WWE Smackdown Rankings Before Hell in a Cell 2017

Smackdown. Photo by WWE.com

The SmackDown Live World Title Picture

Highlights of the division

With Jinder Mahal delivering a beatdown to Shinsuke Nakamura to kick off Smackdown Live, one has to wonder who will be the champ after this Sunday. Normally when a heel champion beats down a babyface right before the pay per view it signals that a title change might be on the horizon. If that’s the case then I believe everybody is all for Nakamura winning the WWE Championship. The modern day Maharaja has had a stellar run as champion but his title reigns has gotten stale for the past few weeks after Summerslam. As for Shinsuke Nakamura, he’s been one of the handful of stars that have booked tremendously since arriving to Smackdown Live. He’s clearly ready to make the next step even though his promo skills are sub-par compared to everybody else. 

As for Randy Orton, he scored a quick win over Aiden English and might be favoured to beat Rusev this Sunday. Creative hasn’t done Rusev any favours with his feud with Randy Orton and has actually looked like a guy who’s a few steps behind the Viper. It wouldn’t be surprising if the WWE ends this feud this Sunday and have Orton beat the Bulgarian Brute in a 10 minute match. One swerve that the WWE could pull is having Orton and Rusev switch their face/heel personas. Nobody has seen Rusev booked as a babyface and that’s something that the WWE could entertain while the Viper has been his best as a sadistic villain. 

Next: Raw Rankings: Is the Shield reuniting next Monday Night?

Meanwhile, for the rest of the division..

Bobby Roode won a squash match against Mike Kanellis on Smackdown Live and shouldn’t have any trouble beating Dolph Ziggler this Sunday. It’s clear at this juncture that the entire point of Ziggler making fun of superstar entrances is to make Roode’s entrance that much special. It’s obvious that Ziggler is a better wrestler than the Glorious One, but he doesn’t have the entire package as a WWE superstar. Roode hasn’t scratched the surface on what he can do on SmackDown Live and this win over a former World Champion will solidify his spot as a title contender in the main event picture.

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

WWE World Champion: Jinder Mahal (15 Wins – 12 Losses)

Contenders

• No. 1 Contender: Shinsuke Nakamura (12 Wins – 3 Losses)
• Contender No. 2: Randy Orton (15 Wins – 10 Losses)

Pretenders

• Pretender No. 1: Bobby Roode (3 Wins – 0 Losses)

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