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 both nights of WrestleMania 42, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: AJ Lee
AJ Lee dropped the women’s Intercontinental championship at WrestleMania 42 and then said she doesn’t know when
we will see her again. It seems that an increasing number of fans are also over the nostalgia for Lee’s WWE return at this point, and are interested in seeing other women’s stars get more TV time.
Stock Down #2: Wyatt Sicks
The feud between Wyatt Sicks and MFT finally ended on SmackDown, with Uncle Howdy’s babyface gang of misfits on the losing end of it. The drama between Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga continues from here, but it’s not clear at all what’s next or even left for the Wyatts to do in WWE at this point. They’ve been doing this act for almost two years, and it’s as cold as ice. When you see how hard it is for the tag team division to consistently get its share of the spotlight in WWE, it’s easy to see the Wyatt Sicks being completely lost in the shuffle going forward.
Stock Down #1: Pat McAfee
Randy Orton turned on Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 42 and then went on to lose the match, which means McAfee is gone from WWE forever. I doubt this was the original plan, and it’s pretty much an admission on WWE’s part that McAfee never belonged in the WrestleMania main event angle to begin with. Go home, Pat.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week.
Stock Up #3: Paige
Paige got the biggest pop of WrestleMania 42 night one when she made her surprise return to replace Nikki Bella and win the WWE women’s tag team championship. She’s always had a strong connection with WWE fans, which can lead to a sustained push now that she’s back.
Stock Up #2: Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk in the main event of WrestleMania 42 and is now a world champion for the first time in over two years. Reigns held onto championship gold for over 1300 days the last time WWE put him in this position, and he says we’re going to see a lot of his ass this summer. Now that the Tribal Chief is back on top on Raw and less of a part-timer, it may soon be time for The Bloodline to become the focal point of WWE again.
Stock Up #1: Oba Femi
Oba cemented himself as the next big thing in WWE by conquering The Conquer, Brock Lesnar, at WrestleMania 42, and possibly sending The Beast into retirement. He then called out Roman Reigns on the WrestleMania post-show, with all of the fans fully supporting him. Nobody has been pushed this hard and this fast in WWE since Lesnar himself over 20 years ago, which turned him into an instant main event star. It appears that Femi is on the same track to dominate WWE starting right now.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
