Pro Wrestling Stock Watch: Who's Up and Down in WWE?

As a business economics major, I like to see the business side of everything in life.

Business, after all, is the backbone of our entire society, and there is no question that money makes the world go 'round. 

With that said, pro wrestling is very analogous to the field of business, namely finance (as in stocks). 

WWE talent is nothing more than a pool of stocks, each with its own inherent value, with each stock destined to either flourish or crumble. 

With the WWE's latest pay per view, Over the Limit, in the books, now would be a very good time to analyze various WWE Stocks (its talent), and their value going forward.

I tried to focus on cheaper stocks (the younger stars), who would hypothetically be able to earn more bang for your buck. More established stars, such as Chris Jericho and Edge, would be very expensive at this point, and their value is not expected to fluctuate enough to merit mention in this column.

STOCK UP

Kofi Kingston 

As expected, Kingston has enjoyed new life as a member of the less-political Smackdown brand. In just a few short weeks as part of the blue team, Kingston has consistently showcased his multitude of talent in the ring and has also recaptured the Intercontinental Championship. 

Kofi Kingston seems to be on his way up as he is being built up as one of the top baby-faces on the brand. It is very likely that Kofi's new found push can land him in the World title picture feuding with fellow young champion Jack Swagger.

Sheamus  

Sheamus is going to be the sole beneficiary of Batista's departure. Sheamus' push has gone according to plan, if not better, as his unique look and character have taken him to unprecedented heights. 

Sheamus is almost a lock to feud with John Cena come SummerSlam (the WrestleMania of the summer), and it will come as no surprise to see Sheamus, who has never taken a clean pinfall loss to Cena on TV, as the next WWE Champion.

The Hart Dynasty 

Perhaps the Hart Dynasty has TNA to thank for their recent push. When it was announced on Jan. 4 that TNA was going to go head-to-head with the WWE, the WWE countered (whether they want to admit it or not) with Bret "The Hitman" Hart's first WWE appearance in more than 12 years. 

The lingering effect of the Hitman has been very positive for the careers of the members of the Hart Dynasty, as they now find themselves holding tag-team gold, while enjoying an impressive win streak on TV.  

The WWE seems to be very invested in the presentation of the Hart Dynasty, as it using the Dynasty's tag-team title run as a platform to bring in their newest tag team of Jimmy and Jules Uso, along with Tamina, daughter of the legendary Superfly Jimmy Snuka. This was evidenced by the recent attack of the Hart Dynasty by these no-name Samoans Monday night on RAW.  

R-Truth 

Who would've thunk it?! I believe my exact words about R-Truth, upon finding out he was drafted to RAW, were "Great, more jobbers for Batista to beat up on RAW".  

I could not be any happier to be wrong as R-Truth has done a fine job of turning a one trick pony rapper gimmick into a momentous rise amongst the RAW roster.  R-Truth has become the penny stock that has all of a sudden exploded into something special, making his owners investors look very intuitive, not to mention rich.

R-Truth scored an unlikely clean victory over Ted DiBiase Jr., who has had more television time and character development in recent weeks, at the Over the Limit pay-per-view event. Following an ugly, yet notable, victory at Over the Limit, R-Truth scored yet another upset victory over the Miz to capture the United States Championship.  

He's like the little gimmick that could.  

Big Show

The Big Show just barely made the stock uptick list on the "strength" of a DQ victory over current World Champion, Jack Swagger.  It was almost a foregone conclusion that Swagger would go over the Big Show cleanly at Over the Limit to gain some much needed momentum as an upstart champ.  

However, Swagger got himself disqualified, and this feud is likely to continue in some reincarnation at the Final Four pay-per-view. Translation: The Big Show's Championship push will likely continue.  

Eve

I don't know what the higher-ups see in Eve, and her one legged drop kicks, but they see something and she's getting the push. Perhaps Eve's dry and standard persona is the perfect foil for Maryse's overly arrogant character.

Whatever it is, it is working for Eve, as she continues to enjoy a sustained push on the flagship show. Investing in Divas would be a very wise decision as the Diva division is set to receive more attention during post-WrestleMania season.   

