Cena And Orton Split

The big move from the 2011 Draft is Orton to Smackdown. Smackdown needed a top face after Edge retired. No matter who wins between Christian and Alberto Del Rio, no matter how long The Undertaker is really gone, no matter any other moves, Randy Orton will be the face of Smackdown.

Last year, I talked about John Cena still being the major focus on Raw, even when face Orton had the WWE Championship. Orton did have a brief period where he was outshining Cena, but it did not take long for Cena/Nexus to take the spotlight. John Cena is still on Raw to do his thing and to have the WWE do their thing for him.

Orton will definitely get a fairer chance to develop as a draw now. Last time he was on Smackdown, top guys like Batista, Kurt Angle, and a younger Taker were priorities as well. Combine that with Orton screwing himself over here and there, and he did not really shine back then as well as he might have. Now? He is very much in a league all his own. The only other top face who has been World Champion multiple times is arguably Kane. History has shown that pushes for Kane in the main event do not last long. Christian still has potential to be a rising star, but time will tell if WWE makes the move or not. No, it is not really up to Christian to make it or not. As far as I am concerned, this guy has proven that he can make it already. He has worked with top guys all his WWE career. He is over. He has what it takes. Nevertheless, I would still be surprised if Orton is feuding in the midcard for the majority of his Smackdown run.

Will Eve Ever Really Succeed?

First, let me talk about the diva match on Raw. It was Eve vs. Layla. It was for a draft pick and McCool was out with Layla. Just talking about the match itself, it was stupid. The aftermath between Layla and McCool served the purpose of furthering their issues and did well, but I just want to talk about the match. I do not say it is stupid simply because it was short. It is what was lacking that makes me say it was stupid. It lacked a good story and development. Eve hits Layla with a move, Layla kicks out, issues between Layla and McCool follow, and Eve wins with a roll up. What does a win like that really do for Eve's character? I know people can say she won a huge draft pick for Raw and all that sweetness, but the match itself did nothing for her. I am not complaining for Layla because the aftermath was more than good for her. People love seeing a fight. There are short matches that actually make kayfabe sense and do something for the winner. Look at Christian vs. William Regal at Summerslam a few years ago. It was for the ECW Championship. Regal had Kozlov and Zeke in his corner. It lasted about 10 seconds. Christian hit one move and it was over. If you want a backstage reason for the match being so short, the WWE didn't really respect ECW that much, so why waste too much time on that when you can devote it to a Cena match? In kayfabe, the quickness of the match makes sense. The longer the match went on, the more likely Regal's friends would interfere and help Regal win the title. They never got the chance. Christian looks a little clever with the way the match turned out. He got to completely own a top heel (Regal was top heel on ECW at the time, believe it or not), and many fans usually react well to heels getting owned like that when against a very over face. Moreover, a quick, out-of-nowhere win like that has excitement to it. It's like when Orton hits his RKO out of nowhere. Back to Eve. Had she won the match after the first move she hit, it still may not have been as good. She isn't that over to begin with. If they were going to have the match drag on a few more seconds after that, they should have done better than a mild interaction between McCool and Layla, just to have Layla lose to a roll up after that. Eve was never really in trouble. Her victory was not as emphatic as Christian over Regal, Mickie over Madison, Mysterio over JBL, and the legendary series of classics between Benoit and Orlando Jordan. This diva match ended up being simply a...diva match.

I do think Eve deserves better. I see in how she performs that she really does want to be the best she can be. Yes, the WWE has screwed her over in some sense by making it clear that she is not a priority. Her treatment heading into Wrestlemania this years shows this. Thing is, I cannot put all the blame on the WWE. I see in her performances that she wants to succeed, but I also see that she is not getting the point. She is focusing on one thing and not aiming for what will make her a success, whether the WWE is on her side or what. I see her spamming finisher moves. I have seen her move between at least four since she first started getting pushed seriously in the ring on Smackdown years ago. I see her trying to supplement it with a few other unique spots here and there. What really defines her? What really defines her style in the ring? What is her true signature? What is really associated with her? People can hate Cena for having a 5-move combo he always does, but even Shawn Michaels had a combo. Whether it is because I am not paying attention or the WWE does not give Eve enough time to work in the ring, I am really not seeing what Eve represents in the ring. That brings me to the most important thing that is stopping Eve's performances from grabbing me. Emotion. Yeah, Cole does a number to bite Eve's head off for not being charismatic, but you really do not have to be charismatic to bring a good emotion or atmosphere to your matches. Look at Chris Benoit. Not charismatic. But he did bring an intensity. Some wrestlers bring a cockiness or attitude, even the faces. Pro wrestling is not about doing 50 new moves you have never used before every single week you are out there. Pro wrestling is about going out there to put on a performance that draws the fans into you. Spamming finishers is not getting it done for Eve. Relying on the WWE to hype her to get over will sure not get it done, especially with Kelly Kelly going to Raw. Again, I know Eve is trying her best, but trying your best when you go up to bat, even if you have all the training, skill, and good advice on your side, does not mean you are hitting it out of the park. Eve is showing that she can do a lot of moves, but she is not proving she can perform to connect with the fans.

