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Hey everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it? I hope
you've been well. I've kinda cleaned up my act since we've last talked
and I like to think I'm a bit more coherent, I hope. I won't do regular
scheduling anymore, but I will
So, I said a long time ago that I had given up the WWE.
Well, that didn't last long as it was something I still enjoyed watching
when I was with my dad. Eventually, I became somewhat invested because,
hey, try to enjoy it, right?
Quick thoughts on a few things. And keep in mind, I'm writing this at about four in the morning and in great need of sleep. I did wake up later and try to tighten up some pros, but forgive me for any inconsistencies for hiccups.
Daniel Bryan:
Terrific athlete, injuries are a problem, wish he opted for the
more longer-term surgery.
Dolph Ziggler:
Terrific athlete, far more durable (if less skilled) than Bryan.
One of the most wasted talents on the roster.
Cesaro:
Why isn't he the face of the company? He has as much
personality as Cena at the least and ten times the talent.
John Cena:
Actually has some in-ring chops. The US Open Challenge was
the best thing that happened to him. His matches were usually the best
matches on Raw.
NXT:
Awesome. Some IWC snobs will point to Shimmer, Ring of
Honor, and others, but considering how hard it is to watch those shows for your
average consumer, NXT does a good job of being a straight-out wrestling show.
Not buying Eva Marie as this future champion, though. Then again,
Carmella sucked and look how far she's come.
Roman Reigns:
Doesn't deserve nearly as much hate as people give him. His
rush to the main event following his hernia surgery was on WWE and they cost
themselves a legit main eventer.
Sting:
Vince McMahon loves reminding people "he killed WCW,"
doesn't he? But, if you think about it, WWE survived WCW. And
ECW.
The Diva's Revolution:
What Diva's Revolution?
The New Day:
New. Day rocks. Plus they're all bronies (Big E and
Xavier Woods, at least).
IWC:
I still don't get you.
Okay, okay, okay, that's enough of that. Let's move on to
the theme of the blog. What happened on the September 14, 2015, edition
of Raw. The supposed season premiere.
A couple of things I want to say, though. First, MizTV.
Reigns and Ambrose should have told the Wyatts that that Miz was their
partner, "just to see what happens," before teasing their real
partner on Sunday. My prediction is Daniel Bryan. I hope it isn't
Erick Rowan. I hope he goes back with the Wyatts when he comes back.
Sting in the main event of Raw? Awesome. Versus the
Big Show? Okay, fine. Give him an opponent he's familiar with.
All good. I was actually looking forward to it. Two minutes
in, Seth Rollins interferes, followed by Cena to "save Sting" and
turning it into a tag team match with minimal Sting involvement, however?
I won't say it was wrong, but it was disappointing and reeked of Vince
not wanting WCW franchise Sting to shine over one of his boys like The Big
Show. Yes, he got the submission decision over Rollins, but Cena did the
heavy lifting in that eventual tag match. Sting schooled Triple H at
WrestleMania. I don't think you have to worry about him being in a match
for an extended period of time.
So, let's talk about Nikki Bella and let's talk about the Diva's
title reign.
First, some backstory for those not familiar.
In January of 2014, CM Punk, one of the WWE's most popular wrestlers and one of their longest reigning WWE Champions, walked out of the company amidst a complicated combination of reasons that I won't get into. The company thought he'd come back after "time off," but didn't, and was subsequently removed from everything WWE-related. No more merchandise, no more video packages, no more mentions on TV, nada. Now, there was some rumors about Punk and Cena's actual relationship and some professional jealousy on Cena's part, but nothing I can say with certainty. Keep it in mind, though.
During this time, AJ Lee, Punk's real life girlfriend and reigning Diva's Champion, in the middle of her record-breaking reign, remained with the company and actually won the title two more times that year. However, that November, AJ Lee dropped the Diva's Championship to Nikki Bella, Cena's real life girlfriend/friend with privileges, in one of the most oddly written story points in history.
Leading into the match, Brie Bella had been forced to be Nikki's slave (not as exciting as it sounds) in an emotionally driven and poorly acted angle which included Nikki wishing Brie died in their mothers' womb. Then, at that November Pay-Per-View, Survivor Series, Brie inexplicably kissed AJ, distracting her, and allowing Nikki to win the Diva's Championship from her. Cena's girlfriend just beat Punk's wife, as many fans saw it.
Now, the whole thing left a bad taste in a lot of fans' mouths, as AJ disappeared from WWE TV for a while afterwards. Never really given a rematch, and only showing up once more on the road to WrestleMania to aid Paige temporarily in her feud with the Bellas before leaving the company for good herself, but not before a controversial exchange with Stephanie McMahon over Twitter.
