What do you think of this week's POWER 25 rankings?
Send your comments to The Academy now.
WWE.com, in conjunction with The Academy of Wrestling Arts & Sciences, 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 September 23:
Note: Each week, Mobile Alert subscribers get the Top 5 on Friday (one day before the rest of the world).
| This Week | Movement | Superstar | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Champ is back in more ways than one, as besting Edge in his specialty TLC Match at Unforgiven shoots Cena back into the No. 1 spot. |
2 | |
| 2 |
The World Heavyweight Champion picked up a win in the kingdom of extreme this week, but Undertaker proved that his empire hasn't yet conquered the Dark Side. |
3 | |
| 3 |
Edge was sent crashing through two tables at Unforgiven, and the Rated-R Superstar gets sent crashing down two spots in the P25 as a result. |
1 | |
| 4 |
No one would have ever guessed that Big Show would start his own Kiss My Ass Club, but at least the ECW World Champion held up his end of the bargain at Unforgiven. |
4 | |
| 5 |
The hard-hitting Lashley certainly seems to be well past the Finlay speed bump...can he climb the royal mountain and topple King Booker from his throne at No Mercy? |
7 | |
| 6 |
For two straight nights, Kane gave the Samoan Bulldozer all he could handle...but he couldn't give the still-undefeated Umaga his first WWE loss. |
6 | |
| 7 |
The Animal and Lashley made quick work of the Royal Court on SmackDown, but the ever-dangerous Finlay might have more tricks up his Irish sleeve at No Mercy. |
8 | |
| 8 |
It seems as if DX has finally conquered authority once and for all, but they will be forever Unforgiven by Mr. McMahon after they gave him an extreme facial. |
10 | |
| 9 |
Sabu and his fellow ECW Originals showed the new kids on the block a thing or two about being extreme. Is the ECW World Title back within his sights? |
9 | |
| 10 |
Congratulations Mr. Kennedy, you are the United States Champion, but the Academy declares that you need to keep winning to stay in the Top 10..........10. |
5 | |
| 11 |
You can call him conniving, lucky or opportunistic, but you still have to call Johnny Nitro champion. After back-to-back big wins, he's about as hot right now as...well, Melina. |
20 | |
| 12 |
Mysterio has been stuck at No. 12 for a few weeks now, but at least he knows he'll get one more chance at Chavo on Oct. 8. |
12 | |
| 13 |
Orton solved the Carlito problem at Unforgiven with three simple letters: RKO. Is the Legend Killer finally back on the winning track for good? |
17 | |
| 14 |
The luck of the Irish seems to have abandoned Finlay, and even being lucky No. 13 last week didn't help. It's been so long since he's been victorious, maybe he's lucky he's still so high on the P25? |
13 | |
| 15 |
It was nice of him to step aside for the Undertaker on SmackDown...but doing so allowed four other Superstars to pass him by on the P25. |
11 | |
| 16 |
Unforgiven was a bad night for Carlito...first he lost his girl to retirement, then he lost his match to Orton. That certainly isn't cool. |
14 | |
| 17 |
The wily veteran took Johnny of the Spirit Squad to school on RAW, proving that there's still a little bit of gas left in Space Mountain's tank. WHOO! |
18 | |
| 18 |
Hardy got screwed two nights in a row by Johnny Nitro & Melina, but the Academy has no doubt that Intercontinental gold is still well within his reach. |
15 | |
| 19 |
ECW's straight-edge Extremists finally makes his way into the Top 20 after an extreme rejection of Shannon Moore. I'm sure he'll agree that this beats moving up one spot at a time. |
22 | |
| 20 |
Kane couldn't beat Umaga at Unforgiven or on RAW, but the Samoan Bulldozer didn't actually beat him either. The war between Umaga and the Big Red Monster is clearly far from over. |
21 | |
| 21 | 23 | ||
| 22 |
We're off to see the Mizard, the wonderful Mizard of Oz! It's 4-0 for Mr. Mizanin after Funaki's proverbial yellow-brick road led to a reality check. HOO-RAH! |
25 | |
| 23 |
Unforgiven saw an impromptu Team Extreme reunion, and after toppling fellow Tar Heel Gregory Helms, Matt makes it a Hardy Boyz reunion on the P25 as well. |
NR | |
| 24 |
SPIRIT SQUAD The World Tag Team Champions finally make it back to the P25 after defeating No. 1 Contenders The Highlanders. |
NR | |
| 25 |
Thorn makes his P25 debut after another victory over Balls Mahoney. He's red-hot right now, and having the equally hot Ariel at his side certainly doesn't hurt. |
NR |
What do you think of this week's POWER 25 rankings?
Send your comments to The Academy now.
"Last week you said you were soft for Trish, now she's completely off the P25? What gives?" - Ethan
The Academy replies: We still love Trish, but with Unforgiven being her final match, her P25 spot was better served for someone who will be around this week.
"The Champ is back baby! He should've been No. 1 long ago." - Martina
The Academy replies: He who has the gold has the power, sayeth the Academy.
"How does Jeff Hardy drop three spots for getting screwed twice?" - Aaron
The Academy replies: While we agree that there were questionable circumstances, the record book only shows two losses in Jeff's column.
The following Superstar(s) failed to maintain their spot on the POWER 25 this week:
Trish Stratus – Trish went out the way every Superstar or Diva would want to. The WWE fans (and the Academy) will miss you, Trish.
The Highlanders – A tough loss to the Spirit Squad drops them right back out of the P25.
Test - Test got the Singapore cane treatment on ECW on Sci Fi from a trio of Originals, and it's been way too long since he picked up a W.
Keep an eye on the following Superstars during the upcoming week:
Sylvan – The Ambassador-at-Large looked good in his home province of Quebec; a few more wins and he'll look good on the P25.
Cade & Murdoch – The former World Tag Team Champions proved they belong in the main event on RAW; can they prove they deserve to be on the P25 as well?