DEPTH CHART | MY WWE LIST IN 2026
A push is the term used when a wrestler is given every opportunity to succeed and establish himself in the business. In wrestling, it's usually reserved for the most "over" performers on the roster.
Until he lost his Intercontinental Championship to Ethan Page, Chad Gable was practically strapped to a rocket following his outstanding performance against El Grande Americano. Right now, PENTA is enjoying a similar push after his impressive showing against Roman Reigns. He even won the Money in the Bank briefcase, which is essentially a ticket to a guaranteed world championship opportunity.
The only reason to hate the briefcase is when a wrestler fails to capitalize on his opportunity to win the main title, as happened with previous holders like Mr. Kennedy, Damien Sandow, and Baron Corbin. The only thing worse than bombing as a world champion is winning the briefcase without ever becoming one.
But then, there's the issue of having too many wrestlers and too few opportunities. Fans hate seeing their favorites fall from grace, especially when those wrestlers no longer receive the opportunities they once enjoyed.
Gable and PENTA are products of WWE's efforts to expand its audience into Latin American markets. Once, The Great Khali and Jinder Mahal received top championship runs because the company wanted to grow its Indian audience. There was also a time when Shinsuke Nakamura, Asuka, several Bullet Club members in WWE, and a host of Japanese acquisitions received valuable exposure on Raw and SmackDown.
When WWE partnered with TNA, it opened the door for the likes of Joe Hendry, Jordynne Grace, and, most recently, current star Cruz Montana. While WWE has featured Montana heavily, the other two have seemingly grown stale.
But here's the thing about pushes: If you want a wrestler to climb the ranks, someone else has to fall.
This is where I turn my attention to the fans. For every person demanding more televised appearances for Roman Reigns and CM Punk, where does that leave everyone else on the roster? More screen time for established stars inevitably means fewer opportunities for others.
I've put together a chart featuring who I believe are the main eventers, upper-midcarders, and lower-midcarders on both Raw and SmackDown. The names are based on the WWE website's roster listings.
I'll be separating the men from the women. For the men's division, I'll have four main eventers and eight wrestlers in each of the first two midcard tiers. For the women's division, I'll have four main eventers and four wrestlers in each of the first two midcard tiers on Raw. I will raise the number to six wrestlers in each of the first two midcard tiers on SmackDown, since they have more women.
Tier 3, meanwhile, will have an unlimited number of wrestlers.
Let's get into it.
RAW
MEN'S DIVISION
GM | ADAM PIERCE
TOP NON-WRESTLER | PAUL HEYMAN
MAIN GUYS (4) | TIER 1 (8) | TIER 2 (8) |
ROMAN REIGNS LA KNIGHT OBA FEMI SETH ROLLINS | BRON BREAKKER DOMINIK MYSTERIO JACOB FATU JE'VON EVANS JEY USO JIMMY USO PENTA ROYCE KEYS | AUSTIN THEORY BRONSON REED CHAD GABLE DRAGON LEE ETHAN PAGE JOE HENDRY LOGAN PAUL REY MYSTERIO |
TIER 3 | AKIRA TOZAWA, ANGELO DAWKINS, BIG CASS, BRAVO AMERICANO, BRONCO NIMA, CRUZ DEL TORO, CRUZ MONTANA, EL GRANDE AMERICANO, JD MCDONAGH, JOAQUIN WILDE, LUCIEN PRICE, MONTEZ FORD, OTIS, RAYO AMERICANO, RUSEV
WOMEN'S DIVISION
MAIN GUYS (4) | TIER 1 (4) | TIER 2 (4) |
LIV MORGAN BECKY LYNCH IYO SKY STEPHANIE VAQUER | RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ BAYLEY LOLA VICE ROXANNE PEREZ | JAIDA PARKER LYRA VALKYRIA SOL RUCA MAXXINE DUPRI |
TIER 3 | ASUKA, IVY NILE, NATTIE
SMACKDOWN
MEN'S DIVISION
GM | NICK ALDIS
TOP NON-WRESTLER | HAKU
MAIN GUYS (4) | TIER 1 (8) | TIER 2 (8) |
SAMI ZAYN CM PUNK CODY RHODES RANDY ORTON | TRICK WILLIAMS DAMIAN PRIEST DANHAUSEN DREW MCINTYRE FINN BALOR GUNTHER KEVIN OWENS SOLO SIKOA | TAMA TONGA TALLA TONGA BARON CORBIN CARMELO HAYES JOHNNY GARGANO REY FENIX RICKY SAINTS THE MIZ |
TIER 3 | ANGEL, AXIOM, BERTO, ELTON PRINCE, ERIK, IVAR, KIT WILSON, KYOKI, MATT CARDONA, NATHAN FRASER, R-TRUTH, SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
WOMEN'S DIVISION
MAIN GUYS (4) | TIER 1 (6) | TIER 2 (6) |
