It's time, once again, to rank the WWF superstars. For the uninitiated, this is where your's truly decides who is tops in the WWF according to the criteria of ring ability, mic ability, pop, current storyline, and title situation. Feel free to respond, even to challenge my rulings. The previous ranking for each superstar is shown in parenthesis.

Random WWF thoughts: Here are thoughts that don't fit into the rankings format but I feel I must share anyway:

• I caught Backlash on Sunday, which can basically be summed up as a disappointment. I heeded J.R.'s warning about let-down after Wrestlemania, but even with lowered expectations, I have to say that the pay-per-view was not very good. The WWF needs a top face now, the Undertaker and Kane can't do it. A PPV is judged by its main event, and this one sucked. Not to worry, the WWF will have it fixed by Judgment Day.
• On the WCW front, the WWF has retained some of WCW performers, but none of the top stars- yet. This means guys like Lance Storm (from Calgary... Alberta, Canada) and Mike Awesome will finally get a chance to show what they can do for a legitimate promotion. Also, it looks like WCW might be the haven for former ECW stars. Jim Ross has been having serious discussions with the whole f'in show, Rob Van Dam (it looks as though I may actually have to watch WCW).

1. (1) Stone Cold Steve Austin- There's no real reason to rank Stone Cold Steve Austin as number one other than the titles he holds. Other than that, the Bionic Redneck has done very little to merit the top spot, however, no one has done anything to merit the top spot. The main event at Backlash was a tag match, and it sucked. The main event at Insurextion was a handicap match. Since winning the title, the only thing Austin has done on his own is intimidate his wife, impressive.

2. (2) Triple H- So if Austin has been relying too much on his partners, than Triple H should be number one, right? Nope. Triple H has gone from being the most intimidating heel in the WWF, to a snivelling, run-from-any-challenger heel since teaming with Austin. Part of the problem is that Undertaker and Kane are his foils. Throughout each brother's career, they've been portrayed as fearsome, so their opponents have to fear them. Triple H does not do fear very well (so the answer should be for him to fear no one). If you want to see where Triple H stands right now in the WWF, I present to you exhibit A: during his big rematch with Jeff Hardy to reclaim the IC strap, the cameras focused on Austin stalking Lita on the ramp, rather than Triple H's victorious pinfall. Exhibit B: during his match with Jeff Hardy on Smackdown! last Thursday, the cameras and announcers put more focus on Austin providing commentary than the Game's matchup, even after Austin was taken out by the Undertaker.

3. (3) The Undertaker- Since Triple H and Austin are subjugating themselves in favour of the Dead Man, he deserves to be number one, right? After all, he is the number one Face in the Federation right now. Hardly. The biggest reason Backlash sucked was because of the absence of a top Face. Simply put, the Undertaker and Kane could not cut it. Actually, I had the Undertaker ranked lower than third until Smackdown!, which was basically his show. After dominating Smackdown!, squaring off against everybody from Austin, to Vince and Stephanie, to Debra, to Triple H, to Rikishi, Taker holds on to number three. However, unless he and Austin generate some serious heat between now and the 20th, look for Judgment Day's main event to change, or a serious undercard to emerge to overshadow the main event.

4. (-) Shane McMahon- Mr. Pay-Per-View!!! After the stunt he pulled at Backlash, Shane-O-Mac could have claimed the top spot. However, you do not become number one simply by executing one stunt, no matter how breathtaking (believe me, anyone who saw Backlash knows what I'm talking about). In fact, you don't claim number four simply by executing one stunt. Shane-O gets it by dominating early in his match against the Big Slow, and his hilarious "Shane and the Beanstalk" promo. After his 40 foot elbow drop and the drop-kick at Wrestlemania (not to mention his drop against Blackman and the elbow drop against Test through the announcer's table) maybe we should be calling Shane the whole f'in show.

5. (5) Chris Benoit- The rankings, much like the WWF, have become pretty stagnant over the past month. Benoit just can't rise above the five spot. Maybe fighting the same guy, no matter how evenly matched they are, isn't that good a game plan. The Ultimate Submission Match was pretty good, but predictable. Actually, the same could be said of all of Backlash. Since it was mostly return bouts, I could pretty much predict the outcome of every match- except of course, Shane vs the Big Show. Now seriously Benoit, about the purple tights...

6. (4) Kane- You could argue that some interesting things have been done with Kane of late, what with his valiant struggles despite injury and all. The problem is, most of that work has been done by others. Whether it be Austin and Helmsley working his arm over, or Taker defending his brother, it has, once again, been up to others to put Kane over. All Kane has done differently in the past couple of weeks is hold his arm in pain.

7. (7) Kurt Angle- Heel vs heel battles usually suck, and it would be a big mistake to turn Kurt Angle into a Face, but I think they should abandon this whole "give me back my medals" thing Angle has going with Benoit (which isn't bad) and get Kurt involved with Triple H or Austin. He is talented enough to make it interesting, because right now none of the major titles are.

