12. Authors of Pain (last week: not ranked)
On the Raw after WrestleMania, Akam and Rezar made their main roster debut by annihilating Heath Slater and Rhyno. After the match, they dismissed long-time manager Paul Ellering, deciding they needed a ghostwriter no longer.
The following week? Another squash victory over Slater and Rhyno, and then a week off last week. The stop/start thing is making it hard for the dominant team to build any sustainable momentum.
But this week, a decisive victory over Jean-Paul and Francois puts the Authors of Pain right back on track. A hot promo after the match showed they mean business, and they were by far the most impressive tag team on Raw this week.
11. Brock Lesnar (last week: 11)
Brock Lesnar is once again back to not showing up on WWE Raw. Big surprise. So why would I keep him lurking near the Top Ten?
Well, for one reason, he’s still the Universal Champion, for better or worse. It’s the de facto top championship on Raw, even if it’s rarely defended on the show (outside of pay per view). And even in absentia, the title is the main goal of many superstars.
Another reason Brock ranks so high? He’s basically Poochie — when he’s not on screen, everyone’s talking about him. Roman Reigns spent much of his show opening promo talking about The Beast Incarnate. And later on, Seth Rollins all but challenged Brock to a fight. It doesn’t matter if he’s in the middle of the ring shadowboxing, or sitting at home with his family like Clint Barton, Brock is the talk of the Raw roster.