Nerdy Love

I haven't noticed any couple movies made by girls on Youtube yet, but Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee have had a few segments over the last few weeks on Smackdown.

First, what does this mean for Daniel Bryan? This angle is not necessary at all. The WWE may be trying to make him more appealing to a wider audience, but this guy can get over well enough through his intense wrestling ability. He was getting a lot of attention just last year. The Internet wrestling fans definitely love him. Does it really matter if the girls connect with him too? There have been guys a lot less over who have been handed World titles in the last year or two. There you have another reason why this romance angle is not necessary for him. He has something to do already that is a lot more important. He has the "Money in the Bank" briefcase. That puts attention on him. He is currently even going after Mark Henry. What did this same kind of angle end up doing for him back with Gail Kim? The WWE has not really been doing too much to push that he is a ladies' man. If that was really part of his gimmick, I would be more interested in this and be expecting great things to come.

And AJ Lee? Just a few months ago, she was involved in a romance angle with...Hornswoggle? Hornswoggle? Don't worry, it was on NXT, no one cared! She upgraded to Daniel Bryan and Smackdown. Nevertheless, I do not see this angle as being enough to get her over or as being a sign that the WWE really cares to make her over. She is getting the periphery treatment. Does this mean she is a periphery diva? For those who do not know what I mean, "periphery diva" is the term I use to describe women in the diva division who the WWE helped to make very over more on the sidelines of the major diva matters and title feuds. Lita became very over through being a valet allowed to mix it up with the men. Chyna became over through being allowed to wrestle the men so often. Vickie Guerrero, the most over female heel in the WWE, got that heat through all the WWE had her do and say during her time as a manager and GM. AJ is not currently chasing after a title and is not involved in a major diva feud exclusive to Smackdown. Her romance angle is on the periphery of the major diva matters. The WWE could definitely run AJ with romance storylines continuously to help get her over that way. That would be similar to what they frequently did with Maria. She was involved in romance angles with Santino, Festus, Dolph Ziggler, and so on. The most attention she ever got was through her Playboy push, which was still only a major diva matter for a month or two. Back to AJ. They are not pushing her relationship with Daniel Bryan with any real intensity yet. They may not even care to. That means it will fall on AJ to get very over through this angle, if she is even going to. The fact that she has wrestling experience, although not too much, also makes me believe this is just mediocre filler. Keep her busy until she is needed in a major storyline involving the centerpiece. If you take a look, she is also wrestling in filler matches here and there and used to put over the heels who are being pushed. This would sometimes happen to Lita a decade ago, but because she almost always had some other angle going for her to keep her looking good, the WWE could still help to make her and keep her very over. AJ may have that romance angle, but until it starts really doing something for her overness, it is not comparable to Lita being out there with the Hardys at all.

AJ Lee, the woman dirtsheets sold as the replacement of Mickie James, has been around for over a year now. How has she done? What has the WWE done for her? Obviously, AJ has not gained anywhere near the overness Mickie James had when the WWE let her go. Obviously, the WWE has done really nothing for AJ to get her major overness. She is not the centerpiece and not a priority to still receive proper periphery build. In other words, dirtsheets got it wrong again. The WWE does not want another Mickie James. Mickie James was a woman they brought in to be a credible jobber, who then gained great overness on her own and maintained it on her own. Why would they want that to be in the way of their own goals again? With their diva division lacking a diva with major overness, great wrestling ability, and whatever it takes to potentially draw in fans from across the board and make money for the WWE, you would think they would modify their goals. Judging by the type of woman they signed to be a new diva, nothing is changing for the better. Lingerie football? Really? Fact is, AJ has not filled that void left when Mickie was released until she has that overness. I sometimes get the vibe that she is trying to imitate Mickie James, but she has not gotten the overness yet. People can say that the WWE is holding AJ back, but they also tried pushing Mickie James as a generic face diva with no angles and hype to help her stay over. Mickie James stayed over.

Where will Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee go? Unless the WWE starts investing in this hard, including some mixed tag matches and major promos involving the two in the ring, this looks like a storyline that will be phased out easily. It will be no great sadness for Daniel Bryan. Whether he wins the title from Mark Henry, when he cashes in the briefcase, or whenever, I am sure he will be pushed to be a World Champion in the WWE sooner or later. In the meantime, his overness will be built up. AJ Lee has the most to gain from this angle, but she has to do it on her own. Of course, even if she does gain that overness, it will most likely be buried when the angle gets killed. Remember what I said before about Lita usually having another angle going for her to keep her looking good on those nights she was being used to put over another diva? In this current romance storyline, Daniel Bryan is the one with something else going for him with more value. AJ is the one with nothing good to fall back on. Nothing to fall back on and a weak periphery diva storyline. They don't want her to be very over.