Lastly, since I mentioned Michael Cole, how long until he wins the Diva's Championship? Just give it to him. I'm not even joking. A man held the Women's Championship the last time the diva division was as crappy as it is now, so I honestly would not be surprised if Michael Cole does get the Diva's Championship. He is the biggest heel in the Raw diva division. He craps on the whole division. Yes, the WWE could easily make the divas the focal point in the division, but it really is Cole who has been the most interesting steady thing related to the diva matters. He has been doing his act even before and after Trish/Snooki/Vickie matters. He has been doing it even before Awesome Kong hype. And both of these two things are not even the focal point, or what should be the focal point, of the division. I am talking about title matters. Cole is more important than the title. Fact is, Cole is merely parroting the same criticism the diva division has gotten from many fans for a long time. The division sucks. Bathroom break. Ignore it. Who cares? Just give Cole the full attention by giving him the title. It will be a comedy match, much like Santina Marella crap and a man winning the Women's title a decade ago, but it will probably lead to a nice little moment where the divas own Cole and one of them wins it back. All the Diva-Dirt fans get to put a smile on their face and celebrate, and the WWE can slowly go back to turning the division into a mediocrity until it develops a centerpiece that works out. People are already talking, so just get them talking more.

Morrison Is Feuding With Cena & Miz?

With John Cena moving to Smackdown from Raw and to Raw from Smackdown, with Miz holding the WWE Championship and doing his thing in his promo, and with both Cena and Miz as part of Raw's main event, it might be easy for some to forget that there are supposed to be 3 men in this feud.

If the flopping around last week was not bad enough, the Raw before the PPV does not even feature proper build for John Morrison in this match. When R-Truth first got placed into the title match, I was interested to see how they would build him as a main-eventer. That got screwed over. John Morrison takes his spot, but he isn't even getting built into a main-eventer himself. All he did on Raw was attack R-Truth after his promo, which probably lasted even longer than Taker's usual entrance. Almost? Instead of getting built to be on the same level as Cena or Miz, Morrison stays at the same level as R-Truth. Together, both are gaining no new ground.

I would be very surprised if Morrison does win the title. I didn't really have hopes for either him or R-Truth winning the title, but I was hoping for a better build for them in the feud to take them to a new level. So why is Morrison in the match? The lack of build for him makes it even more clear to me that he is mainly there to do his fancy spots to help make the match possibly match of the night, if not at least better than TNA's triple-threat cage match for the TNA World title this month. You can say he might also be there to job, but R-Truth could have easily have done that, or any other guy. Morrison is there for his unique abilities.

In the end, there are not three men in this feud. There are three men in the match. This whole feud is still Miz and Cena. It is the extension from Wrestlemania. Just like the mediocre build for John Morrison when he faced Miz earlier this year, this match will be just another chapter in the story of John Morrison coming close to becoming World Champion after showing he can perform more than adequately in the ring. If he should win the belt inside that cage, it still leaves me wondering why the poor build. His character will still look like a midcarder (or upper midcarder), but he will be holding the WWE Championship instead of Cena, who is still on Raw.

Natalya Was Diva's Champ Just 3 Months Ago, Right?

Almost thought I was going to be talking about Lita being hospitalized for a drug overdose right now. If you have no idea what I am talking about, no worries. False alarm. Stupid rumor. Fake Facebook account. There is a lesson here somewhere about believing everything you read from wrestling news sites or supposed wrestlers' blogs and sites, no matter how credible they may seem, but I am going to keep this all in the back of my mind for another night.

Natalya. At the end of last year, they were feuding her against LayCool for the title. She wins the title from both of them. She goes on to win a diva tables tag match at TLC, which was supposed to be an answer to TNA having Mickie James and Tara compete in a cage match on Impact. She goes over heel Melina to retain the title. A short while after that, she loses it to face Eve. Aside from having Eve go over Natalya in the rematch on Raw, Natalya has not done much on the main brand. A few days ago on Superstars, which is now on WWE.com like Heat ended up, she lost to Maryse.

If you have read anything I have ever written about the diva division in my few years writing about it, you know this treatment of Natalya does not surprise me. If you have stumbled on my blog for the first time, I am going to explain the depush of Natalya anyway. If you stumbled along here because you were looking for Natalya pics, you are not reading anything I am writing here anyway. So why am I writing this?


Around October of last year, when Natalya's push was first starting up, I ended a blog entry talking about her by asking, and I quote, "what chances does Natalya have of real proper treatment, whether during the title feud, title reign, or anything that may come after? In the end, this may just be the rise of Natalya as a fresh new face tool." I think enough time has went by for me to assess how the WWE's treatment of Natalya has come through. I would say the title feud itself was pretty good. Yes, LayCool made fun of her, but that is the gimmick the WWE has decided to run with. Moreover, they did not have Natalya cry to put over the two as great evil heels. Just let them be annoying, childish, and hopefully as entertaining as certain heels have managed to be and get over. They did develop things pretty well.

