Diva Blog 

Showing posts with label Divas. Show all posts

Paige returned recently and you are getting the diva feud for Elimination Chamber that you probably expected. Nikki Bella will defend the Diva\'s Championship against Paige and Naomi. Paige wants revenge on Naomi for taking her out and wants her title shot she never got. Naomi has been in the title hunt recently. The feud basically writes itself, especially with so little time until Elimination Chamber.

Who should win this match? It would make sense for Naomi to win the title and the feud to shift to her and Paige. Build up to Paige regaining the title after being attacked last month, while also getting her revenge on Naomi. The Bellas seem to have another storyline developing for them. Stephanie McMahon, again? That is another issue for another day. Nikki does not need the title.

What is the WWE likely to do? Both Paige and Naomi are credible jobbers. Those performers usually get the shorter end of the stick. Even if they win the title, they are not featured as prominently on a consistent basis as the real stars. I can imagine Paige and Naomi getting the kind of mediocre feud that you saw at times last year. Nikki Bella will continue to hold the title into whatever larger storyline the WWE is working on. Will Nikki eventually break AJ Lee\'s record with the butterfly title? I wouldn\'t be surprised if she did. Regardless, I am expecting her to retain.

Labels: Divas, Elimination Chamber, Naomi, Nikki Bella, Paige, The Bellas, WWE

Lana looks like she\'s being paired with Dolph Ziggler. Not what I would consider a "big push" for her, as rumors were saying. Nevertheless, it is a smooth transition from a good position she had with Rusev to another position with a solid performer.

That is more than you can say for another blonde. How about Summer Rae? Last year around this time, I was thinking they might start giving her a good push. Didn\'t really happen. Much like Lana, she has gotten periphery usage. She was dancing alongside Fandango. That transitioned to an angle with Layla, which didn\'t really go anywhere. She was last seen involved with Miz and Sandow. Lana doesn\'t even wrestle and she is in a better spot than Summer Rae.

Why Summer Rae is not being pushed as well as Lana isn\'t even the question I want to talk about. Why is it that Lana was able to connect so well with the fans and Summer Rae hasn\'t really been able to? They do have things in common. They are blonde periphery divas. Lana can go away for a few weeks and fans start chanting for her. Summer Rae has also missed some time, but no one seemed to care too much. Why this difference in overness?

First, the way these two women have been pushed definitely is part of it. Neither of them has been pushed as the centerpiece of the diva division. Neither of them has been pushed as a jobber to the centerpiece or interim centerpiece. They have both been pretty much periphery divas during this dark age. But Lana has been pushed better. She has been paired with a guy that has been pushed better. Rusev had a long undefeated streak. He won the United States Championship. He had defeated several former World Champions. And Lana was along for the ride the whole time. Meanwhile, Summer Rae was stuck working with Fandango. He wasn\'t going anywhere. Her angle with Layla didn\'t go anywhere. Getting involved with Miz was her first real shot to do something that mattered, but then Miz goes to make another movie. Dolph Ziggler, despite being popular, is someone I would consider a step down from how well Rusev was pushed in the past year. But even he is better than anything Summer Rae has gotten. And if the sun is setting on Rusev, then pairing Ziggler with Lana definitely is a good choice.

Aside from how they have been pushed and the individuals they have been paired with, look at the women themselves. Look at the kind of performers they are. Wrestling ability is obviously not comparable. Is Lana hotter than Summer Rae? I think so. Looking around, I think a lot of other fans have that belief. That is definitely part of why she got over. Summer Rae isn\'t ugly, but Lana just seems sexier. Then there is character and overall charisma. Lana is in a position where she frequently gets mic time. She has a unique character that people can be drawn to and she plays it well. Summer Rae never got most of that for the bulk of her run on the main roster. She was a dancer. A lot of divas have been utilized that way. Unless you are stripping on ECW like Kelly Kelly, it is not too interesting. But that is where your own charisma has to take over and shine. And Summer Rae has just come off as too generic. I could have probably compared her to Michelle McCool. Lana is what an eye-candy periphery diva is supposed to be. She has the sex appeal and the kind of personality to get very over.

I wouldn\'t say Lana is someone that really got over against the status quo of the diva division. I am not taking anything away from her getting over. I just want to point out that the diva division is built on women like her. Yes, she was a heel that got cheered, but she was being pushed well and the WWE is running with her. If she really got over against the grain, they would not have done that so easily. Until she starts wrestling, no need to consider whether she is the next centerpiece. I doubt Summer Rae is in the running for that. But the success of Lana might give the WWE some motivation to keep that status quo going. Is that a good thing? Probably not.

The New England Patriots had some drama this year about deflating footballs. They went on to win the Super Bowl. Tom Brady denied any wrongdoing. A recent investigation shows that it was likely that Brady did know what was going on and lied. As part of the team\'s punishment, Brady will be suspended for 4 games.

Keyword? Likely. Likely? Yes, likely. They are going by what was probable. They have no confession. They have no concrete evidence to hang him with. And yet, he will be punished. Does it seem obvious that he had to have known something? It seems very probable. I will admit that much. But is it enough to punish someone? Regardless, that is the ruling, which will be challenged. Have to see how that plays out.

This is a pro wrestling blog, right? I sometimes forget. How does any of this relate to pro wrestling? Go back to Mickie James. Go back to the drama around her mistreatment and ultimate release. You hear a lot from the media as to why she went through all that. Did people actually analyze what was going on even before her release and all that mistreatment. With the Brady drama, you had investigators doing interviews and checking cell phones. I am not saying anyone had to do an investigation with what happened with Mickie James. How about analysis? It\'s not as difficult.

Analyze the diva division. Analyze what the WWE has a history of doing with the various women. Analyze the career of Mickie James. Fit her into what they have a history of doing. Look at how they would push her. Look at the depth of the division. I have done this many times. You have a women\'s division that likes to build around eye-candy divas. The majority of female wrestlers get pushed to put over that eye-candy centerpiece and are used as filler. During Mickie\'s time in the WWE after Trish and Lita retired, the WWE was only interested in creating a new eye-candy centerpiece. No female wrestlers were developed as stars until AJ Lee in 2012. Mickie James was pushed as a credible jobber. She was used to put over the stars and used as filler when they were not around. Depth was horrible at the time, leaving Mickie James as the only face with wrestling credibility in many situations. Mickie James got over off of this type of career, which had never happened before since the diva division started, and the WWE continued along in the direction they wanted to work out, even though their chosen women did not work out.

Given what the WWE has a history of doing in the diva division and how they were pushing Mickie James throughout her career, what seems like the obvious explanation for what happened? Mickie James was doing something horrible to warrant the WWE\'s mistreatment? Or the WWE is doing something horrible with their diva division and Mickie James got in the way? If you need something more to consider, keep in mind later dramas with guys like Christian, Zack Ryder, and Daniel Bryan.

You want to talk about what is likely or probable or obvious? Tom Brady is found guilty of something based on it seeming obvious he is guilty. To me, what happened with Mickie James is even more obvious. A woman gets over off a type of career where no woman ever does get over. The WWE continues to treat her the same way they would had she never gotten over. The women they want to be stars are flopping. The WWE has shown in recent years that they will mistreat men that they do not want to push as the fans want to see. When you put it all together, it seems very obvious why Mickie James was released. The WWE just didn\'t want to have to push her anymore. Dirtsheets botched. And it is not just about one woman. The problem is still there for more women to have to endure. And no one talks about it. I think this is more important than deflated balls.

There are no signs that the WWE is ready to quit on the diva division. They still want to run a women\'s division that leans towards eye-candy divas. I have read all these reports of eye-candy divas the WWE is high on. Looking at how the divas are being pushed, it also seems like no female wrestlers are in a great position. At the same time, this is still a dark age. The WWE has not become truly efficient again.

Paige has her plate full when it comes to extracurricular activities. She\'s getting things to do outside of actually performing on the wrestling shows. Never make too much of that. The WWE builds the people they want to be stars on the wrestling shows, not just in their movies and Total Divas. I would like to believe the WWE wants to start pushing Paige better with AJ Lee gone, but I will wait to see it actually happen.

Reports say the WWE is high on Lana and Eva Marie. I have spoken a little about Lana already. How about Eva Marie? I once had a conversation with a guy on Twitter that was talking about how bad the division was after Lita left. He pointed out Ashley and how bad she was. I brought up Eva Marie as this era\'s answer to Ashley. He said it doesn\'t count because the WWE does not push Eva seriously. I wonder what he would say now. Of course, Eva Marie is getting great training and showing signs of improvement. That is the overall story of the diva division. Hot model-type performer develops wrestling skills and becomes the greatest in the division. I just wonder if she can overcome some fans that have already made up their mind about her and may not be willing to give her a chance. #GiveEvaMarieAChance? It isn\'t just about sitting through all her segments. It is about having an open mind. A lot of fans I have seen seem impressed by her training. But I wouldn\'t become a fan of anyone just by how they train. They have to make it work when it counts the most.

Aside from reports, you can just look at the division and see the WWE is still pushing The Bellas. Nikki is still holding the Diva\'s Championship. Is the WWE serious about sticking with them as the centerpiece? Lana and Eva Marie aren\'t the only ones that have the look and the background. But you might eventually have yourself a congested division. The WWE was able to balance things better back a decade ago when they had the brand split. These days, they need a better periphery to be able to push their stars well outside of their centerpiece.

Nikki is still feuding with Naomi. Tamina returned to side with Naomi. There is a family connection there. It could be interesting, but the WWE usually drops the ball with divas that are not priorities to them. I am not convinced Naomi and Tamina are priorities. They are credible jobbers.

