DREW MCINTYRE WASN’T PROTECTED ONE BIT AT BASH IN BERLIN

Some places do power rankings. Here at Cageside, we do a stock report.

In this weekly series, we identify three Superstars (or groups of Superstars) who are on their way up, and three that are moving in the opposite direction. After a busy week that included WWE Bash in Berlin, a lot of fortunes were changed.

With that in mind, let’s see whose stock decreased the most this week:

Stock Down #3: Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman was Bronson Reed’s latest victim on this week’s Raw. After the two big men had a wild parking lot brawl, Reed finished Braun off with a Tsunami onto the roof of a car. It seems that Strowman should be out of action for a while to sell the injuries he suffered as a result of that devastating move.

Stock Down #2: Unholy Union

At Bash in Berlin, the Unholy Union predictably dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship back to Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair. The fact that Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn lost the belts in their first PLE title defense sure makes it seem like the main reason why they won the belts in the first place was because June’s Clash at the Castle PLE took place in their home country of Scotland. They were up against bad booking for most of their title reign, and now it’s worth wondering where they’ll fall in the pecking order without championship gold around their waists.

Stock Down #1: Drew McIntyre

Strap matches sometimes have unsatisfying finishes where the winner gets a little bit luckier than the loser at the very end of the fight. That wasn’t the case at all in the CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre strap match at Bash in Berlin. Drew wasn’t protected at all in this finish, not only tapping out multiple times during the match, but also eating at least four GTS finishers for as decisive an ending as there can be. A lot of fans, including this writer, have assumed there will be a trilogy of matches between Punk and McIntyre, culminating in Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood. But after the way this match ended, there is no need to do a third match. CM Punk kicked this guy’s ass, took back his bracelet, and should be moving on to better things at this point.

Now let’s see whose stock increased the most this week:

Stock Up #3: Michin

Michin has generally struggled to get regular TV time on WWE’s main roster. That changed during her feud with Nia Jax that just wrapped up in a street fight on SmackDown in Berlin. Michin was annihilated with a garbage can when it was all said and done, but the more important thing is that she demonstrated why she belongs in these kinds of stories and matches. There should be more of that to come after she made the most of her minutes opposite Jax.

Stock Up #2: Ludwig Kaiser

Ludwig Kaiser got a rare spotlight on SmackDown in Berlin when he answered LA Knight’s open challenge for a US championship match. Kaiser lost the match but came off like a big star in the process with the fans heavily rooting for him instead of the typical fan favorite Knight. It was a glimpse of what Kaiser’s upside looks like if WWE ever decides to get behind him in a significant way.

Stock Up #1: CM Punk

Drew McIntyre put over CM Punk about as strongly as possible in their strap match at Bash in Berlin. WWE made a big deal about this being Punk’s first (televised) win in the company in over a decade. With such a decisive victory over Drew, Punk should probably be in line for the next world title match.

There you have it, Cagesiders. Whose stock do you think changed the most this week?

2024-09-01T20:09:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd