WWE Hierarchy of Superstars [Archive]

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-14-2008, 01:45 PM

Haven't come across this yet, but as always, if the mods are aware of a pre-existing thread of similar nature, feel free to merge it.

We all know that there are "main event" guys, "midcard" guys, and "jobbers", but clearly there are different levels on the ladder that is the WWE within those 3 categories. What I'm proposing is that we figure out just where the overall standing is of every wrestler they currently have.

To start it off, I looked through the roster and wrote down how I think the WWE sees their talent and are willing to book them. Now, this is based off of just showings on how their matches go down on TV and ppvs, NOT based on favorites. If I had it my way, Kenny Dykstra would be a solid midcarder instead of borderline jobber, Morrison would be in the main event, and Khali would be fired, but that's not what we're going for here...we already have enough "who's your favorite" type of threads out there.

So, yadda yadda, blah blah blah, here is what I think the WWE pyramid looks like right now:

HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT
High-Tier: HHH, Undertaker, John Cena, HBK
[The guys that, at any given time, could be given a title and the WWE would trust them to run with it.]
Mid-Tier: Chris Jericho, Batista, Edge, Randy Orton, Big Show
[Guys that are given their titles and title shots, but aren't as trusted.]
Low-Tier: Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Kane, JBL, Umaga, Khali
[Guys that are mostly given title shots, but not many title wins.]

2. LIMBO: MVP, Mark Henry, Big Daddy V, CM Punk, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin
[Those that are constantly teetering on the edge of upper midcard and lower main event. Some may go down, some may go up.]

3. MIDCARD
High-Tier: Matt Hardy, Elijah Burke, Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Tommy Dreamer
Mid-Tier: Chuck Palumbo, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, The Miz, Festus, Edge-Heads, Jamie Noble
Low-Tier: Vladimir Kozlov, Boogeyman, Jesse, Kenny Dykstra, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Snitsky, Paul Burchill, Cade & Murdoch, London & Kendrick, Cryme Tyme

4. LIMBO: D.H. Smith, Deuce & Domino, Mike Knox, Santino Marella

5. JOBBER
High-Tier: Val Venis, Stevie Richards, Highlanders
Mid-Tier: Nunzio, Funaki, Super Crazy, Colin Delaney, Charlie Haas
Low-Tier: James Curtis, Hacksaw Jim Duggan

6. UNKNOWN: Chris Harris, Ron Killings, Kevin Thorn, Drew McIntyre

Your thoughts? Who should I have placed up or down? The hardest category for me to place guys, clearly, was the mid/low midcard regions, because so many of them are sort of in between. You have a guy like Kofi, all wins so far, so he should be in the middle, but he's only defeated jobbers, so he can't receive the same credit as Festus, who just stood toe-to-toe with the Undertaker. Remember...this isn't about favorites or trying to predict who will eventually go into what spot, its about who is currently where. I'd like to see (and think I will see) MVP move up to the main event by the end of 08, but currently he isn't, so I can't put him at the low end of that tier.

MrScott

04-14-2008, 02:18 PM

the edge heads have potential to be mid carders, but currently there pretty much Jobbers to who ever edge is feuding with. so id of moved them down. to high tier Jobber.

Also id move Edge to High Tier Main eventer, as they have shown alot of trust in him as well. Its pretty much title reign after Title reign for him.

Big Show could also be moved up, as they have alot of trust in him as well, and have given him pretty much every single title, and was in charge of pretty much bringing a new Brand to the front. as when he was ECW it meant something more then it does now.

Cody and Hardcore id move to Mid Tier, mid Card, there given titles, but the company just dosen't push the tag titles, if the titles were pushed id make them High Teir mid card.

JBL needs to be up atleast one level, to Mid Tier Main Eventer. also outside of his last push and screw up jeff hardy should be Mid Carder, High Tier with the fan support, tag titles and IC gold. I like the guy, hes intresting to watch at times, but has far from proved himself to be worthy or even capable of being trusted with the top Gold

One last thing, i don't really quite agree with how you put it in terms of trusting a person. its more so a gauranteeded Draw i think as opposed to trust issues. look at Orton, a big time fuck up before. But keeps getting shots and gold. it seems to be more about potential and Draw then it is about Trust. Jeff hardy is another fine example. drug suspension after drug suspension and he was more then likely going to end up with top gold with in the year...

turbomonkey484

04-14-2008, 03:01 PM

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-14-2008, 04:30 PM

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-14-2008, 04:37 PM

Thats a pretty spot on list, and i agree that some people are difficult to place. but here are some of the changes i would make to that list.

First of all i would swap around Chris Jericho and JBL. it seems that the are pushing JBl as the second top heel of raw as he is being included in the backlash main event, whereas Chris Jericho just seems to be lost in the mix and a lot of people have forgotten about him and he is the intercontinental champion which is a mid-card title, i dont think this makes him a fully fledged mid-carder but at the moment i would say he is definitely at the lower end of the main event group.

The next change i would make would be to remove Mark Henry, Big Daddy V and Shelton Benjamin from the limbo group, not because im racist lol but because these guys all just seem like mid-carders to me. Big Daddy V and Mark Henry only seem to be used when they want to make the undertaker look good and also it doesnt look like the WWE will bring back Big Daddy V unless he loses a lot of weight. And although shelton should be in that spot, they never do anything with him and nobody seems to care about him. to make room for these on the mid-card i would move Elijah and Carlito down a level.

The person i had the most difficulty placing was Santino Marella. this is because although yer he loses all the time but he does get exposure and T.V. time, alot more than most of the lower tier mid-carders so i would be tempted to put him that that group.

