In this monthly feature, the InsidePulse Wrestling editorial board ranks the heavyweight, women/cruiserweight, and tag team divisions on World Wrestling Entertainment’s RAW and Smackdown brands. Rankings include the top ten heavyweights, top five women/cruiserweights, and top five tag teams on each brand, and include everyone listed on WWE.com’s RAW and SD Superstars pages, plus regular, unlisted competitors from each brand. They are posted on the Friday following each WWE pay per view event.
These rankings take into account (in order):
– Current title status*
– Declared and presumed storyline rankings
– Recent victories and quality of opponents
– Quality of matches (psychology, workrate, and entertainment value)
– Quality of TV exposure (length, placement during show, and crowd response)
*In the heavyweight division, “secondary” champions are always de facto top contenders unless otherwise stated on television.
Check out this link for last month’s rankings, and click here to see any changes in the RAW or SD rosters since the last rankings report.
(Win-Loss records for televised matches since April 11 are in parentheses next to each superstar, along with italicized comments, where appropriate.)
RAW SUPERSTARS
Heavyweights:
World Champion – Dave Batista (2-0)
Intercontinental Champion – Shelton Benjamin (2-1)
1. Edge (3-0) – Won a title shot at Wrestlemania, and beat Jericho in #1 contender’s tournament
2. Shawn Michaels (3-1) – Beat Shelton in round one of tourney
3. Chris Benoit (1-2) – Beat HHH in round one of tourney and had a great match with Edge at the PPV
4. Kane (2-0) – Beat Christian convincingly in round one of tourney
5. Triple H (1-3) – Lost to Benoit in round one of tourney, last held title
6. Christian (1-2) – Lost to Kane in round one of tourney; featured prominently on RAW
7. Chris Jericho (1-2) – Lost to Edge in round one of tourney; lost to Shelton at PPV
8. Viscera (2-1) – Getting major TV time with Kane, Lita and Trish
9. Chris Masters (2-0) – Tons of TV time and undefeated
Tie: 10. Muhammad Hassan (0-1) – Still not pinned or made to submit on RAW; featured in co-main event on PPV
Tie: 10. Khosrow Daivari (1-0) – Win over Shawn Michaels; featured in co-main event on PPV
Unranked:
Antonio
Jim Ross (1-0)
Maven (1-0)
Rob Conway
Romeo
Rosey (0-1)
Simon Dean (0-2)
Sylvain Grenier (0-1)
Tajiri
The Hurricane (0-1)
Tyson Tomko (1-1)
Val Venis (1-3)
William Regal
Women:
Champion – Trish Stratus (1-1)
1. Christy Hemme (1-1)
2. Victoria (1-0)
Tag Teams:
World Champions – The Hurricane & Rosey (2-1)
1. Regal & Tajiri (5-3)
2. Hassan and Daivari (1-1)
3. La Resistance (1-4)
4. Maven & Dean (1-1)
5. The Heartthrobs (1-2)
Not Active Wrestlers (since April 11):
Candice
Chris Nowinski
Eric Bischoff
Eugene
Garrison Cade
Gene Snitsky
Ivory
Jerry Lawler
Jonathan Coachman
Lilian Garcia
Lita
Maria
Mark Henry
Mick Foley
Randy Orton
Ric Flair
Stacey Keibler
Steven Richards
Stone Cold
The Rock
Todd Grisham
SMACKDOWN SUPERSTARS
Heavyweights:
WWE Champion – John Cena (2-0)
United States Champion – Orlando Jordan (1-3)
1. John Bradshaw Layfield (1-1) – Won Fatal Fourway vs. Angle, Show and Booker to earn title shot
2. Booker T (3-1) – Been dominant on SD, getting tons of TV time, and seems to have Angle’s number
3. Big Show (3-1) – Only loss was vs. three other top contenders
4. Kurt Angle (2-2) – A win over Booker away from being in the top spot
5. Rey Mysterio (1-0) – Winner in best SD main event in months
6. Eddie Guerrero (0-1) – Angle with Rey and Chavo is being featured prominently, and hot ending to 05.05.05 SD solidified his ranking
7. Carlito Caribbean Cool (1-0) – He’s so damn cool
8. Matt Morgan (2-0) – Great look, good on the mic, and awesome f-f-f-finishing move
9. Heidenreich (1-0) – SD’s rankings drop off after #8, but the fans are starting to like Big John
10. Rene Dupree (0-2) – Unlike anyone on the “unranked” list, he got a top slot on SD in a non-title match vs. WWE Champ John Cena
Unranked:
Charlie Haas (0-1)
Danny Basham
Doug Basham
Hardcore Holly (0-1)
Luther Reigns (1-0)
Mark Jindrak (1-0)
Cruiserweights:
Champion – Paul London (1-1)
1. Chavo Guerrero, Jr. (2-1)
2. Billy Kidman (0-1)
3. Scotty 2 Hotty (1-0)
4. Funaki (1-1)
5. Nunzio (1-1)
Unranked:
Akio (0-2)
Shannon Moore (0-1)
Spike Dudley (0-1)
Tag Teams:
WWE Champions – MNM (3-0)
1. Basham Brothers (2-1)
2. Holly & Haas (1-0)
3. Scotty 2 Hotty & Shannon Moore (0-2)
4. Akio & Spike (0-1)
5. Funaki & Nunzio (0-1)
Not Active Wrestlers (since April 11):
Al Snow
Bill Demott
Bubba Ray Dudley
Dawn Marie
D-Von Dudley
Josh Mathews
Joy
Kenzo Suzuki
Lauren Jones
Melina
Michael Cole
Michelle McCool
Miss Jackie
Rob Van Dam
Tazz
Theodore Long
The Undertaker
Torrie Wilson
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