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DEPTH PERCEPTION: 9/6 Champion Power Rankings and A Depth Chart of Their Contenders
Sep 6, 2008 - 10:41:03 AM |
By Jonathan Bain, PW Torch Specialist
Welcome to week four of Depth Perception!
Randy Orton made his return to Raw this week and in his promo, he ripped the Champions of Raw to shreds. Some of what Randy said was true, especially his comments about Santino's Intercontinental Championship run. Santino has been booked as a very weak Champion and Orton underlined that fact. Beth Phoenix, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase and World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk were also on the receiving end of Orton's verbal attack and I'll be covering that in depth in this week's Championship Rankings!
World Heavyweight Champion - C.M. Punk
C.M. Punk's World Heavyweight Championship credentials were questioned by the returning Randy Orton on Raw and Punk came out to the ring to confront the Legend Killer. Punk didn’t have the support of all the fans in Orton's hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, but that's understandable. C.M. Punk delivered a strong promo, putting over his hard work on the road to becoming Champion. Once Orton had taken his leave, JBL came out to cut a promo on Punk, telling him that he's going to win the title on Sunday at Unforgiven. Kane would then make his presence felt and cut a promo about Rey Mysterio being in hell and unable to make it to Sunday's title match. Batista then came out and speared the three men in the ring, including C.M. Punk. Later in the night, C.M. Punk eliminated both Batista and JBL in the Battle Royal main event. He was then the last man eliminated as Kane threw him over the top rope. Randy Orton mocked Punk, who threw a bottle of water over the Legend Killer. I think C.M. Punk had a good week, his promo exchange with Orton was very good and he stuck up for himself well. He did lose in the Battle Royal, but he eliminated two of his three opponents and was eliminated by Kane, who outweighed him greatly, he will however move down in the rankings slightly because of the loss but he still had a strong week.
Challengers:
JBL: JBL cut an in-ring promo on C.M. Punk and the Championship Scramble at Unforgiven. JBL managed to garner a lot of heat and delivered a very good promo before being interrupted by Kane. JBL's promo was successful in getting some great heat from the crowd, and he was very over as a heel, something I was happy to see after all of his losses lately. He was eliminated by C.M. Punk in the Battle Royal and he's not heading into Unforgiven looking too hot but his promo managed to save him a bit. A reasonable week for JBL.
Kane: Kane interrupted JBL's promo at the start of Raw and declared that Rey Mysterio would not be on Raw tonight and he would also not be at Unforgiven for the Championship Scramble. Kane would later enter GM Mike Adamle's office to angrily reiterate this statement. Kane won the Battle Royal later in the show by eliminating the World Heavyweight Champion, C.M. Punk. A good win for Kane to get him some momentum heading into Sunday. Kane was then surprised to see the return of Rey Mysterio, who attacked Kane and sent him flying into the crowd. A pretty good week for Kane, the win was great for him but he also was attacked by Rey.
Batista: Batista cut Kane off mid-sentence during the show's opening promo exchange and came out to spear the three men in the ring. Later in the show, Batista was interviewed by Todd Grisham and The Animal said his plan tonight and on Sunday was ''to destroy everyone". That'll sound good in the promo video at Unforgiven. I really liked the tone that Batista set this week, he's focused, he doesn't want to waste time talking, he just wants to fight. Being the first man eliminated from the Battle Royal wasn't too good for him. He felt like a bit of an afterthought by the end of the show because he was eliminated so quickly but he still looks pretty strong heading into Sunday thanks to his aggression throughout the show.
Rey Mysterio: Rey Mysterio was the subject of a lot of speculation on Raw this week, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler inquired about his whereabouts and Kane repeatedly stated that Mysterio wouldn't be able to wrestle at Unforgiven, let alone on Raw this week. However, Rey Mysterio DID appear on Raw this week and he attacked Kane following The Big Red Monster's victory in the Battle Royal. Rey looked great in taking the fight to Kane and the crowd was red hot for his return. Really good stuff from Rey, he looks strong heading into Unforgiven.
