Stock Up and Stock Down for Daniel Bryan and More After WWE SmackDown

The February 5 edition of SmackDown Live had a firm goal in mind: establish chaos.

As Elimination Chamber approaches, Daniel Bryan's competitors were all looking to make a statement before competing for the WWE Championship.

This left the titleholder falling down the ranks as everyone got to outshine him less than two weeks before the championship clash. The Beard was outmatched by his opponent, Jeff Hardy, and embarrassed by everyone else, especially AJ Styles.

Another pair who suffered from the show were Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The Good Brothers looked completely outmatched by the thrown-together alliance of Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev, who made sure their rare appearance on TV was a failure.

Randy Orton was one of the main beneficiaries of the episode, defeating Mustafa Ali and standing out as a real contender inside the Chamber. He continues to rise up the ranks again, just in time for WrestleMania 35.

Similarly, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville have been on a tear and have now been established as the favorites for SmackDown to win the WWE Women's Championships by defeating Naomi and Carmella as well as The IIconics.

This show set many stars on a new path and continued to showcase who will be important on The Road to WrestleMania.

Stock Down: Daniel Bryan

After complaining about having to fight five other men in the Elimination Chamber, Daniel Bryan fought Jeff Hardy in the main event and clearly lost before Rowan saved him by pulling The Charismatic Enigma out of the ring to cause a disqualification.

The action broke down after that, with AJ Styles standing tall over the field. Bryan lost it backstage, and he was clearly frustrated about his position in the coming match.

It was clear this was meant to show The Beard has low odds to win at Elimination Chamber on February 17. It was still odd to see him decisively defeated by The Daredevil before the DQ, though. It's not as if Hardy needed the rub as a multiple-time world champion and veteran of the business.

This was about making Bryan look weak while Rowan protected him, setting up a familiar and disappointing dynamic for the heel champion. SmackDown's top star should not be overly reliant on anyone to save him when he got so far without support.

Unfortunately, in order to make fans dislike him more, his standing and matches will suffer. He has to be the cheater who relies on a big man to save him.

Stock Down: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Credit: WWE.com

Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura quickly overwhelmed Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in their match, with the tag team specialists managing to get back into the fight only long enough to force Lana to wake up The Artist and send him back into the ring to save The Bulgarian Brute.

The new tag team ended up winning with Rusev hitting the Machka Kick. Gallows and Anderson did not have much going into the night, but they still managed lose ground. This was their one chance in months to stand out, and they were outshined by a makeshift team.

They seem to be on their last legs in WWE, and it would not be a surprise if they soon left. Their time on SmackDown Live has been a complete miss for two guys who are way too talented to be this marginalized.

The tag team division has always had a limited upside especially for life-long tag teams, but The Good Brothers had a chance to rise above that. They never have.

Stock Up: Randy Orton

Mustafa Ali was ready for his first-time clash with Randy Orton, a physical confrontation with the underdog fighting from below to stay in this fight.

The Heart of 205 Live even avoided diving right into an RKO, but he could not avoid it forever and was tripped off the top rope into an RKO.

While the match again showed Ali is ready to fight against the best in the company, it was The Viper who emerged victorious and continued to build himself as a legitimate contender to be WWE champion for WrestleMania.

Orton seems to be on the precipice of a major feud, and it is hard to say who will step up to the plate. He and AJ Styles would be a fascinating pairing, and he has unfinished business with Rey Mysterio.

Whatever happens next, Tuesday night was another clear indication he is on his way to the top of WWE again. As a heel, he has sat out some major shows, but he dominates when he is around.

As far as who could emerge victorious inside the Elimination Chamber, Orton seems like a solid gamble to pull off the upset. It feels like far longer than it actually has been since he last held the WWE Championship.

Stock Up: Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville

Credit: WWE.com

Mandy Rose's mind games continued to pay off as she got Naomi distracted long enough to hit The Bed of Roses for the win in a Triple Threat match to decide which of SmackDown's teams should be considered the favorite for Elimination Chamber.

Rose and Sonya Deville have been on an impressive run that continues to build them up from targets to challengers. They feel like the biggest threat to Sasha Banks and Bayley inside the Elimination Chamber as the blue brand's clear front-runners.

While it would have been nice to see all three teams in this match earn their spots, there just weren't enough women on the brand to make this work. Despite this, it still feels as though SmackDown is better set up for the winner of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

The IIconics are the closest either brand has to a legitimate female tag team. Rose and Deville have been connected since the beginning and gotten better together with each opportunity. Naomi and Carmella may be a makeshift alliance, but they are a great pairing of talent.

The former members of Absolution have earned some legitimate accolades at this point and would have plenty of rivals if they won.