Stock Up and Stock Down for Seth Rollins and More After WWE Raw

We are officially on the Road to WrestleMania, and WWE is starting off with a bang. The January 28 edition of Raw followed up an excellent Royal Rumble by announcing who Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch would be facing at The Show of Shows on April 7.

The Architect opened the show wavering over fighting Brock Lesnar or Daniel Bryan and, even after taunting from Dean Ambrose and pushing by Triple H, needed until the end of the night to decide. Along the way, he continued to establish himself as Raw's top guy.

Lynch decided far much faster as she made a surprise appearance after Ronda Rousey put her title on the line against Bayley and declared she was going after The Baddest Woman on the Planet. The former UFC star was clearly overwhelmed by the cheers The Man was getting and didn't fare too well in this confrontation.

Rousey's first tag team partner, Kurt Angle, also did not do so well on the night, either, as he was again humiliated by a younger opponent in Baron Corbin in their match.

Nia Jax continued to ride a wave of momentum to capture the first spot in the Women's Tag Team Championships match at Elimination Chamber along with Tamina.

These were the biggest stories coming out of WWE Raw this week, and here we look at the wrestlers who saw the greatest rise and fall in their standing.

Stock Up: Seth Rollins

Obviously, Rollins was going to be coming into Raw on a high, and he kept rising up the ranks with a clear victory over Ambrose and the main event clash with Lesnar that will lead to their WrestleMania showdown.

The Architect put on a great match with his long-standing rival that was far better than the two have looked in recent contests. Both got in major shots and told an impressive story, with the men's Royal Rumble winner staying focused while The Lunatic Fringe let his anger get the best of him.

At this point, Rollins has returned to the top of the roster. He is the clear standout star, and the crowd was right behind him. Everyone is rooting for him to be the one to finally put down The Beast Incarnate.

While it feels like WWE is relying too much on The Architect, putting him on TV for almost an hour most weeks over multiple segments, he certainly makes the most of the opportunities he gets. It feels like he has never been a bigger star, and he is a two-time world champion.

Stock Down: Kurt Angle

Credit: WWE.com

One of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Kurt Angle has fallen far recently in his newest run with WWE. In a rare moment, the company has admitted legends do get worse as they grow older with the WWE Hall of Famer jobbing out to top heels.

This week, he lost to Baron Corbin in a one-sided affair. He ended up losing to the Deep Six, a move that has rarely gotten victories for The Lone Wolf. While certainly a legend, it is clear The Olympic Gold Medalist can no longer work like he once did, and WWE is not going to treat him like he still can.

It is hard to say what the end goal is for this story. While it is good of Angle to put over young stars such as Corbin and Drew McIntyre, there's no way he came back just to get defeated by everyone who challenges him.

This could be his last WrestleMania. There must be some plan for him to do something big at the event, perhaps having one last major match with someone who plans to retire him for good.

Stock Up: Nia Jax

Nia Jax had an impressive night at the Royal Rumble, lasting until late in both the women's and men's matches and making an impact.

She has been riding a hot streak that led to another dominant performance Monday night as she more or less single-handedly earned a spot in the tag team Elimination Chamber match come February 17.

The Irresistible Force earned a recent bad reputation due to unforgivable mistakes in the ring, and she has been often inconsistent in the squared circle. However, when she is on her game, few women make a bigger impact. She has the personality and ability to stand out against anyone.

That includes men on the roster. WWE is leaning into her ability to work intergender matches due to her size, and it makes for a fascinating change in philosophy for the company that could be the start of a massive shift.

Jax worked off of Ambrose Monday night, which would be a weird pairing, but she could pair more naturally with multiple men on the Raw roster. She should focus on preparing for the Women's Tag Team Championships match right now, but who knows what is next?

She certainly doesn't have a major spot at WrestleMania 35 unless she wins the tag titles with Tamina. Perhaps she could stand out by feuding with someone in the men's midcard, though?

Stock Down: Ronda Rousey

When Ronda Rousey first debuted in WWE, it was expected she might face a divisive crowd. She was an outsider coming into the sport to take over, yet she was accepted immediately. Her fiery performances won over any lingering early critics.

However, the tide is slowly turning. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), The Baddest Woman on the Planet could take an extended vacation from WWE after WrestleMania. Meanwhile, her spot atop the women's division has been snatched away by Becky Lynch.

Despite another great match on Raw with Bayley, Rousey looked more like a rookie than she has in a long time as she struggled to contend with a crowd that just wanted to see The Man. She was barely able to speak over the fans once Lynch appeared.

She seemed flustered early and did her best to recover with a much stronger promo after her title victory, but the Raw women's champion has lost ground she may not recover for a long time. She might just need to turn heel if crowds keep reacting to her like this.

Rousey vs. Lynch should be spectacular and certainly should be the main event of 'Mania. It's just a question of what the contest will do to The Baddest Woman on the Planet's legacy.