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 Clash in Paris and all of its fallout, a lot of fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:
Stock Down #3: Andrade & Rey Fenix
Andrade and Rey Fenix have not been featured on SmackDown since coming up short in the TLC tag team title
match at SummerSlam over one month ago. I don’t know if it’s a case of creative having nothing for them, injuries, or something else. It’s worth noting that Fenix recently teamed up with LA Knight in multiple matches against the Wyatts on house shows in the UK. However, Andrade has not wrestled at all since SummerSlam. What’s going on with him?
Stock Down #2: Damian Priest
Damian Priest is struggling to stand out in his current feud with Aleister Black.
First he was blindsided by Black’s heel turn in July after trying to keep the peace between him and R-Truth. Then Damian was victimized by Aleister in their match last month when Black got himself blatantly disqualified in order to brutally assault Priest with a steel chair. On last night’s SmackDown, Priest was ambushed by Black before their rematch started, which played a role in his eventual loss.
It’s one thing to build up heat for the heel to eventually get his comeuppance, but Damian Priest is coming off like a naive sucker along the way, and that’s never a good thing for a babyface.
Stock Down #1: Street Profits
All it took was one line from Uncle Howdy teasing that the Street Profits might break up if they lost against the Wyatt Sicks at Clash in Paris, and Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are suddenly showing signs that it will happen. We are beyond the days when Montez was hyped up as a potential top singles star, so a breakup could lead to both of them quickly being lost in the shuffle. It also feels like a rushed story that might not click with the audience considering the Street Profits just had a decent run as WWE tag team champions.
Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week:
Stock Up #3: “Big Jim” Uso
Jimmy Uso ran in at the end of Raw to stop Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed from destroying his brother Jey. With Roman Reigns on hiatus again, it looks like the idea is for The Usos to reunite as a team to take on The Vision, perhaps at Wrestlepalooza. That’s a clear upgrade for Big Jim compared to what he’s been doing on SmackDown as a bit player in the Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu feud.
Stock Up #2: John Cena & Brock Lesnar
Cena’s babyface resurgence continued this week with great matches against Logan Paul and Sami Zayn. Brock Lesnar returned to WWE to ruin the end of the latter match and set up a main event match with Cena at Wrestlepalooza. The Lesnar vs. Cena feud is going to be presented as the biggest thing going in WWE heading into its ESPN launch this month.
Stock Up #1: AJ Lee
AJ Lee finally returned to WWE after a 10+ year absence and went crazy on Becky Lynch. AJ is back at the perfect time for WWE’s move to ESPN for the upcoming Wrestlepalooza PLE. AJ came off like a huge star during her return segment in Chicago and is immediately part of a top level program with CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Lynch. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and the first dose of it for AJ’s return couldn’t have worked any better.
There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?
