Wrestling Inc. Power Rankings 10/20/23: A Re-Tooled Rating Of Pro Wrestling's Top 25 Performers
Let's try this again.
Welcome to the second edition of Wrestling Inc.'s weekly power rankings! After beginning this experiment last week — ranking wrestlers by how much attention our news stories about them get from you, the readers — we got a lot of excellent (if not particularly friendly) feedback and have refined our process accordingly. Rather than focusing on internal WINC data, we've prioritized broader analytics information to try to get a picture of which performers' names command the most eyes, whose presence is most prominent in the culture at large — in short, who is the biggest draw in terms of online interest. When it came to close calls and tiebreakers, we used our own judgment, sprinkling a little common sense in.
The difference in the results was pretty dramatic. We deliberately excluded big names who are not currently active performers, which is why you won't find Ronda Rousey or Brock Lesnar on this list, but the new methodology resulted in a surge of representation for women wrestlers, whose presence in the power rankings jumped from 3 women included last week to 10 this week. In fact, more than half of last week's top 25 dropped out of the power rankings entirely, including: The Miz, Bobby Lashley, Mustafa Ali, The Rock, Adam Cole, Sami Zayn, Rob Van Dam, Johnny Gargano, Britt Baker, Mariah May, Carlito, Dragon Lee, FTR, and Darby Allin. These have been replaced by names that, by and large, feel much more generally representative of the industry to us.
We hope you agree, but even if you don't, please leave your thoughts in the comments.
#25 Liv Morgan (debuting)
Liv Morgan is the most unusual presence on this list, since she's currently out of action with an injury and hasn't really been in the news. However, our new methodology gives the former "SmackDown" Women's Champion and multi-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion a foothold in the power rankings despite being gone from TV, possibly due to her social media presence — Morgan has more than a million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and more than two million on Instagram.
#24 Bayley (debuting)
Damage CTRL leader Bayley holds the #24 spot on this week's WINC Power Rankings following her victory over LWO member Zelina Vega on last week's episode of "WWE SmackDown." Bayley's name remained a topic of conversation outside of the in-ring action as well, with former "WWE NXT" Champion Roxanne Perez identifying "The Role Model" as one of her dream WrestleMania opponents.
#23 Chris Jericho (debuting)
It's safe to say that former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has had a rough couple of weeks, especially after his longtime friend and pupil, Sammy Guevara, turned on him due and aligned with Don Callis. However, one thing is certain even after countless betrayals and sneak attacks, Jericho still puts up a fight. That's one of the reasons why he made his debut at number 23 on the Wrestling Inc. Power Rankings. Jericho's last match was a loss to the Callis Family's newest member, Will Hobbs, on the special Tuesday night edition of "AEW Dynamite."
#22 Asuka (debuting)
October has been a busy month for Asuka thus far. Aside from being part of the Women's Championship picture on "WWE SmackDown" in recent weeks, facing IYO SKY and Charlotte Flair at WWE Fastlane earlier this month, she recently made her return to "WWE NXT" to score a win over Roxanne Perez.
#21 Drew McIntyre (debuting)
Ahead of their World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE Crown Jewel, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre met face-to-face on "WWE Raw," with "The Scottish Warrior" teasing the idea of bringing back his widely beloved former theme song, "Broken Dreams." However, McIntyre then asserted that he doesn't need a catchy theme as a "crutch," unlike Rollins. As McIntyre continues to teeter the line between babyface and heel, the reference to "Broken Dreams" has piqued the interest of many wrestling fans.
#20 Christian Cage (down from #10)
AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage may have retained his title against Bryan Danielson on the October 14 episode of "AEW Collision," but it wasn't from a lack of cheating. Cage has proven time and time again that he does actually need Lucharsus as well as Nick Wayne to even the odds with his feuds with Darby Allin and his "former" best friend Adam Copeland.
#19 Bryan Danielson (down from #14)
With each year, Bryan Danielson seems to make his case for being one of the best wrestlers of all time stronger, but even the greats have an off-week.