So those are the changes i would make to your lists. But these are just my opinions from what i see on WWE programming.

Jericho and JBL...I can see that. They're two that are sort of "let's see what's going on here". JBL being in the main event for Backlash came out of left field. I don't think anybody was expecting that. And Jericho's IC title hasn't been defended yet, so we don't know what type of a program he'll receive. If he has one with Kennedy, I'd keep him at the mid-ME, but if he goes down to Carlito, I'd have to demote him to low-ME. Same goes for JBL. If he stays in a title feud, I'd put him up to mid-ME and if he fades away after Backlash, he'll stay in low-ME.

Henry/BDV...I only put them in Limbo because they seem to challenge main event guys a lot (Taker, Batista, Kane, etc) but we all know that they'll never be in the running for the top belt. Limbo is a very generic category, but I didn't feel like breaking it up into tiers. If I did, I'd put Henry/BDV/Shelton in the low tier, Morrison/Kennedy/Finlay in the mid-tier, and MVP/Punk in the high-tier, just as Punk has the Money in the Bank and MVP is guaranteed to be in the main event scene soon. I suppose I'll just add those tiers in later to help differentiate.

Santino was really hard, too. As far as exposure goes, the guy's a top midcard guy, but he's won like 3 matches and they were fluke pins, so I wouldn't be able to picture him being a midcard title holder like US/IC champion.

I'll try to make some adjustments later on after Raw, cause that will give us an even fresher viewpoint of the hierarchy.

FTS

04-14-2008, 09:42 PM

First, HBK is a Jobber to the Stars now. It's his choice. From everything I've read, he wants to put people over. That's why Flair chose him to be the man. To be the man, you've got to beat the man, and he did. HBK gets his wins, but in feuds, i.e. Kennedy, he loses to elevate others. The reduced travel schedule means that he exists solely to help elevate. He lost clean to Hardy, Batista will beat him, and so will Y2J after that. I personally think that's awesome of him. Kane has been doing it for years. To make someone look good have them beat the legend, HBK, or the monster, Kane.

The top guys right now are Cena, Orton, HHH, Taker, Edge
The next tier of guys are Batista, Y2J, Kane, Rey, JBL, HBK (I know I called him JTTS, but his matches are high-profile, so the role he serves doesn't influence his place in the company.)
Then there are the up and comers to the Main Event. Jeff Hardy, Kennedy, and MVP

The midcard guys are your Matt Hardy, Morrison, Miz, Punk, Finlay
These guys can get promoted or demoted as seen fit and fit well into matches where needed.
The next group of midcarders are your monsters and athletes. Henry, Big Show, Khali, Shelton, Burke, Palumbo, Bob Holly, Carlito, Big Daddy V
Finally the rest of the midcard is filled out by guys getting a chance, but that mostly do the job, i.e. Burchill, DH Smith, Rhodes, Santino, Cade, Murdoch

At the bottom you have Super Crazy, Duggan, and most of ECW.

turbomonkey484

04-15-2008, 03:12 PM

Hey NoFate007, i liked your idea of organizing the current WWE superstars into a hierarchy but i think it would be better if each wrestler had an individual ranking. so heres my take on the Hierarchy in the WWE.

1. Triple H
He pretty much controls the landscape in the WWE, and he is a proven draw that can bring credibility to any match.

2. The Undertaker
The same case as HHH but Taker is on the B show so he only gets the number 2 spot.

3. Shawn Michaels
Another veteran and a huge star but hasn't been in the title picture for a while and he has jobbed to a few people so he gets no.3

4. John Cena
Before triple H returned he was the top guy on raw, and he is always in the title picture.

5. Randy Orton
the top heel on raw and he got the win at mania which pushes him up the hierarchy.

6. Edge
The best heel in the WWE, but again he is on Smackdown so is below orton.

7. Batista
a big star with multiple title reigns

8. JBL
getting a big push on raw at the moment

9. Chris Jericho
an established star but a bit of a lame return means he gets 9

10. Big Show
always seem to stick around the main event.

So thats just the first ten ill do the rest later, but what do people think? do ya like the idea of the rankings and do you think iv got the order right? any opinions would be appreciated.

MrScott

04-15-2008, 03:29 PM

Edge is alot more valuable then Orton, and i don't really think what show there on should matter all that much. this A and B show stuff i never really understood. They may do more from time to time on Raw cause it was the first show and it is live, but each show brings a different quality to it. and alot of the time Smackdown can put on alot better show then Raw.

the stigmatisim that one show is better then the other is what makes one look better then the other. treat them equally and maybe smackdown would pull down the same ratings as raw

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-15-2008, 03:54 PM

Actually, turbo, I was hoping that we could solidify the groupings and then do exactly what you just were talking about, so good idea. Its a little too early to assign everyone a number, as this is just the premature hierarchy and nothing's been decided on as a whole yet, but that'll be the eventual end-goal - that even the categories of the pyramid will have designations in ranks within them.

