The diva division regains the only major star the company has created since Trish and Lita retired. Obviously, that is great. The diva title matters were getting stale. That's not Paige's fault. The WWE was not developing great feuds for her. Tamina was not developed well in her title feud against Paige. Alicia Fox's gimmick overshadowed any real development for Paige. And her recent title feud with Naomi seemed to be just an extension of the issues developing between Naomi and Cameron. Paige has gotten very little creative investment for her own sake. Oh, she got the title! Yeah, but a boring title reign is not going to help you get over. And even AJ Lee was getting a very dull run with the title for a few months. Luckily for her, she had been pushed hard in the periphery long before that long title reign. And she was still allowed to show a good character. Pushing her as a heel helped.
How long will this title reign last? Her last title reign broke Maryse's record. Her last title reign also featured her running through every challenger, climaxing with beating all the divas at Wrestlemania. Some fans complained that she lost too much. She would retain her title when it counted the most. And I cannot picture the WWE going through that again with her. That's not centerpiece booking. That's just going through the motions. That is the kind of thing they were doing with Paige. That is the kind of thing they were doing with Mickie James during her run with the butterfly title. To debut even more women from NXT just to go through this cycle with AJ Lee would be dull. These aren't well-developed feuds. Don't expect AJ to break her own record with this reign.
What does all this mean for Paige? I have seen some fans talk like they will be sending her back to NXT. That is a retarded idea. Pardon my language. It's just stupid. The girl is a wrestler. She knows how to compete. They are not going to send her back to NXT just because she has not gotten over. It's their own fault that she was pushed as she was. Besides, they need credible jobbers and it seemed likely even before she debuted that she would be mistreated. I said that back in January. And as I have said before, if Paige had somehow taken that mediocre treatment she was getting and become monster over, it would have been an absolute miracle.
How about Summer Rae? She is still getting developed in the periphery. They could easily have ended that feud between her and Layla/Fandango at Money in the Bank. They have extended it and are developing it further. That is what the WWE does for a centerpiece. They develop feuds better than they would people they don't care about holding a top spot. Of course, Summer Rae is not in that spot yet. And they might seriously want to take their time or come up with a better plan. If they run with AJ Lee vs. Summer Rae, Summer might just get killed. I am not talking wrestling ability. I am talking about connecting with the fans. Summer winning the title from AJ Lee in the coming months might end up being flat. Fans got excited when Paige won the title from AJ Lee because of the shock value. You can say the same thing with AJ Lee's recent win, combined with how well she had been pushed in the periphery. What does Summer Rae have going for her? She needs better character development. She needs more of the kind of development Brie Bella has been getting. Put her in there against some main players. Having her feud against Fandango and Layla makes storyline sense, but for the sake of pushing her in a position with more hype, periphery angles alongside top stars would be better. Right now, she is in a B+ position. I wouldn't toss the title on her until she gets a run in an A position, like AJ Lee has gotten. Trish Stratus got that before winning her first title and being pushed as centerpiece. The WWE has done a good job not rushing a diva to be the centerpiece since 2012. They just need to develop them better.
I never gave my speech on fine wine. It was something I was going to bring up around Wrestlemania, but Paige debuting and putting an end to that title reign AJ Lee was getting changed what I was planning on talking about. I think it applies to what I have just talked about, so let me bring up that analogy now.
They say that fine wine must age. You don't just crush some grapes and drink it right after. That's just grape juice. What does that have to do with the diva division? It's about how they push the divas, especially the centerpiece. If the WWE wants to develop a diva to be their centerpiece, they don't just toss a title on them and have them run through opponents. That is what they did with Mickie James during her run as Diva's Champion, AJ Lee for much of her first run, and what you just saw with Paige. It's a process, much like making wine. The WWE actually develops a credible jobber to put over a centerpiece in your typical title feud involving the centerpiece. Sable feuded with Jackie for months. Trish Stratus would feud with her opponents for months. The credible jobber is built up, typically going over other credible jobbers or eye-candy periphery divas en route to winning the title. Even after the title win, she still gets that momentum developed further until she drops the title back to the centerpiece, or whatever else the WWE might have planned.
You can analyze how these divas are being pushed to figure out which diva is the centerpiece. You don't just look at that diva you think is the centerpiece. You look at the women that are feuding against that diva. Look at how they are being developed. The WWE knows how to create a centerpiece. Problem is, it just doesn't work out sometimes. And that failure and other distractions could hurt their attempt. With so many steps in making a fine bottle of wine, one botch along the way can ruin it. Same thing with developing a centerpiece. The WWE already has elitist standards when it comes to whom they develop to hold the top spot, which is very stupid. When something goes wrong, it can really hurt the quality of the division. And it has.
In the end, the main point I want to make is that the WWE develops title feuds better when the centerpiece is involved. You can say they let it age, like fine wine. When the centerpiece is not around, things look more like they are going through the motions. They are just making grape juice. Which is more appealing? I don't like drinking wine. I don't even like grape juice. Regardless, a fine bottle of wine will usually be worth more than grape juice. Centerpiece title feuds will usually be treated better than non-centerpiece title feuds.
No comments:
Post a Comment