When I say that John Cena is getting an A+ career or Mickie James was getting a C+ career, I am not really critiquing how they are being pushed. I am more labeling how they are being pushed. When I say John Cena is getting an A+ career, the reason I say that is because he is being pushed as the centerpiece. In the case of Mickie James, she was being pushed as a top-tier credible jobber. Paige is also a C+ player, but you can be more specific than that in analyzing how she is actually being pushed. That is what I want to do.
How am I going to break this down? Three things. I am going to look at consistency, hype, and creative interest. I have brought those ideas up before when talking about what I look at to determine what type of career someone is getting. The WWE will push someone they want over with better consistency, hype, and creative interest than someone they really do not care too much about being over. It makes sense to grade them in relation to that criteria.
Consistency. The WWE has been pretty consistent with Paige. She has defended the Diva's Championship at every PPV since winning it. She is regularly featured on Raw and Smackdown. Could she be featured even more regularly? There are a few shows where she is not featured. Only being featured on Main Event or Superstars in a given week doesn't get you a higher grade. It hurts your evaluation. Raw and Smackdown are the main shows. I would give the WWE a B+ in consistency with Paige. They are doing an okay job in that regard.
Hype. She is the Diva's Champion. She did win the title in her debut match. She is the youngest Champion. She is not undefeated, but close to it.Thing is, they really don't give her much promo time to put herself over or create storylines that generate a ton of hype. Too soon to do all that? Okay. I'll give them another B+.
Creative interest. This is where there is a problem. Where is the creative investment in Paige? You have had guys debut with gimmicks in recent years. Look at Adam Rose and Rusev. Some get repackaged with gimmicks. Look at Brodus Clay or Bo Dallas. Paige debuts without any real gimmick to her. Storylines? You have somewhat of a storyline with the divas not liking Paige and Paige needing to prove herself, but it is a pretty weak storyline. The commentators bring it up better than the WWE is actually developing it. And if you can only count on the commentators to hype you and make you look interesting, then you are definitely not getting A-range treatment from the company. Feuds? Are they developing any real feuds for Paige? No. It has been mostly random matches and weak title feuds. Alicia Fox has a gimmick. Summer Rae and Layla have a clear feud going on. Brie Bella was involved in a big storyline. Paige doesn't really have anything interesting being developed for her. You can make the argument that it is too soon to hype her up as something amazing, but there is no good excuse for not treating her better in terms of creative interest. I would give them a C.
Put it all together. What conclusion would I give based on looking at how Paige is being pushed? The WWE is not doing a great job with her. Right now, creative interest should be the most important thing for a diva that just debuted. That is the best way to help her get over with the fans. If you just hype her too much this soon, you are likely to overrate her, especially if she cannot connect with the fans well. Judging by how they are not investing in Paige, I would not expect them to be consistent with her in the future. You have a lot of things going on in the diva division. The Bellas are involved in the storyline between Daniel Bryan and The Authority. Summer Rae is getting developed. AJ Lee is likely to return. They will not treat AJ poorly for no good reason. The WWE cannot possibly keep the ball rolling on all these women. Paige is likely to get a depush.
Was grading how the WWE is pushing Paige necessary? Or just a waste of time? You ever do teacher evaluations? I had to do them all the time at the end of every semester in college. Instead of putting all the scrutiny on the performers, you turn the tables a little and put the scrutiny on the people handling the performers. It is good to analyze this not just for the sake of criticizing the WWE. You can get a sense of what the WWE wants out of a performer. Do they really want this to be a top star? You can get a sense of what is likely to happen. If you see signs that the WWE is really not putting great effort in a push, you can usually expect a depush. Sometimes, it is just obvious. You can look at how the WWE pushes John Cena and know this is a guy they want to be a top star. You can look at how they treat Zack Ryder and know they don't want to bother with this guy. Other times, it might not be so obvious. That is the main reason I used Paige's career in the WWE to make this point. On the surface, it may seem like she is getting a great opportunity. But she is being pushed so dryly, that will hinder her ability to get over. And it is a sign that she is a credible jobber.
One last thing, how long should you wait to grade a performer? Whether you are grading them in terms of what type of career they're getting, their talent and potential, and their overness, or grading how the company is handling them, when should you really pass judgment? Never judge a book by its cover. Don't make too much out of a moment. Whatever way you want to put it, you should wait a little to get a sense of how things are. Reports said the WWE was unhappy Paige was not connecting with the fans. Those reports came out just after she had been around for barely a month. And those reports failed to actually analyze how the WWE was pushing her. I don't think I can give one good answer on how long you should wait. But you should wait. I'll admit that I might sometimes grade things too soon. Did I grade Paige too soon? Probably, but that was in response to those reports.Once you feel you have that sense of directionality, then you could start evaluating.
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