As far as the choices you pointed out, I have to agree on all of them except one. I would probably put Edge above Orton at the moment, as he's consistently been given more opportunities than Orton. But yeah, we'll see how the hierarchy ends up being agreed upon and then we can break it down even further.

turbomonkey484

04-15-2008, 04:07 PM

Basically i put Orton above Edge because first of all raw gets higher ratings therefore Orton gets more more exposure than edge. And because the WWE championship is supposedly the most prestigious title in the WWE so in theory Orton should be number 1. however he obviously isn't the the top guy in the WWE but i still think he deserves to be high up on the list just because hes carrying the belt.

the stigmatisim that one show is better then the other is what makes one look better then the other. treat them equally and maybe smackdown would pull down the same ratings as raw

Yer this is probably true but the WWE would need to do more things to make smackdown and equal brand such as move some top stars to smackdown and put smackdown main events at the end of more pay per views like they did with edge/taker at WM

FTS

04-16-2008, 12:10 AM

I don't know what's going to happen when he returns, but if we based the rankings on the day after No Way Out, as the entire WM aftermath is still sorting, wouldn't Jeff Hardy be on that list? Just an opinion, of course, and his spot is to be determined following suspension, but Jeff was Ultimate Warrior pre WM 6 over with the crowd, and in some huge main event matches on Raw.

turbomonkey484

04-16-2008, 06:29 AM

Actually, turbo, I was hoping that we could solidify the groupings and then do exactly what you just were talking about, so good idea. Its a little too early to assign everyone a number, as this is just the premature hierarchy and nothing's been decided on as a whole yet, but that'll be the eventual end-goal - that even the categories of the pyramid will have designations in ranks within them.

Ok ill save the rest of the rankings until each catergory is sorted out. And then we can discuss the final Hierarchy.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-16-2008, 01:22 PM

So it seems like some of the shifts that may be taking place, depending on what happens after Backlash, are:

1. JBL moving up to mid-tier Main Event
2. Main Event/Midcard Limbo being given tiers
3. Santino moving up to low-tier midcard
4. Kofi Kingston moving up to mid-tier midcard if he starts a feud with someone noteworthy
5. Whoever wins the King of the Ring moving up a notch, if possible.

FTS

04-16-2008, 03:23 PM

Kofi Kingston still looks sloppy to me too. A little experience would do him good. A feud with Mike Knox followed by Morrison would do him wonders. After Morrison, I would love to see Kofi and MVP feud over the US Title.

Getting the US belt off of MVP would elevate Kofi to the top of the midcard, and get MVP in line to feud with Taker. MVP deserves a shot at the top, even if he doesn't win. A cheat to win heel moving up is never a bad thing. Gauging reactions to MVP would set up his destiny for the next good while.

IC25

04-16-2008, 07:58 PM

HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: HHH, Undertaker, John Cena, HBK
[The guys that, at any given time, could be given a title and the WWE would trust them to run with it.]
Mid-Tier: Chris Jericho, Batista, Edge, Randy Orton, Big Show
[Guys that are given their titles and title shots, but aren't as trusted.]
Low-Tier: Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Kane, JBL, Umaga, Khali
[Guys that are mostly given title shots, but not many title wins.]

2. LIMBO: MVP, Mark Henry, Big Daddy V, CM Punk, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin
[Those that are constantly teetering on the edge of upper midcard and lower main event. Some may go down, some may go up.]

3. MIDCARD
High-Tier: Matt Hardy, Elijah Burke, Carlito, Chavo Guerrero, Tommy Dreamer
Mid-Tier: Chuck Palumbo, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, The Miz, Festus, Edge-Heads, Jamie Noble
Low-Tier: Vladimir Kozlov, Boogeyman, Jesse, Kenny Dykstra, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes, Hardcore Holly, Snitsky, Paul Burchill, Cade & Murdoch, London & Kendrick, Cryme Tyme

4. LIMBO: D.H. Smith, Deuce & Domino, Mike Knox, Santino Marella

5. JOBBER
High-Tier: Val Venis, Stevie Richards, Highlanders
Mid-Tier: Nunzio, Funaki, Super Crazy, Colin Delaney, Charlie Haas
Low-Tier: James Curtis, Hacksaw Jim Duggan

6. UNKNOWN: Chris Harris, Ron Killings, Kevin Thorn, Drew McIntyre

1. Edge is a high-tier main eventer. Make no mistake about that. He doesn't have the history that HBK and HHH do, or Taker for that matter, but neither does Cena - and Edge is a VERY valuable heel.

2. Kennedy isn't so much "limbo" as he is a mid-carder, and he brought it on himself. I have never seen someone with so much heat close off so quickly...wait, yes I have...Jeff Hardy!

3. Chuck Palumbo and Jimy Wang Yang as mid-tier mid-card? No chance. You cannot relegate guys like Santino Marella to low-level mid card and have guys like Palumbo and Yang a step above. At least Marella is relevant.

4. You need a category for guys like Yang, Duggan, Dykstra, Knox, and Snitsky called "totally irrelevant." Val Venis goes in this catergory as well.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-16-2008, 10:32 PM

Jimmy Wang Yang has been receiving a bit of a push lately with Shannon Moore as a legitimate tag team, and Palumbo's consistently shown (despite how I don't think he's anything to write home about). Palumbo's gotten his own feuds with real wrestlers, normally coming out looking dominant (especially with Dykstra and Noble), and Jimmy Wang Yang came an eyelash away from being a tag team champion several different times. Marella, even though he's involved in much more, is consistently getting his ass kicked by Jerry Lawler and people that aren't even normal wrestlers (Snoop Dogg included), so you can't put him as someone who has a solid shot at being a reigning IC/US champion when he can't win a single match on skill level alone. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Marella's character and he's one of the best things to watch on Raw, but he wouldn't be a legit champion, and the hierarchy has always been based on belts (otherwise, why have a champion?). Edge has one foot on both sides of the spectrum, but I still don't think that management considers him equal to those on the top bracket, that's why I didn't put him in there. Same goes for Orton.

JPK

04-17-2008, 07:57 AM

I believe right know that the top 5 are -

Edge, HHH, Cena, Orton and The Undertaker.

I really wouldn't put HBK in that bracket. He hasn't held the belt for years now. As for your mid-tier of the main eventers. Probably about right. Drop HBK into that lot with Batista , Jericho and I'd also add JBL to that list. I guess time will tell with Big Show , but I wouldn't have him at that level yet. I think Jeff Hardy would also be around about there if he hadn't have gotten suspended.

