WWE NXT power rankings: The prince is number one

A new NXT Cruiserweight champion was crowned, and we now have a number one contender for the NXT World title. Let’s see who’s making moves in this week’s rankings.

NXT Men’s division

10. Kushida

Kushida wasn’t in action this week but did make an appearance against his foe Cameron Grimes. Kushida served up a distraction to help Raul Mendoza pick up a victory over Grimes, avenging an attack at the performance center. Their feud continues.

9. Killian Dane

The Beast of Belfast did not appear this week after picking up a huge win over Pete Dunne. Dane will be looking to get his hands on Damien Priest once he returns from injury.

8. Matt Riddle

Riddle drops a bit this week and no fault of his own. Despite picking up a win over Kassius Ohno last week he’s in a bit of a holding pattern. Losing to Finn Balor at Takeover has Riddle in limbo.

7. Roderick Strong

Strong was last in tag-team action for an injured Bobby Fish. It seems that every title has been defended as of late except the North American title. Strong will certainly defend before 2019 ends and his reign may be done when the time comes.

6. Lio Rush

Lio Rush deserves a ton of credit. Defending the Cruiserweight title five times in such a short title reign. An argument can be made that each match was a match of the year candidate. Lio’s loss to Angel Garza was no different, an excellent contest with amazing storytelling.

5. Angel Garza

Angel Garza enters the top five this week as he made history. Becoming the first Mexican Cruiserweight champion. It was easy to see Garza’s star power in the breakout tournament and becoming a champion months later is confirmation.

4. Tommaso Ciampa

The quest to reclaim goldie is on hold for now. Ciampa was on the losing end in the triple threat and his next move remains to be seen.

3. Keith Lee

Keith Lee is still one of the hottest superstars in the company despite taking the pin in the triple threat. Unlike Ciampa, the loss doesn’t hurt Lee much as he could challenge for the North American title soon. Lee will taste his first NXT gold soon, it’s inevitable.

2. Finn Balor

His future is his past indeed. Finn Balor has been a mainstay at number two and could be number one soon. He’ll challenge Adam Cole for the NXT title next week and has defeated four top stars since returning to the brand.

1. Adam Cole

Cole still sits atop the throne but will have his work cut out for him next week. Defeating the longest-reigning NXT champion would be a major accolade for Cole’s title run. The Undisputed Era will undoubtedly be involved. Will Finn have backup?