8. (6) Chris Jericho- The whole Duchess of Queensbury Match was a farce, literally. I understand the need for humour-bouts, there is usually one per PPV, but I don't think Chris Jericho should be a part of them. It doesn't suit him at all. He should challenge Triple H for the IC strap, soon. Those two have done some good work of late, whereas Regal vs Jericho has been flat- for two months! This is the type of feud the old Y2J would have interrupted in his previous attempts to "save" the WWF.

9. (10) William Regal- On the other hand, humour-bouts are right up William Regal's alley. He looks funny, he sounds funny, his entrance is funny (the song, the wave, the wiping of his boots- all of it), his facial expressions are funny (when he feel into the Duchess' lap? Priceless!). So they ought to pair the Commissioner up with someone who can do the comic bit (in-ring, Jericho can be very funny on the mic) like Raven or Rikishi.

11. (9) Vince McMahon- Vince's best work of late was on Smackdown! when he called out the Undertaker. When he kept challenging Taker it had the feel of a guy constantly poking a sleeping grizzly bear, just waiting for it to wake up and swipe his head off, which the Undertaker did, metaphorically speaking of course. The whole bit was rather amusing actually. Everytime Vince said the word cheer (as in: "Kane kicks my daughter Stephanie, and you cheer?"), the crowd cheered. Every time he said boo, the crowd booed. It was pretty interesting watching the master at work.

12. (12) Raven- The Hardcore Match at Backlash was actually pretty good. However, Raven got ripped off by not facing Eddie Guerrero for the European Title. It was his job to put Rhyno over, which he did, but other people should be putting Raven over. I particularly liked when Raven attacked the Radicalz for their choice of name, because they aren't particularly radical at all.

13. (13) Test- Test doesn't move up, he doesn't move down. He's been a bit of a whipping boy of late, but a whipping boy to some good talents. The Big Show isn't actually a good talent, but he is a big man (I got that from my book: "stating the obvious"), so they don't usually have the Show feud with lesser guys. Triple H is as major a talent as they come, so jobbing to him was a good step for Test.

14. (14) The Big Show- Congratulations Show, you were part of the most memorable match at a PPV! The bad news is that the only thing you'll be remembered for is laying there while Shane dropped 40 feet. Also, when's the last time this guy won a match? I hear he even lost to Bradshaw at Insurextion. (What's the deal with Insurextion anyway? Is the WWF going out of their way to spell things wrong or what?)

15. (18) Rhyno- Yeah, I know. The guy has one move. I'm not saying that I'm big Rhyno fan or anything, but he has been getting good air-time of late, his Hardcore Title defence against Raven was pretty good, so he earns a three-spot jump. Plus, he does that one move really well, in a variety of places.

16. (17) Eddie Guerrero- I thought Guerrero was going to win at Backlash, but I guess they have other plans for Latino Heat (or maybe they have no plans for Guerrero but have other plans for the European Title). I'm not exactly sure how Guerrero lost two title fights (without any other real action to speak of) and still managed to jump up one spot, though. It must have more to do with those previously ahead of him dropping than Guerrero himself actually rising.

17. (11) Lita- Oh yeah, this is why- Lita dropped. Sorry to say it, but I could not rank my one, true love any higher. Actually I'm glad this match with Chyna developed or I wouldn't have much reason to rank her at all (except her Sunday Night Heat match with Molly Holly that preceded Backlash, which probably would have been enough to sway my bias). Now, however, it looks as though we will finally get the women's match many have anticipated for a long time- Chyna's power vs Lita's finesse. The problem (other than the fact that I'm sure Lita will lose)? When Lita called Chyna out on Raw, both ladies screwed up. I don't know if it was because the two are good friends (a lame excuse, they're professionals and should perform like it), if it was the set up (they were supposed to be in cheerful, playful spirits) or the technical difficulties (Lita's music came in early) but they both laughed their way through Lita's challenge. They both better do some good work between now and Judgment Day, especially during the match itself, because the fate of the Women's Division may depend on it.

18. (16) Chyna- Chyna is obviously turning heel, of this there can be no question. I figured it out back when she faced Molly Holly one-on-one and strutted around the ring, but since this is my first posting since then, the prediction is not all that impressive now. The question now is does Chyna turn in the next 13 days, or do they wait till Judgment Day, when she cheats to beat the most popular woman in WWF history (and will probably continue to beat/spank Lita after she wins, just to ensure people hate her)?

19. (-) Rikishi- Nice guest appearance by Rikishi, I guess his eardrum is all healed up. I figured out that Rikishi would be Undertaker's opponent (yeah, me!), but, as I expected, he was not allowed to do much, just stall until Austin did a run-in. The WWF could do something interesting by having Rikishi involved with McMahon and co., he could do the dirty work HHH and Austin seem unwilling to do, but I doubt it. He'll probably fade into obscurity after this for a bit (there is simply too many heels at the top right now).

