WWE Stock Report: Creative has nothing for you, Alexa Bliss

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 Edge turning heel on AJ Styles, Big E’s ATV getting destroyed, and Ronda Rousey wrestling on SmackDown for the first time ever, a lot of fortunes were changed.

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

Stock Down #3: Rey & Dominik Mysterio

The Mysterios actually lost against Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander on this week’s (Feb. 28) Raw. Yeah, they lost after Miz got involved, but Shelton and Cedric are two of the biggest jabronis on Raw. They lose nearly every match, including when they have a 2-on-1 advantage. This is a case where the context doesn’t matter much; it’s a bad look for Rey and Dominik to lose to these chumps before what’s supposed to be a big match at WrestleMania 38 against Logan Paul.

Stock Down #2: Viking Raiders

There aren’t many worthy candidates for the Stock Down side of the ledger this week, but someone has to make the list, so here are Erik & Ivar.

The Viking Raiders finally got their tag title match against the Usos on last night’s (Mar. 4) SmackDown. Jimmy and Jey retained the belts, Erik & Ivar never felt like a serious threat to win, and now they can be dumped right down into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that probably won’t even make the WrestleMania card.

Stock Down #1: Alexa Bliss

Alexa’s return to WWE has quickly sputtered out, as she has been absent from Raw during WWE’s hard push towards WrestleMania 38. Raw was in her hometown this week, but Alexa was nowhere to be found. Fans were left scratching their heads, and so was Alexa. This is the worst time of year to go missing, and it’s unclear what’s going on here. The simplest explanation is that creative has nothing for her.

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

Stock Up #3: Finn Balor

Balor has been back from hiatus for only two episodes of Raw, yet he’s already the new United States champion. Balor pinned Damian Priest to win the gold. Priest attacked him after the match, so maybe The Demon will have to return for WrestleMania 38.

Stock Up #2: Ricochet

Ricochet had a big week, as he defeated Sami Zayn to win the Intercontinental championship. The commentary team hyped Ricochet up as a can’t-miss star throughout the match, lending some credence to the rumor that he’s being pushed into the number two babyface spot on SmackDown.

Stock Up #1: Pat McAfee

McAfee interviewed Vince McMahon on his YouTube show and somehow got himself booked into a match at WrestleMania 38. Austin Theory is Pat’s opponent right now, but it sounds like that could be changed to Mr. McMahon very soon. If so, that’s a huge deal for McAfee, even if the match has to be smoke and mirrors.

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