CHELSEA GREEN JADE CARGILL RHEA RIPLEY TIFFANY STRATTON | JACY JAYNE ALEXA BLISS BIANCA BELAIR BLAKE MONROE CHARLOTTE FLAIR NAOMI | GIULIA LASH LEGEND NIA JAX NIKKI BELLA PAIGE TATUM PAXLEY |
TIER 3 | MICHIN, B-FAB, CANDICE LERAE, FALLON HENLEY, JORDYNNE GRACE, KIANA JAMES, LANEY REID, PIPER NIVEN
The biggest problem with Raw is that it has plenty of up-and-coming wrestlers, but its main event scene is incredibly shallow. In fact, the pool is so thin that even Solo Sikoa and Carmelo Hayes are currently part of Raw's roster.
SmackDown, on the other hand, has the opposite problem. It boasts several big names in its main event scene, but its midcard division is considerably thinner. In some ways, this could be attributed to its stronger women's division.
And if you look at my SmackDown women's list, I ranked Michin and B-Fab relatively low because their tag team championships are, if you think about it, WWE's way of giving Jade Cargill some extra bling.
I mean, she's the leader of her stable and the one who makes the other two relevant. In some ways, it would have been better if Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga had a similar figure in their group. That might explain why they haven't been featured as prominently as they would have liked.
I also didn't account for injured superstars when putting this list together.
Furthermore, you can't discount the fact that Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis, along with Paul Heyman and Danhausen, have been getting more significant screen time than some of the other names on this list.
Yes, Seth Rollins might be spending some time on the sidelines while Drew McIntyre finishes whatever Hollywood endeavor he's involved in at the moment. And well, I guess SmackDown's women's division is going to get a serious boost once Bianca Belair and Naomi return to the fold. This is precisely why I still included them on the depth chart.
If this were basketball, the Tier 2 midcarders would be what we call the 10th-to-12th players on the bench, while the Tier 3 wrestlers beneath them would be equivalent to two-way players or those on 10-day contracts.
Yes, Jamison Battle may have been putting up decent numbers for the Toronto Raptors this season, but what happens when Kawhi Leonard returns to the lineup?
And we're not even talking about the rostered wrestlers here.
We saw how heavily John Cena was promoted when he hosted the John Cena Classic tournament. What happens when he, The Rock, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and a bunch of celebrity guests suddenly show up on a random episode of Raw or SmackDown? Are we okay with them getting nothing more than one-minute appearances? Maybe a backstage segment during a Netflix ad break?
I understand the rationale behind giving wrestlers pushes, but we simply can't give everyone the same opportunity. Maybe one of them is a big fish in an even bigger pond. Or perhaps he's someone who commands attention simply because of the hefty price tag attached to his appearance.
One of the more interesting solutions I've heard to address this problem is to introduce off-seasons for wrestlers. Roman Reigns could take three months off, and when he returns, someone like Cody Rhodes could take a break to keep himself fresh in the eyes of the audience.
However, the problem with this approach is WWE's premium live event schedule. WrestleMania is too close to SummerSlam, and it's not as if the Big Four events are necessarily the four biggest attractions on the company's calendar anymore.
Yes, the Royal Rumble is a great launching pad for WrestleMania, but it also complicates the question of what to do with SummerSlam. Survivor Series is in an even worse position, if I'm being honest, because it's incredibly difficult to build a compelling card for the event beyond brand warfare, a concept that has been almost nonexistent for more than a decade.
I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say is that for one wrestler to get pushed, someone else has to be sacrificed. That's just how the business works when you have too many talents competing for limited opportunities.
Maybe my perspective will change by the time WrestleMania season rolls around, but as things stand, I think the right people are at the top of the card right now.
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