WWE Champion – Triple H
A good week for Triple H this week, he represented himself well in Smackdown's opening segment in which he talked about the Scramble match and had promo exchanges with Shelton Benjamin and MVP. I didn't care too much for his "insider" joke about pre-Pay-Per-View promos but he pulled it together in the end. The Game then fended off Brian Kendrick's first attempt at attacking him but once Ezekial had distracted Triple H, he was attacked from behind and beaten down by the heels. Jeff Hardy made the save and once Jeff had been overwhelmed, Triple H made the save in return, clearing the ring. Later in the night, Triple H would defeat The Great Khali with the pedigree in a lumberjack match, despite the interference from the heel lumberjacks, MVP, Shelton, Ezekial and Brian Kendrick. Then came the only lasting downside of The Game's week as he was on the receiving end of a Jeff Hardy Twist of Fate. For the second week running, Triple H is left laid out to end the show, but as he was tricked by Jeff Hardy after a gruelling match, he didn't suffer too much for it. The win over Khali is also a pretty big deal.
Challengers:
Jeff Hardy: Jeff Hardy saved Triple H from a four-on-one beat down at the start of the show but was understandably overwhelmed, resulting in him needing to be saved by The Game. Later in the show, Jeff lost to Brian Kendrick after interference from Ezekial. Later, Jeff interrupted Triple H whilst he was being interviewed by Eve before the main event. I really liked Jeff Hardy's promo on Triple H here, he was really passionate about his chance to become WWE Champion. Good stuff. Jeff would help even the odds for Triple H in the lumberjack match but afterwards, hit The Game with the Twist of Fate. The fans didn't like it too much, but it sent Jeff into Sunday looking strong, even with his loss earlier in the night.
MVP: Cut a good promo at the start of the night after interrupting Shelton Benjamin, then attacked Triple H with his fellow heels before being cleared from the ring by Jeff and Triple H. MVP lost to Shelton Benjamin by pinfall in a non-title match later in the show in a short match.
Shelton Benjamin: Shelton defeated MVP on Smackdown this week, he cut a good promo on Triple H at the start of the show and was also a lumberjack for the Triple H Vs. The Great Khali match. Please see the United States Championship section for more on Shelton's week!
The Brian Kendrick: The Brian Kendrick had his original attack on Triple H repelled at the start of the show but would put The Game down with a kick after Ezekial had distracted him. Once Jeff had made the save, Kendrick left with Ezekial. Later, thanks to interference from Ezekial, Kendrick defeated Jeff Hardy by pinfall with his finisher, The Kendrick. Now that's a big win, interference or not, the record books will say that Kendrick pinned Jeff before Unforgiven and it gives Kendrick something to brag about in the coming weeks. Good week for Kendrick.
ECW Champion - Mark Henry
Mark Henry and his four opponents at Unforgiven all appeared on Raw this week as part of a deal between Raw GM Mike Adamle and ECW GM Theodore Long. They competed in a five-man Battle Royal in which Mark Henry was victorious after eliminating all four of his opponents. A really impressive showing for Henry on Monday, he was put over big and looked very strong coming out of Raw. The next night on ECW, Mark Henry and Tony Atlas were part of Miz and Morrison's Dirt Sheet. Henry cut a promo on Matt Hardy when he came out and put himself across as confident and strong. When The Dirt Sheet broke down into fighting, Henry was cleared out of the ring with the other heels. Henry would later take the pinfall loss for his team, which included Chavo, The Miz, John Morrison when their opponents, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Finlay and Tommy Dreamer all hit Henry with high impact moves in ECW's eight-man tag team main event. A great start on Raw but a stumble with the loss on ECW, even though it took all four men to beat Henry in the end, he still got pinned before Unforgiven. A mixed week for the ECW Champion, but I do think the win on Raw made him look great.
Challengers:
Matt Hardy: Matt Hardy was the last man to be eliminated by Mark Henry in the Battle Royal on Raw. On ECW Matt Hardy was a part of The Dirt Sheet and cut a promo on Henry and Atlas. In the eight-man tag team main event, Hardy picked up the pinfall victory for his team after pinning Mark Henry with a Twist of Fate after his partners all hit the ECW Champion with high impact moves. Big win for Hardy on ECW, his appearance in the Raw Battle Royal didn't make him look overly awesome but the win on ECW was very good for him. Looks like a threat for Sunday.
