WWE Stock Report: Shorty G can’t rise over terrible booking

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 Goldberg challenging Bray Wyatt to a Universal championship match, Rhea Ripley interrupting Charlotte Flair’s WrestleMania plans, and Drew McIntyre squashing the 24/7 champion Mojo Rawley, a lot of fortunes were changed.

With that in mind, let’s see whose stock has increased the most this week:

Stock Up #3: Carmella & Ricochet

Ricochet and Carmella received similar booking this week, where they each won a multi-person main event match to earn a future championship match, only to be immediately laid out by the champ.

Both of these new challengers feel like stopgap opponents for Bayley and Brock Lesnar to get by on their road to bigger things at WrestleMania 36. That’s especially true of Ricochet, who clearly has no chance in hell against the Beast Incarnate. However just by virtue of earning a title match, both Ricochet and Carmella will be more prominently featured on television for the rest of this month.

Stock Up #2: Angel Garza

Angel Garza is reaping the benefits of Andrade’s recent suspension. Garza debuted on Raw this week and showed a level of charisma that Humberto Carrillo can only dream of matching. Garza went on to take out Rey Mysterio with a DDT on concrete after a fun match. If Garza can keep it up with impressive performances like this, he might just force WWE’s decision-makers to keep him on the main roster regardless of Andrade’s status.

Stock Up #1: Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan

After several months away from television, Liv Morgan returned to Raw at the end of December and was thrust right into a terrible storyline between Rusev, Lana, and Bobby Lashley. Liv was never going to get over while stuck in a bad storyline and regularly wrestling Lana. That’s why it was a godsend this week for Morgan when Ruby Riott returned from injury and betrayed her former best friend. Morgan now has a chance to get away from that Lana story while also being put in position to have much better matches with Riott.

As for Ruby Riott, it’s great to see her back in a WWE ring after such a lengthy absence. She’s a well-rounded performer who can handle anything that is asked of her, and the Raw women’s division desperately needed her back on television.

Now let’s see whose stock has decreased the most this week:

Stock Down #3: Cesaro

Cesaro is one of the best wrestlers in WWE. Cesaro is also a jobber who can’t beat Elias in a singles match. This is the fifth week in a row where Cesaro is on the Stock Down list, and I’m running out of things to say about this perplexing situation.

Stock Down #2: Shorty G

Like Cesaro, Chad Gable is also one of the best wrestlers on the roster. Not surprisingly, WWE has completely missed the boat on this guy.

Gable always had an uphill battle in terms of being booked well in WWE, but his fate was sealed months ago when his name was changed to Shorty G. Only in the eyes of Vince McMahon can a height of 5’8” be characterized as tiny, and now Gable is stuck with a doomed gimmick and a terrible “Rise over size” catchphrase.

Sheamus squashed Apollo Crews in less than 30 seconds this week (Feb. 7) on SmackDown. G tried to save Crews from a post-match attack, but to no avail. Sheamus knocked out Shorty G with a Brogue Kick and stood tall over both men. After coming up short against Sheamus in two recent matches, and now unable to even execute a competent run-in, it’s clear where Shorty G stands in the pecking order in WWE.

Stock Down #1: Rusev, Lana, Bobby Lashley

Things seemed a bit odd when Rusev and Lashley were both replaced in the men’s Royal Rumble match two weeks ago. Since then, Lana has lost two consecutive matches on Raw against Liv Morgan. Bobby Lashley was pinned in the main event of this week’s (Feb. 3) episode of Raw and will seemingly never get his desired match with Brock Lesnar. Rusev is missing from television amidst rumors of creative having nothing for him and/or a contract dispute. I don’t really know what’s going on here, but all three of them are heading in the wrong direction, and it feels like their time in a heavily featured angle on Raw is quickly coming to an end.

There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think has changed the most this week?