Danielson dropped in the rankings this week, after losing a headlining match on Saturday, against AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage. Danielson was robbed of the match, as Cage made use of his trademark underhanded tactics to sneak past "The Dragon" for now, likely accounting for how slight the slide is, but a loss is still a loss. The shady nature of Cage's win means that Danielson has a claim to a rematch sometime in the future but being absent from "AEW Dynamite" did Danielson's ranking and momentum no favors.
#18 Kevin Owens (same spot)
Kevin Owens maintains his position at the #18 spot on the WINC Power Rankings this week. After Nick Aldis was introduced as the new General Manager of "WWE SmackDown" last Friday, his first order of business was completing the trade that saw Jey Uso move to the "WWE Raw" roster last month. In return, "SmackDown" received former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, who delivered a satisfying Stunner to Judgment Day member Dominik Mysterio. Unfortunately, Owens' transition to the blue brand signified the end of his partnership with Sami Zayn, for now anyway.
#17 Jey Uso (debuting)
Jey Uso got lots of television time this week, but that doesn't mean that it was all smooth sailing. On Monday's episode of "WWE Raw," Jey discovered that his relationship with Sami Zayn was rockier than he thought following the news that Kevin Owens had been traded to "SmackDown" for him. Then, in the main event of the show, he and Cody Rhodes found their Undisputed Tag Team Championship reign ended by Judgment Day after only 9 days.
#16 Mercedes Mone (debuting)
The former Sasha Banks is another new addition to the power rankings who has lately been out with an injury, but there's a near-constant buzz surrounding her regardless of her status in wrestling. Most recently, her appearance in the crowd at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium got a whole new round of reports going, most of which suggest that it won't be long before Mone returns to New Japan Pro-Wrestling — or arrives in AEW.
#15 Becky Lynch (debuting)
"WWE NXT" Women's Champion Becky Lynch makes her debut at No. 15 in the latest Wrestling Inc. Power Rankings — putting herself on the list after this past Monday's episode of "WWE Raw," where she successfully defended the "NXT" Women's Title against Tegan Nox. A day after her win, she returned to "NXT" to confront another challenger — Lyria Valkyria — against whom she will be defending the title at Halloween Havoc.
#14 LA Knight (up from #25)
LA Knight shoots up the rankings from #25 to #14. Knight was involved in a huge segment on last Friday night's season premiere of "WWE SmackDown," in which he confronted reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. However, Knight was later taken out by "The Tribal Chief" following his victory over Solo Sikoa.
#13 Dominik Mysterio (up from #23)
"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio moves up 10 places this week. It was a busy night for Dom on the season premiere of "WWE Raw" this past Monday night, opening the red brand show in a segment with Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and the rest of The Judgment Day, accompanying reigning WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley for her match against Shayna Baszler, and getting involved in Damian Priest and Finn Bálor's Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship victory over Uso and Cody Rhodes. He also got into a brawl with Nathan Frazer on "WWE NXT" on Tuesday night.
#12 MJF (down from #7)
Wednesday was a busy night for the reigning AEW World Champion. Not only did he encounter the likes of Max Caster and Kenny Omega backstage, but he was also on the receiving end of a message from former ally Wardlow. MJF also watched from the commentary desk as Juice Robinson earned the right to face him for his Dynamite Diamond Ring next week whilst preparing to defend his title against Jay White at AEW Full Gear next month.
#11 Cody Rhodes (same spot)
For the second week in a row, "The American Nightmare" barely misses out on the top ten. Still, after his brief but memorable tag title reign with Jey Uso came to an end in the action-packed main event of Monday's "Raw," Rhodes remains largely on top of the world in WWE — the only WWE stars who ranked higher than him are either currently holding world titles, in the women's division, or major film stars.
#10 Chelsea Green (debuting)
Making her first appearance in the Wrestling Inc. Power Rankings is Chelsea Green. On the season premiere of "WWE Raw" this past week, one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Green accompanied her tag partner, Piper Niven, to the ring for her match against Natalya. After the veteran was sent crashing into Green on the apron, Niven took advantage and scored a pinfall victory. After that bout, Green and Niven attacked Natalya before Tegan Nox made the save.
