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 Bray Wyatt mocking Hulk Hogan, MVP getting Claymore kicked over a couch, and Otis having his heart broken on Valentine’s Day, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock has increased the most this week:
Stock Up #3: Bayley
Bayley has largely dominated the SmackDown women’s championship scene ever since she won Money in the Bank last year. This week (Feb. 14) she cheated her way to victory over Carmella in a championship match, and will probably have to go through Naomi next in Saudi Arabia at Super ShowDown. There’s a scenario where Bayley has pretty much conquered everyone on the roster not named Sasha Banks by the time WrestleMania 36 gets here.
Stock Up #2: Randy Orton & Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy delivered a hell of a promo on Raw this week (Feb. 10) and reminded the world that he has been criminally under-utilized by WWE. He also got himself booked into an important match on next week’s Raw as a result. Meanwhile Randy Orton’s story with Edge is truly compelling, and could lead to even more gripping segments if WWE decides to involve other people close to Edge, such as Christian or Beth Phoenix.
Stock Up #1: Becky Lynch & Shayna Baszler
Becky Lynch ended her feud with Asuka on Raw with a decisive victory in a great match, only to be attacked and bitten by Shayna Baszler afterwards, drawing a ridiculous amount of blood.
The reactions to this angle run the gamut, with some thinking it was a cartoonish way for Shayna to debut, with others thinking Becky’s decision to attack innocent people and steal an ambulance to drive herself to get medical treatment made no sense, while others thought it was a cool moment for her that was reminiscent of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The bottom line is that this was a very memorable way for Baszler to debut, and it made more of an impression than if it was just a regular attack without the bite and the blood. Now, if she actually does go forward with a vampire or cannibal gimmick, then of course it will be a complete disaster. But I’m thinking that they just wanted to make a big impression for her debut segment, and it worked.
Now Becky and Shayna have a hot start to what appears to be a WrestleMania feud. This was the big angle on Raw this week, and it suggests that Lynch and Baszler will be a focal point of the show for the next two months.
Now let’s see whose stock has decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Kevin Owens, Viking Raiders, Samoa Joe
Every week is turning into the same thing with these guys. There’s usually some kind of interesting brawl or mic work to set up a team match against Seth Rollins’ and his disciples, and then the babyfaces always lose that match. Owens has now been on the losing end of four consecutive matches on Raw against those heels going back to Jan. 13, so it’s been a full month of failure. There was also the Royal Rumble match, where Owens and Joe were both eliminated thanks to these heels.
The results needs to change in the very near future, or the babyfaces will just come off as total losers. Beating babyfaces into the ground doesn’t get them over.
This period has been great in establishing Rollins, Murphy, and AOP as a formidable heel stable at the top of the card, so if that’s the whole point of the booking here, then it has served its purpose. But it’s also telling the audience over and over again that Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and the Viking Raiders just aren’t good enough, and other babyfaces will be needed to get the job done. Considering that Owens was the hot babyface who finally rid us of Shane McMahon back in October, it’s a strange way to book him right now.
Stock Down #2: Mojo Rawley & Riddick Moss
Riddick Moss debuted very recently but was already squashed in a tag team match against the Street Profits. Mojo then looked like a moron afterwards when he was rolled up by Moss and lost the 24/7 title.
WWE teases a push for Rawley once in a blue moon, but it never lasts even a month. The introduction of Moss as his offensive lineman was the latest example of a potential push coming his way, only for it to crumble within a few weeks.
Stock Down #1: Apollo Crews & Shorty G
WWE booked these two babyfaces to be on the losing end of a handicap match against one heel. That’s a clear-cut burial. These two guys need to get the hell out of WWE, ASAP.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think has changed the most this week?