RAW. Photo by WWE.com
Welcome to the RAW Division Rankings for the July 17 episode.
These are the power rankings for each division on Monday Night RAW for this following week. Each division would be ranked based on storyline progression and win/loss record as of 2017. Also each division would be divided by contenders and pretenders, to differentiate the challengers in their respective division. I’ll also highlight a specific superstar in each division and explain their ranking based on their actions. Win/Loss record is provided by CageMatch.Net.
Each superstar or tag team can move up or down the rankings based on victory, defeat or storyline progression. Let’s see how the rankings shape up this week.
RAW. Photo by WWE.com
The RAW Cruiserweight Division
Highlights of the Division
Akira Tozawa has gone in a mini-feud with Ariya Daivari for nearly a week now and has side-stepped his quest to getting a crack at Neville for the title. He might have scored a key win over the Iranian but it does nothing for him in the meantime. He still hasn’t gotten a rematch for the championship and that needs to be addressed very soon. Neville hasn’t been seen on both RAW and 205 Live this week so his presence was definitely missed.
Mustafa Ali has finally cracked the contenders’ list of the Cruiserweight rankings with a defining win over his longtime rival Drew Gulak. Their 2 out of 3 falls match on 205 Live was a showcase of styles both demonstrated in the storytelling that distinguished the two cruiserweights. It has done more to shine a spotlight on both competitors, especially for Mustafa Ali as he climbs to the top of the rankings. As for Drew Gulak, his message shouldn’t be halted by this loss—it should expand the narrative and target other high flyers that don’t believe in his cause.
The ongoing high-profile rivalries with the top contenders of the division is shaping up to be very entertaining. The friendly rivalry between TJP and Rich Swann will force the former champions to re-invent themselves from a character perspective. Both men will need to show the fans that their feud will eventually boil down to envy and jealousy at the very end. Rich Swann will need to demonstrate a serious side to his persona to match the calculative mind of TJP.
These are the rankings for the division this week.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Neville (21 Wins – 7 Losses)
Contenders
- Top Contender: Akira Tozawa (20 Wins – 6 Losses)
- Contender No. 2: Jack Gallagher (20 Wins – 11 Losses)
- Contender No. 3: Rich Swann (16 Wins – 6 Losses)
- Contender No. 4: TJP (16 Wins – 18 Losses)
- Contender No. 5: The Brian Kendrick (10 Wins – 12 Losses)
- Contender No. 6: Cedric Alexander (12 Wins – 7 Losses)
- Contender No. 7: Mustafa Ali (15 Wins – 15 Losses)
Pretenders
- Pretender No. 1: Gran Metalik (5 Wins – 7 Losses)
- Pretender No. 2: Ariya Daivari (9 Wins – 15 Losses)
- Pretender No. 3: Drew Gulak (7 Wins – 14 Losses)
- Pretender No. 4: Tony Nese (10 Wins – 20 Losses)
- Pretender No. 5: Noam Dar (7 Wins – 21 Losses)
- Pretender No. 6: Lince Dorado (3 Wins – 16 Losses)