#9 Seth Rollins (debuting)
With WWE Crown Jewel quickly approaching, tensions between Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Drew McIntyre flared up ahead of their World Heavyweight Championship match. Rollins noticed an intriguing conversation taking place between McIntyre and Judgment Day enforcer Rhea Ripley in the background of a segment and brought it to light this past Monday before getting into a verbal exchange with his upcoming opponent.
#8 CM Punk (down from #3)
We're in a strange, hushed period for CM Punk Discourse as the wrestling world waits impatiently for November 25, when the Chicago-based WWE Survivor Series event will theoretically provide the answers about whether Punk is headed back to his old stompin' grounds in his hometown. For now, we'll just have to keep reading whatever we want to read into Shinsuke Nakamura suddenly using the GTS as a transitional move.
#7 Charlotte Flair (debuting)
As she reaches for another title reign, "The Queen" Charlotte Flair has simultaneously reached the #7 spot on the WINC Power Rankings this week after securing herself a shot at the WWE Women's Championship on the October 20 episode of "WWE SmackDown." Outside of her championship pursuits, Flair also made headlines alongside new WWE signee Jade Cargill, whom she met with face-to-face on last week's episode of "SmackDown." This encounter comes weeks after Cargill named Flair as one of the competitors she was yearning to face in WWE.
#6 Jade Cargill (down from #2)
Jade Cargill is one of the most talked about WWE stars at the moment and she hasn't even stepped in a WWE ring yet. Over the last week, Cargill made several television appearances — including backstage run-ins with two of WWE's most popular female talent. Last Friday it was Charlotte Flair on "WWE SmackDown" and this past Monday it was Becky Lynch on "WWE Raw." Cargill also made an appearance on this Tuesday's episode of "WWE NXT," where she teased that the "clock is ticking."
#5 Saraya (debuting)
Saraya had it all going for her when she retained the AEW Women's World Championship over Toni Storm at Night One of AEW Grand Slam last month. However, the celebration was short-lived when she was dethroned by Hikaru Shida on the October 10 episode of "AEW Dynamite." She may not have appeared on this Wednesday's show but she will surely be looking for a rematch when she reemerges.
#4 Rhea Ripley (debuting)
Rhea Ripley debuts at #4 on the WINC Power Rankings after topping Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual women's wrestling list, which elevated itself to include 250 of today's best female performers. In addition to Ripley's historic recognition, WWE also announced that "The Eradicator" will defend her Women's World Championship against Nia Jax, Zoey Stark, Shayna Baszler, and Raquel Rodriguez at WWE Crown Jewel on November 4, setting the stage for a colossal fatal-five-way title match.
#3 Roman Reigns (up from #9)
While Roman Reigns hasn't had a match on WWE television since August 5 at SummerSlam — when the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion defeated his cousin (and former Bloodline member) Jey Uso, it's hard not to acknowledge the Tribal Chief. Reigns made his return to WWE last Friday, where he laid out everyone's favorite WWE Superstar, LA Knight, making it clear he's not afraid of Knight even with a returning John Cena having Knight's back.
#2 Adam Copeland (down from #1)
It's very hard to duplicate the kind of conversation that surrounded Adam Copeland last week. Fresh off his debut at AEW WrestleDream, Copeland wrestled his first match for AEW, a victory over former AEW TNT Champion Luchasaurus, so it's no surprise that after a week that saw him sidelined, with folks like Bryan Danielson and MJF's diamond ring taking the main event spotlight, he got knocked down.
If anything, though, the fact that Copeland only slid one spot speaks well to the WWE Hall of Famer's staying power, with fans clearly thinking and talking about the "Rated-R Superstar," even if he hasn't been a main character since October 10.
#1 John Cena (up from #6)
With the methodology changing to more on data from outside Wrestling Inc., it seemed almost unfair to even include Cena on this list, but is there anyone who wouldn't consider him an active part of the roster at the moment? He's on almost every episode of "SmackDown," he wrestled at Fastlane, he even showed up on "NXT!" The fact of the matter is that, until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved and he's immediately called back to Hollywood, it's hard to imagine anyone unseating Big Match John from the top of these power rankings.
But never say never.