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Some places do power ratings. Here at Cageside, we do a stock report.
In this weekly series, we identify three superstars (or groups of superstars) who are on the rise and three who are moving in the opposite direction. After a busy week that included TLC 2020 and all its consequences, many fortunes were changed.
With that in mind, let’s see which stocks have declined the most this week:
Stock Down # 3: Drew Gulak
Things were going pretty well for Gulak in early 2020 when he was paired with Daniel Bryan, where he peaked with a win over AJ Styles. He then entered the 24/7 title scene, which wasn’t ideal, but Drew still found some comical ways to stand out while chasing R-Truth for low-level gold. This week (December 21) RawGulak’s role was to be the generic middle man dominated by Angel Garza. There is little to no benefit to being put in that position.
Stock Down # 2: Hardy Bros
Jeff Hardy and Mate In theory, Riddle should be two of the hottest baby faces on Raw. But Hardy plays the Hurt Lock weekly, he feels, while Riddle’s promotions and verbiage are pure shame. I don’t think this is going to work unless some changes are made.
Stock Down # 1: The Miz
The Miz cashed their Money in the Bank contract in TLC 2020 and failed to win the WWE championship. In hindsight, it is now apparent that the reason WWE stripped Otis of that contract was not because they had something big planned for Miz; The change was made so that a babyface would not have to be the one to feel humiliated for wasting such a great opportunity. Hopefully WWE will make more inspired booking decisions with the 2021 Men’s Money in the Bank contract, because 2020 was a complete waste on that front.
Now let’s see which stocks have increased the most this week:
Stock up # 3: Big E
Looks like I’m the one with an egg on my face for putting Big E on the Stock Down side of the ledger a couple of weeks ago. On Christmas night, he won the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of one of the most watched episodes of Slap since it debuted on the FOX network.
Stock up # 2: Kevin Owens
It’s not often that a fighter appears in the Stock Up column after losing two championship bouts in a week, but Kevin Owens is that damn good. He has quickly become the best babyface in WWE by continuing to fight to the end, no matter how stacked the odds are against him. Owens had Roman Reigns beat in two separate matches and he would clearly be Universal Champion if it weren’t for the continued interference from Jey Uso. Owens came out so well here that the option is at least there for WWE to repay this with a great time in Royal Rumble 2021 or WrestleMania 37.
Stock up # 1: Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair returned to WWE in TLC 2020 and immediately took home the women’s tag team championship (alongside Asuka). Flair and Asuka have already won three tag team matches in a week and could easily become a dominant presence across all WWE brands. The Queen is now a WWE Grand Slam Champion, and commentators love to remind audiences that she is a 13-time champion.
With the ability to float between Raw and Slap (and maybe NXT) at will, Flair is now in a position to chase whatever other championship he has in his sights. Asuka has desperately needed new opponents for months, and Sasha Banks could use a new rival now that she has defeated Carmella. With the way to Wrestlemania just around the corner, don’t be surprised if Flair is chasing one or both of the women’s individual championships in no time.
There you have it, Cagesiders. What stocks do you think have changed the most this week?
