First, in terms of the overall message of the promo, I think Paige's promo was more of a pipe bomb than what AJ Lee did. There is no definitive definition for what a "pipe bomb" is, but I think it is a promo that lays down cold, hard truth. AJ's promo against Total Divas was more about putting herself over and slamming women that had never been pushed as well as her at that time. The Bellas have gone on to be pushed better, but that is another story. Paige's promo was more about knocking the actual diva division. She talked about Charlotte being a placeholder, which is likely, given what the WWE has a history of doing. Becky Lynch is pretty much the least relevant of the group. Natalya has been lost in the shuffle. Would Charlotte even be in the company if she wasn't Ric Flair's daughter? Paige wasn't just putting herself over and burying other women. Of course, should Paige get the credit for this? Or the writers?
Next thing to look at is the actual execution. I think Paige did a good job. She was no CM Punk out there. AJ was arrogant out there, which is what you are supposed to be during these promos, but I think Paige showed a little better wit with how she handled the promo. Did her accent make it hard for some to understand her? I saw some fans bring that up. I understood her.
I would also say that who is doing the promo matters. If John Cena went out there and dropped a pipe bomb slamming other guys on the roster and putting himself over, it wouldn't be the same as Cesaro doing that same kind of promo. John Cena is the top guy. If he puts himself over and puts down those pushed worse than him, that would just sound heelish. Cesaro is a guy with a lot of potential that is not pushed to that potential. When AJ Lee gave that promo, she was holding the Diva's Championship and no one on the roster at that time had been pushed as well as she had. And she slams women that are making the most of what the WWE is letting them do. I am not a fan of Total Divas, but I will acknowledge that it brought some depth in the division for a while. While AJ was feuding with Kaitlyn, the women on Total Divas had their own thing going. Jump to Paige. She is not holding the title. She has not been pushed at the highest level. She has been losing to Sasha Banks a lot. She wasn't simply overrating herself in that promo. She took shots at those women that appeared to be ahead of her and questioned why they were ahead of her. She brought up women being pushed worse than her. It wasn't as great as what CM Punk did, but Paige was in a similar position as someone not being pushed as the top star that might deserve the push.
Last thing to consider, what will come of this? Nothing came of AJ Lee's pipe bomb. No real change came from CM Punk's pipe bomb. And no real change will probably come of this storyline. Paige looks like she will have a feud with Natalya, while Nikki gets her rematch. I can imagine Paige winning that feud, Charlotte retaining the title against Nikki, and then Charlotte feuding with Paige. Charlotte would retain there, then Nikki, or some other eye-candy diva, gets it back.
How about Paige turning heel? When I first heard Paige had turned heel, my initial reaction wasn't that they were grooming her to be the new AJ Lee. I thought about what happened to Melina when she turned heel to feud against Natalya. That feud got buried under Michelle McCool, who was still the centerpiece. Eve Torres ended up winning the title. She got buried under McCool. The whole diva division back then was bad. Melina was just used to put over a woman they weren't pushing to be a top star. That is the initial reaction I got here. Paige will be used to put over Charlotte, who is just another credible jobber, as well. The Bellas will be pushed better in the long run. Of course, it would be wise if the WWE did build Paige to be a star. AJ Lee isn't around. Those fans complaining on the Internet might be drawn to Paige.
What about Sasha Banks? She had beaten Paige a few times already. Shouldn't she be getting a push? I remember some fans saying the fact she made Nikki tap weeks ago should have led to her getting a push. What do those fans think when they see a woman that lost a lot to Sasha recently getting featured better now? Sasha and her group have no clear direction. Sasha is still winning matches, but having direction means more. I remember when Mickie James would be winning meaningless filler matches. I knew they were not pushing her as someone they wanted over, but part of me did content myself with those meaningless wins. When they did get around to pushing her, it was filler and jobber pushes. And everyone knows how Mickie's career in the WWE ended. All I'm saying is, don't settle for Sasha Banks getting a win streak with no real creative direction.
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