Her actual title reign was pretty good too. It is true that her feud with Melina was the only televised successful defense she had, and that they were slowly and subtley rebuilding Eve for the title even while Natalya still had the title and had not even finished her feud with Melina as of yet, but she did get to put LayCool through a table at a PPV. Could more have been done? DEFINITELY. But I still believe it could have been possible for Natalya to start to get over, connect with those fans whose standards go beyond just needing to be a solid wrestler, through the build to her title win and some of the attention they were giving her during the reign.

I talked about the feud, I talked about the reign, and now what has come after? Superstars. No real storylines to keep her character fresh or move her up the card. Even better, she lost to Maryse. Needless to say, this is not proper treatment. Whatever overness Natalya may have been gaining during her push, it may be at risk of diminishing now. While nothing has been done to help Natalya's character look good over the last few weeks, resources have been used for Eve's benefit, and I will not even mention the Wrestlemania diva crap. I am not surprised this has happened in the least. Having the title go from face Natalya to face Eve was even more low than I thought the WWE would go. Face Natalya could have carried the title until the WWE wanted to drop it to a Bella, or whoever. It just goes to show, as long as the WWE can control the push, they can attempt to manipulate the overness. And that is what it is all about. Is this the rise of Natalya as a fresh new tool? If she does not get released, I would say it is.

Let me say a bit about Awesome Kong. First, when I compared the current state of the diva division to 1999/2000, I may have made it seem like it was all horrible. It was not that bad. It was during this period that a female wrestler debuted who the WWE did push with the storylines, rubs, and consistency to get over and stay over. If you look at how they treated her, you could tell they wanted her to stay over and helped her. You cannot say that for Natalya, not to mention a lot of other women. Point is, I am talking about Lita. However, people must realize that Lita was never pushed as a true centerpiece in the same way Trish Status or Michelle McCool have been. Lita was more on the side, on the periphery. She spent a lot of her time as a valet to the guys. Without going into her too much now, let me just say that this is a very strong possibility for how the WWE will treat Awesome Kong. She will not be treated as a true centerpiece. She does not have the look. I doubt the style and gimmick they seem to be pushing for her would make for a lot of great diva matches with the models. The only way they can push her as an effective centerpiece is to pretty much kill what makes the diva division a "diva" division. And if they were really interested in doing that, they would have done it with Mickie James. She had the overness and was able to get over against the grain of how a typical diva centerpiece does. They could have started pushing a regular women's wrestling division with her. That is not what they wanted. Aside from being pushed on the periphery, Kong may also follow in the path of Mickie James and Natalya and be used as a credible jobber. She has wrestling credibility, which is all it really takes to be a credible jobber. I think this would be a great waste of her, and I do not believe the WWE would be stupid enough to do that. Still, there is a better chance of this than having her be a true centerpiece.

Let me close by saying that Kong may or may not get a title push straight off her debut. Should it happen, that would not necessarily mean that I am wrong and that they are pushing her as a centerpiece. Without listing numerous explanations and rationales right now, let me simply point back to Natalya. After you saw her win the Diva's title from LayCool, you might have thought that made her the centerpiece. After you saw her put them through a table, you may have thought that really proved it. And when she went over Melina, a multi-time Champion, you might have made yourself believe she was the next big thing. Where is she now? She was just filling a spot. LayCool didn't need the title for the storylines they were going to get. The WWE wanted to pass the credibility accessory, the butterfly title, to Eve. And now Natalya is in a position to be a credible face jobber. That is what she is. Higher up the ladder than Gail Kim, but she is not the centerpiece. Wait a while to find out how the WWE really pushes Kong. When the title feuds end, is she going to have something to fall back on, like a Lita, or is she going to be tagging up with a model on Superstars to face Natalya and her model partner for the evening? If the major diva feud on her brand always does involve her, or if she is getting a storyline that moves her up the card while filler divas feud over the title, THEN she would be a centerpiece.

Christian Or Del Rio?

Alberto Del Rio and Christian will battle for the World Championship Edge will no longer be defending due to his retirement. These two guys are good workers. It being a ladder match, which Christian has some experience in, can only make it better. Point is, I am not too worried about how good the match will be. It will deliver.

But who should win? Who should walk out of the next PPV with the title? If you ask me, it doesn't matter. BOTH men should eventually be World Champion. Christian was one in TNA, and whether you count the ECW title or not, he has never held either of the two World Championships still in the WWE today. Alberto is a new guy who has received a huge push since his debut. Christian is definitely over. I believe Del Rio has what it takes.