Credible jobbers still win titles. Will Naomi win the title? She lost the encounter a few weeks ago. It is not unheard of for the centerpiece to drop the title in the second encounter. You also have the fact that Paige had won a match to get a title shot and Naomi took her out. Forgetting what the diva division is about for a moment, just thinking about how you might develop a feud, it would make perfect sense for Naomi to win the title and eventually feud with Paige. It writes itself. But this is a company that buries what might make sense for the benefit of what they want. Paige and Naomi can end up with a non-title filler feud, while Nikki continues to hold the title. I would not be surprised to see that.

Labels: Divas, Eva Marie, Lana, Naomi, Nikki Bella, Tamina, The Bellas, WWE

I have already said all I want to say about John Cena vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton. I will talk about the other matches today.

Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper. If Dean Ambrose can\'t win this feud, there has to be some kind of running gag here. There is no reason to bury him. He is over, but there is no heavy protest to see him get pushed. Luke Harper is not going anywhere. Give the win to Ambrose.

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston. The tag division is looking almost as sloppy as the diva division. I am talking about how it is managed, not the quality of matches. I would expect Kidd and Cesaro to retain. If the WWE is serious about developing The New Day as something credible, and I mean really SERIOUS, I can picture them giving them the titles. I do not think they care. It does not matter whether they are heels or faces. They have been mediocre too long.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. Why don\'t I ever call him Bad News Barrett? Anyway, Daniel Bryan\'s health continues to be an issue. Is he badly hurt? If he is not that hurt, he will retain. If he is hurt but can still go, he will work the match and Barrett will regain the Intercontinental Championship. If he is too hurt for even that, you are going to have a repeat of what happened last year. Regardless of Daniel Bryan\'s health, I still feel he could have been utilized better in the last few weeks. There are some guys that are so over that just being out there is enough for the fans. They do not need to wrestle every night. The product has felt a little weak lately. Daniel Bryan could have helped fix that to some degree.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus just made his return a few weeks ago. They seem more interested in pushing him right now than Ziggler. Ziggler just seems to be in the position to put Sheamus over. I do not see them hurting the momentum Sheamus is developing. He likely wins this match. I do not want to imagine what will happen with the "kiss me arse" aspect of this match. Crass.That\'s the word I\'ll give it.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show. There will be rowdy Chicago fans at Extreme Rules. You can imagine some of what they will do. They will love Cesaro and Kidd. Cena will get booed. As far as this match goes, you have two guys that smarks do not like. "Please Retire" chants for Big Show? Will Roman get mugged as he tries to make his entrance through the crowd? I usually get excited for Last Man Standing matches, but a lot of hardcore-style matches have been weak in recent years. The WWE is trying to be more edgy again. There is also no reason to be too interested in who wins. Roman Reigns is the guy they are developing to be a star. Big Show is a jobber to the stars. It will be more interesting to see how fans treat this match than anything else.

I have saved the diva match for last. Nikki Bella vs. Naomi for the Diva\'s Championship. Naomi is the heel and Nikki is the face. Paige had won a battle royal to get a title shot. Naomi turned heel that same night and took her out. Paige is out filming a movie. The WWE pretty much took out their top face right now. They fix it by turning The Bellas face. This is sloppy, inconsistent booking. I do not think you can put all the blame on AJ Lee retiring. They could have kept all the alignments the same and developed face Naomi to take on heel Nikki for the title. Have The Bellas take Paige out if she has to take time off.

How about the decision to turn The Bellas face? Given the hole the WWE dug for themselves, this is an okay move. You have two faces with one turn. There are still other divas they can treat as faces. More faces will eventually debut. The main issue is how randomly they did it. Not developed well. In one year, The Bellas have gone from being faces to being heels to being faces. Paige has gone from being a face to a heel to a face. AJ Lee was a heel, turned face, and if she had not left, would have turned heel again. Some people complain about how long John Cena has been face, but you can bring up the opposite complaint about the diva division. Stop turning them so much. A lot of these turns are done because of depth issues, not for the sake of good creative investment.

I would not make too much out of Paige starring in a movie for the WWE. Extracurricular activities do not determine your place on the roster. Brodus Clay also starred in a movie for the WWE. Where is he now? TNA. Things like movies and Total Divas usually do not do the most for helping you to get over. Not everyone can get over through extracurricular activities like Zack Ryder did. It comes down to how you are actually pushed. Let\'s see how Paige is pushed when she returns.

Who wins between Nikki and Naomi? I would say Nikki. After that, you will probably eventually get a triple threat involving those two and Paige. Paige will still have a title shot coming and Nikki will probably still be face. Face vs. face? Insert heel Naomi. I would not be surprised if the WWE books Nikki to hold the title long enough to break AJ Lee\'s record. She\'s almost halfway there.

Labels: Big E Langston, Big Show, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Divas, Dolph Ziggler, Extreme Rules, Kofi Kingston, Luke Harper, Naomi, Nikki Bella, Paige, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, The Bellas, Tyson Kidd, Wade Barrett, WWE

While Mickie James was in the WWE, she was a credible jobber. She was a diva with wrestling credibility used primarily to put over whom the WWE was developing to be the top diva, while also being used as filler when that top diva was not around. After Trish and Lita left, the WWE was not focused at all on developing another female wrestler to be a periphery diva like Lita. Their concern was creating a new eye-candy centerpiece. That strong determination plus the poor depth in the diva division and issues with those women being developed to be the centerpiece is what led to Mickie James being pushed so much, not a desire to develop her as a star. Mickie won 6 title reigns off this type of career. Not surprisingly, they released her soon after that. She ended up in TNA and is still there now.

Getting rid of Mickie James did not fix the WWE\'s problems in the diva division. They still struggled to create stars out of whom they wanted to be stars. They soon started to get sloppy in how they were handling the division and just showed signs of losing interest. That led to the second dark age you now have. The first occurred after Sable left. It was in this dark age that you had the rise of AJ Lee. They took her and groomed her in the periphery since the start of 2012. With a lack of a traditional centerpiece, she soon moved into the title scene. She was clearly the top star of this dark age. She began a relationship with CM Punk. CM Punk had some serious issues with the WWE. The rest is history. AJ Lee retired.

Even before AJ Lee did anything major on even NXT, dirtsheets sold her as the replacement for Mickie James. After initially debuting on Smackdown, the WWE did not show any signs of being interested in doing anything big with her and it is questionable whether she would have gotten as over as she did become with that mediocre treatment. But look at how the WWE did develop her in the periphery. Psycho gimmick. She was skipping down to the ring. These are things Mickie James had in the WWE. You can even bring up AJ Lee wearing jeans shorts, which was the attire Mickie James started wearing in TNA. The WWE had essentially created their own Mickie James.

Mickie James was pushed in a manner from which no diva ever becomes very over. Female wrestlers pushed as credible jobbers might connect well with wrestling fans, but they certainly do not become the most over diva on the roster. Mickie James did. The WWE obviously did not like it. If they did, they would have been more open to treating female wrestlers better, not start getting used to pushing eye-candy divas more. AJ Lee did not overcome the mediocre, inconsistent treatment credible jobbers get. She benefited from the dark age and a strong push in the periphery.

AJ still did not appear to have cemented an amazing connection with the fans. I have brought up before that fans seemed to be more interested in chanting for her husband when she was out there than for her, Nikki Bella did a heel promo against face AJ that got cheered, and I have seen more support for Paige over the last year than for AJ. She was better off in the periphery than the title scene.

In terms of overness, AJ Lee did not do what Mickie James did in that diva division. Even with the gimmick and the best push a female wrestler had gotten in that diva division since Lita, it did not seem AJ Lee really got the level of overness she should have. Moreover, the success the WWE did get out of AJ did not seem to motivate them to be efficient again. There were fans complaining on Twitter at a scary level about how horrible the diva division was just a few months ago.

Think about loyalty for a moment. The WWE was definitely loyal to AJ Lee. I am not just talking about the level at which they pushed her. This woman had taken a few weeks off twice in the last year. Both times she returned, she got back a good push. She won back the Diva\'s title the night she returned last year. When she returned this year, she got put in a position for a Wrestlemania match, which she won. This is all despite AJ sometimes having some incidents that could have hurt her push. One of those incidents was AJ calling out Stephanie McMahon on Twitter during the #GiveDivasAChance movement. A few weeks after that, she gets another Wrestlemania win. A few days after that, she retires. The WWE definitely did not see that coming. If they had known she would retire, they would have planned some kind of angle. She chose her husband over the WWE.

Mickie James was loyal to the WWE. I would say she was more loyal than she should have been. Some workers might have gotten annoyed at having to wait for someone to get injured to get a filler push while they were away. And they humiliated her on Smackdown. And they released her soon after that. This is the most over diva on the roster at that time and the WWE is treating her the same way they treat women like her that do not get over. The only time Mickie James ever took any extended time off from the WWE was when she had a staph infection in her knee and required surgery. She was only gone a few weeks and came back in time for Wrestlemania. They did not treat her return as anything special and she did not even play a major role in her Wrestlemania match that year. Despite all they did to her, she never wanted to leave the WWE. She was not putting her music career ahead of the WWE. After she left TNA in 2013, she still wanted to go back to the WWE. Even while she was pregnant, she still showed signs of wanting to go back to the WWE. They were never pushing her right, and she still wanted to be there. If you really want to talk loyalty, she was out promoting Raw the day she got released.

