Lee dropped the belt after WrestleMania to go on a sabbatical from WWE. She married Phil "CM Punk" Brooks and rumors of pregnancy were taking root from the wrestling dirt sheets, TMZ and elsewhere. She left a gaping hole that all the Total Divas episodes in a marathon couldn't fill.
During her absence, Paige was unevenly booked, as the creative team couldn't seem to find a balance between painting her as an underdog without making her look too weak. In that span the cult favorite did rack up some wins and in the process the once-forgotten Alicia Fox looked tougher than she ever had before. Her final victorious defense of the Divas championship came against Naomi at Money in the Bank, which was her best match to date since being called up from NXT. Naomi also shined in her best effort, proving she has made the transition from valet to wrestler. Paige, even with that solid defense of her title behind her, was handed too much too soon.
With few exceptions in professional wrestling, putting a championship on a rookie who barely arrived to the main stage creates a serious creative problem. With all the buzz she generated as Brittani Knight, then in NXT, it's hard for fans to warm up to a talent that is handed the keys to the kingdom immediately. If the masses are being told they must like someone, they will eventually turn on that person. It happened with a guy named Rocky Maivia who was shoved down the fans' collective throats back in 1996, and it has most recently happened with Ryback. WWE made the smart move before that happened to Paige, and made the most of Lee's booked surprise return.
(double turn in progress -photo credit: WWE.com)
AJ got one of the biggest pops of her career as she skipped down the ramp, after Paige proclaimed that she was "here to stay." Indications that Paige could have been destroyed in WWE before she really started radiated from the crowd's heat as she tried to talk her way out of defending her title that night. A smartly timed double turn was moving along. Yes, people like a fighting champion, a champion who has to overcome hard obstacles. Much of Paige's reign, however, involved getting her ass kicked for most of the match with little offense before finally getting her opponent to tap out in her scorpion crosslock.
She got a ton up front and was shown as barely capable of hanging on to it. She did show more dominance in her aforementioned bout with Naomi, but her run was still giving the audience the vibe they were being told to like it or lump it. WWE seemed to recognize this and Lee regained her title in the same abrupt fashion in which she lost it.
Now the pair are booked in the most vicious Divas feud of this decade. Paige proclaimed AJ was her best friend, but finally snapped after Lee shattered her hopes of regaining the belt at Battlegrounds. It's good to see WWE book a long-term storyline to unfold between two women on their roster. The last time they did that the Divas were considered Superstars along with the men.
(Paige tries for a sunset flip but AJ digs in at Battleground - Photo Credit: WWE.com)
This feud is escalating in violence as both women trade barbs on the mic as well as fisticuffs. Even if you're not a fan of the Divas, it makes for sports entertainment that won't turn into a bathroom break. Alongside AJ and Paige, Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella are telling a wild story as well.
Stephanie emerged as the company's top heel in my view, bringing sharp claws with echoes of her despotic dad's rule during the attitude era. She demonstrated at Wrestlemania that the art of the valet isn't dead in the captivating Bryan/Triple H match. Before that, she was the bane of Bryan's existence. After Bryan's injury, she's been the meanest mean girl abusing her power on Brie Bella, who quit (kayfabe) in the middle of the ring. It got interesting when Stephanie took her anger out on Nikki, putting her in 5on1 handicap matches and generally sending her out to get her ass kicked several times a week. After a vicious slaps, Vince's daughter was dragged off in handcuffs, culminating in her upcoming return to the ring as Brie faces her to save her sister's skin and get her job back. Yes, Stephanie McMahon has made me care somewhat about the Bella twins. She's good. Damn good.
(Steph gets cuffed in her increasingly bizarre feud with Brie Bella-photo credit: WWE.com)
Unfortunately, the rest of the Divas division isn't getting much attention. Emma, Naomi, Cameron, Alicia Fox and the rest are caught in a booking freefall.
Emma came up from NXT showing she had something great going with dancing like a full-blown dork before making her opponents cry in agony. The crowds at NXT tapings fell in love with her cuteness, humor and evident technical skills. WWE gradually introduced her to the big time with her in the crowd waving her "Emmatainment" and "Emmamazing" signs. Then, in typical WWE fashion, excessively high expectations mixed with an inability to utilize her unique gimmick, so they paired her with Santino Marella and put a sock on her hand. She's now doing her boogieing off-camera, and may be for some time after being found guilty of shoplifting.