The Miz: On Raw, The Miz was eliminated from the Battle Royal by Mark Henry. The Miz also made another appearance on Raw when he was scheduled to take on Cryme Tyme with his tag partner John Morrison. The match never started as both teams brawled and then Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase came out to attack Cryme Tyme. The next night on ECW, The Miz opened the show with John Morrison for The Dirt Sheet. The Miz was pretty entertaining in this segment but later in the night, The Miz would be on the losing team in the main event eight-man tag match. A busy week for The Miz, but he received two losses which, not great heading into Sunday.
Chavo Guerrero: Chavo was also eliminated from the Battle Royal by Mark Henry. Then on ECW he was embarrassed by Miz and Morrison in their Dirt Sheet segment when he had to make his entrance to a joke version of his song. Later, Chavo was also a part of the losing team in the main event and he doesn't seem like too much of a threat on Sunday.
Finlay: Finlay was eliminated by Mark Henry in the Battle Royal on Raw. In The Dirt Sheet, Finlay was mocked by Miz and Morrison but came out to stick up for himself and Matt Hardy. Finlay helped his team to defeat Mark Henry's team in the main event when he hit Mark Henry with a seated senton. Not bad for Finlay, one win and one loss this week for him.
Intercontinental Champion - Santino Marella
Santino was on the receiving end of some harsh words from Randy Orton at the start of Raw and later in the night he responded by saying he would prove him wrong by becoming the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time by beating the 64 week title run of "The Honkey Donkey Man"! Santino then defeated D-Lo Brown in a non-title match, by evading a frog splash to get the pinfall. A good win for Santino who didn't need help from Beth Phoenix this week, his promo was also a lot of fun. A much better week for Santino than recent weeks, despite Orton's stinging words earlier in the night, Santino was able to take the sting out of those words and make them a part of his character with his Honkey Tonk man promo. He still needs some work becoming a strong Champion but he did pretty well this week and he'll keep the same position as last week on the Depth Perception rankings, he would have moved up but there were other Champions who were shown as stronger than him this week.
Challengers:
D-Lo Brown: Brown was beaten by Santino on Raw this week in a non-title match, he was pinned after missing his frog splash finishing move. This could be the end of his title chase for now.
Kofi Kingston: On Raw, Kofi got a pinfall win over Charlie Haas, who was imitating John Cena in what I thought was actually an entertaining performance from him. The win was strong and to the point for Kofi, getting him back on track for another shot at Santino.
United States Champion – Shelton Benjamin
When Triple H was cutting a promo in the ring at the start of Smackdown, Shelton interrupted him to remind everyone that he's the Gold Standard and showed footage of his actions last week. Triple H challenged Shelton to fight him in the ring and the U.S. Champion seemed happy to oblige until MVP interrupted. Shelton would eventually help in the attack of Triple H but was fought off with his fellow attackers. Good, confident first appearance from Benjamin. Shelton then picked up a big win over MVP later in the show in a short match in which Shelton put MVP down for the count with Pay Dirt. In the main event, Shelton was one of the lumberjacks for Triple H Vs. The Great Khali, after repeated interference, Shelton, along with most of the other lumberjacks were taken out by Jeff Hardy. Benjamin continues his momentum from last week's Smackdown, he picked up a good win and represented himself very well in the opening promo. His profile has been raised since being drafted from ECW and he's appearing to be a strong U.S. Champion. I had a really hard time deciding where to place Shelton and C.M. Punk in the rankings this week but I think Shelton just stole 2nd position from Punk due to the win.
Challengers:
As Shelton is involved in the WWE Championship picture at the moment with the main challengers for his title, MVP and Jeff Hardy, please see the WWE Championship section for their respective weeks.
World Tag Team Champions - Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase
Backstage, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase confronted Randy Orton over his comments about them earlier in the night, including his calling them "worthless". Randy slapped Cody in the face, who reacted in anger and had to be held back. Randy told the Tag Team Champions that they are the two most talented wrestlers on Raw but they need to act like it. This was a great segment and it served to set up Rhodes and DiBiase's attack on Cryme Tyme later in the night to take back their Championship belts. They were then shown backstage where Randy Orton gave them a look of approval. Really good stuff from Rhodes and DiBiase, Orton mentioned their loss to John Cena a few weeks back and they put it behind them this week by becoming more vicious. They looked ruthless and strong this week and they got a good rub from being around Randy Orton so much and proving him wrong about his "worthless" comment. Very good for them. They would have moved up but other Champions had stronger weeks.
