It is time for another week of the Ultimate Power Rankings from both WWE and AEW. Who improved their stock from last week and who downgraded their position among the rest?
This set ranges from Monday (January 1) and to Sunday (January 7). This means that all the results and highlights from WWE’s New Year’s Knockout Week of Raw: Day 1, NXT: New Year’s Evil, and SmackDown’s New Year’s Revolution will all play a factor in the rankings. This week’s Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision will all be taken into consideration for AEW’s rankings.
With this being the first edition of the new year, all wrestlers will be given a blank space from any past placements at the end of 2023.
Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s Power Rankings for WWE and AEW!
WWE TOP 10 POWER RANKINGS:
10. Lyra Valkyria
While her reign may not be super interesting, the NXT Women’s Champion defeated Blair Davenport at NXT: New Year’s Evil. She was then almost cashed in on by Lola Vice, before Tatum Paxley once again came to her rescue…strangely.
9. Oba Femi
The NXT Breakout Tournament is officially over, as Femi prevailed over Riley Osborne in the tournament’s final, guaranteeing Femi a future championship match of his choice.
8. LWO
The LWO came in the clutch on NXT by defeating the No Quarter Catch Crew. The highlight of all WWE TV this week has to be Joaquin Wilde’s insanely high jump from the top onto the outside.
7. Randy Orton
While Orton won’t be facing Roman Reigns one-on-one at Royal Rumble, he is continuing to look strong and has become a face that fans hope could beat Reigns (even though he will not).
6. Nia Jax
Jax rekindled her rivalry with Becky Lynch on the opening match of Raw: Day 1, which saw her manhandle the decorated star with a victory to start off the new year right.
5. Trick Williams
The über popular Williams main evented NXT’s New Year’s Evil with a win over Grayson Waller. Even though he was supposed to challenge Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship, Williams still ended the night with a win and his story with Carmelo Hayes seems to be building closer and closer to a solid conclusion at NXT’s biggest PLE, Stand & Deliver.
4. The Judgment Day
It was another mixed bag for The Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley once again retained her title, this time over newcomer to the Raw roster, Ivy Nile. However, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh fell victim to a reunited Awesome Truth in tag team action.
3. Kevin Owens
Logan Paul’s first challenger for his United States Championship was determined on SmackDown, after Owens knocked off Santos Escobar in the tournament final, in what was a great contest between two talented wrestlers. Owens vs. Paul at the Royal Rumble should be a lot of fun.
2. Damage CTRL
Iyo Sky racked up another win by beating Michio cleanly on SmackDown: New Year’s Revolution. Next week, Bayley faces Bianca Belair, with the former being a consensus top pick to win the Royal Rumble.
1. Seth Rollins
Rollins once again defended his World Heavyweight Championship in successful fashion against Drew McIntyre on Raw: Day 1. He also avoided a Money in the Bank cash-in by Damian Priest.
AEW TOP 10 POWER RANKINGS:
10. House of Black
Despite losing on Collision, the group ended up getting the final laugh, as they laid to waste FTR and Daniel Garcia at the end of Saturday night.
9. FTR
FTR defeated House of Black in an unsurprisingly great tag team match on Collision. However, FTR ended the show on the ground, as this personal feud is bound to continue.
8. Mariah May
May made her AEW in-ring debut by knocking off Queen Aminata in what was a fun first contest for the young upstart. However, the main story was Deonna Purrazzo, who interrupted May’s post-match interview, announcing that she is indeed All Elite.
7. Darby Allin and Sting
The undefeated duo notched another victory by prevailing over The WorkHorsemen on Collision in Charlotte. Allin and Sting will now turn their attention to AEW’s Homecoming Dynamite episode, where they face Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs.
6. Konosuke Takeshita
Takeshita kicked off 2024 the right way, by defeating Darby Allin in what was an intense and awesome match on the first episode of the year for AEW.
5. Orange Cassidy
Cassidy retained his International Championship on Dynamite against Dante Martin, in what was your typical fun, opening contest matchup involving Cassidy.
4. The Undisputed Kingdom
Adam Cole’s crew made their presence known at AEW World’s End. On Dynamite, the group made their intentions clear in what was a polished and smartly phrased promo to kick off the new year. That’s not all though, as the ROH Tag Team Champions, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven, were victorious on Collision.
3. Eddie Kingston
The Continental Championship holder and modern day triple crown Mad King, Kingston, made his first successful title defense by going over Trent Baretta on Collision.
2. Samoa Joe
The AEW World Champion, even in a small burst of TV, showed that he has the makings to have a great reign with the belt, regardless of how long it goes. Many challengers are coming for him, as you’d expect, with people such as Swerve Strickland, Adam Page, and even Hook. Let the good times roll.
1. Swerve Strickland
Strickland main evented and won in the first episode of Dynamite, pinning Daniel Garcia. Afterwards, his long time rival “Hangman” Adam Page came out for a fight, as the two went toe-to-toe once again to close the show.
Top 20 Combo Power Rankings (WWE and AEW):
20. Lyra Valkyria
19. House of Black
18. Oba Femi
17. LWO
16. FTR
15. Randy Orton
14. Mariah May
13. Nia Jax
12. Darby Allin and Sting
11. Trick Williams
10. Konosuke Takeshita
9. Orange Cassidy
8. The Judgment Day
7. The Undisputed Kingdom
6. Kevin Owens
5. Eddie Kingston
4. Damage CTRL
3. Samoa Joe
2. Seth Rollins
1. Swerve Strickland
Who would you have in your Top 10 Power Rankings of both WWE and AEW? What would be your ultimate combo list? Let us know by leaving a comment down below!