I am not saying both should win it simply because I think both guys are good. Smackdown, and even Raw should either get traded, needs top guys. Edge is gone. You need a top face. Who are your top heels? Swagger, a former World Champion, is back in the midcard. Wade Barrett is slowly being built up. Whether you want to admit it or not, Alberto Del Rio is currently the top heel on Smackdown. Aside from the Royal Rumble, he hasn't really won anything huge. Giving him the title should help to cement him as a top heel. Back to needing a top face. Why not Christian? He has been close to Edge for so long in their WWE run. It is true that you have guys like Mysterio, Big Show, and Kane around, but you can use someone fresh to take Edge's spot. Christian may not be as young and fresh as a Miz or Del Rio, but he can bring a change of scenery to the main-event picture.

If someone forced me to choose who I think should win the ladder match, I would say Christian. Coming off Edge's retirement, it could make for a nice moment. A little while after the win, Christian can drop it to Del Rio.

R-Truth Out, Morrison In

R-Truth and John Cena were the two contenders to face Miz for the WWE Championship. That was last week. This week? John Morrison defeats R-Truth for the spot in Raw's main event, which will be a cage match.

Do politicians flip flop as often as this? If changing contenders was not bad enough, R-Truth seems to be going heel. He has been face ever since he returned to the WWE, so a heel turn may be refreshing in some sense. Then again, he was getting a main-event push. He was hanging with John Cena this week. No offense to John Morrison, who I have said many times deserves a better chance, but I was actually looking forward to seeing them try to build R-Truth into a main-eventer. Instead, Sin Cara gets a rub from Cena and The Miz tonight. Sin Cara should be proving his worth in the midcard. Knowing the WWE, it is only a matter of time before he ends up like a Sheamus anyway. Push him hard at first, then turn him into a mediocrity for at least a little while after.

This is once again another chance for Morrison to look good. It was only a few months ago when he faced The Miz for the WWE title. A few months before that, he faced Miz and Daniel Bryan for the U.S. title. Now he finds himself in another triple threat. Given his style and abilities, a steel cage match can make for some great spots, which was surely one of the ideas of wanting him in this match. Will he win the title or just be used as the guy who steals the show, yet comes up short at the end? Let's see how WWE builds it.

Speaking of build, the WWE is doing a poor job hyping Extreme Rules. You usually get lazy booking in between Wrestlemania and Backlash/Extreme Rules. A lot of rematches and easy reworking of feuds already going on. Raw's WWE title match is basically Cena's rematch against Miz, but with another guy added in. Smackdown's title match was supposed to be Edge vs. Del Rio, which would have been another Wrestlemania rematch, but Edge has now been replaced with Christian. No surprise there. Christian was already an element in the feud even before Wrestlemania. Even before Del Rio won the Royal Rumble, he was the one who injured Christian. Since Christian was already a part of Del Rio's feud with Edge, the switch has been a simple reworking of the feud. What other feuds has the WWE really been working on? Most are either continuations of Wrestlemania feuds or stupid, like Eve vs. Brie. Unless the WWE can really turn it around on Smackdown this week and the build before the PPV next week, I don't think they should be expecting gigantic buys.

Mickie James Wins The TNA Knockouts Championship

Tonight, Mickie James made history by becoming the first woman to have held the WWE Women's Championship, WWE Diva's Championship, and TNA Knockout's Championship. Overall, this is her 7th female title from a major promotion. She also completely squashed Madison Rayne to do it, ending her 6-month reign.

Let's talk about the quickness of the match. Everyone who read the reports, followed Mickie on Twitter, watched Impact and bought kayfabe as reality, or just heard it through the grapevine, all pretty much knew Mickie James had suffered an injury a few weeks ago. As I have said before, rather than write Mickie off and work some other woman into the match (Tara being the obvious choice), they gave Mickie the time to heal as best as she could, worked in a storyline to explain the injury, and allowed Mickie to work. Honestly, she didn't disappoint. She didn't botch anything horribly like I have seen certain other wrestlers do when they either work through an injury or are just returning from one. Moreover, you frequently see short matches that end with a face squashing a heel. Do not forget that Mickie James defeated Michelle McCool for the title in a short match as well, and neither woman was injured there. And however long tonight's match was, it was still at least twice as long as Christian vs. William Regal at Summerslam a few years ago.

Going back to how I was saying TNA was finally raising the bar in this feud as of late, the quick finish is also passable in my eyes for that reason. For months, Madison and/or Tara have made life difficult for Mickie James. They kept pushing this routine of Tara saving Madison reign from losing the title right as Mickie was closing in on it. They did this twice. Third time? Madison decides to go at it without Tara. Mickie's hair is on the line. Mickie is recovering from a real injury. Combine all that with the months of torment that I just mentioned, which sounds quite familiar to the backstory to Mickie's squash victory over Michelle McCool last year, and you have a storyline reason to have the cocky Madison Rayne get beat as she did by Mickie James. It was a "feel good" moment.