As for my 10 in order:

1) Triple H - The big Player right now.

2) The Undertaker - He gets bums on seats , and the storylines they work with him can really be top quality , given the right opponent.

3) John Cena - Big with the kids , and I think they know that. I guess the problem with him was that they based their 2008 storyline plans on him being absent for the first 4 months and then he came back.

4) Edge - This guy is a great heel , and I'd move him back to Raw ASAP , let him fued with Triple H , I'd watch that , the promos would be pretty good aswell. I can't see him being drafted as they've tied him down with too much on Smackdown atm.

5) Orton - Another big heel , I'm not totally convinced by his in ring ability.

6) HBK - Hasn't held a belt in ages , but can still push anyone in the business , and puts on some top matches.

7) Batista - Ropey in the ring , but like it or not this guy is here to stay , but things have gotten stale on Smackdown. Recent fueds with the likes of HBK and Umaga don't do well to push him up the ladder.

8) Jeff Hardy - Will be interesting to see what they do with him once he comes back from suspension. But the crowd are behind him like no other , and he's a mentalist when it comes to being in the ring.

9) Rey Mysterio - This guys massive with the kids, and thats where the WWE want to be right now. If he could have had the last 18 months injury free , he be right up near the top.

10) CM Punk - The next 12 months are massive for this guy. But his MITB shows that they've got faith in the guy. Excellant in ring worker , and a model pro for kids to look up to. I just pray he doesn't waste his title shot on the ECW title.

Honrable mentions -

Jericho - Came back about 6 months too late , got lost in the reshuffle. If he'd have been back after WM , he'd have had his title by know.

Big Show - Time will tell I guess, I've never really been a fan (not that it makes any difference to making this list) , but I don't see him as bigger than any of the top 10.

WCW Champion

04-28-2008, 12:46 AM

The point people are making about Santino is people actually like watching him and he is very entertaining so he is a mid-carder for me, Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore I skipped through their match last week I don't care whether they won or not as they are not entertaining and have no personality so they will always be upper tier jobbers in my book. In fact half the smackdown roster are upper tier jobbers imo. They just feed them to that Vladimir Russian dude with no music. As for the top tier I think most of you have it about right tho HBK is super over and he gets a lot of wins for someone who "Jobs to the stars".

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

04-28-2008, 09:51 AM

Now that Backlash has done a few things (albeit only a few, lol) and the King of the Ring tournament buried some people and such, depending on what happens on Raw tonight (particularly with Kennedy, Punk, and the direction they want to take with Regal...which I can only assume is a short feud with Triple H) then the hierarchy is going to be altered.

therocksaysyo

04-29-2008, 02:37 PM

To me, the biggest WWE stars are: HHH, JERICHO, CENA, UNDERTAKER, EDGE, ORTON, JBL, UMAGA, BIG SHOW, HBK, BATISTA, KANE, & REY MYSTERIO.

Upper: HHH, Orton, Edge, Undertaker, Cena, & HBK

Middle: Jericho, Big Show, Batista, JBL

Lower: Umaga, Rey Mysterio, KANE

It's time for WWE to push the Middle and Lower categories to the Upper level. Umaga and Jericho need to be on Smackdown. Although, Umaga would do great in ECW. How about restarting the feud with KANE for the ECW title? Jericho will be a world champ if he goes to Smackdown. PERIOD!!! HHH and CENA DO NOT need the belt right now, but of course one of the two must be champ apparantly. I am ready for the DRAFT!!!

Remember people, Jericho's only WWE title reign came when HHH was hurt!!!!!
Although, he's won the WCW World title twice (I believe). Umaga (in my opinion) should have took the belt off of Cena last year!!! Batista can come back to Raw now.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

07-06-2008, 10:19 PM

With new superstars, some releases, new pushes, etc, I figured I'd redo the hierarchy as I see it right now. Still, though, some people are VERY tricky to put in a category, such as Santino Marella, Tommy Dreamer...basically the mid-tier midcarders down to the jobber section.

HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: HHH, Edge, John Cena, Undertaker
Mid-Tier: HBK, Batista, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Big Show
Low-Tier: JBL, Umaga, Kane, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy

2. LIMBO: Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, Mark Henry, Big Daddy V, Khali

3. MIDCARD
High-Tier: Matt Hardy, Finlay, Chavo Guerrero, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Carlito, Lance Cade, Shelton Benjamin
Mid-Tier: Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Festus, Paul Burchill, Mike Knox, Chuck Palumbo, Tommy Dreamer
Low-Tier: Evan Bourne, Elijah Burke, Ryder/Hawkins, Bam Neely, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, Cryme Tyme, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Snitsky, Vladimir Kozlov

4. LIMBO: Jamie Noble, Hardcore Holly, Santino Marella, Jesse, D.H. Smith, Atlas Ortiz

5. JOBBER
High-Tier: Stevie Richards
Mid-Tier: Colin Delaney, Armando Estrada, Val Venis, Charlie Haas, Matt Striker
Low-Tier: Nunzio, Funaki, Super Crazy, Highlanders

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: William Regal, Chris Harris, Ron Killings, Boogeyman, Kenny Dykstra, Deuce, Domino

Your thoughts on any moves?

I know some people are going to say a few things, so I'll clear them up ahead of time:

1) Randy Orton being on the top of the list. I just don't see it yet. He's very, very firm in the mid-tier of the main event (in comparison to how I placed others), but he isn't on par with how the WWE treats Cena/Taker/HHH/Edge

2) Cryme Tyme might seem like they're on par with Rhodes and DiBiase, but can you really picture them going for a midcard belt? I can't. But I can picture DiBiase or Rhodes going for it (though they're still too green to win it).

