WWE SmackDown Division Rankings: John Cena Returns, AJ Styles Wins

Smackdown Live. Photo by WWE.com

The SmackDown Live World Title Picture

Highlights of the Division

The stakes have slowly been picking up for Randy Orton since his loss at Money in the Bank. He has brought back his vicious mentality which was lacking since his feud with Bray Wyatt. Even though he lost via disqualification to Aiden English, he’s finally got back the mojo that made him who he is from the get-go— a man who will do anything to get what he wants. The Apex-Predator is back and this build up to the Punjabi Prison Match is key to getting more eyeballs glued to the pay per view in a couple of weeks.   

Jinder will need to step it up for the next few weeks and not be overshadowed by the intensity of Randy Orton. The WWE Champ has done the same song and dance since winning the title and he’ll need to do something new to keep himself fresh and entertaining. A few more matches would also help the progression of his ring work which is solid but needs a few tweaks. Also addressing what the Singh brothers will do to help him prepare for the Punjabi Prison Match would be greatly appreciated.

John Cena will kick off his Smackdown run against Rusev at Battleground in a flag match. Look for Cena to defeat the Bulgarian on the road to Summerslam where he’ll most likely face Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. It’s disappointing that Rusev is used as a tune-up to another Cena main-event run but the WWE sees a money-making WWE title match the very next month.

Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.

WWE World Champion: Jinder Mahal (11 Wins – 10 Losses)

Contenders

• Top Contender: Randy Orton (10 Wins – 7 Losses)
• Contender No. 2: John Cena (6 Wins – 4 Losses)

Pretenders

• Pretender No. 1: Shinsuke Nakamura (6 Wins – 1 Loss)

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What are your thoughts on this week’s Smackdown Rankings? Comment below!