Stock Up and Stock Down for Becky Lynch and More After WWE Raw

As The Road to WrestleMania continues, it is becoming more and more apparent which Superstars will be emphasized on the grandest stage in sports entertainment and, furthermore, which ones may prove a big part of the company's plans beyond The Showcase of the Immortals.

Becky Lynch's role on the show is obvious: She will challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship, and Monday, she came fist-to-face with Stephanie McMahon in a segment that earned her more fans and encouraged even louder reactions to the 2019 Royal Rumble winner.

Her stock reached an unprecedented high.

Not so lucky? Braun Strowman, who probably thought he'd be on the receiving end of a push like Lynch's.

Who else's stock went up and down based on their roles Monday night? 

Stock Up: Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch kicked off Raw, welcomed to the broadcast by Stephanie McMahon, and left the show even more over than she was when she arrived.

Suspended by McMahon indefinitely due to a knee injury suffered at Royal Rumble, an enraged Irish Lass Kicker beat down the most powerful female in wrestling and drew a thunderous ovation in doing so. Fans chanted her name as she tossed security guards out of the way while simultaneously nursing her injured knee.

By the time she limped to the back, fans had on their hands an anti-authority hero they could throw their support into, not unlike a certain Texas Rattlesnake who once bucked the system by denouncing Vince McMahon's concern for his well-being.

Lynch's rise to the top of professional wrestling has paralleled "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's to this point and will continue to do so as long as WWE presents her as a no-nonsense babyface with a penchant for beating the hell out of McMahons.

Given the white-bread nature of the rest of the show, the vanilla storytelling and the lack of red-hot Superstars elsewhere on the card, that is not a bad thing by any means.

Here's hoping Lynch can sustain her momentum heading into WrestleMania 35 on April 7 and have the moment so many hope she does.

Stock Down: Braun Strowman

The curious case of Braun Strowman continued Monday night as The Monster Among Men settled into a midcard rivalry—ironically featured in the main event of the show—in which he and Kurt Angle battled Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre.

Strowman could have been universal champion by now. Should have been, actually, the moment Roman Reigns had to hand over the title due to his leukemia diagnosis. Instead, The Monster lost to Brock Lesnar (again), was removed from another showdown with The Beast Incarnate and failed to win the Royal Rumble.

That is a lot of losing for a guy once tapped to lead the charge on Monday nights.

Now, he is working alongside Angle, whose best days in the ring are far behind him, against a Corbin who was at the forefront of months of low-rated television and a McIntyre whose career trajectory is similar to that of Strowman's.

The match itself was rather nondescript, and while Strowman stood tall after chokeslamming Corbin on a set of steel steps, it is hard to see a scenario in which he enjoys the high-profile match at WrestleMania he once dreamed of.

Worse, with Seth Rollins gearing up for a showdown with Lesnar for the Universal Championship, it is impossible to imagine a scenario where he is anything but the No. 2 babyface on the show at best.

Stock Up: EC3

EC3 graduated from backstage appearances in insignificant vignettes to a spot on the "Moment of Bliss" talk show with Alexa Bliss, then a one-on-one showdown with former WWE and intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose.

The developmental bust-turned-TNA world champion scored an upset victory in his first match on Raw, stacking Ambrose up and scoring the pinfall victory. The outcome was a little less surprising when one takes into consideration The Lunatic Fringe's contract status, but a win over him—especially for a guy like EC3—still carries weight.

For someone who struggled to pick up a signature win in NXT, to have the sort of night he did Monday is a major accomplishment. A bigger one? Continuing his role going forward.

EC3 has the look and charisma of a star. Now it is time for WWE Creative to recognize it and put him in the best position to succeed.

Stock Down: Elias

Speaking of Superstars with the look and charisma to be a major player in today's WWE, Elias certainly has that.

Unfortunately, he cannot build any sort of momentum for himself and, as a result, oftentimes finds himself cut off before he can really enjoy any kind of legitimate push.

His babyface push late in 2018 looked like the perfect opportunity for him to become a huge star for a brand desperately in need of it. Unfortunately, losses to Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley produced the dreaded two steps back for every step forward, and he was left wallowing in mediocrity.

An inexplicable turn back to the heel side of the roster at Royal Rumble may have been for the best. What wasn't was a two-week feud with Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett that culminated with a win Monday night.

Sure, Elias beat a guy whose best days are way behind him, but he also ate a flurry of jabs from "Road Dogg" Jesse James after the match and a guitar shot to the back by Double J, proving it was the Attitude Era stars who got the best of the younger, stronger and more intense villain of today's WWE.

Even in victory, defeat. Sadly, that could serve as the title of many a current Superstar's autobiography.