Should AJ's record be broken? You have probably heard all kinds of talk as to why Nikki has been holding the title for so long and will likely beat the record. It's Vince McMahon's ego. It's her boyfriend playing politics. It's Total Divas ruining the diva division. There is no denying Vince McMahon has an ego. A woman he pushed extremely well and allowed to get away with certain things essentially walked out on him. Yeah, I can imagine someone being bitter about that.
I would make the decision to have someone else break AJ's record. It has nothing to do with ego or backstage politics. It is about sending a message to your workers. AJ Lee was given a ton in just a few years. I do not think any diva has been pushed that hard in such a short time. She had backstage issues and they still treated her well. She took a shot at Stephanie McMahon on Twitter and they still let her get the win at Wrestlemania a few weeks later. Right after that, she retires. What kind of message does that send to your workers? That workers can get away with acting like that? I would sometimes read reports that Vince McMahon saw the "bigger picture" with AJ Lee. Really? Vince might need glasses. He couldn't see this woman was likely going to side with her husband and leave? A lot of people were expecting it since last year. I never would have even let AJ do all the things she did. If you are going to act like that, you better be someone I should be afraid to lose. I like it when wrestlers being mistreated stand up for themselves. When a wrestler being pushed very well and the company is very loyal to complains or causes issues, it sometimes comes off like they are being greedy or betraying that loyalty. I believe workers that are bringing great results and are loyal to the company should be allowed to make history and have the major accolades. Send that message to your workers. Don't let a worker that is not bringing the results that match her push and might not be loyal to you walk all over you.
Nikki Bella might not be the poster girl to deserve the record. But if the WWE wants to take a shot at AJ Lee by giving the record to someone else as quickly as possible, she is the obvious choice to have break it. She was holding it at the time AJ left. She had already held it a few months. Don't forget she is the likely new centerpiece of the diva division. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets the record.
Fans are not liking Nikki Bella breaking the record. #ThingsBetterThanNikkisReign was trending a few days ago. That was soon followed by #NikkiDeservesTheTitle. Even then, a lot of the tweets were still negative. Will this cause the WWE to put an end to Nikki's run sooner? Unless that Twitter negativity turns into something from the crowds in the arenas, I doubt it will. But it would be interesting to see Nikki bragging about beating the record the Raw before Night of Champions, then having some diva come out, talk Nikki into defending the title right there, and Nikki ends up losing. That would tie AJ's record, not break it. In terms of just storytelling, that is the kind of thing you would want to see a heel experience. But this is a diva division. This is the WWE. I don't think the WWE will end the reign early.
How about that negative fan reaction? Honestly, if it wasn't for those recent diva matches not being respected by the live audience and that report that John Cena was the reason Nikki was still holding the title, I don't think a lot of fans would be complaining about Nikki Bella as hard as they are and saying the diva revolution is failing. They would still be mesmerized by the longer matches, new NXT divas, and everything else the WWE has been doing. The fact that things are not working has brought an end to the honeymoon.
Does it matter? Does it feel important? Does Taryn Terrell feel like she has gone to another level by getting this record? This isn't even a question of whether or not she deserves it. It is a question of how TNA has handled it. And I would say they dropped the ball. How can you have someone make what should be considered a major piece of history and not follow through better? Taryn has just looked like a coward since losing the title. She has looked very weak. They are not putting proper individual focus on her. And Brooke? The woman she lost the title to? Gail Kim has since gotten back the title.
The whole feud has been handled poorly. Why not have Gail Kim win the title from Taryn? Brooke wins it? I have seen some fans question why Awesome Kong did not win it. She was the one screwed out of the title the night Marti and Jade aligned with Taryn to form The Dollhouse. It would have made more sense for her to finally get what she was screwed out of. And they really didn't do anything much with Brooke during her run. Next thing you know, Gail Kim ends up with it again. And the way her feud with Taryn Terrell ended was just mediocre. A backstage segment? This was arguably the best feud the KO division had going this year. It was very heated. It should have ended a lot better than that.
Back to Taryn Terrell breaking Gail Kim's record and TNA not handling it properly. I do not care if Gail Kim is okay with it, suggested it, or whatever, the woman that breaks her record should be someone the company intends to push as the next top star of the division. This should be considered a major record and accomplishment. It should be followed up with a lot better. Instead, they break Taryn down and continue to just juggle around their women.
This is an example of why I say TNA does not really have a centerpiece and does not do a good job creating stars. If Gail Kim was the centerpiece of the KO division in the same way Trish Stratus was the centerpiece of the diva division, the woman that beat her record would be someone the company would follow up with at a high level. Moreover, Gail Kim would have been booked to win the title from Taryn. You develop credible jobbers to put over the centerpiece. I can't say that is what TNA has done in this situation. Gail Kim is obviously a legend in the KO division, but they are not booking her efficiently, and the same goes for everyone else in the division.
Let me give another example. Look at Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. A lot of fans say the WWE botched by doing that. It could have been worse. Let's say that happened, then the WWE follows up by making Brock's next feud against Sheamus. Sheamus looks godly during the entire build up of the feud. When the match comes around, Sheamus wins cleanly and decisively. Basically, Brock gets buried. Fans would be wondering what Brock did wrong. He had to have done something wrong for the WWE to do that. This is just not something the WWE would do. They handed him one of the biggest accolades they could. How can you follow up by having him feud with someone like Sheamus? And have Sheamus dominate the feud? And beat Lesnar cleanly? Just to make it worse, let's say they do that with Sheamus, then go back to treating him as mediocre. It's just not what the WWE does. They followed up with Brock by having him destroy Cena for the title. He has gone on to continue his feud with The Undertaker, which had better hype to it around Summerslam than Wrestlemania last year. This is what the WWE does.They use these accolades to build stars and build up to bigger feuds. I am not saying they never seem to drop the ball. The first-ever Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner was Cesaro. Yeah, they dropped the ball with him. But The Streak is a lot bigger deal than that.
I am not saying being the longest-reigning TNA Knockout's Champion is the same as ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, but it is one of the biggest accomplishments a woman in TNA can be given. How do you not properly follow through with the woman that breaks the record and use the situation to create a better feud with a better payoff between the woman that breaks the record and the woman that held the record before her? These are wasted opportunities that define TNA.
Let me just look at Gail and Taryn. I once talked about Gail Kim playing a ninja-like character. Gail Kim is not great when it comes to charisma. It is her only real weakness. She needs a gimmick to help her look more interesting. The gimmick she has had since returning to TNA has been something like I had in mind. She is playing a serious character, but her attire and the whole appearing and disappearing thing works. She is sexy and is playing a cooler character. I'll give them credit for this.
How has Taryn Terrell been doing as a heel and with this gimmick? Once again, I will give them credit. She has been doing a better job than I expected. She has the sex appeal and the charisma to pull it off. Always having her run away from Gail has not been good. Booking Seth Rollins as a weasel and having Kevin Owens walk out on matches aren't helping those two in the WWE. But at least Taryn Terrell is more entertaining with her cowardly act. And The Dollhouse is not done yet. Hopefully, TNA can come up with some fresh stuff for Taryn to do, for however longer she is with them.
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