes wrestlers and groups are receiving on their respective shows.
As always, the information taken into account to accumulate these lists include metrics such as quarter-hour ratings, who is featured in the open, closing, and top of the hour segments, names promoted in each shows preview, championships, and wins. I also factor in estimated monthly merchandise sales leaders, whose appearances begin with a higher floor than the others.
Priority Top 10
1. The Bloodline (1*)
In three week’s time, Jimmy Uso has gone from the polarizing, undefined lesser half of the Uso brothers to the most entertaining and intriguing character on WWE programming (just slightly ahead of Drew McIntyre, in my opinion).
For all the somewhat understandable outrage over Roman Reigns’s lengthy absence, who’d have imagined it would turn into a critical component of this character build? Without Reigns’s presence, Jimmy is able to thrive in his Tribal Chief wanna-be persona. Wins and losses will begin to matter here. A couple of high-profile victories could firmly establish Jimmy as a main event force on Smackdown.
2. LWO (NR)
Skyrocketing from relative obscurity this week is the group who comprised both sides of the heavily-hyped Smackdown main event. Hot shot angles are simply not WWE’s style these days and, as such, we’re being rewarded with what appears to be a slow-burn torch passing from Rey Mysterio. Whether that torch end up in the hands of Santos Escobar or Dragon Lee remains to be seen.
3. Judgement Day (1*)
Mami came home this week and quickly established her dominance over the group without leaders. Rhea Ripley is entering into an orbit we haven’t seen to this point. If the plan is for her to become a legitimate inter-gender competitor down the line, they couldn’t be bringing her along more perfectly.
There’s no real comparison, but if I were to try, I’d say imagine peak Chyna with an impressive in-ring resume, acting in the Triple H role of the 2000-era DX. The opening segment was all about her return, and she factored heavily into every Judgement Day segment this week. Her top 5 selling t-shirt in September provided the group with a boost that keeps them near the top of this list.
4. John Cena (6)
The Second Greatest of All Time forced the implementation of a new metric this week – Hyped Without Appearance. His show closing role eventually earned him more conventional points, but from his “Warpath” graphic at the top, to mentions of his whereabouts throughout, Cena was all over this weeks Smackdown while only appearing at the end.
I’ll continue to laud WWE’s usage of one of the all-time greats, as his performances are providing no-shade boosts to numerous other members of the roster.
5. Gunther (NR)
It’s hard to imagine what sort of shape Raw would have been in this week without Gunther. The top-of-the-hour contract signing would have made for an entire week’s appearance on most shows, but the Ring General pulled double duty with a stellar 23-minute main event.
The facials he displayed during the signing were pure Hollywood, as no one seems to know their character better right now. His rugged in-ring style has the ability to elevate average wrestlers. When paired with another top-level performer, though, the match quality blows away anything else on the card.
6. L.A. Knight (NR)
His run-in at the end of this weeks show confirmed the rumors from a week ago. Only someone as hot as L.A. Knight could put in a single unannounced appearance and come across as so highly prioritized. Not only does he continue to be the top merchandise seller in the company, with three shirts in the top 10, he’s running circles around everyone else.
In two weeks’ time, we’ve gone from a flirtation with the main event, to starring in it alongside John Cena. With no one else standing in the on-deck circle, it appears Knight’s shot against Roman Reigns could be coming as early as Survivor Series.
7. Ciampa (NR)
As the double duty dance partner of Gunther, Ciampa delivered his most spirited main roster performance to date. He was fiery, yet eloquent on the mic and showed or reminded a lot of folks exactly what he’s capable of in a big-time match setting. He now appears headed to the tag division and if he and Johnny Gargano can pull off an updated version of their NXT saga on Raw, we’re in for the kind of treat that could find him closing out the show many times in the future.
8. Cody Rhodes (3)
Being limited to a run-in and a single interview segment this week wasn’t enough to keep the company’s top babyface off the priority chart. His in-ring appearance came during the highest-rated segment of the show, his presence serves as a weekly hook in the Raw preview, and he now finds himself competing for a championship this coming weekend. His merchandise sales have maintained and, courtesy of Drew McIntyre, we now reside in or around the “Codyverse.’
9. Street Profits and Bobby Lashley (NR)
As the slow-burn booking machine cranks, the Street Profits have finally caught fire. It was frustrating to watch them continue with their falling cup entrance and dance even though they were supposed to be more serious, but we now see it was all a part of the plan.
Bobby Lashley appeared to serve them up an attack on Theory and Waller, but that would have made little sense. Instead, they worked their way onto the end of a major match and segment and now appear to be headed towards a feud with the babyface (for now) LWO.
10. Imperium (NR)
Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser seem to oscillate each week between disappointing their leader or making up for having done so. This week found them on the upswing with a key victory and an appearance in the closing segment of the show. It was enough to land them on the priority list, free of much support from the Intercontinental Champ.
Hopefully the teased dissension is on the back burner going forward as they enter a program with the reuniting DIY, but then, it’s not as if Ciampa and Gargano will be coming out on the losing end right off the bat.
Drop outs: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Damage CTRL, Jey Uso, Seth Rollins, Asuka, Drew McIntyre
Smackdown Top 10 for 9/29
1 – The Bloodline (1, NR, NR)
2 – LWO (6*, 9*, NR)
3 – John Cena (3, 8, NR)
4 – L.A. Knight (9, 1, 4)
5 – Lashley/Street Profits (7, NR, 10)
6 – Karl Anderson (NR, NR, NR)
7 – Grayson Waller (5*, 10, 7)
8 – Damage CTRL (2, 7, 3)
9 – Austin Theory (5*, 4*, 7)
10 – Charlotte (6*, NR, 5)
Raw Top 10 for 10/2
1 – Judgement Day (1, 1, 1)
2 – Gunther (NR, NR, NR)
3 – Ciampa (NR, NR, 4*)
4 – Cody Rhodes (2, 2, 9)
5 – Imperium (9, NR, 4*)
6 – Jey Uso (4, 3, 2)
7 – Alpha Academy (NR, NR, 4*)
8 – Nia Jax(NR, NR, NR) / Shayna Baszler (NR, NR, NR)
10 – Drew McIntyre (6, 8, 10)/ Seth Rollins (5, 4, 8)
(Thanks so much for reading. If you haven’t done so already, please check out the most recent Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show and listen to Wade and I dissect this weeks episode of Raw. You can follow me on Twitter/X @jeffsjeffsyall.)
RECOMMENDED NEXT: NXT TV RESULTS (10/3): Wells’s live report on Trick Williams vs. Dominik Mysterio, Gigi Dolin vs. Blair Davenport, Women’s Breakout Tournament begins, more
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Gunther vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the Intercontinental Title, Ivar vs. Xavier Woods, Tegan Nox vs. Chelsea Green, Alpha Academy vs. Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci
The Imperium boys are so damn good in the ring – I do hope they get their due