Challengers:
Cryme Tyme: JTG and Shad came out to the ring wearing Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase's World Tag Team Championship belts to take on ECW's John Morrison and The Miz. Before the match could begin, the two teams brawled and Rhodes and DiBiase ran out to assault Cryme Tyme, laying them both out with the title belts. Protected by the fact that they had to be blind-sided by Rhodes and DiBiase, Cryme Tyme have a chance at revenge this Sunday.
WWE Tag Team Champions – Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder
Hawkins and Ryder were nowhere to be seen this week. I would love to be able to move them off the bottom of the Depth Perception rankings but there's not much I can do when Michelle McCool at least dropped by for a quick stare down in the arena and these guys weren't even on the show at all!
Challengers:
Jesse and Festus: Jesse and Festus also did not appear on WWE television this week. After Big Show's destruction of the only two tag teams on Smackdown last week and then they're failure to appear this week, the tag division is in real bad shape.
Women's Champion - Beth Phoenix
The Glamazon responded to Randy Orton's comments about her earlier in the night before her match but was interrupted by the returning Candice Michelle. Beth teamed with Katie Lea Burchill and Jillian Hall in a losing effort against Candice Michelle, Mickie James and Kelly Kelly. Another loss for The Glamazon this week, who took the pinfall loss for her team after a small package from Candice. Not a great two weeks for Beth but it's part of the return storyline for Candice and this loss in necessary to build their feud.
Challengers:
Candice Michelle: Candice Michelle made her return to Raw from injury this week to tag with Mickie James and Kelly Kelly in a six-person tag match against Katie Lea Burchill, Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix. She got the victory for her team by gaining a three count over the Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix. Candice showed a lot of fire in wanting to get at Beth, a successful return and a good week for her.
Kelly Kelly: Was on the winning team in the six-person tag match but it seems like she's going to have to wait for a Championship opportunity now that Candice Michelle is back.
Mickie James: Mickie James was also on the winning team this week but she, along with Kelly Kelly appear to be taking a back seat to the returning Candice.
Diva's Champion – Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool came out after Maryse's match to have a stare down with her on the ramp. That was Michelle's only appearance on the show. Every week WWE give me so little to write about Michelle, if she's not losing a tag team match, she's making really minor appearances and I'd like to see more from the Diva's Champion, mainly so the title can at least start becoming somewhat prestigious. Not enough for Michelle to move up in the rankings for the fourth week.
Challengers:
Maryse: Maryse gets her chance to become Diva's Champion on Sunday when she takes on Michelle McCool. On Smackdown this week, Maryse made fun of Maria backstage before their match in which Maryse picked up a pinfall victory after a DDT. She then went face to face with Michelle McCool at the top of the entrance ramp. Maryse is a really good heel character and I've enjoyed her pursuit of the Diva's Champion the past few weeks. She looked strong again this week and has a lot of momentum heading into Unforgiven.
Natalya Neidhart: No sign of Natalya this week but that's fine as the focus was on Maryse and Michelle McCool's match at Sunday's Pay-Per-View.
Brie Bella: Brie Bella followed up her debut win last week with another win over Victoria on Smackdown. Brie could do with some mic time to establish her character, she's a beautiful woman, but we don't know anything about her. Still, two weeks and two wins is good for her.
Championship Rankings Week Four
Rank 1. WWE Champion Triple H (Up 1 position)
Rank 2. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin (Up 1 position)
Rank 3. World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk (Down 2 positions)
Rank 4. World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (No Change)
Rank 5. Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella (No Change)
Rank 6. ECW Champion Mark Henry (Up 1 position)
Rank 7. Women's Champion Beth Phoenix (Down 1 position)
Rank 8. Diva's Champion Michelle McCool (No Change)
Rank 9. WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder (No Change)
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