WWE SmackDown Rankings: AJ Styles and John Cena Join Forces
By Warsame A
![](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/f0fc7249f1b461e5c4bef4c60b69c12e68091a347f71ce510881190a716ae044.jpg)
Smackdown Live. Photo by WWE.com
The SmackDown Live Mid Card Division
Highlights of the Division
It was extremely strange that AJ Styles won the US Championship at a live event in Madison Square Garden because many people had him pegged to win the title at Battleground. Whatever the case might be, AJ will pick up where Owens left off and that was adding more credibility to the mid-card title. The Phenomenal One was only relegated to the mid card picture because he captured a title shot back in April. Now the US Championship might be in the same league as the WWE Championship in a sense that AJ will have the whole roster chasing after him. This will keep Smackdown on equal footing with RAW’s star power for the meantime.
Kevin Owens’ championship reign was fading to say the least. His “Face of America” gimmick ran it’s course probably as soon as his feud with Chris Jericho ended. It was entertaining at first but it pigeonholed Kevin Owens creatively and it slowly got predictable for the past few weeks. If he loses to AJ Styles at Battleground, it’ll probably be the best thing that ever happened to him. It should force Owens to re-invent himself and aim for a new goal to chase.
Meanwhile, for the Rest of the Division
Rusev lost in his tag team match on Smackdown Live and could possibly lose at Battleground. The way John Cena has been portrayed on Smackdown and Talking Smack makes it look like he has other plans after Battleground. It doesn’t look good for Rusev that he might be uses to keep John Cena pre-occupied till Battleground but he should use the opportunity to build up his own brand. The former US Champ has been a twitter wizard for weeks now by sub-tweeting his thoughts on the WWE and that could be the angle he might be banking on post-Battleground.
Let’s see the rankings for the division this week.
WWE United States Champion: AJ Styles (13 Wins – 10 Losses)
Contenders
- Top Contender: Kevin Owens (12 Wins – 13 Losses)
- Contender No. 2: Sami Zayn (10 Wins – 15 Losses)
- Contender No. 3: Chris Jericho (5 Wins – 8 Losses)
- Contender No. 4: Rusev (3 Wins – 8 Losses)
- Contender No. 5: Baron Corbin (6 Wins – 14 Losses) (MITB Winner)
Pretenders
- Pretender No. 1: Dolph Ziggler (5 Wins – 15 Losses)
- Pretender No. 2: Tye Dillinger (4 Wins – 2 Losses)
- Pretender No. 3: Sin Cara (2 Wins – 7 Losses)
- Pretender No. 4: Luke Harper (2 Wins – 11 Losses)
- Pretender No. 5: Erick Rowan (1 Win – 6 Losses)
- Pretender No. 6: Aiden English (2 Wins – 6 Losses)