What followed was a meandering, boring feud between the Bellas and Paige, eventually featuring Naomi. It was boring, it was predictable, it was uninspired, it was exactly what the WWE had featured in the women's division for years.
Enter one fateful night when the WWE decided that Stephanie McMahon was no longer in the back pocket of the Bella Twins as allies of the authority. The surprising announcement of anticipated debut of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks, to the main roster, was anointed as the Diva's Revolution and promised to bring about change. All in the name of challenging Nikki Bella for the Diva's Championship, mixing things up in the roster, and being all-out competition.
Nikki Bella would defend her title all of once since the Revolution started as Team PCB (formerly the Submission Sorority, consisting of Paige, Charlotte, and Lynch) and Team B.A.D. (Beautiful And Dangerous, consisting of Naomi, Tamina, and Sasha Banks) spent more time facing each other than chasing after the Diva's Championship. Even worse, these supremely talented women (well, most of them. I'm still not sold on Tamina or anyone in Team Bella) were relegated to mostly 3-minute matches that were eerily similar to what we've been putting up with before.
All the while, the countdown to the Diva's Championship reign record being broken continued and nobody brought the title up. Not once. It was an afterthought. It's like creative forgot what the Diva's Revolution promised and just went about business as usual, but with new action figures to play with for three minutes before they get bored and go back to writing the Rollins/Cena/Reigns show. It was a terrible disservice to these women athletes from top to bottom.
But I can hear people yelling at me now.
Yeah, let's do that.
On the last edition of Monday Night Raw, Nikki Bella retained her
Diva's Championship against Charlotte via disqualification which resulted in
her being able to continue her title reign and eclipse AJ Lee as the longest
reigning Diva's Champion of all time at 295+ days. Now, let's not mix
things up here. Long reigning Diva's Champions typically haven't been
very good in the ring. Maryse, the once-longest reigning Diva's Champion
at 216 days, was never good
in the ring. But she had a way of being a heel. Being underhanded,
being tricky. It sold it and, as the title was young, the length of her
reign was largely irrelevant. Kaitlyn, another much maligned Diva, had
another lengthy reign at over 150 days. But Kaitlyn improved and showed a
real earnest in her craft which gained her a lot of deserved respect. Did
she deserve to be called a champion? Eeeeehhhhh... maybe not then and
there, but with the Diva's Division as weak as it was, it wasn't the worst
idea. Kelly Kelly, over 100 days. Not very good in the ring... and
that's all I remember of her. Layla, 140 days and... I'll come back to
her, actually.
For the past few months, the WWE was writing it up as a big deal
that Nikki Bella was closing in on AJ lee to become the longest reigning Diva's
Champion of all time, conveniently ignoring the fact that the Diva's
Championship continues the legacy of the WWE Women's Championship and ain't no
way in hell Nikki's eclipsing the Fabulous Moolah's 10,000-day plus reign.
But, okay, longest reigning Diva's Champion. This was at first
opposed by Paige, who wanted to stop the reign and enjoy a new one of her own.
Along the way Naomi also got involved, as did Tamina, who joined with
Naomi. However, Nikki and twin sister Brie gained Alicia Fox and the
trio, now known as "Team Bella" asserted their Stephanie
McMahon-privilege and status in the company. It was all basic heel stuff,
nothing to complain about so far aside from some uninspiring Bella/Alicia
matches. That and the fact that Nikki probably violated the 30-day clause
what seems like a half-dozen times.
Enter Stephanie McMahon who, for some reason, decides she doesn't
really care about the Bellas in particular anymore and brings in three of NXT's
Four Horsewomen: Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and then-NXT Women's Champion
Sasha Banks, three of the four best women wrestlers in the company (the one
they left behind is the forth, but you can't completely raid the pantry) and
three of the ten best overall wrestlers in the company.
It was coined as the Diva's Revolution and it was set to redefine
the Diva's Division! A celebration of in-ring skill in women athletes!
Like Ronda Rousey! Serena Williams! And now, the Diva's
Revolution! No more Diva's matches being the christened beer and bathroom
run matches! Finally, talented women's wrestlers would be celebrated and
we could actually be invested in the division again, like in the days of Trish
Stratus, Chyna, Ivory, Lita, Victoria, Melina, Gail Kim, Mickie James, Michelle McCool,
and others!
Except... it wasn't.
The WWE showed its true colors over the course of the supposed
revolution. New blood, but same old bag of tricks. Sure, the new
Divas were featured strongly, but the matches were the same three-minute
snooze-fests and the Bella matches weren't helped one bit. They still got
to control unquestionably throughout the matches in a series of rest-holds and
basic striking and the true in-ring talents of all Divas involved got put on
the back burner. If you want a great comparison, take a look at NXT
Takeover Brooklyn's Women's Championship match (what fans were expecting), then
take a look at the next night's SummerSlam three-team elimination match (what
fans have been getting). The main roster's poor booking has been the
greatest detriment to the Diva's roster for so long, and new, superior women
wrestlers have only served to put bandages over bullet wounds.
