RAW Power Rankings (Post Payback – 5.3.16)

Here are our RAW Power rankings following the May 2nd episode of Monday Night RAW which took place inside of the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

1. Roman Reigns – The Roman Empire is alive and well. At 29 days and counting, his 3rd reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion has already been his longest yet. He’ll put the strap on the line once again when he takes on AJ Styles on May 22nd at Extreme Rules in a rematch of their highly competitive match at Payback.

2. AJ Styles – Since kicking off his WWE career in the Royal Rumble match earlier this year, AJ has soared to the top of the card where he currently finds himself in a feud with Roman Reigns. After emerging victorious alongside his old Bullet Club buddies in the main event last night against Reigns & The Usos, Styles looks to be settling in right where he belongs – in the main event of every show.

3. Charlotte – It’s going to be tough to take down the current WWE Women’s Champion. Not only does she have her father, the 2-time Hall of Famer, in her corner – she also has at least one referee in her pocket as evidenced by the “screwjob” that took place this past Sunday night in Chicago. We’ll see if Charlotte can keep her spot at the top of the division when she takes on Natalya without her father in her corner in a submission match at Extreme Rules.

4. Kevin Owens – No one has been more consistent than KO of late when it comes to giving the fans a show inside of the ring and making them either fall in love with him, or absolutely deplore him when he speaks into the microphone. Although he wasn’t able to convince the brass to give him the rematch he deserved for the IC championship last night on RAW, he remains a top contender alongside Cesaro and Sami Zayn. Expect all three men to take on The Miz in a Fatal 4-Way at Extreme Rules.

5. The Miz – Now a 5-time Intercontinental Champion, The Miz has had a rebirth of sorts since hooking up with his real life bride on WWE programming. It’s true, “The A-Lister” is just a placeholder until he drops the title to one of the three aforementioned contenders. That said, he always seems to find his way back to the title picture and that’s where he’ll remain with Maryse by his side.

6. Cesaro – P4P, he’s the strongest man on the roster as advertised. And since his return on the RAW after WrestleMania, Cesaro has made it clear that the shoulder injury that sidelined him last November hasn’t slowed him one bit. The “Swiss Superman” appears to be in tip-top condition and anyone who is called upon to work with him better be on their A-game. That won’t be a problem for Owens, Zayn & The Miz who Cesaro currently find himself in an exciting IC Title program with.

7. The New Day – Nobody gets a more consistent pop than your current WWE tag team champions. These guys are so good at everything they do that they really don’t even have to wrestle to stay relevant. From social media to UpUpDownDown and beyond, Xavier, Kofi & Big E have taken a gimmick that was not supposed to work and turned it into something that will go down in history. It’s so apparent that these guys are having more fun than anyone on the roster. That’s why we love them and that’s why they rank as the top tag team on this week’s RAW Power ranks.

8. Sami Zayn – His matches against Nakamura at TakeOver: Dallas and Kevin Owens at Payback could both turn up on our year-end top 10 list. And although they ended with him getting pinned, he’s managed to keep his status as the proverbial thorn in Owens’ side. He’ll get his crack at the IC strap at Extreme Rules and he’ll remain a fan favorite for as long as he wants.

9. Dean Ambrose – His matches haven’t exactly been must see TV and his mic work leaves a lot to be desired. It just seems like Dean Ambrose is better than the Dean Ambrose that we’re getting on WWE TV since The Shield went their separate ways. That said, Ambrose continues to keep himself afloat and his current feud with Jericho may end up being his best to date. Is this a matter of creative holding him back or is he simply holding himself back? All we know is that we still feel that the best is yet to come when it comes to Ambrose’s WWE career. #RIPMitch.

10. The Vaudevillains – The #1 contenders for the tag team titles have made a seamless transition from NXT to the main roster. If you told me a couple of months ago that English and Gotch would be in a program with The New Day post WrestleMania we would’ve called you half-crazy. Looking at how these two teams gel – we’re calling ourselves crazy for not even considering it. Sign us up.

all images via WWE