As I have said many times, in terms of position, anyone and everyone is replaceable. In terms of how well they can get the job done in a certain position, not everyone can be replaced so easily. The WWE did not want Mickie James as a star when they had her. It was a time in the diva division when they were aiming for something else. After years of that not working out, they essentially made their own Mickie James with AJ Lee. And she has not turned out to be the kind of worker Mickie James was. You can coach someone in certain things, but you cannot do everything for them. You cannot hand them success. You cannot force them be loyal to you. That being said, you cannot take success and loyalty for granted. AJ Lee is not the first diva in the last few years to split. There are some divas that are more loyal to the company that either are not pushed well or are not bringing amazing results. If you have a worker that is loyal to you and can get the job done without even being treated as something fabulous, you should value that. The WWE has no one to blame for the situation their diva division is in but themselves.

You might say karma has come back to bite the WWE in the backside. They had a worker that got over on her own off a career in which she was not being pushed as a star. They never did for her what they would do for those they wanted to be top stars. And that didn\'t stop her from being loyal to that company. They released her. They continued along their path and still failed to get what they want. They end up trying to make their own version of what they let go. AJ Lee never got the kind of overness to match the kind of career she was getting. As far as loyalty goes, it looks like she did the kind of thing to the WWE that they did to Mickie James. The WWE pretty much used Mickie James and got rid of her when they were done. AJ Lee got what she wanted out of the WWE, then walked away from them when she wanted. You hear reports from dirtsheets that the WWE did not like the backstage attitude of Mickie James. Well, it seems AJ Lee had an attitude problem that she was not afraid to make public on Twitter. And they were still loyal to her. She didn\'t have the overness she should have. And they were still loyal to her. They should have put their foot down. But they didn\'t. What it all comes down to is whether or not they want you over. That is really what separates Mickie James from AJ Lee. If they want you over, you can get away with things. If they do not want you over, you don\'t even need to do anything wrong to be mistreated. The WWE had success in their hands. They didn\'t want it. They mistreated it and tossed it away. When they decide they wanted to recreate what they got rid of, they get back a little taste of their own medicine.

The feud between Miz and Sandow (Mizdow) is pretty good. You might say they have been wrestling each other too much prior to a PPV singles match. Their next encounter will have an interesting twist to it. The winner gets to keep the gimmick.

It seems obvious which guy should win this match. Miz. He is The Miz. Sandow does not need the gimmick. He can go back to being an intellectual. He can go back to copying other superstars. He can be a generic face and see how that works out for him. He really does not need to win this. If Miz does not win, what is he really left with? Will he start going by his real name? It might be interesting to have him lose just to see what he does. Nevertheless, I am expecting Miz to win.

Summer Rae is also involved in this feud. Miz and Summer Rae are movie stars. Problem is, Summer Rae is siding with Sandow in this feud. Good of the WWE to get a diva involved. I would pull a swerve and have Summer Rae help Miz win. Reveal that she was on Miz\'s side the whole time. I know I just said a few days ago that there are issues with the face depth in the diva division, but there are other options to fix that than Summer Rae. Besides, entertaining the fans and utilizing your workers to help them do that is the real goal. If Summer Rae stayed face, would she stay aligned with Sandow? Will he be pushed well in the months to come? Or will this angle fizzle out like when Summer Rae and Layla paired up? I believe Summer Rae staying with Miz can be good for her. She has been around on the main roster for a while, but I don\'t feel they have really developed her character well at all. Miz and Summer Rae might feud against Sandow and some other diva, like Layla, if the WWE wants to do anything meaningful with her. I have also seen some fans suggest Maryse will return to side with her husband, Miz. That will leave Miz/Maryse vs. Sandow/Summer. I think they should put the focus on the divas there now and in development. But if Maryse does return, I will talk about it. Until then, utilize Summer Rae right in this storyline.

Labels: Damien Sandow, Divas, Maryse, Miz, Raw, Summer Rae, WWE

Paige Gets A Title Shot, While Naomi Turns Heel

There was a diva battle royal on Raw to determine the next challenger for Nikki Bella\'s title. Some fans were predicting Charlotte to debut in this match and even win it. That did not happen. Paige won. Naomi, whom the WWE was pushing in recent weeks, turned heel.

I do not really like what happened. The major issue is depth. AJ Lee, a face, just left. Naomi, a face, now turns heel. Who are your faces now in the diva division? Paige. And? Natalya has been treated as a tweener. Emma can play a face on the main roster, although it seems she is being utilized better on NXT. Charlotte will still eventually debut. The brand split is gone and depth is still pretty poor in the division.

You can say that AJ would have ended up turning on Paige had she not retired. Does that mean they still needed to turn anyone at all? I do not think so. It looks like Naomi is in the spot AJ Lee would have been in, but I will not be quick to say she is now an A player. She has not gotten the kind of build AJ Lee had from 2012. It looks like they are just doing this for the sake of the storyline they intended to do. I would have scrapped that storyline. It just would not work as well now. I never really liked how they developed the relationship between AJ and Paige, but Naomi filling the role of AJ is even weaker. They just should have come up with a different storyline.

How about Paige once again getting a title shot? I like Paige. I just do not feel she needs to be in the title scene so much. I felt the same way about Mickie James. In that WWE diva division, the title scene is sometimes the worst place to be. That is particularly the case for female wrestlers. They are usually not pushed there to be developed to be stars. They are pushed there to put over stars or used as filler. It is an eye-candy diva that the WWE likes to develop as the centerpiece, like The Bellas, although the WWE has not shown they are really committed to them as centerpiece. Of course, this is a dark age, so the WWE does not have the kind of division they want right now.

How would I have done things? First of all, I would not debut Charlotte now. No need. Save her for the summer. Meanwhile, push some of the other divas on the main roster against Nikki in title feuds. That includes Naomi. Let Naomi stay face and get a title shot. Paige would not be left with nothing to do. Push her in the periphery. Since she debuted, she has not gotten anything good in the periphery. She has had no angles alongside the men. She has not feuded with other periphery divas in non-title feuds, like how The Bellas faced Stephanie McMahon. The only thing she\'s had outside the title scene was that feud against Alicia Fox to kill off their partnership. It was filler. Find a guy you are willing to push well and consistently. Pair Paige with him. It will be good for her.

Labels: AJ Lee, Divas, Naomi, Paige, Raw, The Bellas, WWE

AJ Lee just retired. What if Brie & Nikki Bella were to leave the WWE now? I still do not watch Total Divas, but I have heard that they are teasing The Bellas might leave the company, again. I doubt that will happen. Regardless, just for the sake of discussion, what might happen if they did leave?

Without bringing up Stephanie McMahon, The Bellas are the only divas in an A-tier position. With AJ Lee gone, that might make it easier for the WWE to better develop them as the centerpiece of the diva division. Nikki? Brie? Both? They are more of a centerpiece unit than LayCool were. In fact, with AJ gone, you can say the diva division is back to that one-dimensional look it had back then. The WWE was only concerned with developing a new centerpiece back then. When Michelle McCool was their lone attempt and Layla was her sidekick, that made the division at that time very painful. If you did not like their annoying act, you didn\'t have many other options being pushed well. Even if another diva held the title, LayCool still often trumped them. That is why holding the title does not mean you are the centerpiece. The Bellas have shown signs of being like LayCool. Getting over was an issue for McCool. It is still an issue for The Bellas, but I think they are a little more over now than McCool was during her centerpiece run. But that is still not too impressive.

What happens if you take that away? What happens if you take The Bellas out of the diva division? I have seen some fans say that the only thing holding the diva division back is The Bellas. In a while, the division will be full of all those fabulous wrestlers from NXT. The Bellas leaving will not cause the WWE to give up on the diva division. Michelle McCool leaving did not lead to the end of the status quo. They started pushing Kelly Kelly as the new centerpiece, not Layla. There is another Diva Search coming soon. That should be the ultimate sign that the WWE has not given up on this philosophy for their women\'s division that revolves around model-type performers. The Bellas leaving will just lead to the WWE moving on to someone else.

There are options on the main roster for the WWE to go to. I just do not know how confident they would be in those women. Summer Rae? There is also Eva Marie. She has been showing signs of improving. I would not be surprised to one day see her holding the title and pushed as the next Trish Stratus. With AJ Lee leaving, filling her spot is optional. Should The Bellas leave, the WWE would definitely try to fill their spot. The diva division revolves around a centerpiece.

From the standpoint of everything the WWE has put into these two, would The Bellas leaving now make them a bad investment? I am not talking about Total Divas. I am talking about their worth in the actual diva division. When I talked about AJ Lee leaving, I felt the WWE could have gotten more out of her and she really wasn\'t connecting with the fans as she should. The Bellas also lack the overness you would want your top stars of the diva division to have. But I don\'t feel they have been pushed as hard as AJ was, despite the big push they had for much of last year. AJ Lee is a female wrestler. I would have expected her to connect with those type of fans even better than she has. The Bellas are eye-candy divas. They are connecting about as well as you might expect, but that still isn\'t too great. In general, I do not think it would be a huge loss if The Bellas did leave. They do not have a great overness that would leave a huge hole in the division and they are not extremely talented, although they have improved very well. The WWE can just start developing another eye-candy diva to be like them. In terms of position, everyone is replaceable. In terms of how well someone can bring results, not everyone can be replaced that easily. I am not taking The Bellas for granted. They are better than many of the centerpiece attempts since Trish left. But there can be better.

Labels: AJ Lee, Divas, Layla, Michelle McCool, The Bellas, WWE

AJ Lee has retired from the WWE. The possibility that this would happen was alive for about a year now. Ever since CM Punk, the man she is now married to, walked out on the WWE, the issue of AJ leaving and what would happen next was there. I have discussed it on a few occasions. I might end up just repeating a lot of what I have said before now.

