How does that relate to pro wrestling? It relates to assessing how well the workers are connecting with the fans. Especially when it comes to the divas, I don't feel any of these women really have a major, consistent connection with various types of fans. Smarks obviously feel very strongly about some of these women. But the wrestling world does not revolve just around their desires. Moreover, it doesn't seem like one diva is really running away with their hearts. At certain times, it seems like AJ is the most loved and Paige has too many haters. At other times, the reverse seems to be true. And don't forget The Bellas. A lot of work has been put into them. Brie Bella was getting some good reactions when working with Stephanie McMahon. Heel Nikki Bella got a face reaction when giving a face promo recently. And yet, none of these women seem to be connecting as well as Trish and Lita did.
Is it really fair to grade these current divas in relation to Trish and Lita? I don't mean because Trish and Lita are so great and no one can ever be as good as them. Trish Stratus and Lita are not untouchable. Thing is, Trish and Lita just had certain things around them to help them succeed that are not here these days for the current divas. Trish and Lita had women with solid wrestling credibility being used as credible jobbers around them when the golden age started. Standards have declined. Eye-candy divas are now used as credible jobbers. Some of them do show potential, but the same respectability is not there. Trish and Lita sometimes get all the credit from some fans for the diva division looking respectable back then. Trish and Lita also benefited from a great periphery. The midcard was great, the tag division was great, the main-event scene was great, and that all opened up opportunities for women to be used in interesting manners during the dark age that Trish and Lita debuted. And even after things got golden, there were still good things going on in the periphery because things were working out in the men's division. These days, the periphery is a mess. The men's division is not being run efficiently, so it is not shocking that would trickle down to the divas. Finally, the WWE had not experienced failure with their diva division back then. Sable left, but the system had not really failed. In recent years, that same system that worked a decade ago is no longer working. It all really started when Mickie James, a credible jobber, got over and the WWE decided to keep going in the direction of what they wanted to work out, instead of giving Mickie James the career she should have gotten and opening up the playing field for female wrestlers. The WWE choosing to go in the direction of what they want to work instead of giving the fans what they want? Sound familiar? And when it leads to failure, it is going to have an impact on how the management of the company handles things. They do not handle failure well. If Trish and Lita debuted at a time when the WWE was determined to go in a given direction, even if it led to failure, and they were on the wrong side of that status quo, how far would they have gotten? These days, more women seem to be on the wrong side than the right side.
Women today do not have the same solid foundation, do not benefit from a hot men's division, and have to work within a system that has not worked right since 2006. Is it fair to expect them to bring in an A connection with the fans in the same way that two women did that did benefit from a solid foundation, did benefit from a hot men's division, and did not have to be mistreated in a damaged system? I don't think so. What do you do? Grade them on a curve.
I have said before that I have a tough time saying that AJ Lee really has an A connection with the fans. Nevertheless, you might argue that she is among the most over divas on the roster. I have said before that she has a B+ connection with the audience. Grading her just in relation to her peers, you can say she is an A player. Bump up a few more divas. I would say Paige is an A/A-. The Bellas are an A-. Most of the other divas after that would fall in the B-tier.
No A+? A is as high as it goes. The way I look at it, for a wrestler to have an A+ connection with the fans, they either have to be extremely over or be bringing A-tier results from a mediocre or worse career. How can someone getting poor treatment possibly maintain that strong of a connection with fans on a consistent basis? If they can, they deserve the extra credit. I don't think any of the divas in that division right now are that extremely over and none of the credible jobbers or mistreated periphery divas are overcoming it to be considered A+ players.
This all isn't really about lowering your standards because you feel bad for the divas today. To hold them up to Trish and Lita's level just isn't fair. If Trish and Lita had to make it in this current diva division, they would probably not have gone as far as they did go. Instead of having this attitude that the majority of your workers suck and you are going to treat them badly because you don't believe in them, assess them in relation to their peers. Determine whom your most over workers on the roster really are. You might not have a Rock or Austin, but if you find someone that is the best you have got right now, develop them to be a star. They just might end up like a Rock or Austin. First things first, you have to know what you have.
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