WWE SmackDown Live: Division Power Rankings Before WWE Payback
By Warsame A
Photo by WWE.com
The SmackDown Live World Title Picture
Highlights of the Division
Randy Orton dispatched Erick Rowan in a No-DQ match on Smackdown Live and that should have positioned him in a great place mentally in his upcoming match against Bray Wyatt at Payback. One man ruined it all and he’s the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship—Jinder Mahal. With the help of the Bollywood Boyz, Mahal took out Orton and stole his championship in one fell swoop.
The Viper may not be favoured to win the House of Horrors match since his title won’t be on the line or around his waist for that matter. Bray Wyatt needs the win to conclude his feud with Orton and head back to RAW. The Eater of Worlds has a date with Finn Balor to look forward to but it’s disheartening that he won’t have the chance to reclaim his WWE Championship.
Jinder Mahal is playing a dangerous game stealing the WWE Title away from the champion. He’ll need to demonstrate to the world that he’s qualified to be in the same atmosphere as Randy Orton and stealing the championship just won’t cut it. Mahal will need to claim a few more victories to re-assure the WWE Universe that he’s more than capable to be a world champion.
AJ Styles scored another win against Baron Corbin this week as he’s preparing for his title match against Kevin Owens in a few weeks. The Phenomenal One might not be a lock to win the US championship against KO but it should be a great bout. Meanwhile, Shinsuke Nakamura hasn’t competed on Smackdown Live as of yet but a victory over Dolph Ziggler should lock him in a path towards a title opportunity very soon.
Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.
WWE World Champion: Randy Orton (9 Wins – 3 Losses)
Contenders
- No.1 Contender: Bray Wyatt (4 Wins – 4 Losses)
- Contender No. 2: John Cena (6 Wins – 4 Losses)
Pretenders
- Pretender No. 1: AJ Styles (7 Wins – 5 Losses)
- Pretender No. 2: Shinsuke Nakamura (N/A)
- Pretender No. 3: Jinder Mahal (5 Wins – 10 Losses)
What do you think of this week’s Smackdown Live Rankings? Comment below!