3) I didn't put MVP in the main event because he's never had a solo world title match at a ppv, so since he's never had a main event match, I can't see putting him in there.

4) I put Mysterio in Limbo as opposed to the main event because he fluctuates WAY too often. I mean, one week he'll challenge for a world title, then he'll be in a feud for the midcard title, and now he might be feuding with Santino, who hasn't won any match without making it look like a fluke.

5) You could make the case that Morrison, Kennedy, and MVP aren't on par with one another, because Kennedy's only had one US title reign, MVP's only had a US title reign and a tag title reign, and Morrison has had midcard and tag title reigns on top of being ECW champion, so technically speaking, Morrison is above Kennedy and MVP, but all three of them aren't being pushed to the main event yet, so that's why I put them in limbo. At the drop of the hat, any of these 3 could be in the main event, but they aren't yet..unfortunately.

DerringerEagle

07-06-2008, 10:44 PM

What's keeping Orton out of the high tier main event slots is his mic skills still are a bit rusty. He has a tendancy to come off as boring when he speaks. I'd switch JBL and Jericho around as well. I also agree that Mr.Kennedy isn't a main eventer. He has good mic presence but his in ring skill has never impressed me.

On another note, I am furious at what has happened to Val Venis. The WWE has never treated him well or given him a proper chance.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

08-09-2008, 07:28 PM

UPDATED HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HBK, HHH, Edge,
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Batista, Big Show
Low-Tier: Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Kane, JBL, Mark Henry, CM Punk, Khali

2. LIMBO: John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Rey Mysterio, William Regal

3. MIDCARD
High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Finlay
Mid-Tier: Carlito, Paul Burchill, Evan Bourne, D-Lo Brown, Vladimir Kozlov, Festus, Lance Cade, Mike Knox, Shad Gaspard, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Brian Kendrick
Low-Tier: Ricky Ortiz, Jimmy Wang Yang, Paul London, Tommy Dreamer, Jesse, JTG, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Jamie Noble

4. LIMBO: Santino Marella, Snitsky, Stevie Richards, Armando Estrada, Bam Neely

5. JOBBER: Super Crazy, Colin Delaney, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Charlie Haas, Val Venis, Funaki, Highlanders

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Gregory Helms, Ron Killings, Boogeyman, Matt Striker, DH Smith, Kenny Dykstra, Elijah Burke, Deuce, Hardcore Holly, Ezekiel, Chuck Palumbo

EXPLANATIONS FOR SOME:

1) Some people are going to say that Matt Hardy should be in the lower midcard level or the limbo, but I don't think so. He's challenging for the main event of ECW, but ECW has been established as nothing more than a tiny fragment above the US/IC titles. And since he hasn't won it yet, then I can't put him up higher. If he was to have had a long US title reign, or SEVERAL US title reigns, I'd put him on limbo, but his reign was rather short, uneventful, and so forth. When he wins the ECW title, I'd put him in limbo.

2) Chavo, Mysterio, and Finlay fluctuate so much that they were hard to place. All three of them go from facing mid-tier midcarders to facing world champions, so its odd.

(EDIT: I decided that Finlay didn't deserve to be in the Limbo stage, so I demoted him to the higher midcard tier)

3) The only reason that The Brian Kendrick isn't in the middle is because they haven't allowed him to score a win over anybody but jobbers yet.

(EDIT: I was convinced to move him up, so this no longer applies).

4) The only reason Shad is in the middle of the midcard is because he's usually not the one to take the fall in his team. He and Festus are similar, while JTG and Jesse are similar. One is clearly more legitimate of a challenger than the other.

Danmen001

08-09-2008, 07:58 PM

Brilliantly done work, as usual NoFate. Although there are some things I am going to change to what I think is more accurate.

MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HHH, Edge, Batista
Mid-Tier: Chris Jericho, Big Show, HBK, CM Punk
Low-Tier: Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Kane, JBL, Mark Henry, Khali, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio

MIDCARD
High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, John Morrison, Finlay,
Mid-Tier: Paul Burchill, Evan Bourne, D-Lo Brown, Vladimir Kozlov, Festus, Lance Cade, Mike Knox, Shad Gaspard, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Willian Regal, The Brian Kendrick
Low-Tier: Ricky Ortiz, Jimmy Wang Yang, Paul London, Tommy Dreamer, JTG, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Jamie Noble, Santino Marella, Bam Neely, Ezekiel, Carlito, Jesse

JOBBER: Super Crazy, Colin Delaney, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Charlie Haas, Val Venis, Funaki, Highlanders, Stevie Richards, Snitsky, Armando Estrada, Matt Striker,

STATUS UNKNOWN: Gregory Helms, Ron Killings, Boogeyman, DH Smith, Kenny Dykstra, Elijah Burke, Deuce, Hardcore Holly, Chuck Palumbo

I just cahnged some that I thought you put in the wrong spot. I also removed limbo and tried to put them all in a fitting spot.

EXPLANATIONS FOR SOME:

1) Some people are going to say that Matt Hardy should be in the lower midcard level or the limbo, but I don't think so. He's challenging for the main event of ECW, but ECW has been established as nothing more than a tiny fragment above the US/IC titles. And since he hasn't won it yet, then I can't put him up higher. If he was to have had a long US title reign, or SEVERAL US title reigns, I'd put him on limbo, but his reign was rather short, uneventful, and so forth. When he wins the ECW title, I'd put him in limbo.