TNA really owed Mickie James that victory, in my eyes anyway. This is her first TNA PPV victory. They easily could have given her the title in her 3rd or 4th month in the company, but they dragged it on. For the ninth or seventeenth time, I am once again going to say that they finally started really raising the stakes prior to Lockdown. Mickie James has worked hard to do her part since coming to the company, taken risks to perform (including working through the injury), has had to work with Madison Rayne, who is obviously not as solid in the ring as most of TNA's other women, and still was willing to fulfill her duties, both in and out of TNA (a lot of appearances while she was injured). How would it look if Mickie did ask to be written off in favor of her recovery? Just as I am sure there are some fans who don't even know Mickie James was really injured, I am sure some fans would feel Mickie weaseled out because she didn't want to lose her hair. Really? After all the build for the moment, it would be a letdown if Mickie was replaced at the last moment. As much of a letdown as Jeff Hardy vs. Sting from last month? No. Had the performance tonight have been as awkward as it was there, then I would see reason to still see a letdown. But Mickie James was given the shot by TNA to still perform. She came through.

What happens now? The obvious choice would be a triple-threat match. Mickie vs. Tara vs. Madison. You can have a very good feud there, with Tara turning face. Should TNA, in their infinite wisdom, decide to write Mickie James off and have her lose the title on Impact this week, with the idea that she will be out to recover properly for a while, that still will not undo what she has accomplished. I admire her desire to work through this injury, and not just wrestling tonight but also traveling all over just to be at events and interact with fans. That is commitment. As I said before, TNA owed her that shot to perform on her own tonight. They are lucky to have her. Congratulations to Mickie James.

Title, Hair, Injury

The last time I spoke about Mickie James in TNA, I criticized the fact that they were not building the feud very well between Mickie and Madison Rayne. It was a basic title feud. The finishes to the title matches were all the same. Mickie James is about to put Madison away, Tara comes down and causes a distraction, Madison uses some dirty heel tactic, and that's it. For two PPVs in a row, same story. In between, not that much development to really raise the stakes. The bar was set at a mediocre level that I did not believe would draw interest. Since then, I must admit, TNA has done a better job. Aside from being a steel cage match, which is a match type Mickie and Tara utilized a few months ago to get fans talking, Mickie's hair is also on the line. Madison Rayne is not a very solid worker in the ring, so it being a cage match may not have made for anything as respectable as Mickie and Tara did, even if Mickie was not injured. Nevertheless, the stakes are definitely raised. Title vs. Hair. You also have the added storyline element of Tara slowly turning on Madison. In a segment before Tara and Mickie went at it in a singles match on Impact a few weeks ago, Madison basically ordered Tara to do her bidding and take out Mickie. That lay the seeds down. This makes Tara's involvement in this more interesting than just a person who comes out at the end of the match to cost Mickie the win. I just hope that this aspect of the storyline does not overshadow the issues between Mickie and Madison. Then there is the part I like the best. I am definitely not happy that Mickie James was injured at a house show a few weeks ago, but I liked how TNA handled it. They didn't completely write her off. They didn't try to rush some last-minute substitution into the feud. They didn't pretend Mickie wasn't injured. They actually made an angle out of it. This isn't me crying about how the WWE treated Mickie James, but do you realize that they never gave her any true injury storyline in her entire time there? I'm not saying Mickie James never sold an injury in the ring or that they didn't make up an afterthought injury excuse to explain Mickie's absence when she had that infection in her leg. These aren't real storylines to me. In one case, it is really Mickie James who is carrying it, not the WWE. In the other case, it is treated as a trivial matter. In both cases, the WWE does not intend to do anything for Mickie's character. That is the thing about most real injury storylines. They do something for the character of the wrestler and usually draw interest. Whether it is a comedy angle, like Cody Rhodes and his mask, or something treated more seriously and epically, like the feud between Shawn Michaels and Batista that spawned into a feud between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho a few years ago. That latter example definitely became an epic. Very elaborate storyline. I do not think Mickie's injury storyline here will turn into that, but it still allows her to show character. Can she overcome an injury to win the title and save her hair? I also like that they did the motorcycle bit, instead of trying to sell it off as Madison injuring Mickie at a house show or in some other way. It makes Mickie's character look stronger if she is able to bounce back from being hit with a motorcycle. If the hair was not enough, the injury angle definitely raises the stakes and can raise interest. TNA may suck for a lot of reasons, but I think they really went in the right direction for this feud. They took the negative of Mickie's injury and turned it into a positive. Only thing left, they have to book the right woman to win.

Dark Days Have Fallen Upon The Diva Division

The Bella Twins have captured the Diva's Championship. Brie defeated Eve on Raw. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Eve's last match on Raw before StratusMania a title match against the other Bella? She really accomplished a lot in between that time, didn't she? Her reign was crap.

