AJ Lee was the top female wrestler of this dark age. She was following in the line of Chyna and Lita. The way the WWE has handled the diva division since it started, this is a system meant to revolve around someone like Sable or Trish Stratus. The WWE does not necessarily need to think about filling the void that AJ Lee has left. They are already pushing The Bellas to be top stars. With AJ Lee gone, that could make it easier for the WWE to put more focus on one of The Bellas, if not both. They could start creating a new centerpiece. That might make the diva division look one-dimensional. The WWE did this before in between the golden age ending and this dark age starting. It did not work out. They pushed the wrong women to be the stars and screwed the women they should have been pushing better. If the WWE chooses to have that one-dimensional focus again, you can see the same problems again.
Charlotte could benefit from AJ Lee being gone. When she does debut, the WWE can devote that time and creative energy they would usually give to AJ Lee to Charlotte. The WWE will only feature so many divas with the kind of treatment they give to stars. With one star out, that can pave the way for Ric Flair's daughter getting a very good career as a periphery diva.
Would they think about replacing one female wrestler smarks adore with another female wrestlers smarks adore? Paige is currently a credible jobber. There is no other female wrestler on the roster that I think deserves to be pushed as a star as much as Paige. I think she has more potential than AJ Lee. She has started to connect well with the fans. I wouldn't say A+ overness, but this isn't exactly a situation of a diva becoming that over and earning the better career. This is a situation of one A player leaving and the WWE choosing to push another in her place. I think it would be wise of them to do it. Fans are more vocal and rebellious these days than they were a decade ago. A lot of casual fans have gone and the hardcore regulars are easily irritated. AJ Lee was someone these type of fans could cheer for. If the only divas you have being pushed well on a consistent basis are The Bellas, these fans are not going to like it. Pushing Paige in the position AJ Lee had would be good for her, the fans, and the overall quality of the diva division.
Take that all into consideration. The Bellas are locked. They are two women the WWE wants to be top stars. If the WWE chooses to fill the void AJ has left, Charlotte and Paige are the top candidates. Charlotte is someone I can picture being pushed well. Paige is someone I think more fans would rather see more of. To appease those type of fans, it would be best to develop Paige with the kind of "anti-diva" character that AJ had. But I don't think the WWE will do that. They are still as stubborn as ever. They are more likely to just run with The Bellas and continue to rotate all the other lesser periphery divas and credible jobbers around in minor angles and feuds.
Let me bring up one last thing. I was watching football over the weekend and one of the commentators said something I liked. Paraphrasing it, he said that you can't go broke if you make a profit. First time I had heard that saying. I like it. To put it another way, any gain is better than no gain. He said that after a quarterback turned down an easy pass for a small gain and instead tried for a bigger play down the field, which ended up not working and putting them in a bad position for the next play.
For almost a decade now, the WWE has had issues making stars. Not only have some of the men and women they have pushed to be top stars flopped, but you have some men and women that actually did succeed in getting over that the WWE did not want to push better and continued to go in the direction they would rather work out. Mickie James got over while being pushed as a credible jobber and continued to be pushed as a credible jobber. Zack Ryder got over out of nowhere and the WWE didn't want to take him anywhere. Daniel Bryan became insanely over and the WWE had their arm twisted to force them to start pushing him better prior to his injury. You now have Roman Reigns possibly following in the footsteps of John Cena. The WWE has not learned.
You can't go broke if you make a profit. If the WWE had chosen to go in the direction of what was working out at times in the last decade, the company would not have lost momentum like it has. Maybe some of these individuals did not have what it takes to be an A+ player, like Zack Ryder, but gaining a popular midcard star is still a gain. They could have made stars with these workers. They could have made more money off these workers. They might have turned these workers into legitimate draws. Instead, their desire to go in the direction of what they want to work over what actually is working has led the overall quality of the product to collapse. With so much damage having been done, no one worker can truly undo it all. The WWE did this to themselves. It was their choice. It is always their choice. And they keep on making the bad choice more often than the right choice. All those small gains can add up to something big. Trying to make big gains and failing can lead to something terrible.
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