That does make sense. Hardy isn't Main Event yet, but when he wins the title, I personally would put him up in the lower-tier Main event. Because I prefer not to put people in limbo and actually give them a steady spot.

2) Chavo, Mysterio, and Finlay fluctuate so much that they were hard to place. All three of them go from facing mid-tier midcarders to facing world champions, so its odd.

Chavo isn't really high up at the moment, fueding with Bourne is midcard placement in my opinion. Mysterio hasn't done much lately, but I felt that he was up enough to be put in the lower Main event. Finlay isn't close to Heavyweight material, so upper mid was a good choice I though.

3) The only reason that The Brian Kendrick isn't in the middle is because they haven't allowed him to score a win over anybody but jobbers yet.

True but I moved him to mid tier because he isn't that low on the list compared to others in the same ranking.

4) The only reason Shad is in the middle of the midcard is because he's usually not the one to take the fall in his team. He and Festus are similar, while JTG and Jesse are similar. One is clearly more legitimate of a challenger than the other.

I agree, but I don't feel that Jesse is a jobber, so I moved him to lower mid.

Dead Kennedy

08-09-2008, 08:01 PM

This is a good thread guy. Nice to see Morrison and Regal in the upper midcard/main event "limbo". Also, funny to see Raw's world champion the Cookie Monster as the lowest available stage of main eventer. Gotta love Raw's booking man.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

08-09-2008, 09:35 PM

Danmen's convinced me to switch some of them up, so here are the new changes:

1) Jesse moved up to the lowest midcard range.

2) Finlay moved down to the higher midcard range.

3) The Kendrick moved up a tier.

I'm still hoping for the day that I can move Morrison, MVP, and Kennedy up to the main event, take Khali off the list, and demote JBL to jobber status. Lol.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

08-30-2008, 09:13 PM

UPDATED HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HBK, HHH, Edge
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Batista, Big Show
Low-Tier: Umaga, Jeff Hardy, Kane, JBL, Mark Henry, CM Punk, Khali, MVP

2. LIMBO: John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Finlay

3. MIDCARD
High-Tier: Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, William Regal
Mid-Tier: Paul Burchill, Evan Bourne, Vladimir Kozlov, Festus, Lance Cade, Mike Knox, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Brian Kendrick
Low-Tier: D-Lo Brown, Ricky Ortiz, Jimmy Wang Yang, Tommy Dreamer, Shad Gaspard, JTG, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Jamie Noble, Kenny Dykstra, Gavin Spears, Primo Colon, Scotty Goldman, Ryan Braddock, R-Truth

4. LIMBO: Santino Marella, Snitsky, Armando Estrada, Bam Neely, Paul London, Jesse

5. JOBBER: Super Crazy, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Charlie Haas, Val Venis, Funaki

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Gregory Helms, Boogeyman, DH Smith, Elijah Burke, Deuce, Hardcore Holly, Ezekiel, Chuck Palumbo, Carlito

NEW CHANGES

1. Added Spears, Braddock, Goldman, and Colon.

2. Moved Jesse and Paul London down to the bottom limbo, as these two just are just fallboys now.

3. Moved Kenny Dykstra up to the lowest midcard, as clearly they're doing SOMETHING with him, but we're not sure if they're aiming for making him a jobber or a legitimate midcarder.

4. Moved MVP up to the lowest main event.

5. Moved Shelton, Finlay, and Matt Hardy up to the limbo between main event and midcard, as they're being pushed as such lately. Finlay, though, I debated about, as I still think he might fit more as the upper midcard, but let's see what you guys think.

6. Moved Regal down to the midcard. It looks like they won't be using him as a possible main eventer in the near future as he doesn't even show up to some Raw shows lately.

7. Moved D-Lo to the lowest midcard. He had momentum at first with his return, but its shot now.

Any suggestions for anything I missed?

wrestlebomb89

08-31-2008, 10:14 AM

there should be a limbo status for injured wrestlers.id move rey mysterio to at least mid or high me because they look liekthere gonna do something big with him.move tommy dreamer down to jobber because i havent seen him beat anyone since that extreme rules match with colin delaney i dobut theyll do anything with him.carlito's status is unkown imo.gregory helms,boogeyman injured.mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr kennnnnnnedddddddddy is injured.paul london should be in status unkown.ditto for dh smith.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

08-31-2008, 01:07 PM

Crap, I forgot about moving Carlito down to "unknown". I'll go back and edit that.

I really want to move The Brian Kendrick up to the highest midcard, but I think we have to wait until the scramble. If he just gets jobbed out horribly, he won't deserve to be in that spot yet, but if they give him an interim title, then he's definitely up there. Typically, I wouldn't allow someone who hasn't held a midcard title to be in the high-tier midcard, but I'd have to make an exception for TBK if he was almost WWE champion, just like I've made the exception for The Miz due to how he's been beating ECW champions and such at times.

FTS

08-31-2008, 01:27 PM

I don't agree with HBK being in the top uppercard. Not because he doesn't belong there, but he doesn't want to be there. I would put Jeff Hardy in the middle of the uppercard as his push has been consistent straddling his suspension. I would also have Batista at the top as he is involved in every championship match, except for his super promoted match against John Cena, which he won. And finally, JBL should be in the middle of the uppercard.

Overall, I agree with your hierarchy. I guess in taxonomic terms, I agree with the order, but the species could be a bit different.

Overall, good job.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

10-22-2008, 02:11 AM

Adding these new guys and adjusting this was rather tough this time, so naturally, I'm open to some ideas. The easiest thing was clearly just removing Cade haha.