STOCK DOWN

Drew McIntyre 

Talk about how the mighty have fallen. After receiving a forced push mandated from the main office that was supposed to result in Smackdown's version of Sheamus (the office push that actually worked), McIntyre's dry character, and sub-par in-ring work have kept him stuck in neutral. 

Word on the street has been that many are souring on McIntyre's push, as they do not feel he is deserving of a main event-caliber program, given his development, or lack thereof, at this point in the ballgame. 

After being stripped of the Intercontinental Title, and promptly re-crowned the champ, the overlying theme was that McIntyre didn't deserve the belt he wore, not to mention his uber-push. 

After taking a clean pinfall loss to Kingston in Over the Limit, that theme became a reality. 

It will be interesting to see how McIntyre is booked going forward. This coming episode of Smackdown should give a clear indication as to whether or not there are still plans for McIntyre's character, or whether the office has just given up on him. 

Basically, if McIntyre appears anywhere near Hornswoggle this Friday, it's all over.  Perhaps savvy investors should consider selling this stock if possible.   

Christian

Speaking of appearing near Hornswoggle, that is exactly what Christian did this past Friday on his haphazard Peep Show segment. Unless you're Triple H or Shawn Michaels, it is an unwritten rule that appearing anywhere near Hornswoggle decreases your value immensely.  

Hell, even if you are Triple H or Shawn Michaels, this rule rings true. 

Christian's unadvertised loss to Edge on free TV last week told me that Vince McMahon has no plans of pushing Christian as a serious force in the foreseeable future. After their great confrontation a few weeks back on Smackdown, there was a glimmer of hope for Captain Charisma. 

However, with a clean loss to Edge in a feud that will likely never get the fanfare it deserves, followed by a silly segment with Hornswoggle, Christian just may find himself stuck in the veteran enhancement talent role.  

John Morrison

It would have been hard enough for Morrison to climb the ladder of egos on the RAW roster without an injury. Unfortunately, Morrison has been kept off TV due to a recent ankle injury. As a result, Morrison has suffered the out of sight, out of mind treatment. 

Morrison has all the tools to be a star, and although he needs to enhance his mic work, he is ready for another big push.  

As the WWE continues to move forward with their young talent initiative, Morrison will need to get well soon before he gets lost in the shuffle —e specially on RAW.

The Miz

No, seriously! This one may surprise many of you, but I cannot remember the last time I saw the Miz go over. This has been a horrible month for Miz, as he has dropped all of his titles, and spent more time on his back than Michael Cole on NXT. 

The Miz is ready to go in terms of a push to the top of the roster, however, he seems to have found himself in the unlikely role as a casualty of the Draft. Seeing The Miz lose to R-Truth this past week on RAW definitely raised my eyebrows, as I felt the two would be in completely opposite positions by now. 

I still have faith in Miz, and I would advise investors not to sell his stock at this juncture.  Despite such faith, one cannot deny the fact that stock in The Miz Inc. has taken somewhat of a hit. 

MVP

It's getting dangerously close to now or never territory for MVP.

After seeing superstars who were previously left for dead, such as Kingston and R-Truth, flourish in their new homes, MVP's lack of a push should be a cause for concern amongst investors. 

MVP's saving grace would be to turn heel, as his baby-face character is not as believable, and he hasn't been pushed as strongly on either brand.

Jack Swagger

As good as he could be as champion, it seems that Swagger is missing something.  Swagger's promos, while he says the right thing, do not have the delivery that an elite talker brings to the fold. 

It also didn't help that Swagger did not go over the Big Show cleanly (or at all) at Over the Limit after a much needed clean win over Randy Orton at Extreme Rules. 

If the WWE is serious about building Swagger as a legit champion, now is the time for Swagger to start racking up some wins. The losses on RAW to elite talent did not bother me.  However if creative continues to get cute with Swagger, this title run will hurt him more than it could have ever helped. 

Swagger needs to develop on the mic, as well as win his matches in order to be taken more seriously as champion. Hold on to this stock, but make sure to constantly be keeping an eye on its value based on booking.