WWE Stock Report: Raquel Rodriguez is the latest smiling babyface they want you to cheer

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 Jerry Lawler conducting an awkward interview with Veer Mahaan, MVP picking up a win over Bob Lashley, and the Big D joining up with the New Day, a lot of fortunes were changed.

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

Stock Down #3: Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal is a former WWE champion. He’s also the guy who was pinned last night (May 27) on SmackDown by low card tag team wrestler Humberto Carrillo. WWE seems to have a gimmick change in mind for Skyscrapin’ Shanky; Jinder won’t have much left going for him once the future WrestleMania main event star leaves his side.

Stock Down #2: AJ Styles & Liv Morgan

Edge is actively recruiting new members for The Judgment Day, but it’s not really clear why he needs the help. Styles and Morgan still don’t pose much of a threat to Edge’s group, this time losing in a tag team match on Raw against Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley. I guess Finn Balor knew better than to align himself with these chumps this week. He didn’t even show up to save them from a post-match beatdown by Edge’s cronies.

Stock Down #1: Randy Orton

Randy Orton quickly went from being part of the hottest team in WWE to now being on the sidelines. It sounds like Randy won’t be around for a while after dropping the Raw tag titles to the Usos. In fact, Matt Riddle has already found a new partner to team with now that Orton is gone.

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

Stock Up #3: Gunther & Ludwig Kaiser

Last night’s SmackDown showed the audience that Ludwig Kaiser is more than just a mouthpiece for Gunther; Kaiser is the one who actually got to shine in the finish of their tag team match, pinning Drew Gulak and attacking him after the bout was over. Given Ricochet’s booking history in WWE, it feels like it’s only a matter of time until newcomer Gunther beats him for that Intercontinental championship.

Stock Up #2: Ezekiel

Elias received plenty of TV time to talk back in his day, but WWE rarely pushed him towards singles feuds that made it onto pay-per-view. That’s already changing with his younger brother Ezekiel, who beat Chad Gable on Raw this week (May 23) and has already been booked in a match against Kevin Owens at Hell in a Cell. Ezekiel is in KO’s head so much that Owens even went to SmackDown and devoted an entire KO Show towards asking Sami Zayn for help in exposing the truth about Ezekiel’s identity.

Stock Up #1: Raquel Rodriguez

WWE really wants you to like Raquel Rodriguez. She’s now a smiling babyface who can go toe-to-toe with Ronda Rousey. She even received Ronda’s endorsement this week on SmackDown, winning a tag team match with Rousey after putting Shayna Baszler away with a one-armed powerbomb.

There’s a big problem in the SmackDown women’s division with Sasha Banks and Naomi both indefinitely suspended by WWE, and Rodriguez’ push on the main roster has greatly accelerated as a result.

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