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 the death and dismemberment of the Gingerbread Man, Chelsea Green walking again, and Joe Hendry singing about getting Logan Paul fired, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Carmelo Hayes & Ilja Dragunov
Melo last
wrestled on April 3 and wasn’t booked in a match at WrestleMania 42. The only match Dragunov has worked since the end of March is the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, and he also wasn’t booked in a match at WrestleMania. Two weeks have lapsed since WWE’s biggest show of the year, and creative still hasn’t found anything for these guys to do on the blue brand.
It’s being reported that SmackDown is losing it’s third hour at the start of June, so it may soon be even harder to find TV time for two great workers who are already struggling in that regard on the three hour version of the show. What is going on here?
Stock Down #2: Grayson Waller
Waller was used as low card fodder for Oba Femi to destroy this week on Raw, before The Ruler decided to announce a weekly open challenge. Grayson has had a hard enough time staying relevant in WWE while brushing shoulders alongside the New Day. Now that Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are gone from the company, I don’t see things getting any better for Waller on Monday nights.
Stock Down #1: Stephanie Vaquer
It sounds like the former women’s world champion is legitimately injured and will be out for a while, so WWE shot an injury angle on Raw to explain her absence. One week ago, it looked like Vaquer might be lined up for a rematch at Backlash against Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, but now she is out of the picture altogether.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week.
Stock Up #3: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez
The women’s tag team title scene needs a fresh challenger after the build to WrestleMania was overloaded with matches featuring the Irresistible Forces, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, and Bayley & Lyra Valkyria. Perez and Rodriguez took a step in that direction by defeating Bayley and Valkyria on Raw. They also helped Liv Morgan injure Vaquer, while Perez has an interesting side story with Finn Balor going on.
Stock Up #2: Fatal Influence
Jacy Jayne and Fatal Influence continued their hostile takeover of SmackDown when Lainey Reid and Fallon Henley cheated to help Jayne beat Charlotte Flair. WWE is throwing Jayne right in the fire against the top stars in the division, and unlike fellow NXT call-ups Ricky Saints and Sol Ruca, Jayne already has a huge win to show for it on her kayfabe record. With Jade Cargill not returning since WrestleMania, Fatal Influence have quickly become the number one heels in the women’s division on SmackDown.
Stock Up #1: Jacob Fatu
Fatu needed something extra to put him closer to Roman Reigns’ level for their world title match at Backlash, so this week he unleashed the mystery caller Tongan Death Grip on the OTC at the end of Raw. He also used it on SmackDown to help subdue Talla Tonga, who dominated Damian Priest, R-Truth, The Usos and Royce Keys earlier in the show. The Samoan Werewolf is steamrolling everyone who gets in his way right now, making it look like Roman may not be able to stop him. Fatu is also doing damn good work on the mic opposite Reigns and the Usos, showing why he belongs in the main event.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