The title once again goes to a model-type diva. I do not believe Brie is meant to be a centerpiece. I do not recall if I ever made this observation on here before or not, but the current diva division is almost at the same level as it was in 1999/2000. Since the diva division was created, since the women's division took on the certain qualities that made it a "diva" division, there have been only two periods where they put the title on eye-candy divas not meant to be developed as a centerpiece. The first started in 1999. Sable, the woman meant to be centerpiece, left the company. The WWE had no proper replacement set up. They put the title on Debra and The Kat. These women were more looks than fight. They were valets. Moreover, the WWE never really tried pushing them as true centerpieces either. Saving time and skipping a few of the other interesting people to win the title at this time, they eventually gave it to Trish. From her first reign to her last, no other eye-candy diva held the title but Trish. After her, Candice Michelle was the first such model diva to get it. They were indeed trying to make her into Trish's replacement. Look at the booking and build they gave her. On the other show, Michelle McCool and Maryse won the prestigious butterfly title. Maryse was sent to Raw, where they did try to build her into the centerpiece there, filling the spot Candice left after her flop. Maryse flopped as well. Do I even need to discuss whether or not McCool is a centerpiece?

Back to Raw. Back to the current era. Eve, a Diva Search winner and eye-candy diva, has gotten two reigns with the title. Look at her most recent reign. They treated her like an afterthought, even though she had the title, for weeks while they pushed something else for Wrestlemania. The way I see it, they have also failed to push her and hype her as you would expect a true centerpiece. All this makes me believe that she is an eye-candy diva not meant to be a centerpiece. Then look at Brie. I hardly believe they will build her and her sister to be centerpieces. This is indeed another crappy diva division period, like 1999/2000.

Two things you have to keep in mind about why this era is the way it is. First, every woman the WWE desired to be the centerpiece has flopped either in maintaining a solid performance in the ring or in getting over. The only woman who had both solid ability and a great overness since Trish left was a woman only meant to be a jobber. That brings me to the other thing. During the rich era of Trish Stratus, the WWE had a steady flow of real wrestlers debuting to work with her and keep her looking at their level and bring credibility to the division. For the past year or so, you have not gotten that. That flow of real wrestlers to put over the the centerpieces is not coming. Tamina came to Raw last year, but what has she really done that is relevant? The WWE brought in Serena, had her head shaved, then released her. Natalya won the title recently. She was a valet before that, had a somewhat below average reign, and has done nothing of importance since then. Smackdown's centerpieces (LayCool) have been entertaining themselves, working with Trish and Snooki for Wrestlemania, and working around that with the likes of Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix. Beth is a jobber, and also losing what freshness and momentum she had. She has been around for years. Kelly is someone they may try building to be a centerpiece in the future. And that is part of the problem with what is going on right now. Models are getting more of the focus than the wrestlers, and all those models won't even be built to matter that much.

I will not say much about Awesome Kong now. Let me just say, it will be only a matter of time before she is teaming with those Barbie dolls and acting like they are her best friends ever. Either that, or she gets released before they even get that far.

Edge Announces Retirement

Due to health reasons, Edge announced tonight on Raw that he will retire. Obviously, this is a huge shock. Edge was definitely a great performer. He came back from multiple injuries and never lost his step. He competed with the best. He entertained like the best. He was a true fan of the business. Hopefully, this will not be the complete end of him. Respect to him.

Corre Down And Melina/Morrison/Trish

If anything was really going to go wrong with The Corre, I had a feeling it would come from the WWE's booking of them. They were looking very good last time I talked about them. Three out of four members had gold. They were actually looking strong against Kane and Big Show, two big guys in terms of both size and credibility. What happened?

Last week, heading into Wrestlemania, Corre seemed to lose all its momentum. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It seemed like they would have won at Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania weekend, Corre "destroys" Kozlov, who was in the tag match. Faces suddenly are in trouble. This wasn't a good sign for Corre. Kofi Kingston replaces Kozlov. I have nothing against Kofi Kingston. If he was even there for a crucial or entertaining reason, I would even be more glad that he did make it in. But what happened? The 8-man tag comes off looking like some kind of diva match. To be fair, I am talking about in terms of time. Corre loses. Faces don't look too amazing. Match not that entertaining or worthy of a Wrestlemania. The fans go home happy in that the faces win. Is that still all it takes to make everyone happy?

Next night, Corre crashes The Rock and Cena's intimate moment in the ring. I enjoyed seeing them come out. I was hoping something exciting was going to happen. The Corre gets knocked around to help the two faces look good. Pathetic.

On Smackdown, a little bit of retribution. It was a Wrestlemania rematch, with more time to work. Corre still loses.

Is there some kind of rule that someone has to have a losing streak going to look pathetic at any given time? Sheamus had his turn, and it ended with a U.S. title run. Now it is time for Corre to "pay their dues" for a while? Fine. All hope is not lost yet anyway. Let's see how the feuds break up now over the tag titles and IC title. I may talk too much about these guys, but this concept has potential. It raised interest last year with total rookies. It didn't take the return of The Rock or Austin to make it work. If the WWE did not realize at least some of this themselves, why would they do another version of what is basically still Nexus on Smackdown? I am going to wait and have hope. Then again, that didn't work out back when I used to talk about the divas every day.

