Interesting things happen in the periphery. It was that way in the beginning of the diva division. It was that way during the first dark age. It was that way in the golden age. Even during the recent dark age that ultimately brought about the supposed end of the "diva" agenda, you had interesting things going on outside of the title matters in the women's division at times. The periphery is where you see unique characters that stand out, like Chyna, Lita, and AJ Lee. The periphery is where you see eye-candy divas doing their thing, like Lana and Maryse. The periphery is where you see women interacting with the men, which can usually add some flavor to storylines.
The periphery scene right now is pretty weak. There are no unique characters for the women like those I just mentioned. Eye-candy divas cannot be utilized the same way now as they were a decade ago. There are also not a lot of great storylines featuring men and women interacting. The storyline between Dolph Ziggler, Lana, Rusev, and Summer Rae last year had potential, although wrestling fans hated it and circumstances led to the WWE botching it. That doesn't mean they should not do storylines where men and women interact. I am not talking about just a woman valeting or managing a man. I mean an actual storyline and the woman being better involved in the the guy's feuds than you see Lana and Maryse being used.
Who should get that push? Sasha Banks? I don't think so. I will talk about her another day. How about Paige? I am going to admit something that might make me look stupid. I think about the women's division every day. It is still my favorite topic to talk about here. And there have been some days that I'm thinking about what's going on and completely forget Paige is there. Paige is my favorite female wrestler currently on the roster. But the WWE doesn't utilize her well and most wrestling fans I come across are busy talking about Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Emma, Dana Brooke, and other women that have been a little more relevant. That's the problem with credible jobbers. That inconsistency with how they are utilized can kill their momentum, and the WWE also pushes other women in their place to make it even easier to forget about them.
The last female wrestler to get a great push in the periphery was AJ Lee. She was pushed with a unique character and given numerous storylines alongside top talent in the men's division. The WWE never pushed any woman to fill her spot. I think now is the time. Paige debuted right into an angle with AJ Lee and the two had a feud/partnership for months after that. But that's not why I think Paige should be the next top woman in the periphery. I think she has potential to be a unique character. She has a unique look. She has a personality. She doesn't need to be a psycho character like AJ. She doesn't need to be a character that wrestles men like Chyna. She doesn't need an extreme character like Lita.
The trick is to pair her with the right person to let her get that character rub. I read somewhere a while back that they were considering putting Paige with Bray Wyatt to play the role of Sister Abigail. I am sure there will one day be a woman paired with The Wyatts. I just don't think that needs to be Paige. This is a group of jobbers to the stars, after all. Unless the WWE actually plans to push the group well and not just to build them up to feed to someone, putting Paige with them would not be good. Paige also has a relationship with Alberto Del Rio. A pairing between those two might be interesting. One is British and the other is Mexican. But the characters might clash. I would also not put her with an authority figure. The drama going on with Shane and Stephanie does not call for someone like Paige getting involved.
How about Seth Rollins? If they are grooming him to follow in the line of Edge and CM Punk, he can use someone at his side. Edge had Lita. CM Punk had Paul Heyman. Rollins had those stooges, but he needs better than that. Despite smarks loving this guy, I do not think he really has broken out as a true superstar. Paige has already dropped more pipebombs than Rollins. She is charismatic. Rollins can help give her a main-event rub, while she might help him look more interesting. Paige doesn't even need any over-the-top gimmick or treatment. Just put her in this kind of position where she gets to work with someone else that can give her a rub and let her get involved in his storylines and his promos and his matches.
Paige definitely does deserve better than she is getting. Total Divas and those WWE movies don't mean anything. I see lower-midcarders being cast for those movie roles. Natalya, a credible jobber for her entire career in the WWE, is on Total Divas. These things do not take the place of how you are actually pushed. Paige has potential to do better than she is now. She has no chance to be the centerpiece of the women's division and you can't tell when she will be used as a jobber to the centerpiece or interim centerpiece again. The only other option is pushing her in the periphery. And the WWE might as well find something now.
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