UPDATED HIERARCHY as of EDIT: 11/12/2008

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HBK, HHH
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge, Batista
Low-Tier: Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Umaga, Matt Hardy, Khali

2. LIMBO: Finlay, JBL, MVP, Rey Mysterio, Vladimir Kozlov, John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy

3. MIDCARD

High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, William Regal
Mid-Tier: Evan Bourne, Festus, Mike Knox, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Brian Kendrick, Carlito, R-Truth
Low-Tier: Charlie Haas, Paul Burchill, D-Lo Brown, Ricky Ortiz, Tommy Dreamer, Primo Colon, Ryan Braddock, Jamie Noble, Manu, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Jack Swagger, Shad Gaspard, JTG

4. LIMBO: Jimmy Wang Yang, Jesse, Santino Marella

5. JOBBER: Deuce, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Funaki, Snitsky, Bam Neely, Scotty Goldman

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Hurricane Helms, Boogeyman, Armando Estrada, Hardcore Holly, Ezekiel, Kizarny, Dolph Ziggler, Val Venis, Gavin Spears

NOTES:
1. I'm STILL not sure where to put Cryme Tyme.
2. I want to move Kendrick up to the highest tier of the midcard, but he hasn't won a midcard title or anything and he's only been in contention to win the WWE title once (scramble). He did get a pin then, but ever since, he hasn't been feuding in main event levels.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

12-30-2008, 08:21 PM

Well, I missed my monthly update, lol, so here we go.

This could change as quickly as Friday, depending on what happens, cause potentially we'll have Kizarny debut and such.

UPDATED HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HBK, HHH
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge, Batista
Low-Tier: Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Kane, CM Punk, JBL

2. LIMBO: Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, Khali

3. MIDCARD

High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, William Regal, Umaga, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay, The Miz, Chavo Guerrero, Vladimir Kozlov
Mid-Tier: R-Truth, Mike Knox, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Brian Kendrick, Gregory Helms, Festus, Carlito
Low-Tier: Jamie Noble, Ricky Ortiz, Dolph Ziggler, Sim Snuka, Manu, Ezekiel Jackson, Cryme Tyme, Jack Swagger, Primo Colon, Tommy Dreamer

4. LIMBO: Funaki, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jesse, Santino Marella, D-Lo Brown, Charlie Haas, DJ Gabriel, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Paul Burchill

5. JOBBER: Gavin Spears, Bam Neely, Scotty Goldman, Ryan Braddock

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Kizarny, Boogeyman, Hardcore Holly, Val Venis

NOTES

1. I demoted a few people and basically used the Limbo section between Main Event and Midcard as a shuffler for people that have obtained the ECW title, but nothing higher. The reason Mysterio and Khali are in there despite winning the WHC and not the ECW championship is because Khali has gone downhill since then and is no longer in main event feuds and Mysterio was a joke champion in the first place who is consistently booked as an upper midcarder.

2. Ryder and Hawkins should technically be in at least the low-tier of the midcard since they were tag team champions, but really, when you think about it, what have they done to deserve it? They got their asses whooped over and over again, won the belts on a cheat, defended it against nobody, lost them, and then they've been off TV since. They're not quite jobbers yet, but they're definitely heading there.

3. DJ Gabriel is in the limbo status because he's only gotten wins over no-names, so until he wins a match with someone who actually is on a roster, he doesn't deserve to be in the midcard. Ziggler's been in matches with Batista, R-Truth, Haas, etc. But what has Gabriel done?

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

01-28-2009, 08:46 PM

UPDATED HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HBK, HHH
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Edge, Batista
Low-Tier: Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Kane, CM Punk, JBL

2. LIMBO: Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, Khali

3. MIDCARD

High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Umaga, MVP, Mr. Kennedy, The Miz, Jack Swagger, Vladimir Kozlov

Mid-Tier: Finlay, R-Truth, Mike Knox, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Brian Kendrick, Gregory Helms, Festus, William Regal, Chavo Guerrero, Carlito

Low-Tier: Cryme Tyme, Primo Colon, Tommy Dreamer, Boogeyman, Paul Burchill

4. LIMBO: Kizarny, Jimmy Wang Yang, Dolph Ziggler, Jesse, Charlie Haas, DJ Gabriel, Jamie Noble, Ricky Ortiz, Sim Snuka, Manu, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder

5. JOBBER: Scotty Goldman, Funaki, Santino Marella, Ryan Braddock

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Ezekiel Jackson

NOTES

1. Finlay went down. He hasn't done anything to warrant him being in the top of the midcard anymore. He might be the top face on ECW right now with Matt gone, but he's going to be dominated by Swagger. He's there just to help put over people and he'll never win another title.

2. I moved Jackson down to unknown, as he doesn't do much.

3. Deleted the released people, obviously.

4. Funaki and Santino moved officially to the jobber status. I mean, despite all the screen time Santino gets, when you've got the record for shortest Royal Rumble time and you lose every single match, you need to be classified a jobber lol.

5. Chavo, Kendrick, and Regal moved down to mid-tier, as they've done nothing valuable for a while.

6. A good portion of the low-tier midcarders moved down into the limbo between that and jobber because they frequently go nowhere.

7. Jack Swagger moved up. ECW title does that for you. On top of that, he has an undefeated streak. I might not be his biggest fan, but this is an objective study, not who I'd rank where out of my favorites.

AnthonyMango/NoFate007

03-14-2009, 09:02 PM

With the leaked Raw script having the talent listed in order of importance by brand, I figured it would be a good time to update the hierarchy, as I now finally have some official standings to compare to what I was just guessing company viewpoints were before lol.