20. (-) The Duchess of Queensbury- Ah, the Duchess of Queensbury: shrouded in mystery, surrounded in mystique. I knew that the match would entail Regal continually changing the rules until he won, what I did not know is that he would drag some hermaphrodite out to play the role of Duchess. However, I think we were cheated! The "Duchess" should have been revealed (I think it should have been Harvey Whippleman, that bit never gets old).

1. (3) Kane and The Undertaker- They're not the tag team Champions, and will probably not be a tag team for the next while since Kane is injured. So why are they number one? Well, they were the tag team Champions since the last rankings (and therefore, should get some credit). More than that, they've been the team all the other top teams have had to deal with: obviously Triple H and Austin had to deal with them, but so too did Edge and Christian. Hell, even the Hardy Boyz teamed up with the Brothers of Destruction. Since they were at the centre of the tag team world, they get number one.

2. (-) Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H- The power trip duo are champions. The power trip duo are "the two most dominate men in the World Wrestling Federation today". The power trip duo are ranked second. While the "all titles on the line" shtick was fairly original (although it did happen once before, with Shawn Michaels and Diesel winning), the tag titles have become little more than decorative, since each man has a more important title to worry about.

3. (1) The Hardy Boyz- It is hard to judge the Hardys collectevely of late, since each has been busy in singles competition. However, they still get their pop (as evidenced when they fought with Taker and Kane) and are still the most popular tag team in the WWF. Good enough for number three, I guess (there isn't that many good tag team competitors at the moment to tell you the truth). P.S. the team also gets points for Lita's "HB" top she brought out (see picture).

4. (2) Edge and Christian- With heels atop the tag team division, the Edgster and Christian won't be getting their chance at their eighth tag team titles for awhile (although I don't think anyone will be getting a shot at the tag team titles for awhile). Sure, both E and C have gotten their shots at the European Titles (their grandmother is Luxemburgian after all), but personally, I think they're in cahoots with Benoit, you know, it must be a Canadian thing.

5. (5) X-Factor- You know there's a problem when X-Factor is the first team on the rankings that have been functioning as a true team. The other four above them are much better, but haven't really been involved in traditional tag team action. X-Factor, on the other hand, have had their feud with the Dudley Boyz. This has got to stop because I'm running out of ways to insult the guys. Except for this: ever since Justin Credible entered the WWF, J.R. has been talikng about changing his name in the Ross Report. Here's a suggestion: change his first name to "Barely".

6. (4) The Dudley Boyz- The Dudleyz suffer the ultimate indignation: being behind X-Factor in the rankings. (Actually, the ultimate indignation is being referred to as X-Pac's sidekicks, but this is pretty bad too). It's not just because they lost to X-Factor at Backlash (they did get to put X-Pac through a table, much to the delight of ... well, everyone, I suppose). The Dudleyz drop simply because they are feuding with X-Factor. Win or lose, putting those guys over drops you in the rankings.

7. (7) Right To Censor- The RTC, now on the endangered wrestling crew species list, soon to join the likes of the Nation of Domination, the Ministry and ugh... the oddities on the extinction list. Besides Val Venis, which of these guys do you think will survive the breakup? Do you remember Mideon? Viscera? D-Lo Brown? Kurgan? If you do you'll understand what will probably happen to the likes of Steven Richards and Bull Buchanen. If you don't, you illustrate what will happen to the likes of Steven Richards and Bull Buchanen.

8. (9) Kai en tai- As I get lower down this list, I realize I really have no reason to rank one team over another. Therefore, I will make up reasons. Kai en tai get number eight for being Austin and Triple H's "surprise" warm-up bout prior to Backlash (even though they never actually fought the duo).

9. (6) APA- Next is Bradshaw and Farooq for doing their usual beer-swilling, card-playing thing. They beat the Hollys (impressive), backed up Kai en tai for yen, and Bradshaw beat the Big Show in the UK.

10. (-) Steve Blackman and Grandmaster Sexay- Blackman and the Grandmaster get the nod over the Hollys because Blackman doesn't like fatties, gotta respect that.

For more WWF content on this site, click on any of the following:

THE YEAR 2000- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year 2000. Who was number 1, The Rock or Triple H? Who were the top tag teams? Also, the title pictures for each belt from the WWF Championship all the way down to the Light Heavyweight Title, with my own commentary on each reign.

LITA- ONE MAN'S OBSESSION- I admit, I am in love with Lita. I also admit that this behaviour has become a bit of an obsession. See pictures of the Team Extreme Diva, biographical info and random career facts, while I attempt to come to terms with the fact that I am in love with someone I see on TV.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS- Ranking archives dating back to November 1999. Missed a posting? Want to track my biases? Find all past information here.

SITE AWARDS- Here I list the multitude of awards (who knows? Maybe one day there will be a multitude of awards) that WWF Rankings has received.