The months after WrestleMania are dark times. It seems like WWE is totally comfortable coasting to, if not through, June. And when it come to the values of championships, this is not good.
The Market has proven as much. All but three WWE titles have slipped in value, some more considerable than others. While much of this slide is to be expected in May, there are a couple alarming trends that need more than time to correct themselves.
There may be big trouble ahead for WWE’s flagship belts. But regardless of how bad it gets, it will never be Seth Rollins vs. Kane bad. The Women’s division on both shows had negative returns this week, but this should sort itself out with due time. The Market loves Alexa Bliss and Charlotte, so as long they maintain prominent roles, these titles will remain stable investments.
The Intercontinental and US Championship also seem to be holding steady. Each is held by ample hands and surrounded by the company’s most capable talent. In stocks, boring means a safe and smart investment (think US Steel). In wrestling boring is a bad thing, So even though these secondary belts are holding strong, let’s hope WWE ups the ante. The Market, and WWE fans crave excitement.
On that note, the Cruiserweight Belt may be in for a rough patch. Aside from Neville, there just isn’t much to offer. The Market wants to know if Taka Michinoku is still wrestling.
We’re done glossing over things. Let’s get into the week’s biggest gains and most hurtful losses. Belt economics!
Universal Title 70.04 (-2.85)
WWE Championship 57.24(- 4.60)
Videos by PopCulture.com
Intercontinental Title54.53 ( -1.02)
US Championship 50.84 (+1.72)
RAW Women’s 36.36 (- 1.16)
SmackDown Women’s 34.19 (-0.82)
RAW Tag 26.81(+2.13)
SmackDown Tag 26.96 (+3.99)
Cruiserweight 5.09 (-0.92)
Biggest Winner
The Tag Belts
It’s amazing how little it takes to drum up excitement in wrestling. To the dismay of, well, the world, the Hardys look like they’ll remain un-broken. While this should impact the RAW tag titles negatively, the booking of a cage match vs. Cesaro and Sheamus has this market tingling with anticipation.
Even though the intoxicating aroma of the Hardy arrival has already begun to fade, the idea of 20ft Swanton Bombs at Extreme Rules has this belt’s stock price feeling optimistic. Couple that with strong adversaries (who have yet to admonish America as heels) and we officially have intrigue.
But the real rocket ship blasted from SmackDown. The whimsical revival of Breezango proved to be the best thing in WWE this week. A highly entertaining match at Backlash and a cleverly booked rematch on Smackdown has fans, and the market, pumping love into the once decrepit Tag Division.
Unfortunately for everyone, we have likely seen the last of Breezango around the Tag belts. As per their recent appearance on Talking Smack, one can reasonably deduce that The New Day will be returning soon. The Market loves to speculate, and dreaming of a hot New Day on SmackDown has the Market’s imagination running wild.
Clearly, SmackDown is the land of opportunity. But even more so, it is the land of comic freedom. If Tyler Breeze and Fandango can elevate themselves with a little comedy, then what can the New Day do?
Biggest Loser
The Big Belts
The state of WWE’s most prized titles can be summed up in two analogies:
One has an absentee father. He left. He doesn’t really care too much about you or your mother. He shows up on the holidays, usually to beat the shit out of something.
The other is like a shotgun wedding. Your mom got liquored up at a conference in Las Vegas, met a stranger, and got hitched in one of those drive-by chapels. But she’s home now; with your new father. And he has terrible credit.
Oh man. Is this bad?
It’s bad.
The Market loathes uncertainty, and the tip-top of WWE is on some unstable ground. While Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion keeps this belt’s value from plummeting, his utter disappearance doesn’t help anything. Even worse, Braun Strowman is gone. And double-worse, WWE doesn’t have an opponent for Brock. In their defense, they’re working on it, but regardless of who it is, he will be put on a platter for the Beast at Great Balls of Fire. So where’s the intrigue?
Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton put on a great match at Backlash. When Jinder won, social media exploded. The Market loves this attention, but is there substance to it? After a surreal coronation on SmackDown, the new champion stuck with his same anti-American schtick that even the alt-Right is having trouble booing. To make matters worse, he’s set for a re-match against Orton at Money in the Bank. While this was expected (WWE has to see this feud through) its doesn’t assuage the Market’s concern. Barring some unforeseen intelligent booking, this stock may see its value slip below the Intercontinental Title’s.