And guess what? Throughout this whole Diva's Revolution?
Guess how many times the Diva's title has been defended. Six?
Four? Three? Once. And that was last night's Monday
Night Raw. The last chance for the record of the much-beloved AJ Lee.
Kind of defeats the purpose of the Diva's Revolution to begin with,
doesn't it?
We finally reach Monday Night Raw last night. It was
Charlotte, fresh from her successful petition to get her title match early to
try and stop the record from being broken (WWE Creative finally remembering that was the initial point), against Nikki, one day away from
breaking the record. Surely, a match of this magnitude would have a
raucous finish that would shake the Diva's division to its very core!
Right?
Nope. Instead, the WWE recycled an ending involving Paige
and the Bellas from a few months prior and Nikki backs into the record rather
then taking it by the throat. She'd switched places with her sister, let
Charlotte pin her, then have the result of the supposed title change thrown
out. This makes doesn't help Nikki's image at all and only serves to
reinforce the "Cena's squeeze" stigma that's plagued her for almost
two years when, by all rights, she should be forming an identity as one of the
company's biggest heels.
Now, let me be honest with you guys. I was fine with Nikki
Bella retaining the Diva's title and breaking AJ's record. In the long
run, that was probably the right call after building it up for so long.
However, the execution was horribly done and for three very good reasons.
1. Any successful accomplishment either of the Bella Twins
have these days will always carry with it the "oh, it's because Nikki's
dating Cena" or "oh, it's because Brie's dating Bryan" stigma,
fair or not. At that point, it stops being so much about either Bella
Twin and starts being an indictment against the WWE's political structure.
Mind you, there's still a lot of fans out there who don't follow all the
insider stuff with WWE, or watch Total Diva's, or have the WWE Network, so this
probably won't be an issue with them. But let's move on to point #2.
2. For as much as the Bella Twins have improved, few are
convinced they're the most talented Divas on the roster. Now, before NXT,
there wouldn't have been many who had come and gone who you could really
compare with in terms of talent. Beth Phoenix, Melina, Michelle McCool,
Mickie James, and Natalya are probably your most talented champions (Women's
and Diva's) who didn't initially go through NXT and held a title since the
retirements of Trish Stratus and Lita, two Hall of Famers. Between all of
them, only Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, and Michelle McCool held the title for
over 100 days. And, even then, there's rumors of Mickie James being
connected with John Cena herself for a brief time and Michelle McCool was actually The Undertaker's girlfriend (now wife). Even worse, during this time, Gail Kim, one of the most
talented and internationally appealing women in the world, was also on the
roster. What happened to her? Nothing, aside from losing a
tournament finals match to Maryse for one of her Diva's Championship reigns.
It's enough to break a wrestling fan's heart and, seeing how the Bellas
have been championed so mightily in WWE at the expense of others, makes you
wonder just who writes the angles. Creative? Vince? Cena
& Bryan? For as much as the Bellas have improved in the ring, as you
would expect when starting from zero in a time where they both still each won a Diva's
title reign, nobody is convinced that either of them have the actual skill to keep a title for as long as they have. But then again, maybe that's why they're written as underhanded as they are because even creative knows they suck at wrestling?
3. The WWE, once again, falls victim to making things up as
they go along. Remember how I said Nikki retained her title? And
remember how I said it happened once before? Well, guess what. It
actually happened once before that too. In a Diva's Championship match
involving Nikki Bella and challenger Layla, a former Diva's and Women's
Champion, Layla pinned Brie in similar fashion Charlotte did tonight. But
guess what happened? There was no decision reversal. There was no
narrative follow-up. That was it. Layla became your Diva's
Champion. And, before anyone asks, Layla was also playing the face of
that match. Mind you, the Bellas left the company that night, but that
doesn't matter. WWE set a precedent with that match. If the WWE was
serious about Twin Magic, as the switches were called, and how that affected
their matches, they'd be consistent. And that lack of consistency hurts
the credibility of Nikki as a champion.
How would I have booked it? Here, I'll script it for you.
*Nature Boy Ric Flair, Charlotte's father, is backstage, wishing
her daughter luck tonight, as was the case on Raw as it actually happened.*
*Early in the match, Team Bella and Team PCB are ejected from
ringside, leaving the match one-on-one entirely.*
*Charlotte has the Figure-8 Submission hold on Nikki in the middle
of the ring. The champ looks as though as she's going to tap. Then,
the TitanTron catches up with Team Bella members Brie and Alicia backstage, and
Alicia is holding a baseball bat or a lead pipe.*
Brie: Oh Charlotte! Daddy's girl! Up here!
