You know how much I like comparing football to wrestling. The centerpiece is like the quarterback. Watching that game yesterday, I started to think how you might have some kind of "wildcat" centerpiece. This is not like an interim centerpiece. An interim centerpiece is getting a filler push. She is pushed in place of the true centerpiece when the true centerpiece gets injured, is getting angles where she does not need to be near the title, and so on. The interim centerpiece is a credible jobber. They are not pushed to be over, are usually not very over, and usually do not have an interesting gimmick or are not pushed too interestingly during the filler push. That is not what I am thinking of at all. I am thinking of pushing a woman as centerpiece for a while that you actually want to be over. This would obviously be a periphery diva. It would be a top-tier periphery diva. I am not talking eye-candy periphery divas, especially those that cannot wrestle well. I am talking those periphery divas that know how to wrestle, which would help keep matches respectable in terms of wrestling quality. You might see this kind of thing during dark ages when no centerpiece is around, but why not do it by design even when a centerpiece is there? And you know how you really make it a "wildcat" centerpiece? Have this diva have a wild or unique gimmick.
Why would you want to do this kind of thing? For one thing, the women the WWE has pushed as centerpiece don't tend to have fancy gimmicks. They have these hot, glamorous characters. Being sexy connects them with many men. Being glamorous can help them connect with many women. As they become solid wrestlers, they get those wrestling fans on their side. After that, the WWE just hypes them up as something great. Sable didn't have an over-the-top, unique gimmick. Trish didn't. She wore that mask as part of an injury angle when she was heel, but I really don't consider that a gimmick. Candice Michelle didn't. Maryse was sexy and French, but no real wild gimmick. Eve Torres was showing some character as a heel centerpiece, but not really a unique gimmick. Kelly Kelly was generic. Michelle McCool did have a wild gimmick, but that was because she was failing to get over without a gimmick. She also failed even with a gimmick. And she was the centerpiece, not a wildcat centerpiece. And that was just an annoying era in the diva division. They were not featuring any other women properly as stars. It was all LayCool and their failure to properly get over with that hard push. If they had a wildcat centerpiece back then, it might have freshened things up. And that is my whole point. Having a wildcat centerpiece can add more flavor to the division, especially the title scene. While that woman is doing that, have the true centerpiece get storylines in the men's division, feud with women in non-title matters, or even have angles with other eye-candy divas. She does not have to lose her momentum.
Have you ever had a wildcat centerpiece? Not really. The WWE has never designed it that way. Lita's first title reign came during the first dark age and wasn't that long. Her next two title reigns all involved Trish Stratus, the centerpiece. For this wildcat centerpiece treatment, you are going to keep the true centerpiece away. Let another star have the legitimate spotlight. And Lita's final title reign was for her retirement angle. Chyna's one run with the title came off a Playboy push. It also came during the dark age.
How about AJ Lee? I think she would be a great wildcat centerpiece. She has definitely not been pushed as the true centerpiece. Her first title reign did not feature the kind of feud development a centerpiece gets. She has been getting that kind of development recently to some degree, but it has recently been overshadowed by The Bellas. AJ Lee has the kind of gimmick I am thinking of for a wildcat centerpiece. She's, well, wild! But I feel that gimmick can be a nuisance if she was the centerpiece. For one thing, can the writers consistently come up with good storylines for her? For another thing, most of her opponents might either be overshadowed by her gimmick or just be blatant supporting cast for her benefit. Paige is copying AJ Lee. That feud is really about AJ Lee. I am not getting the vibe that it will help Paige get over or that they will continue to push her well. Go back to Michelle McCool and that "mean girls" gimmick. The whole division was pretty much at her mercy. Everyone LayCool feuded with just became victims for them to bully to try to either get booed for being heels or cheered for trying to be entertaining. The title didn't even matter that much, except when it was used to sell McCool making history. Even though AJ Lee is more charismatic than Michelle McCool and more over, I feel she can be just as overbearing. The fact that I find her creepy doesn't help. Not as creepy as Bo Dallas, but she can be too much.
But the thought of how AJ Lee can work as a wildcat centerpiece does warm me up to her a little more. Let's say there was a centerpiece. Let's say Eve Torres never left. After Eve had won 2 or 3 title reigns during her centerpiece run (to go with the 2 she had won before being centerpiece), rotate her out for a little. No need to rush her to 7 or 8. Put her back in an authority figure angle. What do you do while you rest her? Bring in your wildcat centerpiece. And this won't be just a filler reign, like you get with interim centerpieces. Let AJ's crazy gimmick shine. Give her a lengthy title reign, two short ones, or however you want to work it. And when you are ready to push Eve in the title scene again, she will be fresh. Fans can't complain of one diva hogging the spotlight or boring storylines. You might get your dry, typical diva title feuds with Eve, but your wildcat centerpiece will add more flavor. Aside from keeping the performers fresh, it also keeps the writers fresh. They won't have to come up with storyline after storyline for just one woman around the title, especially a woman that is pretty generic like most centerpieces are in the diva division. It might be more fun for them to write up storylines for a diva with a unique gimmick, like AJ Lee.
Does it have to be a psycho gimmick? Not necessarily. Just have some kind of gimmick that can really make for some interesting diva storylines and that you were keeping fresh in the periphery. Remember when I was talking about Kharma having some kind of bodyguard role? You can transition that into pushing her as wildcat centerpiece. How about Gail Kim being pushed as a ninja-like enforcer? Transition that into the wildcat. What's the importance of having some kind of unique gimmick at all? Because this isn't just about resting the centerpiece from the title scene and getting titles to your other stars. This is about featuring characters that can offer different storylines in the title scene without the centerpiece needing to be involved or possibly even overshadowing it.
Assuming AJ stays, can the WWE run this kind of women's division with her and The Bellas. I doubt they will try. This whole idea I gave isn't just about coming up with a game plan to be creative with your divas, but also do things efficiently. The WWE is just messy right now. You have never really had top-tier periphery divas get a fair shot in the title spotlight unless there was no centerpiece around. Going by what the WWE has a history of doing and their recent actions in the diva division, I don't think they are interested in running an efficient, productive women's division.
Since I am on the topic of the diva division, let me do a quick preview of the title match at Night of Champions. Paige defends against AJ Lee and Nikki Bella. Who wins? This match is going to come down to how they want to work things with The Bellas. They just tossed Nikki into this match. That could be a clear sign Nikki wins. Why toss her in if she won't win? Just to feature The Bellas at the PPV? You could have had some in-ring segment involving them. You have had those kind of segments on PPVs before. Let them talk and catfight. I could also imagine Brie costing Nikki the match. If Nikki gets taken out of the equation, leaving it just between AJ and Paige, I would say Paige retains. They need to stop tossing the title around. Overall, I am thinking Nikki wins and her feud with Brie becomes even more dramatic with the title involved.
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