WWE SmackDown Power Rankings: Asuka Has Her Path To The Title

Asuka will take on Carmella at Money in the Bank 2018 for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship, and she picked up a victory to help build some momentum for that PPV title match. But which other superstars moved up the SmackDown Live power rankings this week?

The field is set for both the men’s and women’s Money in the Bank ladder matches, as the final participant in the men’s ladder match was named on the most recent episode of WWE SmackDown Live. Although Big Cass complicated things by essentially inserting himself into the match via a beatdown of both Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan, the Samoan Submission Machine punched his ticket into MITB by putting Bryan to sleep.

Joe is among this week’s winners, but which other superstars on SmackDown Live received a boost in momentum this week. Let’s rank the top ten.

10. Andrade “Cien” Almas

In his first two weeks on SmackDown Live, Andrade “Cien” Almas showed his intensity in the ring by beating up two local talents. However, both he and Zelina Vega are clearly expecting stiffer competition provided to them by SmackDown management. Sin Cara made the mistake of trying to get chummy with Almas backstage, which Vega took exception to. Look for Cara to become Almas’s next victim, as Almas is slowly built for what will likely be a run with the United States Championship this summer.

9. Rusev

Rusev was merely a spectator this week, as his wife Lana made the big statement by hitting Naomi with a surprise neckbreaker after they initially seemed to be getting along during their dance-off. There was some question as to whether Lana was a heel or a face, but that neckbreaker makes it clear that she is only looking out for herself. Both Lana and Rusev are in ladder matches at Money in the Bank, and while it would be awesome to see either of these two winning, only Rusev seems like a legitimate sleeper pick.