Grading Emma

Emma caused some buzz recently with her arrest, release, and quick rehire. Why did the WWE even bother bringing her back? It isn't like she is a top diva. Is it for the Australian tour coming up? Is it because they felt they were looking too harsh or too hypocritical in the eyes of the media? Whatever the case, it isn't like she was really in the way of what they are trying to do. Some fans thought you would be more likely to see CM Punk return to the WWE before Emma did. Some people thought she would come back after this thing blew over. It's just too hilarious that the WWE hired her back the same day. Let me take the opportunity to analyze what type of career she is getting, look at how much talent and potential she has, and assess how well she is bringing results.

Emma is a credible jobber. The fact that she has had this angle with Santino means nothing. A few female wrestlers have had angles with Santino. Beth Phoenix was a top-tier credible jobber. Tamina was a low-tier credible jobber. Just having that angle with a man does not make you a periphery diva. It is about whether they will remain consistent with you in the periphery and treat you as a star on the periphery of the centerpiece. No centerpiece right now. Perfect time to treat other divas better. And yet, Emma has not really been one of them. Even before the drama surrounding her arrest, she was not being used well. She is a low-tier credible jobber. She is a C- player.

How about her efficiency? Does she have what it takes to succeed? She is definitely beautiful. Her main thing is that dancing bit she does. I wasn't sold on it at first, but it is cute. How about her overall charisma? She has this ditzy gimmick. I don't think it's doing her any favors. How about how she is actually playing the role? I don't think it's that great. Again, it's just a bad gimmick to have. I won't blame her too much. And her mic skills? You don't hear her much in recent months. As I said with Paige, before you criticize someone for their mic skills, keep in mind the kind of character the WWE is having them play or the situations they are putting them in to do promos about. If they did not let AJ Lee run with as much freedom as they have, including letting her be heel and giving her strong storylines earlier after her debut, her promos would not be that great. Still, Emma isn't that impressive on the mic. I won't overrate her. As for wrestling ability, this is a female wrestler. She debuted having had wrestling training before signing with the company. She was not signed to be an eye-candy diva. Once again, her gimmick is hurting her. Most of her matches since debuting have been comedy matches. That's what you get with teaming with Santino so much. That ditzy gimmick does not let her show how good she could be in the ring. I hear a lot of fans say she was so much better in NXT. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, she is not showing A-level potential and ability. I would give her a C+.

The most important thing, how well is she connecting with the fans? I sometimes see some fans doing that dance she does. She has some fans liking her. Do they like her because they genuinely like her or because her dance is just fun to do? Some people debate whether Daniel Bryan is over or it is just his "Yes!" and "No!" chants that are over. If Daniel Bryan was not over with the fans, they would not have cared so much about the guy getting pushed better. He is over. The chants helped him get as over as he is, but he is still over. Emma's dance isn't really helping her get very over. Again, I am not blaming her for her inability to get over. She has been pushed as a credible jobber, has a gimmick that is not doing her any favors, and the WWE obviously does not care about her being over. She might get a great reaction when she returns to Australia, but that doesn't count for everything. I would give her a C.

What can they do to help her? Let's pretend the WWE actually did care about helping their talent succeed. I am not saying they need to shoot her to the moon like they did AJ Lee. Just do a better job putting her in a position to succeed. The main thing they should do is take away the gimmick. Leave her without a gimmick. Push her as a serious face. That might sound bad. I don't think it is. Taking away a great gimmick that is helping someone succeed and leaving them generic might be viewed as bad, but when someone has a bad gimmick that is not helping them at all, I don't think taking that away would be bad for them. Let her keep her dancing thing as part of her entrance, a taunt during matches, and something to do when she celebrates. But kill the overall ditzy gimmick. Maria, an eye-candy diva, might have been able to play that kind of character better. They eventually ended that for her. Emma should not have that kind of gimmick. She has real wrestling experience that is being underutilized. I want to see the kind of performer she can be as a generic face. No need to turn her heel. Some fans' answer to everything is a heel turn. All I think Emma needs is to be allowed to show the audience what kind of competitor she could be. And the gimmick isn't helping.