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 a mystery crate angle for Elimination Chamber, Penta becoming the number one contender for the Intercontinental title, and Michin returning on SmackDown to confront Jade Cargill, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose
stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Charlotte Flair
The possibility of a Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill WWE women’s title match at WrestleMania 42 was erased last night on SmackDown when The Queen failed to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. It looks like Flair is still a key part of the women’s tag team title mix heading into WrestleMania, but that singles push back to the top of the card is not imminent.
Stock Down #2: Bayley & Damian Priest
Bayley and Damian Priest both took the falls in their respective Elimination Chamber qualifying matches this week. Bayley only has one win on Raw over the last four months, and her tag team with Lyra Valkyria is ice cold. They look like afterthoughts on the road to WrestleMania, which makes me wonder if a healthy Bayley will be left off WWE’s biggest show of the year yet again.
As far as Priest is concerned, it looks his role is more about putting over newer stars like Trick Williams and maybe Royce Keys, rather than getting his own push back to the world championship.
Stock Down #1: Matt Cardona & Apollo Crews
Cardona and Crews tried to save Ilja Dragunov from a post-match beatdown by MFT on SmackDown, but their ineffective efforts were immediately shut down by Solo Sikoa’s group. Matt and Apollo only got a few seconds of camera time, but it was enough to tell the audience that they each fit the definition of the word jabroni. Uncle Howdy’s technique of turning the lights off was a much better way to save Dragunov, so maybe these guys should try that trick next time.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week.
Stock Up #3: Aleister Black & Zelina
Aleister Black & Zelina Vega desperately need some wins to build up their credibility as a potential upper card heel act on SmackDown, and they got one this week when Black beat Randy Orton in the main event, with an assist from WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Let’s just hope this doesn’t mean Aleister and Randy will be feuding for the next six months.
Stock Up #2: Trick Williams
Fans continue to pop and react very loudly whenever Trick Williams shows up on screen. WWE is pushing him accordingly, as he qualified for the Elimination Chamber match this week on SmackDown. In less than two months on the main roster, Trick already fits right into the Chamber match alongside other upper card stars like Randy Orton, LA Knight, and Cody Rhodes. There’s been a lot of buzz about Oba Femi, and rightfully so, but I’d argue that Trick is in the best spot out of all of WWE’s new stars in 2026.
Stock Up #1: Kiana James & Je’Von Evans
James and Evans both pulled off major upsets this week and qualified for the Elimination Chamber match over much bigger stars like Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, GUNTHER, and Dirty Dom Mysterio. Evans now has a chance to steal the show in Chicago bouncing all over the chamber cage. Meanwhile, there may be some credence to that rumor about WWE seeing Kiana as a bigger star than Giulia.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
