WWE Stock Report: There has to be something better than this for Shotzi

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 Omos and Bobby Lashley arm wrestling, the SmackDown in-ring debut of Raquel Rodriguez, and Ezekiel competing in the main event of Raw, a lot of fortunes were changed.

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

Stock Down #3: Finn Balor

Balor’s losing ways continued this week (Apr. 25) on Raw when he was pinned by Damian Priest. Balor is essentially cannon fodder these days, sliding down the card with each passing week.

Stock Down #2: Carmella, Queen Zelina Vega, Sonya Deville

Carmella and Queen Vega tried to help Sonya Deville beat Bianca Belair on Raw, but the EST of WWE got the better of them despite the three-on-one disadvantage.

Vega and Carmella were the Women’s tag team champions one month ago, which makes it look especially bad for them that they can’t combine forces to beat one woman now. Sonya humiliated them afterwards by slapping them in the face in disgust.

It’s a good thing Rhea Ripley turned heel, because it’s clear these three women have no business being anywhere near the Raw women’s championship.

Stock Down #1: Shotzi & Aliyah

Is it worse to not be on TV, or to be on TV but booked like a terrible wrestler?

Shotzi has only wrestled on two episodes of SmackDown in 2022. She lost a match against Sasha Banks in roughly two minutes back in February. On this week’s (Apr. 29) episode, she quit in less than two minutes against Ronda Rousey. Rousey didn’t even need her armbar to finish off Shotzi.

Aliyah was also on the verge of losing in less than two minutes (against Charlotte Flair), but it didn’t happen because her match had a time limit of 1:41. Aliyah quit in less than minutes anyway, because she tapped out seconds after the time limit expired. Like Shotzi, this was also Aliyah’s first match on SmackDown since February.

This is the big problem with the way WWE typically handles Beat the Clock challenges. Two wrestlers are presented right from the start as losers who have no chance to win and only exist to be destroyed as quickly as possible. For that reason, Shotzi and Aliyah would be better positioned today if they were simply kept off TV once again this week.

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

Stock Up #3: Mustafa Ali

Mustafa Ali returned to WWE television this week for the first time since he requested his release late least year. He came back with a win, pinning The Miz in a singles match. As far as I can tell, this was Ali’s first win on Raw or SmackDown television since July 2021.

Ali was ambushed by Ciampa after the match, so there’s a feud waiting for him right there. The win over Miz also potentially sets Ali up for a future United States title match against Theory.

Ali’s booking history means he is unlikely to ever receive a big push in WWE, but becoming a fixture in the mid-card scene would be a huge step up from his days languishing as a total jobber or the leader of an all-time bad faction. Who knows where he’ll be in a month, but this is at least a promising start for his return to WWE.

Stock Up #2: Drew McIntyre

After spending the last four weeks dealing with Sami Zayn, and feuding with Happy Corbin the month before that, Drew McIntyre has now been elevated to a feud with Roman Reigns. McIntyre got the better of Roman in a physical exchange on SmackDown and is scheduled to face him as part of a six man tag team match at WrestleMania Backlash.

Stock Up #1: Asuka

Becky Lynch’s return to Raw was actually a vehicle for bringing Asuka back into the fold. Asuka crashed Becky’s return and stole her spotlight. It’s not that long ago when Asuka was arguably the MVP of WWE during the early months of the empty arena pandemic era. She is one of the best performers on the roster and is now in a top level feud with Lynch.

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