Hello there! Welcome to Cultured Vultures’ lovely new column where we’ll be ranking the ten best superstars in WWE each week. There’s only one requirement to get on the list; look strong. If you lose your match, it’s no bueno. If your promo gets cut off and you can’t bounce back, you ain’t gonna make it. Without further ado, let’s see which superstars made it onto our inaugural Wrestlers of the Week.
10. Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler met with Kairi Sane on NXT this week to sign the contract for their match at Takeover: Brooklyn for the Women’s Championship. Once again, the former MMA star was cocky and confident about her impending victory.
Sane said she and Baszler know that the Japanese superstar can beat her, but the champ did an excellent job brushing those comments off while running down the other women on NXT too.
Shayna might be arrogant, but she can back her claims up. There aren’t many women on the roster that can get the better of her.
9. Randy Orton
Whether he wants to admit it or not, Orton has to be over the moon about appearing on this top ten list.
Without even getting in the ring for a match or causing wanton destruction like he did last week, the Legend Killer managed to secure his place on Wrestlers of the Week because of the sheer intensity of the heel promo he cut on SmackDown. Apparently, we’re to blame for the attack on Jeff Hardy; it’s always the person you least suspect.
This is the Orton we want and this is the Orton we need. Please, WWE, give us more of this.
8. Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas
Hot damn, Almas is on fire. The former NXT Champion continues to impress officials in WWE, and the story was no different on SmackDown this week as El Idolo toppled Rusev.
The match was good with both men getting in great offence. The ending was a little screwy, but the cat-fight between Vega and Lana on the outside was in line with their characters. Andrade won the match by hitting a hammerlock DDT on a distracted Rusev.
The future is looking bright for Almas. Let’s hope the trend continues.
7. Finn Bálor
Bálor put on two great matches this week on Raw; the first being a singles bout against Drew McIntyre and the second one being a tag match with Seth Rollins against Drew and his partner, the IC Champion Dolph Ziggler.
Whilst Bálor’s role wasn’t as big as Seth’s in the tag match, the result speaks for itself as he and the Architect picked up the victory to go along with Bálor’s DQ win earlier in the night.
What’s more, Constable Baron Corbin continued to get under the Irish superstar’s skin, but Bálor refused to take the bait. The first ever Universal Champion might be stuck in a dumb-as-hell feud, but at least he’s coming out on top and having top tier matches with other wrestlers.
6. Becky Lynch
To date, Becky Lynch has been the only woman to get a good match out of Carmella, and it surprised the hell out of me. The Lasskicker got the big W over the SmackDown Women’s Champion by locking in the Dis-Arm-Her, and with ‘Mella tapping out, Becky Lynch has secured her championship match against the Princess of Staten Island at SummerSlam.
Lynch showed WWE why they were wrong for keeping her out of the title picture for so long. She’s absolute dynamite in the ring, and it’s good to see her finally have something to do on SmackDown other than fight former Absolution members.
5. Seth Rollins
Rollins continued his excellent work this week, teaming up with Finn Bálor to face the likes of Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler.
As per usual, the Kingslayer stole the show — and the victory — hitting a huge Stomp on the IC Champion. As a result of his win, Rollins is now set to challenge Dolph Ziggler one more time at SummerSlam for the belt.
Given how disrespectful the Extreme Rules crowd was during their Iron Man match, I’m not surprised WWE want to give the Show-off and the Architect another chance to light up the live audience. Seth is one of the company’s best performers, and it’s great to see his standing acknowledged.
4. Drew Gulak
It’s ironic to see a man who hates high-flying action soar to new heights, but Gulak is definitely flying high in the cruiserweight division.
The technical master faced Mustafa Ali, Hideo Itami, and TJP in a No.1 contender match for the Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak took advantage of a brutalised Ali, locking in the Dragon Sleeper for the win.
In my eyes, this fatal four way bout was one of the best WWE matches this week, and it’s great that Gulak is finally getting the shot he deserves for Cedric Alexander’s title. On any other week, Gulak would’ve taken the top spot, but he wasn’t the only man this time around that put himself in title contention.
3. Samoa Joe
Joe made one hell of an impact on SmackDown, earning him a spot on this list.
The Samoan Submission Machine made quick work of R-Truth in a match that really showed off his power and dominance, and later in the night, he choked out AJ Styles, punching his ticket to SummerSlam to challenge for the WWE Championship. It’s amazing how simply saying “tick-tock, champ” can be so menacing. AJ had better watch his back.
Excellent work from Samoa Joe this week as his intensity really shone through. And thanks for ending that cringey segment between AJ, Paige, and James Ellsworth. You’re a real diamond, Joe.
2. Roman Reigns
Would you look at that; the other Samoan Joseph is on this list too. Whether you agree with the booking decision or not, Roman Reigns is going to SummerSlam with his eyes set on Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship.
The main event of Raw this week saw the Big Dog face Bobby Lashley in what was actually a very good match; the two men definitely have great chemistry in the ring. His win over Lashley negated the very purpose of their Extreme Rules match though, which I think is a very questionable decision on WWE’s part, but I guess Vince McMahon couldn’t bear to let his large canine look weak any longer.
Ultimately, I think McMahon is going to regret this decision and put Lashley in the mix, but for now, Reigns is definitely on top of the world in his hunt for the company’s biggest title (well, the biggest in Vince’s eyes).
1. Tommaso Ciampa
Ladies and gentlemen, your new NXT Champion: Tommaso Ciampa. The Blackheart and Aleister Black put on the best match of the week. Ciampa was the perfect heel from start to finish, getting in Black’s face during his entrance, making a cameraman cower in the corner, and attacking Black with the crutch.
In the end, it was interference by Johnny Gargano that proved to be Ciampa’s saving grace. Johnny Wrestling accidentally hit the Dutch Destroyer with the title belt, giving the Sicilian Psychopath the one moment he needed. Three seconds later, Ciampa became champion.
Exciting times are ahead for all three men involved, but as of now, the age of Ciampa is upon us.
And so wraps up the very first Cultured Vultures WWE Wrestlers of the Week. A lot of stars managed to shine, but none shone brighter than our new NXT Champ. Will anyone be able to knock him off the top spot? Come back next week to find out.
MORE WRESTLING:
– The Story of Wrestling – Alexa Bliss
– WWE 2K19 Wooooo! Edition Revealed
– Predicting The WWE Evolution 2018 Card
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