WWE Raw: Division Power Rankings Before WWE Payback

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The RAW World Title Picture

Highlights of the Division

The match-up between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman might be the unofficial No. 1 contenders match for the Universal Championship. With Brock Lesnar on a sabbatical since WrestleMania, the title picture has been a bit muddied with no clear contender to challenge the champ.

Roman Reigns was positioned to be the guy to face the Beast after defeating the Undertaker after WrestleMania but now needs to prove his status—by defeating the hottest superstar on RAW: Braun Strowman. Reigns has defeated Strowman before and should be favoured to be the victor in their Payback encounter. Don’t be surprised if Lesnar and Heyman have some say to the winner of the match for a potential showdown in the near future.

Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe were locked in tag team action where the Architect’s team walked away as the winners. But the battle between the two men will determine their status as potential challengers for a future Universal title opportunity. Having both men continue their beef with each other because of Triple H is a good start, but there should be something huge down the line that both competitors need to vie for. 

As for Finn Balor, he scored the pinfall in his six-man tag team match and will be a guest on Miz TV at Payback. He’ll need to address the elephant in the room and how he’ll address this individual after his match at Payback. That man is Bray Wyatt and he’ll be key in keeping the Demon King on his toes. Finn needs this rivalry to sustain some momentum and not get lost in the scuffle.

These are the rankings for the division this week.

WWE Universal Champion: Brock Lesnar (1 Win – 1 Loss)

Contenders

• No. 1 Contender: Roman Reigns (6 Wins – 6 Losses)
• Contender No. 2: Seth Rollins (3 Wins – 2 Losses)

Pretenders

• Pretender No. 1: Finn Balor (4 Wins – 0 Losses)
• Pretender No. 2: Samoa Joe (6 Wins – 3 Losses)

Next: All 26 Champions in NXT History, Ranked

What do you think of the RAW rankings this week? Comment below!