Some places do power rankings. Here at Cageside, we do a stock report.
In this weekly series, we identify three Superstars (or groups of Superstars) who are on their way up, and three that are moving in the opposite direction. After a busy week that included John Cena making a reference to Tony Khan, Drew McIntyre now wearing an eye patch, and CM Punk finally revealing the favor that Paul Heyman owes him, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Braun Strowman
The Monster lost a Last Man Standing match for the first time when he couldn’t answer the ten count against Jacob Fatu on SmackDown. This was a high stakes match where the winner gets a US title shot against LA Knight at WrestleMania 41. As a result of his loss, Braun is now on the outside looking in at the biggest wrestling show of the year, and there isn’t another obvious match for him to join.
Stock Down #2: Charlotte Flair
Flair and Stratton had a trainwreck promo segment on SmackDown where neither one looked good, but it was especially bad for The Queen. Charlotte had trouble finishing her lines when she was overwhelmed by the boos from the live audience in Chicago. Flair tried to handle it by repeatedly pausing and smiling, but she had no witty or sharp comeback after that.
Flair basically gave up on the promo and then threw in a strange remark about Tiffany’s boyfriend Ludwig Kaiser being in her DMs at the very end, in response to Stratton making fun of her divorces. It definitely seemed like some of this segment veered off script, and The Queen failed to make any helpful adjustments.
Stock Down #1: Kevin Owens
Owens revealed that he needs neck surgery and doesn’t know when he will return to WWE. The message was delivered in a way where his in-ring career could potentially be over as a result of this injury. This is devastating news for one of WWE’s very best performers over the last decade.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week:
Stock Up #3: GUNTHER
GUNTHER vowed to make Jey Uso’s life hell on the road to WrestleMania, and he finally came through on his word this week on Raw. The Ring General beat Jimmy Uso to a bloody pulp while forcing Jey to watch as he was zip tied to the ring rope. The visual of GUNTHER’s body covered in Jimmy’s blood and tasting it was disturbing. The program between GUNTHER and Uso needed a deeply personal angle like this to really heat things up, and now they have it.
Stock Up #2: Jade Cargill & Naomi
Last month, it wasn’t a lock that Cargill’s feud with Naomi would make it onto the card at WrestleMania 41, because WWE has a poor track record when it comes to booking women’s non-title singles matches on the grand stage. But Jade’s match with Naomi is now official in Las Vegas, and that’s a big deal for both wrestlers.
What’s more is that when you look at the messy trainwreck that is Charlotte Flair vs. WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, the convoluted nature of Rhea Ripley trying to join the women’s world title match between IYO SKY and Bianca Belair, or the filler quality of Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defending the women’s tag team titles against the winner of a gauntlet match, Cargill vs. Naomi really is the best women’s story that WWE will showcase at WrestleMania 41.
It’s very clear why Cargill wants to beat the shit out of this traitor. Their story hasn’t been mucked up with unnecessary shifts in direction, and their recent segments have been focused on physically tearing each other apart. Sometimes keeping things simple is for the best.
Stock Up #1: Rey Fenix
Fenix debuted on SmackDown with an impressive win over NXT Tag Team Champion Nathan Frazer. He was given a similar rollout to his brother Penta’s Raw debut, getting some time to cut a passionate promo after the match was over. For now there’s every reason to think Fenix will be steadily pushed and treated like a star, just as his brother has been on Monday nights.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