First, I do not see this as that huge of a loss. AJ Lee was a top periphery diva during this current dark age. She had her big rise in the periphery, getting angles in the men\'s division, in 2012. She had worked with top stars for about a year after that. That transitioned to her winning the Diva\'s Championship. This was the first star the WWE created in their diva division since Trish and Lita left. But there were issues. After they did stop pushing her so hard in the periphery and started having her in the title scene, I feel some of that overness died down. Being involved with CM Punk led to fans often chanting for him whenever she was out there more than they would for her. Paige seemed to have started to connect with fans better than AJ, despite the fact that Paige was only being pushed as a credible jobber. I have brought up that heel Nikki Bella promo against AJ Lee on Smackdown that got cheered. I have seen some fans say she was phoning it in during the last year with the company. They say she wasn\'t giving it her all in the ring. As I have said before, she was better off in the periphery. If she had stayed, that is where I think they should have put her back.

One of the reasons the WWE has failed to create stars in their diva division in recent years is that some of those women they develop to be stars leave before they can really get over properly. I am not necessarily putting AJ Lee in that category. She had gotten over. But I do not think the WWE got the most out of their investment in her. She has not even reached 30. She still could have been active for another 10 years. And pushed as a periphery diva, an injury would not have screwed her over at all. Lita suffered many injuries during her run in the WWE, but was frequently getting angles alongside the men to help keep her looking interesting. After everything the WWE has put into AJ Lee and how they have pushed her in such a short period of time, they should have gotten more out of her. I wouldn\'t consider her a true flop, but this did not turn out as great for the WWE as it should have.

I do not think she is going to end up in TNA or ROH or Lucha Underground. Her husband has become a legend. He is in the UFC now. The two of them are pretty much set. If AJ Lee did want to wrestle again, I am sure the WWE would take her back. She was a creation of the WWE. She has come and gone and the WWE has still pushed her well. She has taken public shots at her bosses and they still bring her back and let her have a Wrestlemania moment. Just as much as I believe they would love to take CM Punk back, the same goes for his wife.

Now that she is gone, depth in the diva division is looking bad. Losing someone you rarely see on TV would not be a huge blow. The WWE just lost someone they treated as a star. They have The Bellas. As far as top-tier stars go, that\'s it. Lana is an eye-candy periphery diva. Paige is a credible jobber. Stephanie McMahon is on another level. The WWE could try running an efficient division with The Bellas as the centerpiece. They do not need to fill the void AJ has left. But I think they should. I see that there are some fans that are easily satiated just by the WWE giving these women 10 minutes to work on most Raws. Regardless, there are some fans that want a female wrestler to support. The Bellas are not liked by many of these fans I am talking about. AJ Lee was a hero to many of these fans. Paige or Charlotte are the top candidates to fill that spot. Charlotte has become solid in the ring. I would personally go with Paige. She has already started to connect well with the fans on the main roster. As I mentioned before, many fans were choosing her over AJ even before AJ retired.

Overall, this is not a huge loss for the diva division, considering they were still inefficient and AJ Lee did not seem to be connecting with the audience the same way she was when she was pushed harder years ago. However, losing the first real star you had created in about 5 years is a blow. It will be interesting to see how much motivation the WWE shows with their diva division now. They can get lazy and just rely on fans being content with longer matches. It would be better if they give another diva the huge push AJ Lee got back in 2012. It would make the division a lot more exciting.

Dean Ambrose still appears to be very popular. He has been the latest Twitter craze. #GiveDeanAChance. #GiveAmbroseAChance. #AmbroseAppreciationDay. It doesn\'t have the same support to it that #GiveDivasAChance had, but fans are showing their support for the guy.

Dean Ambrose has been featured very regularly since The Shield broke up. He has not been featured as greatly as the other two guys, but still pretty well. He has been given plenty of time to work. He has gone against some top stars, including John Cena this week on Raw. He has even gotten some main-event focus. But he just seems to lose all his feuds. He is a jobber to the stars. When Chris Jericho gets treated like this, most fans respect it. He is a part-timer. He is already a legend. It is so great of him to put over younger talent. What do you say when Ambrose is the guy being treated like that? Dean Ambrose is much younger than Jericho. He has not accomplished half of what Jericho has. There is still plenty of time for him to be treated well in the future. As I said, he\'s still young.

I have seen some say that all this is just a storyline. All these losses serve some sort of storyline purpose. I\'ve heard that since his feud with Bray Wyatt. He did not turn heel then. I doubt he will turn heel now. Sheamus just returned as a heel. Would they do another heel turn so soon? What can they do with Ambrose that might make fans happy? How about eventually have him feud with Seth Rollins? Nothing major. A 1-month feud over the title could be nice. Rollins would likely retain, but fans should be happy to see Dean Ambrose getting such a big push. The WWE just has to avoid making the same mistakes they made with Daniel Bryan, or there might be another uproar to see Ambrose get the WWE Championship.

There is clearly a difference between #GiveDivasAChance and #GiveDeanAChance. Obviously, one is for a whole division, while the other is just for one guy. But there is more to it than that. The diva issue came about due to a very short match on Raw a few weeks ago. As I have pointed out, there is no issue with how much time Ambrose gets to work. He is getting a chance. He is getting a good chance. The diva fans seem to be content with just 10-minute matches. #GiveDivasAChance has lost much of its energy. It is really just a protest on the WWE being efficient with how the women are featured. The issue with Ambrose is over him getting pushed better. This is following in the lines of Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan, although not yet at that intensity.

I feel there is a double standard. Giving Dean Ambrose a "chance" is really about giving this guy the better career he deserves. Giving divas a "chance" is mainly about giving them more time to wrestle. How about giving these women the opportunity to earn those better careers that they deserve? It should be a process. You give them the time and use them efficiently. They get over with the fans. You monitor how over they are becoming and how they are doing it. You take the best and give them the top careers. Dean Ambrose has taken advantage of his opportunities to get over. Now is the time you would hope the WWE takes the next step and utilizes him better. What about the divas? Since #GiveDivasAChance started, I don\'t feel any one diva has stolen the show. People seem too busy timing the matches. If any diva should do the kind of thing Mickie James did, would she be legitimately rewarded for it? Or still pushed the same way she would had she never gotten over? That is the second half of this equation that fans are overlooking for the divas and want to see for Ambrose. What kind of opportunities are these women getting if the WWE is still pushing and depushing based on their usual standards?

When I am watching a basketball game, I sometimes hear the commentators praise players for being aggressive. They also praise players that pass the ball well, allowing someone in position to make a better shot get that opportunity or just to be nice in some situations. Of course, I do sometimes hear them criticize a player for not taking a good shot and passing the ball to someone that ends up not scoring. When it works, it works. Passing the ball is nice, but you have to be aggressive and try to score, as well.

The WWE has issues. TNA has issues. They do not have the same issues. In fact, I would say that their respective main issues are completely opposite. I am going to discuss it in terms of being aggressive.

The WWE and being aggressive? I do not think it is hard to believe that their problem is that they are too aggressive. If they really want a certain thing to work out, they will force it, even if it does not work out. In the last decade, they have not been aggressive to try to give the fans what they want. They have been aggressive to push what they want to work out. John Cena was the best example of that for a while. He was connecting well with the fans prior to his big push. Soon after getting that push, fans started to become split with him. He gets a bad reaction. Ratings have not been strong with him. You can just see he is not the greatest performer to be pushed as the centerpiece. And the WWE has just continued to force him.

In case you ever wondered if it was possible for things to be worse than they have been under John Cena, you have the rise of Roman Reigns. They are being more aggressive with him than they were with Cena during this stage of his career. Cena was not even getting these issues back at this point of his career. Fans are already treating Roman Reigns like he has been centerpiece for years. The WWE still had him go over Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane. They are having people put him over big time in promos, as well as interviews outside of kayfabe. They are really defending their decision to stick with him and forcing it, even though many vocal fans dislike Reigns. He is obviously not a great performer, and there are better choices available. They can let Reigns win the title from Lesnar, but that does not mean they should push him as the new centerpiece. They are being too aggressive. They should pass the ball and give another performer a chance to be the top guy.

There was a time when the WWE was too aggressive with their diva division. These days, it is easy to say they don\'t care. They can\'t even push women they want to be stars properly. Fans have to protest just to get them pushed better. Between the time Trish and Lita left and the division really collapsing into this dark age, you had the era of failed centerpieces. Creating a new Trish was their top priority. They had Playboy pushes and other short-term things like that, but their primary concern was a new centerpiece. They were not developing a new Lita during this time. And what happened when they were so focused to create a new centerpiece? They all flopped. Whether due to injury, deteriorating in-ring ability, failing to get over, or just not sticking around long enough to get anywhere, all the eye-candy divas pushed in this position flopped. Even Roman Reigns looks like an awesome option to push standing next to some of these women. And the WWE just kept forcing it for years. What impact did all these years of failure have on their drive to run a successful diva division? Well, you are currently in the worst dark age the diva division ever had.

While the WWE was being so aggressive with getting the diva division to work the way they wanted it to, Mickie James, a woman pushed to put over the women meant to be the centerpiece and used as filler when they were not around, became the most over diva. They didn\'t even start pushing her in the periphery, like they did Lita. They just remained focus on what they wanted to work. Mickie James being more over than the women meant to be the stars is not going to make her a great asset to what the WWE wanted to accomplish. People often overlook this when talking about why she was released. Fans talk about the WWE being so aggressive with Roman Reigns leading to guys like Daniel Bryan being held back. In the diva division, the problem is worse than just being held back.

