Eve Goes Heel

If you keep coming to my blog regularly for what I have to say about the diva division, you are probably getting ready to drive an ax into my skull. Why am I talking about Barrett? Why am I wasting time on Mr. Excitement and Otunga? And Zeke? Seriously? Zeke? Did I run out of things to say about Jinder Mahal? Yes, the big diva news this week is Eve Torres turning heel on Raw. They followed up with a promo that was taped on Smackdown this week. In case you did not watch it online, Eve basically teases an apology, but then cements her heel turn.

Eve was humiliated in that segment on Raw. She basically got caught admitting she was using Ryder for attention and was going to try to use Cena too. She then followed Cena to the ring, where she still tried to follow through on her plan, and humiliated herself some more. I know a lot of people feel bad for Eve, but I really don't see it as that bad. No, I'm not heartless. First of all, this is a kayfabe humiliation. This idea that Eve is using over men for her own success is all part of a storyline. They are not attacking her real image or real self. If they were humiliating her based on how she looks, her ethnicity, or something like that, then I would criticize the WWE for what they did. Second, this humiliation is not part of Eve being used to put over some other diva, or even guy. As I said before, this is a periphery storyline for Eve. This is not a straight diva feud. I don't think even John Cena, the centerpiece of Raw, even really benefited from that segment that much. He didn't need it that much. The WWE could have easily have found some other way to smooth over his relationship with Ryder. And that brings me to the last reason why I'm not feeling too bad for Eve right now. It got Eve the best reaction of her career. She never got too over as a face. Even while with Ryder, even though she said in her segment that using Ryder got people talking about her, she still really wasn't that over. The way they turned her heel, the way they are having her handle it, she is finally getting that good reaction. To sum it up, it's not an attack on her real image, she was not simply being used as a tool for some other worker's benefit, and it is bringing good results for her, so far. This is not a tragedy.

In a way, this is similar to what happened with Trish Stratus, just slightly reversed. When Trish Stratus first turned face about a year after she first debuted, she did it in an epic way. They were running this storyline where she was using her sex appeal to get into a comfortable position with the boss, Vince McMahon. As they ran it, she was acting like a dog. That led to the infamous humiliation scene with Vince and Trish in the ring. After that, Trish eventually stood up to Vince and Stephanie, turning face in the process, and the WWE never looked back with her. Over a decade later, things are reversed. Eve had been face her entire career. Even though she is a good worker in the ring, she never got over. Not only did they turn her heel in an elaborate way, she did it in a segment involving the top guy of the company. This might be the best storyline rub John Cena gave a diva. Depends on how the WWE follows through, as well as how Eve does herself.

Even though I don't feel bad for Eve's humiliation and see it as something positive for her, I still don't think they should have done it like that. I'm not against her turning heel. I just feel it would have meant more if she did it in a segment involving Zack Ryder. It might not have had the same feel as doing it with Cena, but it would have fit the storyline better. Also, having her turn heel like they did this week just seemed kind of random. It came out of nowhere. There were some moments where it looked like she really did care for Zack Ryder. The title match she had against Beth Phoenix on Raw comes to mind. They sold it as Eve being too emotional about what happened to Ryder to concentrate, and she ended up losing the match fast. In terms of kayfabe, her plan involved her not being focused in a title match? Then you have the fact that siding with Ryder was putting her in the path of Kane. That was part of her plan too? Kane definitely could have done some damage to her at some points, if the storyline went that way. I'm not saying that it will be revealed that Eve and Kane were working together the whole time, but the storyline was not too smooth. I would have spent a little more time drawing it out. As long as it gets a reaction for Eve, who cares, right?