WWE Stock Report: Ronda Rousey’s return is off to a very bad start

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 weekend that included Sasha Banks breaking her WrestleMania losing streak, Johnny Knoxville making a jackass out of Sami Zayn, and Steve Austin wrestling one final match, a lot of fortunes were changed.

With that in mind, let’s see whose stock increased the most during WrestleMania weekend:

Stock Up #3: Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns was already operating in God Mode prior to “The Biggest WrestleMania Match of All-Time” against Brock Lesnar. He is now the Undisputed WWE Universal champion after slaying the Beast, and it’s hard to see how anybody outside of The Rock or Vacant can pose a threat to the Tribal Chief.

Stock Up #2: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE as the mystery opponent for Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38, and they had arguably the best match of the stupendous two night event. Cody’s AEW presentation carried right on over to WWE as far as his theme music, ring gear, and ugly tattoo are concerned. Cody came across like a legitimate star, and there is a chance for him to be pushed at the main event level right away.

Stock Up #1: Bianca Belair

If Cody and Seth didn’t have the best match of the two night WrestleMania event, it’s only because Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch tore the house down and showed why they deserved a main event spot. The entrances alone demonstrated that Becky and Bianca rank right up there with Roman Reigns as the biggest stars in WWE. Belair was the one who got the shine here, as she was able to put Lynch away with the KOD and become the new Raw women’s champion. Bianca is one of the few women in WWE who has been booked at the same level or higher than the Horsewomen. She’s the best babyface on the entire roster.

Now let’s see whose stock decreased the most during WrestleMania weekend:

Stock Down #3: New Day

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were cut from the card at WrestleMania Saturday because their tag team match wasn’t as important as endless video packages. Their match was rescheduled for WrestleMania Sunday, and they lost in less than two minutes. The worst part about the loss is they were seeking payback for Big E, who is out injured with a broken neck, yet they barely put up a fight against Sheamus and Ridge Holland. Overall, the weekend couldn’t have been any more disappointing for one of the greatest teams in WWE history.

Stock Down #2: Omos

Coming into WrestleMania 38, Omos only had two things going for him. First, he’s a very tall man (and Vince McMahon has a strange fixation on size). The second thing is that he’s protected on the main roster and has never been pinned.

After his WrestleMania loss against Bobby Lashley, however, Omos only has the first point in his favor now. He was pinned by Lashley after another very bad match where Omos’ inability to sell was on full display. With his undefeated streak gone, Omos is just a very tall man who is no good at wrestling. The door is now open for more losses to follow.

Stock Down #1: Ronda Rousey

The most surprising result of WrestleMania weekend was Ronda Rousey losing against Charlotte Flair and failing to bring home the SmackDown women’s championship. Despite both wrestlers working their asses off in this bout, it was a rough match that just wasn’t very good. It clearly had no business main eventing the WrestleMania card, and it did not.

Rousey has already proven to be a poor promo, so she needs to excel in the ring to make up for it. That’s not at all what happened in this match, raising doubts about the viability of a sustained top level for push for Ronda.

This was essentially her first major singles match back in WWE, on the biggest wrestling show of the year, and she lost. Is Vince McMahon already losing faith in Rousey, or are they just trying to stretch out the title chase for a potential main event match next month at WrestleMania Backlash?

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