A year or so into this current dark age, you had the rise of AJ Lee. She got over through angles in the periphery, much like Lita did. In fact, AJ has been pushed better than any female wrestler since Lita. Difference is, Lita\'s push was more natural and not as forced. With AJ Lee, it was obvious the WWE wanted her to be a star. They were aggressive with her. She was consistently pushed in the main-event scene for months. She was GM. She was involved with a lot of top stars. Of course, that would have to come to an end sooner or later. They took the training wheels off. They sent her out there in the Diva\'s title hunt. She has benefited from this dark age. But how over is she? Looking around, I would say Paige, a credible jobber, is more over than AJ. Heel Nikki Bella once cut a promo against AJ and got cheered for it. AJ is more likely to get fans chanting for her husband when she is out there than her on most nights. The WWE is so aggressive to make someone into a star, but when it comes to that person actually delivering, they don\'t seem to get the job done as well as they should. I am not saying AJ should be a top draw, but her overness with the audience should be better.

TNA is not as aggressive when it comes to making stars. They don\'t shove people down the throats of their fans in an attempt to make them into huge stars. On the contrary, they just pass the ball around. They make someone look good for an amount of time, then they pull the plug and move on to something else. They do this in both their men\'s division and women\'s division. It is like they are just going through the motions. And these men and women that were pushed as something amazing for a period of time, they do not have that momentum once they get unplugged. How can you push someone well for a certain amount of time, get your audience invested in them, and then just move on to something else? You are relying on wrestling itself to be a draw, but you should also be relying on creating and featuring stars.

There are many guys that win the TNA World Championship that obviously did not deserve it. Most of them are very good wrestlers and connect with the wrestling audience, but does every solid wrestler deserve a World title? No. You have to have more appeal to be pushed at the top. TNA does not even have a centerpiece like the WWE has. They do not groom top stars. Instead, they just pass the title around. Some guys just did not deserve to win the title. Chris Sabin is one. He didn\'t even hold it long. They didn\'t even develop him as well as the WWE would.

The KO division is not handled much better. It is respectable. As long as they maintain this status quo, you are unlikely to have fans protest how the women are being treated the same way the WWE has experienced. Regardless, this women\'s division has issues. Are you actually creating stars? Are you properly featuring them? I read in the results for the next set of tapings that Taryn Terrell seems to have turned heel. Okay. Is that to help her connect with fans better? Or are you just building her up for a face to conquer and get her few months in the spotlight? Is Taryn going to lose her momentum? Probably. Every woman in this division is interchangeable. 

When you are being aggressive with something, you better hope what you are doing is working out. If not, you are forcing something that is likely hurting you. There is a difference between being determined and being pigheaded. The WWE needs to learn this. It has cost them their diva division and it is leading to the development of men to be top stars that are not deserving. As for TNA, they need to stop passing the ball and make a shot. In basketball, you have a certain amount of time to get that shot off. You can say TNA has all the time in the world. You can also say that not getting their act together will eventually lead to them going out of business.

What do you do? Find a middle ground. Do not be so aggressive that you will force something that is just not working. At the same time, pay attention to who is working out and build around those individuals. Just like in any sport, if a coach sees that one strategy isn\'t working, he tries something else. He does not force what is not working out. Both the WWE and TNA have issues and nothing is being done to fix those issues. TNA needs to be more aggressive when it comes to making stars, while the WWE needs to be less aggressive.

Labels: AJ Lee, Divas, Knockouts, Roman Reigns, TNA, WWE

Lana is taking some time off to make a WWE movie. That leaves Rusev alone as he continues his feud with John Cena. Is this the beginning of the end for Rusev? Some might say that entering a feud against John Cena was the beginning of the end for Rusev.

Rusev has been pushed well since his debut last year. Very well. He has been climbing up that ladder of opponents. He has won a title. But what really makes him credible and interesting right now? He has his undefeated streak. He has the United States title. He has his gimmick. He had a manager. Just because Lana is away now does not mean the duo is completely done. But losing his manager is not the only issue. Rusev stands to lose his undefeated streak and title next week. Once you take that first defeat, more will come. I can imagine Rusev taking losses to Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and even Jack Swagger before the year is up. Even if the gimmick is still there, he will not be pushed with the same focus.

There have been many men like Rusev. I mean heels pushed very well for a certain period that even had managers or some type of sidekick. Umaga. Lord Tensai. The Great Khali. And not all have been big monsters. Alberto Del Rio had a sidekick. Jack Swagger had a manager. No pairing seems to last forever. Does Rusev have what it takes to stand on his own? Without even bringing up the likely depush, is he a good enough performer to be interesting without his manager? He is not completely incompetent on the mic. He can talk. As for his in-ring ability, he is good. I always see fans praising him for his selling ability. Lana definitely helps to make him more interesting, but he is capable on his own.

What is Lana without Rusev? Look back at those other men I just mentioned that had some type of manager or sidekick. Once the pairing broke up, nothing too major happened with the manager. Some of them were wrestlers, but the WWE didn\'t really push them too well. It seems they were only there to serve a purpose. Once they were done serving that purpose, their character was phased out. That is what usually happens. There are a few exceptions.

Lana should not end up like those guys. Lana is what an eye-candy periphery diva is supposed to be. She might be the best eye-candy periphery diva since the days of Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. She is hot and she can play a great character. Fans are interested in her. If a depush does come for Rusev, I would not bother pairing her back up with him. I don\'t think she should become a wrestling diva. It is obviously up to her and the WWE, but I cannot imagine her being featured well in this messy diva division where they cannot even be efficient with divas they want to be stars. Pair her up with another guy to manage. Possibly make her an authority figure one day. You can also have her change her gimmick. This is not a woman they should just lose in the shuffle.

This was the first Raw after the Internet protest after last week\'s Raw featured a short diva match. How did the WWE respond? You saw a title match, in addition to a tag match that featured minor diva action, and a return. I will talk about the title match and the return.

I did not watch the match as it aired on Raw. I was paying attention to what fans were saying about it on Twitter. They were talking like it was something amazing. They were talking like it tore the place down.

I then went back and watched it on Youtube a few times. I watched it once without the sound on just to form my own opinion without crowd reactions distracting and swaying me. I then watched it with the sound on to see how the fans liked it. That match was solid. That is all. It was not amazing. It was not the match of the night. The WWE did give them time and they treated it like a proper title match. Without even talking about the finish, the body of the match could have been so much better. I would have liked to have seen more and better counters. Did Nikki even get a chance to go for her finisher? Paige has numerous finishers, but you only say her go for the PTO. I really do not consider myself a tough critic. But when you talk about a match in the men\'s division being awesome, you are usually talking about a lot of finisher tries, close calls, and great counters. Are we supposed to have lowered standards for the women? That match was not amazing. These women are capable of better.

I once saw a fan suggest right after the protest started last week that the WWE should just make a tag match and give the women 15 minutes to wrestle. If the fans loved what they were seeing, you keep on giving the women that great amount of time. If the fans do not respond well, you can say you gave it a try and go back to what you were doing. I actually like that idea. I believe in these women and think they can win the crowd over. I saw another fan respond to that topic by saying the WWE should book it in a smark city so that the fans are more likely to enjoy it. No. That is not how it works. You are just rigging it in the favor of the women. The whole point is that they have to go out there and achieve and earn it. If you put them out there in a city already likely to eat up what they do, it just isn\'t the same. And I don\'t think the WWE would be stupid enough to not realize what was going on.

If that match on Raw was the match meant to give these women a fair shot to earn better, how did it do? It didn\'t go for 15 minutes. And it was in New Jersey, not too far from the smark city of New York. It might not have been the ideal conditions to judge them, but how did they do? There was some reactions from the fans, but I do not feel those reactions were strong enough. Crowds are deader now than times past, but that is why it is a challenge to win them over. Twitter ate that match up better than the crowd in New Jersey. And to repeat what I said before, I do not feel those two women really put out their best work. Solid match, but they are capable of more.

AJ Lee then returned. She is from New Jersey. A lot of fans were anticipating her. And she got some CM Punk chants. They were pretty much in her backyard and she still gets those chants. You have AJ Lee, Paige, and The Bellas. These are the four women they were pushing well for much of last year. You have to wonder if the WWE really would have done anything different if the fans had not protested. Great that AJ Lee is back? Personally, I could have lived without it. The WWE has done so much for her and I do not feel she is getting the level of reaction that she should. Meanwhile, other divas are not given a chance to earn that type of career. This whole issue finally bubbled over after Emma was squashed in less than a minute last week. Where\'s she this week? You get AJ Lee.

The WWE has seemingly taken control of #GiveDivasAChance. They have mentioned it in promos now. AJ Lee talked about it. The Bellas bring it up on Smackdown this week. The WWE has taken control of movements and exploited them for their own goals before. Zack Ryder got over, fans protested him not being pushed, they used him as a supporting player to benefit Cena, and then tossed him aside. Daniel Bryan got a monster reaction at one time. The WWE did not want to give him the better career. CM Punk walking out and continued fan protest led to them giving him a better push. Sold some merchandise, but they get the same backlash this year, though not as strong, and use Daniel Bryan to put over Roman Reigns. Bryan now looks like he\'s dancing around a midcard title. #GiveDivasAChance will be used to put over whom the WWE wants to be the stars in the diva division. I wouldn\'t even be surprised to see merchandise for this. But when it comes to actually giving these women a fair chance to earn better and get what they earn, nothing will change. Why isn\'t Emma, the woman that jobbed last week, the one in AJ Lee\'s spot right now? Have her ditch the stupid gimmick and push her a serious character that has had enough of being mistreated. Instead, a woman that got over through being pushed harder than any female wrestler in the periphery in years is made to look like a real rebel. #GiveDivasAChance is turning into #TreatYourDivaStarsEvenBetter.

Labels: AJ Lee, Bella Twins, Divas, Emma, Paige, Raw, WWE

There was a lot of drama last week. Brock Lesnar supposedly had backstage issues regarding money. In the midst of the protest against the diva division, AJ Lee took a shot at Stephanie McMahon. These two situations are actually somewhat similar.

