WWE Stock Report: Rhea Ripley is the modern day Chyna

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 the return of Emma, the formal introduction of Uncle Howdy, and Dominik Mysterio comparing himself to Eddie Guerrero, a lot of fortunes were changed.

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

Stock Up #3: Sami Zayn & Jey Uso

Sami Zayn continues to steal the show whenever he is on television. Jey Uso is typically in the middle of it, and last night’s SmackDown (Oct. 28) was no different. It felt like an important moment when Jey shouted he doesn’t care what the Tribal Chief says, and the look on Sami’s face was priceless when Roman said he might change Zayn’s name to Sami Uso. The fans are invested and can’t get enough of these interactions between members of The Bloodline.

Stock Up #2: Nikki Cross

Nikki Cross finally dropped the “almost a superhero” gimmick that has been dragging her down for the last year. This change was long overdue, and Nikki now finds herself right in the middle of the top women’s feud on Raw between Bianca Belair and Bayley.

Stock Up #1: Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley delivered the top highlight on Raw when she picked up big Luke Gallows for an impressive body slam on the outside of the ring. In the aftermath of Ripley’s slam and some follow-up low blows, a lot of fans are calling her a modern day Chyna. The “modern day Chyna” phrase has been thrown around a lot over the years, and I don’t know that it really fits Rhea all that well. But it will always be there whenever a powerful woman wrestler is beating the crap out of the men.

Ripley’s involvement at ringside continues to help The Judgment Day win and get over; she has quickly proven to be the most valuable member of the group while rarely competing in her own matches on Raw. She’s well-positioned to make her own run at championship gold whenever WWE decides the time is right.

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

Stock Down #3: Doudrop

Doudrop hasn’t wrestled since early September. At the time, it looked like she would play an integral part in the end of the Nikki A.S.H. gimmick, but Doudrop had nothing to do with Nikki’s big angle on this week’s (Oct. 24) Raw. She’s just lost in the shuffle at the moment.

Stock Down #2: Drew McIntyre & Karrion Kross

These guys have a steel cage match coming up next weekend at Crown Jewel, but their feud is ice cold. The bizarre car crash angle made Drew a less sympathetic figure, while rendering Kross irrelevant for a couple weeks. Kross returned last night on SmackDown for a match with Madcap Moss where he didn’t stand out, and Drew was the one missing this time. They only have one week left to heat up this feud before the cage match in Saudi Arabia.

Stock Down #1: The Miz & Johnny Gargano

Gargano and Miz received plenty of time on Raw this week (Oct. 24), but just about everything they did was hokey and corny. Gargano mostly looks like a dork threatening to blow a whistle on Miz. It didn’t help that Johnny’s focus on JBL’s hat led to his downfall in a boring match against Baron Corbin. Meanwhile, the Miz lost against R-Truth in a comedy angle for the hometown crowd. It’s typically important to look cool in the entertainment business, but Gargano and Miz are both sorely lacking in that department right now.

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