Since WWE's second major pay-per-view, both Bella twins have had far too much mic time without the skill to warrant it. As events unfolded going into Summerslam, this problem was mitigated by Stephanie deftly carrying the load and feeding the opportunities for Brie without exposing her wooden acting skills too much. It worked out great for everyone, as Brie was able to garner sympathy and have the best match of her career. Stephanie McMahon carried that too, showing solid in-ring skills that establish her officially as the Authority's monster queen whose power goes beyond that vested in her by a board of directors. Unfortunately, the aftermath did not give us more of the "principal owner" stomping a mud hole in Brie, but lots of exposition from people who can barely give it. After Nikki Bella demonstrated over the last two weeks how genuinely awful on the mic she is – even compared to her sister – WWE creative apparently used their favorite crutch. When it doubt, bring AJ in.
(They're just talking--credit: WWE.com)
The better Divas feud on Raw and Smackdown involved AJ reliving her love polygon days with CM Punk, Kane, Daniel Bryan, etc. by crawling inside Paige's head as she chases the title. This hadn't gotten nearly the time the McMahon Bella twin feud had, but now both stories came together. I'll give WWE credit in this regard. Two years ago they simply would have ignored AJ's claim to the title or any thoughts Paige had on the matter. The crowd on the September 1 Raw came to life as AJ and Paige came into the mix to give their say, and we got a stare down that showed the Diva's matchup we've been wanting but never knew it.
(The giant killer story writes itself--credit: WWE.com)
After Paige was knocked on her duff amidst a Bella shoving fight, AJ whimsically picked up the belt and her eyes locked with Stephanie's. McMahon towered over her, demanding the belt. AJ did so with a bitter smile before skipping away from the chaos. The crowd had not popped like this for any other Divas’ moment on the show. Whether it’s for the title or not, AJ vs. Steph can easily be the Divas match of the year. McMahon established that she can go, making Brie Bella look good on the PPV stage, and she's the ultimate despot queen. AJ's in-ring skills improved vastly since her debut on NXT in what seems a lifetime ago, and she is, as JBL put it, the queen of mind games. Book it!
Still, this great prospect does reveal how far the Divas have to go.
AJ vs. Stephanie could be the Divas Division's ultimate giant killer feud, but it's also emblematic of the problems. First, it only came about because of a huge of amount of time we're forced to watch the Bellas talk. Whatever sympathy Brie could organically cull from the crowd was used up in the last two weeks with the inept dialogue and some of the worst promo work this decade on WWE programming between her and Nikki. Secondly, it all comes back to AJ. She's the Swiss army knife creative uses when things stall, or they don't know what to do.
(Jerry doesn't care either--credit: USA Network)
Paige got the belt the moment she came up, and they had not found a real enemy for her, nor a direction for her character--bring in AJ. It doesn't have to be this way, as Emma, Alicia Fox, Layla and Summer Rae have all shown they have potential beyond being filler or parts of poorly worked "Total Divas" bouts. If you're like me and not really looking forward to the big Jerry Springer intervention with the twins next Monday night, (unless of course, AJ and Paige show up) do yourself a favor and check out some of the matches on Superstars and Main Event. There are some good matches from those Divas who aren't on reality shows or cat fighting at the Authority's feet.
PERSONAL NOTE: The Dish didn't happen last week, due to much of the free time to watch the shows and write the column was taken by following up on my mom, Audrey Kozalla's hip joint replacement procedure. Thanks to those who have passed along their best wishes as Mom's recovery and physical therapy are on track!
- Wes Kozalla
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