Diva Division About To Get More Crowded?

Lana and Brie Bella have been having a feud that is leading to a big tag match at Wrestlemania. For a while, it looked like that feud was set. Lana, the heel, could rely on Naomi, Tamina, and Summer Rae. Brie, the face, could rely on Alicia Fox, Natalya, and Paige, all of whom also happen to be on Total Divas. This match was not yet 100% official, and it just got more complicated this week. Emma popped back up this week. She was back in NXT for the longest while. She now seems to be paired with Summer Rae. The two helped the heels on Main Event. If this is the way the WWE is going to handle it, you are going to have a 10-diva tag match, not the 8-diva tag match it originally looked like they were building. And the faces are short a member, so someone will have to step in for that.

I have nothing against Emma. I felt they should have done better with her last year. She was the one that jobbed in that quick Raw match last year that started #GiveDivasAChance. She never got her chance on the main roster. The WWE ended up debuting three other women from NXT, while Emma went back to NXT. She has since turned heel and reinvented herself.

Regardless of all that, the diva division is already congested. There are currently a dozen active divas on the main roster. You have Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Natalya, Paige, Summer Rae, Tamina, Naomi, Emma, and Lana. Lana will make her in-ring debut soon. Nikki Bella is out with an injury. Another face will be debuting soon. There were times during the brand split when one of the rosters would not even have half this kind of depth. These are all women that will be competing in the ring. There are no eye-candy divas here that are only around as valets/managers. All 12 of these women look like they will be in matches at Wrestlemania. Neither of the two Wrestlemania diva matches are singles matches.

It hasn't even been a full year since Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha all debuted on the same night on the main roster. How can they already be ready to debut or bring back even more divas from NXT? On the one hand, I feel the WWE has not gotten the most out of a lot of the divas they have now and possible feuds and storylines with these women. On the other hand, things do feel stale. It feels like certain matches have happened too many times and are just getting boring. But is debuting even more women the answer? I do not think so. You need to change how things are booked. If there was only 6 divas in the whole roster, you could understand repetitive matches. The WWE has a dozen and things have gotten stale in less than a year since three women with wrestling ability debuted from NXT.

One of the things the WWE needs to do is make better usage of the periphery. None of the diva dozen currently have periphery angles going for them. Lana is no longer really needed in Rusev's corner. These things help to add flavor to the diva division and help to develop the character of these women. Moreover, when it comes to booking matches, they open up more possibilities. You can have mixed-tag matches. When was the last time there was that kind of match on the main roster? I remember Natalya and Naomi having some last year. Naomi was with The Usos and Natalya was with Kidd and Cesaro. Has there been anything since? Lana/Rusev/Ziggler/Summer Rae was obviously going to lead to that, but that got ruined. A year is a long time to go without such a simple match type to happen. And I cannot imagine any popping up on the horizon. Imagine how many Hell in a Cell matches you would have seen between the time of the last mixed-tag match and the next one. You have to wonder what is going on when mixed-tag matches are more rare than Hell in a Cell matches on the main roster. It is a good way to extend rivalries without repetitive matches.

Just because there were some feminist undertones to the drama that happened last year does not mean the WWE should run their women's division independent of the men's division like this. The WWE is missing out on opportunities to keep things fresh, to create entertaining storylines, and to develop the characters of these women further. Look at Trish and Lita, two women held in high regard. They were born in the periphery. Angles alongside the men were so important to their careers. Just look at Lita's career. She debuted alongside Essa Rios. That transitioned to teaming with Matt and Jeff Hardy. She suffered a serious injury. She spent time as a commentator during this. Not too long after she returned, she teamed with Trish Stratus to feud against Chris Jericho and Christian. She soon got an angle with Kane. That infamous alliance with Edge followed. And she was still there when she decided to retire. As for Trish, she was getting angles in the periphery before being pushed as centerpiece. Even after she was the centerpiece, she still interacted on a regular basis with the men. It helped to give her a rub and make her look tough to mix it up with the guys. The WWE cannot take how they book the diva division in such a serious way. I don't think most fans even want it like this. Because the WWE is not able to handle all these women properly.

And more women are going to come up from NXT? There is going to be a crowded women's division. The WWE does not release workers on a regular basis and these women are not going to retire fast enough to free up space. To ease the crowding, the WWE is going to have to develop better periphery angles. These multi-diva feuds are not going to work. And I do not think the WWE has mastered having multiple diva feuds going on at the same time on a consistent basis. How will the WWE be able to properly create and feature stars in this mess?