WWE Power Rankings for January 4, 2014

Bray Wyatt

Every week, WWE.com in association with the Academy of Wrestling Arts & Sciences publishes a rank list which ranks the WWE superstars on the basis of their performance in the week.

The last Raw episode of 2013 exceeded expectations and produced one of the best shows of the year, the so called ‘B’ show – SmackDown then followed up with a solid performance. To sum up, the week was a great one for the company, which was falling to the clutches of negative reactions from the fans for their inconsistent and boring booking.

Brock Lesnar’s return and Daniel Bryan joining the Wyatt family was the major headlines from the week, but there were a lot of momentum loss and gain for many stars around the locker-room. So here is a look at the Power rankings for this week.

25- Nikki Bella (Previous Rank- Nil)

Nikki Bella

Nikki has been hiding in the shadows of her sister for some time, but a credible win over Aksana in SmackDown has given her the platform to bounce back into the power rankings.

She was also benefited from being involved in a relationship with John Cena throughout the year at Total Divas and 2014 seems to be a bright year for this half of the Bella Twins.

24- Xavier Woods (Previous Rank-24)

Xavier Woods

The initial push that Woods got after his main roster entrance seems to be going nowhere now. The storyline has changed its focus to Brodus Clay’s interesting heel turn rather than Woods’ future in WWE.

But the former NXT superstar had the luxury of some in-ring action this week which keeps him rooted to the 24^th position.

23- Curtis Axel (Previous Rank -21)

Curtis Axel

Paul Heyman returned to television this week but there were no traces of resilience in his former client. Axel seems to be heading nowhere in the current situation.

No one expected him to take a fall for a plummeting Dolph Ziggler, but it happened at Raw and Axel finds himself drop 2 positions to 23^rd.

22- Dolph Ziggler (Previous Rank- 25)

Dolph Ziggler

Just when you thought that Ziggler’s WWE career was heading towards the unprecedented corners of hell, the Showoff rose like a phoenix and got the better of Curtis Axel.

The win comes in form of good news for Ziggler fans and they can certainly expect a lot of action from his in 2014. For the moment the win keeps him in the rank list.

21- Fandango (Previous Rank- 20)

Fandango

Fandango had the match of the week against Big E Langston, but being on the losing side on both Raw and SmackDown has hurt the dancing menace a lot at he drops one place.

He seems to be heading out of the Intercontinental picture for now, but Fandango is a credible challenger or potential winner of the title in near future.

20- The Prime Time Players (Previous Rank- 17)

Prime time players

The task of standing out from an over-populated tag team division is clearly a herculean thing. And this week the Prime Time Players fail to do the same.

A lose to the Usos drags the exciting pair three places to 17^th in the Power Rankings.

19- R-Truth (Previous Rank- 22)

R-Truth

Playing a major role in the Brodus Clay- Xavier Woods storyline seems to be the boost that the veteran needed.

Truth got a win over the newly-turned Clay in Raw and the win sky rockets the rapping superstar 3 places into the 19^th rank.

18- Rey Mysterio (Previous Rank- 18)

Rey Mysterio

Rey Mysterio keeps hold of his 18^th rank for the second week in a row despite not having any in-ring action.

The high flyer remains as a fan favorite after all the absence from the ring. Hopefully we will see a lot of action from his in 2014 unlike the concluded year.

17- Los Matadors (Previous Rank- 19)

Los Matadors

The high octane trio continues to impress the fans and gain their backing, Los Matadors jumps two places and settles in the inner section of top 20.

16- The Real Americans (Previous Rank-16)

The Real Americans

One of the hottest Duos in the division, the Real Americans end their year in style by retaining their previous ranking.

They seems to be in line for the next title shot and a Jack Swagger win in the week keeps the hope alive to climb further up.

15- The Big Show (Previous Rank- 15)

Big Show

Instead of ending the year with a high note in the ring, Show ended it on a rather embarrassing note when he donned diapers and became the world’s largest baby.

Apart from the idiotic gimmick for one night, the in-ring inaction keeps the giant rooted to his previous ranking.

14- Mark Henry (Previous Rank- 13)

Mark Henry

The World’s Strongest man was made to look like Spike Dudley in the hands of Brock Lesnar at Raw. The signs don’t look good for Henry as he is reported to be out for some time after the beating by the Beast.

Expect Henry to drop further in the coming week due to the absence and the way he was taken out of television.

13- Damien Sandow (Previous Rank- 14)

Damien Sandow

The self-proclaimed savior of the masses put his career on the line this week when he went up against the Great Khali.

After two minimal weeks, Sandow finally picked up some momentum this time and finds himself rise on place in the rankings.

12- AJ Lee (Previous Rank- 12)

AJ Lee

AJ’s current priority seems to be the record of the longest reigning divas champion. But despite being the champion of the division AJ again loses the tag of the highest ranked diva in the power rankings.

11- Brie Bella (Previous Rank- 10)

Brie Bella

Brie gets knocked out of the top ten after losing on Raw. But as said earlier, she outclasses AJ Lee to be the highest ranked diva on the rankings.

10 – The Usos (Previous Rank- 13)

The Usos

Rikishi’s sons are the team with the most momentum in the division at the moment. They picked up three consecutive victories in a row and are on a role.

9- Ryback (Previous Rank- 9)

Ryback

All the pushes he got last year went without getting anywhere, but Ryback keeps his spot in the top ten and goes into to 2014 with a lot of expectations.

8- The Shield (Previous Rank- 7)

The Shield

The Shield drops down the rankings for the second consecutive week. The cracks in the pack as being more visible after CM Punk’s pot stirring act on Raw.

Seth Rollins went on the receiving side of CM Punk and the Shield finds them dropping one more place to 8^th.

7- The Rhodes Brothers (Previous Rank-8)

Rhodes Brothers[divider]

As usual the tag team champions rose to the occasion when their titles were on the line. The Rhodes Brothers came out with their titles in SmackDown and shows why they stay on top of such a crowded division.

6- Daniel Bryan (Previous Rank- 5)

Daniel Bryan

In one of the rarest scenes of 2013, Daniel Bryan drops from the top five. the Flying goat seems more than impressive in his gauntlet match but finally gave up to the mind games of the Wyatt family and joined them.

5- The Wyatt Family (Previous Rank-6)

The Wyatt Family

It wasn’t a good week for the Wyatts if we look on paper, but the amount of impact that the trio made helps them to rise one spot and into the top five.

4- Big E Langston (Previous Rank- 4)

Big E Langston

Langston capped off an amazing week with a win over Fandango to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The power house seems unstoppable now and is heading for a career turning 2014.

3- John Cena (Previous Rank-2)

John Cena

The Cenation leader was absent from in-ring action this week and that drops him one place in the rankings. However, Cena has got himself another shot at the unified title which makes it a win-win situation for the former champ.

2- CM Punk (Previous Rank-3)

CM Punk

The straight edge superstar acted as a catalyst to expose the cracks in Shield and then got a win over Seth Rollins. Punk claimed that 2013 was not his year so expect him to come out all guns blazing this year as the Shield continues to chase him.

1- Randy Orton (Previous Rank- 1)