{"id":199060,"date":"2025-06-06T12:24:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T17:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=199060"},"modified":"2025-06-07T16:11:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T21:11:33","slug":"wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-roxanne-perez-jd-mcdonagh-karion-kross-jey-uso-the-miz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/06\/06\/wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-roxanne-perez-jd-mcdonagh-karion-kross-jey-uso-the-miz\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RISING STARS &#038; FADING STARS: Roxanne Perez, JD McDonagh, Karion Kross, Jey Uso, The Miz"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-412219470\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>The fallout of Saturday\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s Money in the Bank matches is sure to reshape the landscape of WWE by spotlighting two rising stars. I look forward to exploring their prospects in next week\u2019s column.<\/p>\n<p>This week, we\u2019ll examine a few wrestlers who are thriving in their current roles, and a couple whose momentum is stalled. As always, we begin with the winners:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Rising Star of the Week: Roxanne Perez<\/h3>\n<p>Perez\u2019s transition to the main roster has been uneven. After setting the record for the longest performance in a women\u2019s Royal Rumble match in January, she lost momentum, regularly featured in televised matches with repeated losses. Of 16 televised matches in 2025, Perez has won only 3. Perez came across as a one-dimensional heel, showing little reason for the audience to invest.<\/p>\n<p>Judgement Day to the rescue. Since Finn Balor introduced her to the rest of the stable, Perez has had the opportunity to show off her acting chops and her personality \u2013 and she\u2019s delivering.<\/p>\n<p>Perez\u2019s transparent attempts to ingratiate herself with the group have been a lot of fun, from nuggets and massages to Domenick Mysterio, to ill-fated attempts to interfere in Liv Morgan\u2019s matches. The reactions of the various Judgement Day members have ranged from Balor\u2019s enthusiastic endorsement to Morgan\u2019s mistrustful rejection. The teased love triangle with Mysterio and Morgan only add to the intrigue.<\/p>\n<p>WWE creative clearly sees potential in Perez in giving her this spot, and she\u2019s making the most of it. This is the first time I\u2019ve been genuinely interested in her character.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2018m excited to see where her story goes from here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First Runner-up: J.D. McDonagh<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-436201828\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>A secondary player in the Judgement Day, McDonagh\u2019s role is clear: wrestle great matches and take the losses. He excels at both. The \u201cIrish Ace\u201d is Balor\u2019s equal in the ring, and his selling may be the best on Raw. Their tag team deliver more compelling matches than any other team on Raw.<\/p>\n<p>After a horrific injury on the January 27th episode of Raw, in which he suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, McDonough returned in less than 3 months, a testament to his toughness. Once mocked by Michael Cole and Pat McAfee for his oversized head, McDonagh has earned their respect &#8211; and ours.<\/p>\n<p>While McDonagh only plays a minor role in the ongoing Judgement Day drama, he subtly adds value to every scene he\u2019s in. The Judgement Day act is much better off since his return.<\/p>\n<p>If he continues to overperform, I believe McDonagh\u2019s will earn a bigger spotlight, and that will be the true \u201cJudgement Day\u201d for his career.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Second Runner-up: Karrion Kross<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kross only gets a minute or two of weekly TV time, but he makes it count.<\/p>\n<p>As the devil a babyface\u2019s shoulder, Kross gives us a window into their motivations without clunky exposition. Scarlet is the perfect succubus to Kross\u2019s Lucifer. Their efforts lead to some suspense \u2013 will our hero give in to temptation?<\/p>\n<p>In my view, Kross was a bright spot in the otherwise flat WrestleMania feud between Styles and Logan Paul.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1128772332\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>After years of floundering in the undercard, its great to see Kross and Scarlet finally finding their lane.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of &#8220;Acknowledging WWE&#8221; with Javier Machado, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/acknowledging-wwe-money-in-the-bank-preview-worlds-collide-overview-r-truth-s-surprising-release-more--66414682\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Acknowledging WWE - Money in the Bank preview, Worlds Collide overview, R-Truth's surprising release, more\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=66414682&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>FADING STAR OF THE WEEK: Jey Uso<\/h3>\n<p>Uso remains extremely popular with the crowd- but I\u2019m not fans are as invested in him as they are his entrance and catchphrases. Uso\u2019s performance as a World Champion haven\u2019t measured up.<\/p>\n<p>His promos fall short compared to the likes of Sami Zayne, Gunther, CM Punk, and even Seth Rollins. In the ring, he\u2019s adequate &#8211; far superior to John Cena\u2019s \u2013 but on the low end of current main event acts.<\/p>\n<p>Uso thrives as a title chaser, but not as a champion.<\/p>\n<p>His WrestleMania story, overcoming the odds to dethrone a dominant champion, was a great one. However, this championship reign has been lackluster.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to wrap it up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-up: The Miz<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Miz is excellent at his craft. While his ring work is serviceable at best, his charisma and mic skills have kept him relevant through much of his remarkable 19-year WWE career. He\u2019s the only wrestler earn Grand Slam Champion status twice, an accolade he deserves.<\/p>\n<p>The Miz\u2019s introduction as a reality TV star, eminently punchable face, obnoxious catchphrases (\u201cReally?&#8230; Really?&#8230; Really?\u201d), and grating self-importance made him standout heel- both as a solo act and with a partner. Highlights include his feuds with Daniel Bryan and John Cena and his alliances with Maryse, John Morrison, and Damien \u201cMizdow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the Miz\u2019s ability to elevate babyfaces is wearing thin. He\u2019s been humiliated so often, the fun of seeming him get his comeuppance has faded. In 2025, he\u2019s won only 1 out of 6 televised matches and has done little to boost Carmelo Hayes or Aleister Black.<\/p>\n<p>The Miz\u2019s act feels stale. He still has value, but it\u2019s time for a long break from TV \u2013 or a radically different role.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show (6\/2) - WWE Raw w\/cohost Christopher Maitland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RNpADOLYl8o?start=5&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-660741263\"><div id=\"pwtor-801727842\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The fallout of Saturday\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s Money in the Bank matches is sure to reshape the landscape of WWE by spotlighting two rising stars. I look forward to exploring their prospects in next week\u2019s <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/06\/06\/wwe-rising-stars-fading-stars-roxanne-perez-jd-mcdonagh-karion-kross-jey-uso-the-miz\/\" title=\"WWE RISING STARS &#038; FADING STARS: Roxanne Perez, JD McDonagh, Karion Kross, Jey Uso, The Miz\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,52,4309,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-opnionandanalysis","category-rising-star-fading-star","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2025\/06\/Screenshot-2025-06-06-at-12.20.40\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199063,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199060\/revisions\/199063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}