Let me start with Lesnar. Business issues supposedly led to Lesnar not being a part of Raw last week. Now people are wondering whether he will be a part of Wrestlemania. Even if he is a part of Wrestlemania, how will the match be handled? How will the fans react? Brock Lesnar\'s last Wrestlemania match prior to leaving the WWE many years ago was not something wonderful. Will history repeat itself?

Look at everything the WWE has done with Lesnar in the last year alone. He put an end to The Undertaker\'s undefeated streak. He squashed John Cena to take the WWE Championship. He has held the title without even showing up on a regular basis and not defending it regularly. The WWE has invested a lot into him. The vast majority of men do not get treated like this. Some of them earn a fabulous career and don\'t get it. I would say Lesnar should show some humility. It is those guys that are mistreated that I like seeing stand up for themselves more. And if this whole story in true, I doubt Brock is having these issues because he cares so much about the other workers.

The NFL season never ends for some fans. There is always something to talk about. This is the time of year that teams are cutting players they don\'t need, signing other players, and trying to re-sign their star players they do not want to lose. It still feels weird to me when a star player that is bringing the results still is asked to restructure his contract for the benefit of the team. You would think he could command top dollar. But it is about doing what is right for the team. And some top stars are willing to restructure for the very reason of wanting to win a Super Bowl. Even guys that are great at what they do cannot do it alone.

That being said, Brock Lesnar is not worth it. With the way they have treated this guy, he should be the biggest draw in a long time. The rub he gives to the man that beats him should be enough to make a true superstar. And yet, none of that is working out. Ratings in recent months are abysmal. Even if you want to use the football excuse for why ratings were so bad during the first half of Lesnar\'s reign, that is not an issue now and ratings are still poor for this time of year. Brock Lesnar winning the title was supposed to create this hype over what would happen and lead to some fresh feuds. None of that worked out. All the blame should not be on him, but if he cannot be utilized to really deliver, why should you pay him as much as he wants? I would give him a pay cut. If he does not want it, let him go.

As a fan, I would have loved to see Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. Being a little more objective, this situation is just not working out. The WWE got criticized last year by business analysts. Budget cuts followed. I think they should be criticized again. Treating someone like they are worth a million bucks is only fine if they are bringing results like they are worth a million bucks. Lesnar cannot be overvalued. Save some money and devote time and energy to utilizing full-time workers better. You need system repairs right now. No one person can bail you out of this mess.

How about AJ Lee? While #GiveDivasAChance had more momentum to it, she took a shot at Stephanie McMahon on Twitter to criticize how the WWE is running the diva division. No, this does not seem to be about setting up these two for a match at Wrestlemania. And she got a ton of respect points from diva fans. Call me cynical, but her husband is getting sued by a doctor affiliated by the WWE and the WWE themselves took a shot at Punk right after that by challenging he ever had that growth. Could AJ have just done what she did more out of bitterness than caring about the divas?

Regardless of her motives, AJ Lee, much like Lesnar, is someone I would say is not worth keeping around. Just like Lesnar, she has had a ton invested into her. No female wrestler has been pushed at the level AJ Lee was being pushed to get her over since Lita. All you have had between Lita and AJ are a bunch of credible jobbers. If the WWE had left her as a generic face diva, it is unlikely she would have overcome that at all to get as over as she did become.

But how over is she really? For much of last year, fans were more interested in chanting for CM Punk when she was out there than showing her actual support. I have brought up that time heel Nikki Bella did a promo against face AJ Lee and was actually getting cheered for it. Unlike Mickie James, the WWE has allowed AJ Lee to continue to run with a unique gimmick to help her stand out, even if they were no longer pushing her alongside main-eventers. They have consistently featured her. They have put a lot into her. How has that investment worked out for them? And after calling out one of her bosses the way she did, given the situation with fans protesting and given the situation with her husband, it is just not wise to have her in the company right now.

How do you fill her spot? And you should try to fill her spot. Fans are not in a good mood right now. If all you give them is The Bellas, that might not satisfy actual wrestling fans. The Bellas have started to become more over, but a lot of fans want to support an actual female wrestler. Develop Paige as a periphery diva. In terms of talent and potential, I feel she is better than AJ Lee. I think her connection with the fans is better. You would be replacing one "anti-diva" diva with another.

As a writer, I think AJ Lee can be a great periphery diva. They should go back to pushing her alongside the men. That is where she was at her best. She just lost her momentum in the title scene. But when I take a step back, just like with Lesnar, I do not feel AJ Lee is worth it. If she really was maintaining the best connection with the fans while she was still there, I would say the WWE should try not to lose her. A thousand "CM Punk" chants and one Nikki Bella promo later, this is just another bad investment by the WWE. If she does return, most of her overness is going to come from whom she is married to and what she said on Twitter. She made herself into a legend. That\'s not how you are supposed to do it. What happened to people having talent, getting over by entertaining the fans, and being given the legendary careers because the promotion wanted these performers to help them be successful?

Labels: AJ Lee, Brock Lesnar, Divas, Paige, WWE

That was actually trending last night. It is still trending now for wrestling fans on Twitter. The WWE\'s mistreatment of the divas on the main roster continues to rile many fans.

What are they even asking for? Give the divas more time! Push the real wrestlers! Don\'t hold them back! Basically, do what helped to put TNA\'s women\'s division on the map. These fans are not asking for enough. To put it another way, they are asking for the wrong thing. There was a time when this diva division was more respectable and given more time. But it never really revolved around trying to be respectable and being efficient. This diva division was never what some fans want it to become. The diva division was founded on the principle that a hot model-type will be developed to be the top star. Where does that leave actual female wrestlers? They will not be pushed as centerpiece. They will either be pushed as credible jobbers, being used primarily as jobbers to the centerpiece and interim centerpiece, or be pushed as periphery divas, getting angles mostly in the men\'s division while the centerpiece dominates the title scene. Even though Trish Stratus became a solid in-ring performer, it does not change the fact that she is the model-type the WWE likes to push as centerpiece. And that diva division was at its best when she was the centerpiece.

What went wrong? Depth started to become an issue during the final years of the golden age, but things were still working out. What really started the problems was when a credible jobber came in that would do what no other woman pushed like that had ever done. Get over. I am not talking about just getting over with wrestling fans. I mean get really over. Become the most over diva on the roster. That was what Mickie James did. As a heel credible jobber, she got cheered against a face centerpiece in Trish Stratus at Wrestlemania. Trish soon retired. What goes over everyone\'s head is that the WWE continued to push Mickie James to put over the centerpiece and used her as filler when the centerpiece was not around. Because of those depth issues the WWE never resolved, they continued to push Mickie James more often than they would have liked. She was often the only face credible jobber available. They were pushing her out of necessity, not desire. They needed to push Mickie James because she was the only face with wrestling credibility available. They were not yet comfortable using other eye-candy divas as credible jobbers. And Mickie James took this career of mediocrity and solidified her overness.

The women they desired to be the centerpiece kept on getting injured, failing to get over, and just flopped. Candice Michelle did not work out. Maryse did not work out. Michelle McCool was not getting over. No centerpiece has worked out. The WWE was not getting what they wanted out of their diva division. It is not shocking that they would lose interest the way they did. Having some success with AJ Lee, a periphery diva, has not gotten them to regain that momentum. The Bellas look like they may be the next centerpiece attempt, but what do they have to do to inject that momentum to get the WWE to be efficient again with the diva division?

All these fans seem to want is for the WWE to look respectable again. That is not enough. Don\'t you think the WWE might love for it to be like that again? But they want it on their terms. Let\'s say they turn back the clock and create another golden age. The Bellas, whether it be one of them or both of them, are the centerpiece. AJ Lee, assuming she comes back, is a top periphery diva, much like Lita. You have credible jobbers on the main roster and in NXT. Paige is a credible jobber. Divas are given more time. The Bellas have the wrestling ability Trish had. They are that over. Everything is perfect. Everything is running like it did a decade ago.

Now, let\'s say Paige does what Mickie James did. Let\'s say she gets very over. Let\'s say the centerpieces start flopping again and fans are wondering why Paige isn\'t pushed more. The WWE will only push her when the need arises, much like they did Mickie James. Would fans realize what is going on? Will there be an uproar for Paige? Would you have a female version of Daniel Bryan on your hands? Whatever the case, there is also the possibility that the WWE starts to lose interest again. It happened before. The WWE has not really changed.

Give divas a chance? Why? The WWE does not want to give all these women a fair chance to get over and make a centerpiece of the one best capable to handle the push. They have never pushed the diva division like that since they created it in 1998. They don\'t even push the men\'s division like that. Fans know this. Ask Daniel Bryan.

Honestly, I find what these fans are asking for disgusting. When it comes to the men, fans are getting pissed off when talent that they love or believe have potential are underpushed, not pushed at all, or treated very badly. Daniel Bryan is consistently featured. He is frequently in main events on Raw and Smackdown. But fans are not satisfied with that. I would agree that the guy deserves to be pushed properly. Give him what he has earned. But when it comes to the divas, fans are only complaining because they don\'t get used better. What about the issue of women succeeding and not getting the better career? That demon was always there in the diva division. A credible jobber overcame it and never got the better career. Instead, the WWE just kept on making mistakes to get the diva division to where it is today. Do fans believe these women are not deserving of being pushed as stars? Do they think they are only good for featuring women\'s wrestling? TNA must be giving a lot of fans the wrong idea. TNA cannot properly create and feature stars. The WWE should not be like that. Fans just seem to be asking for a women\'s division that will be underachieving. You have to want better than that. You have to demand better than that. I think these women deserve the same fair opportunities to earn that better push for themselves that men deserve. But the women just seem to be a step behind the men. I don\'t even see fans bringing up the idea that what happened to Daniel Bryan could happen in the diva division. That\'s a shame. Because that\'s the kind of thing that can put an end to a golden age.