Speaking of divas, there seems to be some issues revolving concerning Melina, John Morrison, and Trish Stratus. Morrison and Melina have an obvious relationship. Trish and Morrison tagged together at Wrestlemania and have been on the same side against Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. Trish said in an interview that she feels snubbed by how Morrison was treating at time when they worked together. All the details from all sides are not completely out, but it seems Melina is unhappy about Trish Stratus getting featured at Wrestlemania, while herself and the other divas get nothing. After just saying the other day that I find the recent booking of the diva division, especially on Raw, annoying, I would be a hypocrite if I did not take the side that reports are claiming Melina represents. Who gets the diva spotlight at Wrestlemania this year? Snooki? Trish Stratus gets the hype leading up to the event? None of the other divas get a match or are featured properly at the PPV or in the weeks prior to build it. Last year? Vickie Guerrero? In a large diva tag match? Divas either stand around or play dead on the outside while Vickie Guerrero gets her moment. Year before that? This is my favorite one. 25 divas in one ring. Who wins? Santino Marella! If these were isolated incidents sprinkled between Wrestlemanias that are regularly good for the women that carry the division week after week, I would not complain. But it has been at least three years in a row now. Is some beauty pageant winner on Tough Enough right now going to get her Wrestlemania moment next year? Is that what the division is going to be about?

But it is different? It's Trish! So that makes it okay to treat the women working there regularly like crap? Especially the ones who were hired for actual wrestling ability, which Trish was not? The woman who is arguably the most over on the current roster didn't get screwed over. Vickie was used! She may not be getting cheered, but her reaction is real and loud. What is Trish actually doing for the WWE? Entertaining? Giving meaningful rubs to future stars? My absolute favorite wrestlers were never either The Rock or Steve Austin, but they are bringing it for the WWE. Ratings went up majorly the week after The Rock first returned. Ratings spiked again when they advertised Austin. When they advertised Snooki's appearance and Trish taking on Vickie, ratings fell back down. Admittedly, Austin is a tough act to follow. You can see the numbers here. What about live reactions? You could tell the crowd is usually high for Rock and Austin when they actually show up. Last Monday was the first time in weeks Trish actually got a good reaction, but I already mentioned that that Atlanta crowd was hot. Let me honestly speak for myself. I may not have ever been a die-hard fan of any of these three, but when either The Rock or Austin's theme hits, it gets me pumped. I know something is going to happen. With Trish, nope. Just seeing those two guys walk down the aisle and into the ring, I see the enthusiasm and character that they are about. With Trish, I don't. These men on the mic? Great. Awesome. No adjective comes to mind to give them justice. With Trish? Yes, she has not gotten the mic or time to speak that much, but I would rather watch Vickie talk anyway. I enjoy the heat she gets. And when the words stop? Austin stunners and pours beer everywhere. The Rock layeths the smacketh down. Trish has attacked LayCool and all that, but it was nowhere near as exciting as watching Austin or The Rock do their things.

I mentioned giving rubs. Do I really need to mention who The Rock is putting over greatly just by talking about him? John Cena. The Rock will not take away the heat Cena does get, but he will definitely help Cena look even more like one of the greatest of all time, no matter who wins that Wrestlemania match next year. Cena has already proven that he can stand firm against The Rock in a war of words. The Miz and Alex Riley have also slightly benefited from being involved in this mix. Aside from actually putting over Tough Enough on Raw, the WWE is also using Austin to give rubs to Miz and his sidekick. He's giving CM Punk some attention on Twitter. He buried the diva division, but I was just saying how the WWE is doing that themselves to feature Trish Stratus. Which divas are Trish Stratus actually putting over? Her interactions with LayCool did not seem as strong to me as what was going on with the men I just mentioned. Are LayCool even there to get a rub from Trish? Vickie seems to be doing more for Trish than Trish is doing for any of these divas. Trish doesn't have the toughness of an Austin or Rock, so her getting attacked by McCool won't do much but create a standard diva moment. The fact that hype for both McCool and the current Trish was so mediocre does not help.

Then there was Morrison. So many questions and directions to go here. First of all, it is already obvious that the WWE failed to treat Trish in a way that would actually give LayCool a proper rub, so what really would she have done for John Morrison? Help John Morrison look like he's on Trish's level? Ummm...what do I even say to that? John Morrison is very capable. His matches from a few months ago prove that he can do things that very few WWE superstars, if any, have ever done. He can awe. The character he had back in ECW proves that he can be entertaining in that respect as well. He simply needs the WWE hyping him and pushing him properly. Any rub from Trish Stratus would be meaningless if he jobs to Sheamus and Alex Riley for the rest of the year. Trust me, the WWE would have found some reason to do that to him. Honestly, it seems more likely that Morrison would have done more for Trish than Trish could have done for Morrison, especially when you realize that Trish is the one the WWE consistently pushes as the greatest diva, even though she's retired, and Morrison has been built up to be knocked down on numerous occasions already. Won't change, whether this mess happened or not.

