WWE Stock Report: Incredible things happen when Nikki Cross has a mic in her hand

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 Rob Gronkowski returning to WWE television, Mandy Rose dreaming about Otis, and Elias being hit by Jeff Hardy’s rental car, a lot of fortunes were changed.

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

Stock Down #3: Natalya

Natalya continued her losing ways when she was pinned by Nia Jax in a triple threat match on Raw, as expected. However, she looked most incompetent when she decided to take a personal phone call during her backstage promo, which used up all of her promo time, leaving her disappointed. I’m not sure what the deal with that is, but I do know that Natalya has won zero matches on Raw and pay-per-view thus far in 2020.

Stock Down #2: Andrade

Andrade was the United States champion for five months. The first month did see him defend the title in some impressive matches with Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo, but his suspension throughout February derailed his momentum, and he could never quite recover it. Andrade didn’t drop the title to Apollo Crews on pay-per-view at the apex of a super hot angle where it was clear that something worthwhile was waiting for Andrade on the other side of it. No, this loss on Raw felt more like taking the title off a relatively cold champ to see what a fresh babyface can do with it.

Stock Down #1: Lana

Bobby Lashley has joined forces with MVP over the last few weeks, and it’s resulted in a big move up the card, as well as a WWE championship match at Backlash. One consequence of this new relationship is that Lana has been relegated to awkwardly screaming backstage in frustration, and being dismissed by MVP as someone he doesn’t need to talk to. Lashley is thriving without Lana by his side, and she is becoming increasingly irrelevant on Raw.

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

Stock Up #3: Shorty G

Shorty G returned to SmackDown this week (May 29) after a long absence, and he got the better of both Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in a battle royal. He went on to defeat Cesaro in a singles match later in the show. Unlike WWE commentators, I’m not going to try sell you on this being some amazingly incredible underdog win for Shorty, because Cesaro is a losing loser who always loses. But it’s definitely a move in the right direction for G, who could have easily been booked as a jobber upon his return.

Stock Up #2: Nikki Cross

You can go far in WWE when they trust you with a mic in your hand, and that’s why Nikki Cross’ promo on Raw this week (May 25) was a big moment for her. The IIconics told her to shut up, stand there, and be grateful. Cross reacted in defiance by detailing the hardships she overcame in order to become a WWE superstar, and essentially telling the IIconics to kiss her ass. It was her best mic work so far on WWE’s main roster, and should open the door for more opportunities going forward.

Stock Up #1: Apollo Crews

Apollo Crews has only been back for two episodes of Raw, and he’s already the United States champion. Crews looked like a lost cause in WWE when he was jobbing (along with Shorty G) to Sheamus in a handicap match earlier this year, but all of that is in the past. WWE is pushing Crews pretty hard right now, and he’s responding to it with good matches and mic work. It will be interesting to see where his story goes next.

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