Did you know there was a site that archives web pages? It obviously cannot get them all. There is an infinite amount of pages on the Internet. More are made every day. It is called the Wayback Machine. I found out about it the other day and took a look at it. I had deleted my old diva blog when I made the full switch to this one in 2010. I looked to see if any of it still survived. Yeah, a few pages from the first half of 2009 are on there. Not a lot, but you can at least see that I was talking about the diva division since then. You can go to this link to see the dates they have archived and read some of my earlier blogs. I am going to talk about a few things about my earlier diva blog.

First, a little self-critiquing. I definitely was not a great analyst of the diva division back then. I have definitely improved. There were a few things I said back then that I can now look back and wonder why I said that. I once said that Trish was used to give other women a rub and get them over? With more time to look at it and actually pay attention to which divas are truly getting over and how they are getting over, no divas ever got over because the WWE wanted them over and used Trish to get them over. Lita got over in the periphery prior to feuding with Trish. Mickie James getting over was not because the WWE wanted it. No other female wrestlers during the time Trish was there got very over. The eye-candy divas that worked with Trish didn\'t really need her, since it was their own sex appeal that was their main asset. And none of them really worked out as well as Trish. What is the point of giving some of these women a rub if you don\'t follow through properly? I think I was probably being a little too respectful towards Trish and not being realistic enough. In general, I sometimes don\'t like the tone I used back then. Not realistic enough. A little too much speculation at times.

I used to blog every day back then. And primarily about women\'s wrestling. I think it is good that I widened my subject matter and am taking a few days off a week. Don\'t force myself to blog. Moreover, it is good to pay attention to what happens in the men\'s division. Issues that exist there also exist in the women\'s division. Paying attention to that could have helped to sharpen my ability to read the diva division. There were a few blog entries I wrote on my old blog that might have been meaningless. Of course, the divas were my main subject, so anything related to what they were doing back then was open material.

Did I talk about Mickie James too much back then? Aside from being my favorite diva, what was going on with her was worth talking about. No one seemed to understand what was going on back then. The most over diva on the roster is not being pushed like it. Who is to blame? What is going on? Mickie James was for the women\'s division back then what Daniel Bryan is for the men\'s division in recent years. You have a man not being pushed as an A+ player that is going out there and connecting with fans better than a lot of guys meant to be ahead of him. That was the story of Mickie James. I always see people discussing Daniel Bryan. They talk about why the WWE mistreats him, whether he deserves that better career, what the WWE can do to make stars out of these other guys they actually want to push, how his fans are reacting, and so on. Not enough people were talking about this for Mickie James until it was too late.

On February 27, 2009, I talked about Mickie not being pushed as someone the WWE would want to be over and why they should want to do it. I "blamed" her for how she was being treated. I was being sarcastic. I tend to use that tone frequently. This was also the entry where I said Trish was used to get other women over, as I previously talked about. Moreover, I said that Mickie James rose the bar for the divas back then, or should have. Other divas actually have to work and step up if they want to get over and earn those better careers. Of course, the WWE was not even pushing Mickie at the time, so they didn\'t want to raise the bar. You can see that is obviously the case with the diva division now. The bar is so low, Eva Marie executing a dropkick properly would probably get her a standing ovation.

I would say Daniel Bryan is also a guy that raises the bar, or could be used like that. It is not enough to be pushed to be a star. You really want to get over? You have to steal it away from Daniel Bryan. If you want to be as over as him and earn the career he deserves, you have to be the kind of worker he is. You have to have the talent, you have to work hard, you have to be passionate, and you have to be something the fans love seeing. The WWE\'s ability to create stars has been weakened. They have not created a successful centerpiece in the diva division since Trish Stratus left. They are having issues developing Roman Reigns. Who should be blamed? How about Daniel Bryan? He can go sit in the corner with Mickie James. You can see how having someone you never intended to become that over can be a problem. This is two years in a row now that you have had a controversy around Daniel Bryan and how he is being pushed. Having someone like that just forces the WWE to work harder. They should allow their workers to work harder to compete against Daniel Bryan.

One more blog entry I want to bring up. On April 14, 2009, I talked about Mickie\'s 4th title reign, which she won one year prior to that. I called it a little "conspiracy theory" back then. In retrospect, I don\'t even like putting it that way. If you are ever going to examine what happened to Mickie James in the WWE, that fourth title reign cannot be overlooked. This is the reign that Ken Doane likes to say Mickie James slept her way to the top of and got over off of. Aside from what he says, this was the push that made it obvious to me the WWE did not want to push Mickie James as someone they wanted over.

That blog entry lacked proper historical analysis, which would have helped to support my point even more. Since the first dark age ended, the WWE never gave the title to an eye-candy diva not being pushed as centerpiece. It was one of the things that helped to keep the division respectable. Mickie James was the only face credible jobber at the time on Raw. Add in at least two more facts. First, she was already over prior to that push in 2008. Second, she was feuding with Beth Phoenix prior to Candice returning in early 2008. That feud never got a proper finish. If they had done anything else other than give Mickie James the push, it would have looked awkward and suspicious. Problem is, not handling the whole thing smoothly and killing her push when Candice Michelle would pop back up still points to something being wrong. I am glad that blog entry survived, even though I have probably brought it up again since then and argued it better.

Good to reread some of my old blogs. I wouldn\'t say I was wrong about everything back then, but I have gotten better. And some things definitely still hold true. Some things I once said for Mickie James years ago might apply to Daniel Bryan right now. Issues in the WWE that impact the divas also impact the men.

Labels: Daniel Bryan, Divas, Mickie James, Trish Stratus, WWE

Paige finds herself feuding against Nikki Bella for the Diva\'s Championship. Unless some big development happens between now and Fast Lane, this will probably be the only preview I do for this match.

They are doing the bullying thing. I immediately got flashbacks of what they did with Mickie James against Michelle McCool. As I have pointed out numerous times, Paige is getting the type of career Mickie James had. Paige is being pushed as a credible jobber, a diva with wrestling credibility used primarily to put over the centerpiece and used for filler. I have also said that Paige has the potential to do what Mickie James did with that career and overcome it to get over. But she is not there yet. No reason for the WWE to go overboard in an attempt to bury her.

What about what this means for The Bellas? Obviously, they are meant to be the primary benefactors of this storyline. I have held off on saying Nikki is the new centerpiece. I was waiting for them to actually start booking her as they would someone like Sable or Trish. And this kind of feud going on now is that kind of treatment. This is kind of a step back. The Bellas were being pushed so strongly last year. They just seemed to have lost that momentum. Of course, this is not too different from what happened with Trish Stratus. She got some huge storylines in the main-event scene prior to being pushed as centerpiece. Pushing her as centerpiece might have seemed as a step down in some ways, but being pushed as the A+ player in the diva division is worth more than those periphery pushes. But I don\'t know how much this will help The Bellas. The division is inefficient and I don\'t think they have solidified their overness.

I also had some flashbacks to what happened just a few months ago with Paige. Because of how they were tossing the title around between Paige and AJ Lee, the feud ended up getting extended and the WWE created this angle of Alicia Fox being Paige\'s new best friend to make things more interesting. That angle went nowhere. The two split soon after. AJ Lee moved on to something else. Will that kind of thing happen again? Does the WWE even have the mindset to keep the ball rolling with The Bellas? The idea is that all they need is a spark to start running the diva division efficiently again. AJ Lee did not provide it. The Bellas don\'t seem to have provided it. These are women they have pushed to be stars that have gotten good reactions at times. Problem is, the WWE has not been able to follow through and these divas don\'t seem to be able to maintain their own momentum with the fans the way they should.

Who wins? I would say Nikki retains. Wrestlemania is just around the corner. Why would the WWE want Paige to hold the title heading into that? If recent history is any indicator, the WWE will just develop some kind of multi-diva match or get celebrities involved. The last singles title feud for the divas at Wrestlemania that was just between two divas and did not even include lumberjills happened in 2006. If the WWE is ready to put better focus on one diva being developed to be centerpiece, that would be one of The Bellas. They could have Nikki regain the title from Paige at Wrestlemania or drop it to Paige there just to give her a Wrestlemania moment. I am not convinced the WWE is ready to break away from the tradition of weak diva matters heading into Wrestlemania. Back to what happens at Fast Lane, if Paige has the momentum heading into the PPV, she will likely lose. If the feud seems too much on the side of The Bellas, Paige would probably win the title. Does not mean she will be pushed as a star. I will say Paige does regain some momentum and Nikki retains at Fast Lane.

What is more important than who wins? How about whether this storyline helps anyone? The bullying angle you had with Mickie and McCool was obviously meant to help a centerpiece that was failing to properly connect with the fans at the expense of a credible jobber that got over on her own. McCool could not keep a lasting connection with the fans. The only reason she got the great reactions she did get at times during that storyline was because Mickie James was there to cry for her. The Bellas are not as bad as Michelle McCool in terms of connecting with the fans. They are not A players, but they are somewhat over. Nevertheless, a diva pushed as an A+ player should get A-level results. How do you get that back for them? The bullying angle back then did not help McCool get long-term results, so I don\'t know why anyone should think it is a great idea to try it again. Just a lack of fresh ideas. I don\'t think it is helping The Bellas. I don\'t feel it is helping Paige too much. How about just interesting the fans in general? I don\'t feel the fans are that into it. It is not pushed at the level as what you had on Smackdown a few years ago. Moreover, it does not involve anyone that is very over. If it did, people would definitely be talking about it and reacting to it more. To put it simply, will this feud and storyline end up failing? There is a possibility.