Cameron and Naomi finally split in a moderately amusing catfight that spilled out of the ring, but Cameron's lack of technical skill pretty much made that the big climax. Already the angle had dragged on too long. While moving storylines along gradually generally makes for a better payoff, something as simple as "I hate you" could have been over weeks ago, especially since Naomi's steadily blossoming wrestling skills mandated she become a solo act.
Alicia Fox once again dropped off the face of the earth after a mini feud with Paige. She's never looked this good in the ring and it's sad WWE's creative can't find a way to build on this.
Summer Rae and Layla had a humorous feud going into their Money in the Bank match, which was a little sloppy given the skills both women have demonstrated in the past. The storytelling was a fun diversion with both fighting over their beau Fandango, but there was no good reason to not open the show with this and give Paige vs. Naomi this spot deeper in the card.
(Layla pins Summer Rae for the W, but it's all good now - photo credit: WWE.com)
Summer's and Layla's marathon catfight culminated in them burying the hatchet and becoming friends. Now Fandango is in a position most Divas find themselves in. He's a plot device for two scorned lovers who now find ways to come down to the ring dancing with his opponents and cause him to lose his cool and the match. Unfortunately, without the conflict to drive in-ring action between them, watching them dance down the ramp with Diego and El Torito just deflates the interest that they generated in their feud.
Hopefully, WWE's creative team can find a pair of adversaries to make the best use of their talents. Summer Rae debuted on the second season of "Total Divas," but that show, while getting the company exposure, has shown their confusion of what to do with the women on their roster.
The girls of "Total Divas" may be getting ratings on "E!," but the WWE fan base as a whole hasn't bought the hard sell ever since the show was introduced. The company backed off making them have a direct effect on storylines on their main programming before Wrestlemania, although they've still shown up on "Raw" and "Smackdown."
Prior to her feud with Stephanie, Brie Bella acted horribly--even by professional wrestling standards--during husband Daniel Bryan's feud with Kane. Her screaming in terror made me want to scream in agony as Kane pulled Daniel from his rental car. Nikki has been a plot device, as mentioned above, getting stomped by everyone, including the Total Divas cast. Eva Marie, who unfortunately epitomizes everything wrong with WWE's Diva selection process, was atrocious in a mercifully short match against AJ on the July 4 edition of Smackdown. She has no business in a wrestling ring. I'd say she has a future as a valet but given her inability to read a teleprompter that's even up for debate.
The booking is all over the place, the creative team can't decide whether they want to go back to the days of bikini models or move forward with beautiful women with athletic ability and genuine skills in the ring.
The fact that AJ immediately got her title back shows some value is placed on beauties with a passion for the business. It's a trend that began when AJ first won the Divas title in a feud with Kaitlyn that culminated with a solid match with a real story--something not seen for nearly a decade in WWE. The company has shown they want to continue this trend, at least part of the time, based on what's going on in Florida.
NXT is loaded with young female talent trained by Sara Del Rey, the best female worker in American pro wrestling today. She is mentoring future stars like Bayley, Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss who are showing a lot of promise. Paige and Emma getting their shot on the main roster show that skill is starting to matter.
The reigning NXT women's champion, Charlotte, defeated Natalya at NXT takeover in the best women's match on any WWE brand this year. It's a great reason to be pleased about the future possibilities in WWE for the Divas Division. The fact that epic match took place on their developmental brand and the Total Divas get more screen time on "E!" than most of the Divas roster gets in a year on "Raw" shows patience is a virtue for any fan of women's pro wrestling when it comes to WWE.
(Natalya and Charlotte bring it at NXT takeover-photo credit: WWE.com)
Sure, they're starting to care, but it's hard to mark out when you look over and suddenly see all this great talent stuck in a match with Eva Marie and JoJo, or the Bellas siphon screen time away from engaging workers like Emma or Natayla.
There is also the issue of move sets getting stripped down – which also is done often with the male talent – severely limiting the ability of many of the female roster to give the audience a chance to notice them.
Hopefully, as more NXT talent come up to the main roster, WWE will see they are leaving money on the table not utilizing them correctly, and we'll see more of what AJ has compelled WWE to keep doing – to varying degrees – on their Divas roster.
Wes Kozalla
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