WWE.com, in conjunction with The Academy of Wrestling Arts & Sciences (AWAS), ranks the Top 25 Superstars in wrestling each week with POWER 25. The rankings are based on victories, quality of opponents, momentum and overall in-ring dominance, as well as intangibles. Be sure to check back every Saturday for the latest POWER 25. Here are the rankings for January 3.
Also, find out what the number next to each Superstar's name means. Continue...
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| This Week | Movement | Superstar | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
JEFF HARDY (12) The WWE Champion teamed with his brother, ECW Champion Matt Hardy to take down Edge & Big Show, showing the WWE Universe that these two champions still know how to work as a team. |
1 | |
| 2 |
MATT HARDY (7) Not to be outdone by his brother, the ECW Champion won a match on every brand this week, defeating Mark Henry on ECW and Manu on Raw, earning himself more votes from The Academy in the process. |
2 | |
| 3 |
Cena continued to prove why he holds the World Heavyweight Title, leading his team to victory in a huge 10-Man Tag Match that he demanded take place. |
4 | |
| 4 |
Can anything stop the Moscow Mauler? On SmackDown he proved that not even a force of nature can stand in his way as he defeated Hurricane Helms. |
5 | |
| 5 |
Apparently, being "the best in the world today" wasn't quite good enough for Jericho to win Raw's Fatal Four Way Elimination Match for No. 1 contendership. |
3 | |
| 6 |
Even without a match, The Game had a big week: revealing the existence of nude Vickie pictures, demanding and receiving a spot in the Royal Rumble and being placed in three matches on the next SmackDown. |
6 | |
| 7 |
The Undertaker arrived in the nick of time on SmackDown, appearing in the ring with United States Champion Shelton Benjamin and mercifully putting a stop to the Gold Standard's jaw-flapping. |
9 | |
| 8 |
The Punjabi Playboy put his monstrous strength to good use on SmackDown, teaming with Finlay to defeat former WWE Tag Team Champions Hawkins & Ryder. |
10 | |
| 9 |
While the Master Manipulator did suffer a tag team defeat this week, he was also named WWE Champion Jeff Hardy's Royal Rumble opponent, more than making up for his loss. |
8 | |
| 10 |
Things on Raw started out bleak for the Ultimate Underdog, after he was once again ambushed by Mike Knox. But Mysterio rallied, scoring the winning pinfall for his team in the 10-Man Tag Match. |
12 | |
| 11 |
Finlay partnered with The Great Khali on SmackDown, defeating Hawkins & Ryder, allowing him to jump in the rankings despite the loss he & Boogeyman suffered to World Tag Team Champs Miz & Morrison on ECW. |
14 | |
| 12 |
The World's Strongest Man wanted to end the year strong with a non-title win over ECW Champion Matt Hardy, but his hopes were dashed when Jack Swagger interfered, resulting in a DQ win for Hardy. |
11 | |
| 13 |
The young Cody Rhodes was faced with a significant hurdle to joining Randy Orton's group: a match against CM Punk. But Rhodes prevailed, moving one step closer to joining the devious Orton. |
16 | |
| 14 |
How did JBL jump all the way up to No. 14 in one week? By winning a hard-fought Fatal Four Way Match to become the No. 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Title. Very impressive, sir. |
NR | |
| 15 |
Though the loss was by count-out and not entirely Punk's fault due to interference from Intercontinental Champion William Regal, the Straightedge Superstar dropped in the rankings. |
13 | |
| 16 |
Recent weeks have seen Randy Orton put Batista out of commission, but things just weren't working out for him this week as he missed out on a title opportunity by losing Raw's main event. |
15 | |
| 17 |
Though the Women's Champion didn't actually compete in a match this week, she still managed a strong showing by slapping Melina after the Diva won the opportunity to face The Glamazon at Royal Rumble.
|
18 | |
| 18 |
The Big Red Monster was one of 10 participants in Raw's massive "Out With a Bang" tag match, but found himself on the losing team when his partner, Mike Knox, was pinned by Rey Mysterio. |
17 | |
| 19 |
"The All-American American" made clear his intentions to move into the upper echelons of WWE by attacking ECW Champion Matt Hardy with a vicious gutwrench powerbomb. |
19 | |
| 20 | 20 | ||
| 21 |
The Jamaican Superstar was on the winning side of Raw's huge 10-Man Tag Match, and even executed his crowd-pleasing double leg drop alongside a Five Knuckle Shuffling John Cena. |
22 | |
| 22 |
World Tag Team Champions Miz & Morrison had a big night on ECW, hosting a special live edition of "The Dirt Sheet" and putting aside their revulsion to defeat Boogeyman & Finlay in a tag team match. |
23 | |
| 23 |
As reported on WWE.com, the Divas Champion dislocated her kneecap this past week. Since Maryse is currently unable to compete, she has started to slide down in the rankings. |
21 | |
| 24 |
Melina comes storming onto the Power 25 this week due to her impressive win in a Divas Battle Royal. She will go on to face Beth Phoenix at Royal Rumble for the Women's Title.
|
NR | |
| 25 |
It was a demoralizing week for Shawn Michaels. Not only did he lose the Fatal Four Way Elimination Match, but he was forced to take a Clothesline from Hell so that his employer, JBL, could pick up the win. |
24 |
The following Superstar(s) failed to maintain their position on the P25 this week:
Batista - A brutal punt from Randy Orton and a pre-existing hamstring tear were enough to put The Animal out of action indefinitely, and remove him from the rankings.
Hurricane Helms - His stay on the POWER 25 was a brief one as he was defeated by the Moscow Mauler, but it wouldn't take much to put Helms back in the running.
The following Superstar(s) also received votes from members of The Academy:
The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson - Kendrick and his bodyguard continued to prove their immense ability on SmackDown, taking out Jesse & Festus. It may not be long before they make an appearance on the POWER 25.
Sim Snuka - Things have really been picking up for Sim since he started embracing his lineage, and, with a win over Charlie Haas, he's one step closer to joining Randy Orton's new group.