I once had a conversation with a Paige fan on Twitter. I was talking about Paige getting over. He told me that Paige getting over is not something she needs to be concerned about because she\'s already over. I felt like bashing my head through a wall. Yeah, Paige is over. She has her fans. I like her. But she can definitely be getting better reactions from the fans and support for her could be better. Just because there are a bunch of Paige hashtags floating around Twitter does not mean she as A+ overness. You cannot just look around Twitter to determine whom is really over. The WWE probably wishes it was that easy. They can see a whole bunch of people talking about things they are doing and think those things are legitimate draws, even though other indicators would say otherwise. Paige has a lot of potential and she is being pushed in a manner from which almost no one ever gets over. She has not yet brought the results to be an A+ player, and I am not blaming her for that at all. Thing is, should she bring those results, would it be fair for the WWE to still push her as a C+ player?

Labels: Bella Twins, Divas, Fast Lane, Nikki Bella, Paige, WWE

Stacy Keibler: What Might Have Been?

I recently came across people saying that Stacy Keibler was originally booked to win the Women\'s Championship in the middle of the golden age and turned it down. I searched around to see whether that was something said by a particular figure in wrestling in an interview or dirtsheet lore that is now considered absolute fact without proper confirmation. Didn\'t find anything aside from more people mentioning it without referencing a source. I wasn\'t a consistent member if the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) back then.

If someone was to bring up the WWE strongly intending to follow through with giving Chyna the WWF Championship in 1999, I would believe that. It fits with what was going on back then and fits with how they were pushing Chyna even before that situation. During the golden age, no eye-candy divas won the title except for Trish. Even after Trish left, the only eye-candy divas to win it for years were women being pushed as centerpiece, as Trish was. Booking Stacy Keibler to win the title back then just seems out of place. Of course, she was very popular. You can debate whether she or Torrie Wilson was the most over eye-candy diva during the golden age to not be pushed as centerpiece. But would the WWE really book an eye-candy diva with limited wrestling ability to win the title during the golden age just because of overness? The first eye-candy diva to win a title without being pushed as centerpiece since 2001 was Eve Torres in 2010, and that wasn\'t because she was over. That kind of push was a filler push. Alicia Fox got a title run. Eve got another run where she was not being featured as centerpiece. Before you knew it, the WWE had become comfortable giving those kind of divas title reigns, even if they were not being pushed like Trish. Regardless, all those women had more wrestling credibility than Stacy Keibler back then, even though they did not have her overness.

Let\'s say the WWE was legitimately serious about putting the title on Stacy Keibler. She is one of my favorites, but she never needed the title. I like that she would turn it down out of respect to other women more deserving, if the story is true. It\'s like what I sometimes say about AJ Lee. She does not need the title. She might even do better if they started pushing her in the periphery again. Stacy Keibler never needed a title reign to be over. She could get a great career without it.

What could have been the WWE\'s intentions for legitimately wanting to put the title on Stacy Keibler? I do not think they were trying to further "divafy" the golden age. That is, I don\'t think they were trying to make it more about eye-candy divas. Of course, you did still have Playboy pushes, the start of the Diva Search, and other "diva" things going on during the golden age. What you didn\'t have, as I mentioned before, was a variety of eye-candy divas winning the title. Just Trish Stratus. If the WWE\'s goal was truly to start integrating those eye-candy divas more into the title scene, Stacy Keibler declining a title reign would not have stopped them. They certainly wouldn\'t have waited until 2010 to start putting titles on eye-candy divas beyond the ones pushed as centerpiece. If the story is true, I think it would have been a booking decision just to reward Stacy\'s popularity. It was not like the WWE was having any issues getting Trish to work out as centerpiece.

Let\'s say they did get the title on her. A title reign does not determine what type of career or push a diva is getting. How they are actually being treated is what determines the type of career and push. How would they have likely handled Stacy Keibler? They were not going to give up on Trish Stratus as centerpiece. Stacy Keibler does not have the wrestling credibility to be a credible jobber. I think it would just be the kind of eye-candy filler push you get during the first dark age, but a little more respectable. I have a tough time believing they would do that. Stacy would continue to do what she was doing at that time, just holding a title for a short while. While researching to find the source of this topic, I came across some fans discussing it. Some said that the reason Stacy declined was probably because she didn\'t want to risk injury in the ring. What they are overlooking is that putting the title on Stacy did not mean she would be forced to wrestle a certain style or even wrestle more often. During the first dark age, you saw a few women holding the Women\'s Championship and not do anything major with it in terms of wrestling for the bulk of their reigns. Stacy Keibler was wrestling some matches here and there even before this time they supposedly wanted to give her the title. If she was that afraid of injury, she would not have even done that. If she was fine with that light work rate, she could continue that during a title reign. Besides, Trish vs. Lita still would have dominated the diva scene around then. And there were credible jobbers to help carry Stacy.

Would this have changed the golden age? What determines the era the diva division is in isn\'t simply what the WWE is doing or trying to do. If it was that easy, you might say the golden age lasted even after Trish and Lita left. I would not say that. Things still remained efficient for years and the WWE was doing the same practices they did in the golden age. Difference is, it was not bringing the same results. And as things did not work out, you could see the WWE slowly making mistakes and heading towards this dark age. The WWE diva division didn\'t just go from a golden age to dark age overnight. I like to call that era in between the era of failed centerpieces. In addition to looking at what the WWE is doing, you have to look at how it is working out. The golden age is looked at fondly for how respectable it was in terms of women\'s wrestling. There were issues, but they seem to get buried under people talking about how great Trish and Lita were and how the WWE treated women\'s wrestling. Giving Stacy Keibler a title run would be something out of a dark age. Would it have completely ruined the respectability? Probably not. Would fans have complained about it like you have seen just earlier this week? You didn\'t have Twitter back then and fans were not as rebellious. I do not think this one booking decision would have ruined the quality of the golden age. Stacy Keibler winning the title might not have helped women\'s wrestling, but it might have been a nice gesture and some of her fans may have liked it. And if she was flopping horribly in the ring, they could just take the title off her.

There is also the idea of Torrie Wilson being originally slated to be the first Diva\'s Champion. That is something I can buy as true. Smackdown did not have a centerpiece back then. If she had gotten the title, she also would have been pushed as centerpiece. Michelle McCool ended up getting that push. She never got over, despite becoming very solid in the ring. Would Torrie Wilson have been a better Smackdown centerpiece than McCool? I think so. She already had a good connection with the fans and was doing well in the ring. Injuries screwed her over. She was already the top star on Smackdown for years. She was the face there. The only thing keeping her from being centerpiece is that she was not getting a title and was not being booked like Trish was, with credible jobbers rotating around her. You want to talk about what might have been? If Torrie Wilson had remained healthy, she might have been pushed as a centerpiece, worked out, and that might have slowed the demise of the diva division. Just another example of injuries hurting divas in line for those A+ careers.

Let me create a spectrum. Since the diva division started in 1998, many eye-candy divas have won a title, whether it be the Women\'s Championship or Diva\'s Championship. Not all of them were pushed as centerpiece. Not all of them were great in the ring. Let me create a spectrum for these divas based on how they were utilized and how well they improved in the ring. On one side, you have Trish Stratus, the greatest centerpiece the diva division ever had. She certainly became great in the ring. It is probably debatable whether Michelle McCool became more solid than her. McCool is probably the second best centerpiece, just in terms of wrestling ability, not overness. On the other side, you have Debra. She was an eye-candy diva that was just a manager and held the title for a few weeks in the first dark age. She was not a wrestler at all. The Kat isn\'t too far away from her. In the middle, you have those eye-candy divas that became solid, but were pushed as credible jobbers. Layla fits there.

If Stacy Keibler had won the title, where would she fit in that spectrum? She obviously would not have been pushed as centerpiece and did not have the credibility to be pushed like that, but she was not as horrible as Debra or The Kat. She would still be on the "periphery diva" side of the spectrum, but would be a little bit closer towards those eye-candy divas that knew how to wrestle somewhat.

How about Torrie Wilson? If she had won the Diva\'s Championship, she would be on the "centerpiece" side of the spectrum. Would she lean towards the side of those centerpieces that were good in the ring? Or those that were just jokes or flopped? Hard to say. This is just speculation because her injuries ruined her. Just going by how she performed on Smackdown as the top star there, if she had continued to improve from there, I think she would lean towards the centerpieces with the more respectable wrestling ability.

Where in the world would The Bellas fall? I am talking about during Nikki\'s current title reign. The two have each held the Diva\'s Championship once prior to their current push. They had wrestling credibility, but were not pushed as centerpiece or as proper periphery divas. Back then, I would put them in the "credible jobber" area, leaning towards the side of eye-candy divas that were not great wrestlers. Now, they have improved. I do not see them getting booked as true centerpieces, yet. I would put them on the periphery side, leaning towards being good in-ring workers.

Most fans might just rank the divas. Who are the best models-turned-wrestlers to win a title in the WWE diva division? Or something like that. Trish Stratus and certain other women would obviously dominate that list, while certain other women get dumped on. I don\'t think that is entirely fair. Some women were just not pushed like Trish Stratus and might not have even had the wrestling credibility to get that push. The WWE just happened to book them to win a title anyway. It might be hard to visualize that spectrum. I probably should have drawn it out or diagrammed it somehow. I just hope you can picture it. If nothing else, it\'s a more elaborate way to rank them.

Labels: Bella Twins, Divas, Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, WWE

John Cena Vs. Kevin Owens At Elimination Chamber 2...

King Barrett & Former King Sheamus