Was Morrison wrong to do what he did? Obviously, I don't know exactly what Trish wanted to do. I don't know exactly how much of a role Melina played. How would people view Morrison if he showed more loyalty to Trish/WWE than Melina? I'm not going to answer that one. Just think about it. Was he wrong to "snub" her? How many times can you play nice and still put up with the same old thing? Let me repeat what I already said. Three Wrestlemanias in a row, people who do not deserve the payoff for the hard work of the women who are carrying the division and trying to get the job done get the spotlight at Wrestlemania. Week after week, Gail Kim, Melina, Natalya, and other women get nothing, while Vickie, Trish, and LayCool get the most of the diva attention on Raw. Doesn't this all seem familiar to when they kicked Mickie James to the curb in 2008 so they could try pushing Candince Michelle and BunnyMania for Wrestlemania? Yeah, now it is even more clear how the WWE viewed Mickie. And who is listening? What is changing? I asked whether these women don't want better for themselves. What does loyalty to this crap get you? A job in TNA? Morrison may have been showing more loyalty to Melina than the whole diva division, according to reports, but this is a start. Morrison the pushover seemed to have stood against something here. Do you think it is easy to snub a woman with heavy WWE backing like Trish Stratus? Batista can get away with humiliating Mickie James because the WWE was more loyal to him than he obviously was to them or they themselves were to Mickie. I am siding with Morrison on this one.

You Say Your Favorite Match Is The One With Melina And Alicia Fox?

Who? Relax. Austin apologized about what he said on Tough Enough. Of all the divas to pick, and there is nothing wrong with picking the divas, why a match with these two? Matter of opinion. You look at it, both of these women are jobbers. That, to me, is more fact than opinion. Neither of them are centerpieces or are meant to be centerpieces. Since they are pushed consistently only in the diva division, their characters are not getting the chance to properly develop from storylines outside of the title picture. If you are not being developed as either a centerpiece or on the sidelines, what are you? Melina did a little self-righteous response to what went on. I respect her. I feel bad for her and most of the other divas in the WWE being held back. But should she really be proud of how far she's come? She's been featured on Superstars more in the last few weeks than Raw. She has been used by the WWE for the benefit of other women more often than not. End of the day, it is a dream job and she still has her fans. What can I possibly say about Alicia Fox? Her sister is on Tough Enough! She's still in afterthought heaven herself ever since Trish Stratus popped back up and Vickie is seeing more time in the ring on Raw than William Regal. I pointed out a few weeks ago that the divas with wrestling experience and true credibility were not getting used on Raw week after week. Even I have to admit that this is getting ridiculous now. Wrestlemania was on Sunday. On Raw this week, it is still Trish and Vickie. Eve defended the title against a Bella many weeks ago. Needless to say, not a worthy title match. Could have been. I don't think these women are that horrible. Just not given enough time and the story in the ring was weak. LayCool madness is still running wild on Smackdown, as you will see this week. Then again, there's no other heels to push there. How convenient? As far as I am concerned, the WWE is once again showing how they really value women like Melina, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, and so on. I'm not saying they whip them backstage and refuse to pay them. But I believe these women would like to be used more and better. Some must anyway. Or have they sacrificed that self-respect for the fame of being a credible jobber on Superstars?

The Mighty Daniel Bryan After His First Wrestlemania

Let me start with the good news. Benefiting from a pretty good crowd, Daniel Bryan actually got some people chanting for him on Raw tonight. Where do I start with the bad news? Daniel Bryan's first Wrestlemania match was supposed to be a U.S. title rematch against Sheamus. It gets demoted to a dark match prior to the actual PPV. It turns into a battle royal. Just to put a cherry on top, The Great Khali wins what was originally a match between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. On Raw tonight, they have another rematch. It was a neat little match, but honestly not match of the night. Daniel Bryan loses cleanly to Sheamus. Sin Cara debuts right after, initiating what will be a feud with Sheamus. Shades of Maryse and Gail Kim from 2010, in my mind anyway. But it really does not have to be. Where does Daniel Bryan go next? Squeeze him into the U.S. title feud? Squeeze him into a WWE title feud? If the WWE really cares about this guy, what they do now will show it. Is he going to be an afterthought or be given something to build his character and overness? Those people chanting his name don't fool me. It was a good crowd, as I said before. This guy is still not truly that over. He is not getting the push to be over. He is not defying the odds, swimming upstream, whatever you want to call it, and getting over by his own merits. The overness he has is what he came with from his days prior to the WWE and what his release last year did for him in turning him into a folk legend of sorts. If I had to predict what might happen, I would say he will not be pushed properly in the coming weeks. Maybe after the next PPV. Maybe he can feud with Punk after Punk/Orton ends. But I'm sure those guys chanting for him will still be around.