Daily DDT
Fansided

WWE SmackDown Rankings: Can Shinsuke Nakamura Beat Randy Orton?

By Warsame A

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next

Smackdown. Photo by WWE.com

The SmackDown Live Mid Card Division

Highlights of the Division

Bringing back the United States Championship Open Challenge is the perfect way to revitalize the mid card division. Everyone was getting tired of seeing AJ Styles and Kevin Owens facing each other for the gold for weeks, so the change was greatly needed. Tye Dillinger stepped up to the plate but lost in quick fashion because of Baron Corbin’s interference. The Perfect 10 was made to look like a jobber in a potential feud between Corbin and Styles, which is a huge mistake. The Lone Wolf has lost all credibility as a contender on Smackdown and Tye Dillinger shouldn’t be wasted away in that type of scenario. A proper rematch should be in order between Dillinger and Styles. Dillinger still has the capability to be one of the top babyfaces on this brand, Corbin has no shot of being the top heel of the show. 

As for Kevin Owens, his beef with Shane McMahon resulted in him becoming a referee in a match between Aiden English and Sami Zayn. This bizarre turn of events is what may be the key to turning Smackdown around and compete with RAW during the Fall season. Unpredictability is what will be fuelling Kevin Owens on his revenge tour on Shane McMahon and anybody who supports him. Someone like Dolph Ziggler would benefit by aligning himself with Kevin Owens, since he’s upset that he hasn’t gotten the respect or opportunities he deserved on Smackdown. If Owens could rack up guys like English and Ziggler on his war with Shane McMahon, this will be a turning point for the Smackdown brand.

Meanwhile, for the rest of the division.

Rusev lost in his tag team match against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura, so what’s next for him? The only possible route for the Bulgarian Brute would be to run interference and cost Randy Orton his chance to compete for the WWE Championship next week. Continuing with that feud should be the only course of action after the debacle that transpired at Summerslam. The former United States Champion will need to demonstrate to the Smackdown audience that he isn’t a doormat to the main-event stars of the blue brand. 

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

WWE United States Champion: AJ Styles (18 Wins – 12 Losses)

Contenders

  • Top Contender: Kevin Owens (14 Wins – 17 Losses)
  • Contender No. 2: Sami Zayn (12 Wins – 18 Losses)
  • Contender No. 3: Baron Corbin (7 Wins – 18 Losses)
  • Contender No. 4: Chris Jericho (5 Wins – 9 Losses)
  • Contender No. 5: Rusev (4 Wins – 11 Losses)
  • Contender No. 6: Mike Kanellis (1 Win – 3 Losses)

Pretenders

  • Pretender No. 1: Tye Dillinger (5 Wins – 5 Losses)
  • Pretender No. 2: Dolph Ziggler (5 Wins – 15 Losses)
  • Pretender No. 3: Aiden English (4 Wins – 8 Losses)
  • Pretender No. 4: Sin Cara (2 Wins – 7 Losses)
  • Pretender No. 5: Luke Harper (2 Wins – 11 Losses)
  • Pretender No. 6: Erick Rowan (1 Win – 6 Losses)