UPDATED HIERARCHY

1. MAIN EVENT

High-Tier: John Cena, Undertaker, HHH, Edge
Mid-Tier: Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Batista, HBK
Low-Tier: Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Kane

2. LIMBO: Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, JBL

3. MIDCARD

High-Tier: Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Umaga, MVP, The Miz, Jack Swagger, Vladimir Kozlov, Khali, John Morrison

Mid-Tier: Finlay, R-Truth, Mike Knox, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Gregory Helms, Festus, William Regal, Chavo Guerrero, Carlito, Tyson Kidd

Low-Tier: Cryme Tyme, Primo Colon, Tommy Dreamer, The Brian Kendrick, Paul Burchill

4. LIMBO: Dolph Ziggler, DJ Gabriel, Jamie Noble, Ricky Ortiz, Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder

5. JOBBER: Funaki, Santino Marella, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jesse, Charlie Haas, Sim Snuka

6. STATUS UNKNOWN: Ezekiel Jackson, Mr. Kennedy

NOTES

1. Deleted Goldman, Kizarny, Boogeyman, Manu, and Braddock.
2. Moved Yang, Haas, Jesse, and Snuka down to official "jobber" status.
3. Moved Edge up to the top of the WWE.
4. Added Tyson Kidd.
5. Moved Khali and John Morrison down from the limbo, seeing as how Morrison isn't a part of the Money in the Bank this year and everything.
6. Moved CM Punk down from low-tier main event. He's really pretty much on equal terms as Mysterio.
7. Moved JBL down from low-tier main event. Same reason.
8. Moved HBK down. He may be a guy that is constantly in the main event, but unlike Edge, Taker, HHH, and Cena, he doesn't actually win the titles anymore...sadly.
9. Moved Mr. Kennedy as we have no clue where he'll be positioned in the company when he returns from injury.

jrcongine

04-08-2009, 02:53 PM

The real WWE power rankings in my opinion. The hierarchy of WWE wrestlers and what you guys think and if they could ever see them changing.

1 Triple H. - Cena might be more important to company but as long as he has stephanie see him with most control

2. Cena - obviously going nowhere for years as a top guy. To marketable.

3. Undertaker - The legend, star power no matter what storyline he's in.

now this can get debateable from here.

4 HBK - Not many years left. i believe one, but has HHH on his side and can and will deliver high profile matches. And can do a lot after career is over.

5 Orton - youth, great heel, but doesn't seem to be a guy wwe could put complete faith in to carry company.

6 Batista - Fans still love character, even though getting up there in age as stands now always will be in title pic.

7 Edge - youth, can work with anyone.

8 Jericho - Best heel imo. but always seems to get lost in shuffle compared to top guys.

9 Rey - could easily be alot higher. kids and latinos love him. which makes up a lot but probably wont win big one again.

10 Really hard to pick between jeff hardy or cm punk. Hardy has better matches and more popular but always has that ability to fail test or lose focus. I think i'm going to go with punk here.

Sivsyboi

04-08-2009, 03:44 PM

Sorry, but I disagree with Mysterio. Sure Kids love him but the older crowd (20+) love guys like Duggan or Flair.

Speaking of Flair, where is he on this list (Unless I'm making a Jackass of myself and this is current wrestlers). He is still around in WWE, making the occasional appearence. Surely he'd have more power than Mysterio

Hillmania

04-08-2009, 04:07 PM

If you're going by a list of power that pretty much determines who will win all the time, then I'd have to largely agree with this list but move Batista up. He pinned Orton, HHH, Taker, Cena, and HBK and is probably the only person in history who can say that. HHH and Cena never beat Batista either. I don't consider him a huge asset, but he seems to win more than any of them.

And the company couldn't give two shits about Jeff or Punk, even with their World title wins last year. JBL was held in much higher regard by the company for some ungodly reason.

Kennedy'sMicDrop

04-08-2009, 09:02 PM

OK. This is my first post, but I thought I would give this ranking thing a try.

Tier 1- Guys that could hold one of the world titles for an extended amount of time. (I'm not counting the ECW'S title, because I don't think ECW should have a world title. I think Dreamer should win it, retire and take it with him. ECW wrestlers should not compete for titles, but for the opportunity to make it to one of the BIG shows.)

Tier 1
Cena
Batista
Randy Orton
HHH
Edge

Tier 2- Guys that have been or could be "Transitional Champions"

Tier 2
Big Show
The Great Khali
Umaga
Undertaker
Kozlov
Mark Henry
Jericho
HBK
Kane
CM Punk

Tier 3- Guys that should be involved in the US and Intercontinental Title Picture and occassionally chase after World Title opportunities.

Tier 3
Rey Mysterio
Ted DiBiase
Kofi Kingston
Jack Swagger
Christian
Evan Bourne
John Morrison
MVP
Jeff Hardy
Mr. Kennedy
Shelton Benjamin

Tier 4- Guys that shouldn't be in programs with Tier 1 and 2 Guys. These guys could go after Intercontinental and US Titles, and combine for tag team matches.

Tier 4
The Brian Kendrick
Zach Ryder
R Truth
Primo
Carlito
Matt Hardy
Hurricane Helms
Ezekiel Jackson
DH Smith
Curt Hawkins
Chavo
Finlay
Ricky Ortiz
The Miz
Tyson Kidd
Cody Rhodes
Mike Knox
William Regal

Tier 5- These guys should be used for their comedic relief or for Jobber Status. None of these people (at this time) should be considered contenders for titles of any kind.

Tier 5
Sim Snuka
Shad
Santino
JTG
Noble
Goldust
Dolph Ziggler
Charlie Haas
Festus
Jesse
Jimmy Wang Yang
Kung Fu Naki
DJ Gabriel
Paul Burchill
Tommy Dreamer (Should win ECW Title and Retire or move to Announce Table)

Thoughts?