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 Evolution 2, Solo Sikoa trying to frame Jacob Fatu for a car crash, and a SummerSlam contract signing between John Cena and Cody Rhodes, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Kabuki Warriors
NXT’s
Sol Ruca was pinned in the women’s 4-way tag title match at Evolution 2, which kept the door open for the Kabuki Warriors and the Allies of Convenience to remain in the title mix for SummerSlam. However, the Kabuki Warriors lost against the champs the following night on Raw. Charlotte Flair then used the fact that she’s Charlotte Flair to get another title match for herself and Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam. It appears that Asuka and Kairi Sane now need to find another way to make it to the biggest party of the summer.
Stock Down #2: Chelsea Green & The Secret Hervice
Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre’s job this week was to put over other wrestlers during the build to SummerSlam. Green did the job for Nikki Bella on Raw, while Fyre did the same for Stephanie Vaquer on SmackDown. The clear message sent by this booking is that Chelsea’s group is not being pushed right now with one of WWE’s biggest shows of the year coming up.
Stock Down #1: Bayley
Not only did Bayley take the fall in the 3-way women’s Intercontinental match at Evolution 2, but then she also lost against Lyra Valkyria the next night on Raw. Bayley is now on the outside looking in at SummerSlam, while Valkyria moves on to another title match against Becky Lynch on that card.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week:
Stock Up #3: Bron Breakker
WWE put a major spotlight on Bron Breakker during the gauntlet match at the end of this week’s Raw. Before the match even started, Bron stood up to World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER. That’s when Paul Heyman hyped him up by saying Bron is “The Next Big Thing,” “The Big Dog,” and “This is Bron Breakker’s yard.” Those specific phrases are there to set expectations for Bron to one day be at the level of Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and The Undertaker. Heyman also made sure to remind fans how dangerous Breakker is by saying “He’s a Steiner!”
Bron then wrestled the entire gauntlet match from start to finish, picking up wins against Penta, LA Knight, and Jey Uso, before succumbing to CM Punk. Breakker also found himself in the crosshairs of Roman Reigns in the post-match angle, teasing a match between them at SummerSlam.
I don’t know for sure what the real story is yet behind Seth Rollins’ injury, but this looked like WWE’s way of quickly elevating Breakker up to his spot as one of the main event level heels on Raw, at least while Rollins is out.
Stock Up #2: Naomi
Naomi shocked the world when she successfully cashed in the Money in the Bank contract at the end of Evolution 2’s main event to capture the women’s world championship from IYO SKY. She’s doing the best work of her WWE career, so Naomi could have some staying power near the top of the card now that she’s on Raw.
Stock Up #1: Roman Reigns
After a nearly three month hiatus, Roman Reigns made his surprise return to a massive babyface pop at the end of this week’s Raw, just in time for a match at SummerSlam. He beat up all the Paul Heyman Guys and stood tall like a conquering king when all was said and done. The bottom line is that OTC1 is back and ready to dominate WWE again, at least until his part-time schedule calls for another break.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
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