We were so moved earlier tonight that your dad came to wish you luck,
but, oh look!
*Camera pans down to show Ric Flair on the ground, face down,
holding his knee, writhing in pain. Alicia has her foot on the back of
his neck.*
Brie: He's falling to pieces! I guess it just goes to
show what a disappointment you are to him and to the fans.
*at this point, Charlotte has broken the hold and has gone the
ropes, watching this*
Alicia: Don't worry, girl! We won't let him watch any more
of you letting everyone down.
*Alicia pulls the bat/pipe back as the camera zooms in on her
face. She swings downward with a sickening THWACK! The camera zooms
out and Flair is motionless.*
*A distraught Charlotte is ready to go help her father, but Nikki
turns her around, smashes her in the face with her forearm shot, hits her with the
Rack Attack, and gets the pinfall with the help of the distraction.*
*Later in the show, Triple H confronts Team Bella and lets them
know how furious he is about what they did to Ric Flair. He says he
can appreciate the underhanded tactics, but that was Ric Flair they sent to the hospital, his mentor and friend. They make an enemy out of Ric, they make an enemy out of him. He informs Nikki that she'll defend the
Diva's Championship at Night of Champions again against Charlotte. He
says that it will be a No Holds Barred match, meaning anything goes. He smirks and says "good luck."*
BAM! There you are! Fans have an investment beyond the
Diva's Championship reign, the stakes are made even higher, the fans sympathize
with Charlotte to a greater degree, and Team Bella gets actual storyline heat
instead of just "Cena heat." Tell me you wouldn't be compelled in
the feud beyond some lengthily title reign supposedly meant to spite CM Punk! That'd be an angle I want to
watch. How about you?
A lot of writers about this angle have praised WWE Creative for adding heat to Nikki and talked about what a despicable heel she is. I laugh at that idea, though, because it isn't Nikki the fans are frustrated with. What has she done that's actually been despicable or evil? Hell, she was penned as a FACE in matches against Team B.A.D. She was ambiguous at best thanks to poor writing. No, the heat has always been towards WWE Creative, owner Vince McMahon, right-hand man Kevin Dunn, and poster boy John Cena. It's like Nikki isn't even a factor in this heat. It's like a bully stomping around school with a jump rope and whipping everyone and people being mad at the jump rope while forgetting who was doing the actual whipping.
And that's what the WWE seems to be when it comes to storytelling. Bullies. They're not telling a compelling good vs. evil story. They want to make fans angry and claim it's "part of the story." But fans have gotten smarter in this day and age. The Internet has made things much more transparent, be it accurate or not. That's why it's imperative that creative try harder to write better stories to compliment great athletes. This isn't just a problem with the Diva's Division, it's a top-to-bottom problem. Compelling characters and in-ring work can only take you so far.
If you want an example of a dislikable, but highly respected, character holding onto a title through technicalities, underhanded tactics, and general backhandedness, look up Chris Jericho's runs as Cruserweight and Television Champion. During such, he defended the titles what seemed like on a weekly basis, all the while unmasking luchadores, stealing tribal dresses, disparaging the dead, driving a colleague to near-retirement, enlisting the help of referees, and making one of his opponents wear a dress. That is how you make a detestable heel. There was a lot of thought and care put into his run... or at least there was a method to the madness.
Or, in a shorter-term example, Chyna's feud with Ivory for the Women's Championship, which saw Chyna's neck be broken (in-storyline) and emotional interviews following it up leading to a big payoff at WrestleMania. People wanted to see Chyna come back and take the title from the evil Ivory. And the payoff of her basically squashing Ivory was perfect.
The journalists covering this also claim that the pop will be bigger on Sunday when Charlotte wins. It won't. Because the limited investment the fans had in this is already gone. Nikki got what she wanted. She won. It's over. Like One More Day, evil wins. And there's no more hook. Nothing left. If Charlotte does win on Sunday, and I'm not convinced she will, it'll be more of a meandering transition then taking a division by storm. And now it's more expected. There'll be polite applause and they'll wait for everyone to get out of the ring so the next match can start. This is no revolution. This is regression. Regression back into what we were saddled with for years, just with new faces that WWE creative doesn't know what to do with. I weep for the future under this regime.
All this effort, all this care, all this missing from WWE programming today. And, as a result, people have turned to the Internet to hear the scoop and the web rags have defined what's what these days.
It's not business as usual for the WWE in this age of the Internet. They need to put in a stronger effort with their programming, not take the easy way out to try and fill three hours every Monday. Last night, the Diva's Division suffered for taking the easy way out. The Diva's Revolution suffered for taking the easy way out. Nikki Bella's title reign suffered (again) for taking the easy way out.
Come on, WWE. We want to be fans again. Not armchair McMahons.
