As a fan, I am enjoying what Eva Marie is doing. It's the best thing in the women's division right now. It's different. You have a continuation of a title feud on Raw that has been going on for months. Nia Jax squashing people isn't too creative. Natalya attacking other women is also getting a little old. The storyline between Eva Marie and Becky Lynch actually has more creative investment to it. And it is easily making me like Eva Marie more. She is probably my favorite woman on Smackdown.
As a critic, however, I am not going to make the mistake of grading Eva Marie too highly. I have seen a few other fans enjoying what the WWE is doing with Eva Marie. And the smartest ones are the ones that point out that it isn't Eva Marie they are really enjoying, aside from her looks, but the way the WWE is using her. Anyone, even Jinder Mahal, can be treated like Eva Marie is now and get talked about and get a few smarks loving it. Give him an elaborate entrance. Have him chicken out of matches in different ways. It is the storyline/gimmick that really holds the power, not the performer. All you have to do is not completely mess it up and you will draw interest.
Just ignoring the role and looking at the person playing the role, how is Eva Marie doing? She's not really knocking it out of the park. The guy that does her entrance is carrying her more than she is carrying herself. But I wouldn't say she is as stupid as some fans sometimes make her out to be. All she has to do is pose and be sexy. Her acting ability is not amazing, but I wouldn't say she has ruined the few segments she has had so far. I would say she is doing a C+ job.
This kind of reminds me of Michelle McCool. McCool was a solid in-ring worker, but not amazing enough to get over through that alone. She was attractive, but not hot enough to get over through that alone. As far as charisma goes, that was her greatest weakness. How did the WWE remedy that? They gave her a charismatic sidekick. They gave her a huge gimmick. They pushed her act like it was the only show in town for a span. You had to be dead to ignore her. Although what she was doing was talked about, she really wasn't getting over. I have seen a few fans say she was an awesome heel. No, she was booked as an awesome heel. Push any other woman like that, and as long as she does not completely mess it up, she will get talked about and some people will believe she is an awesome heel. That is how you hand a Hall of Fame career to someone that really isn't great enough to deserve it.
I believe Ric Flair once said that the title doesn't make the man; the man makes the title. Nice sentiment, but wrestling promotions, especially the WWE, use titles to build stars. Nevertheless, going by that same idea, the gimmick shouldn't make the performer; the performer should make the gimmick. The performer should add his own abilities and attributes to own the role and make it his own, hopefully in a positive way. Of course, the WWE even uses gimmicks to make stars, not just to entertain. Despite that, if you have a performer that is good enough to add value to a gimmick, that performer should also be able to add value to most other reasonable gimmicks. Greatest challenge of all, that person might even be able to handle being pushed in a generic way and still keep fans interested. Just let those abilities and attributes that made you great with the gimmick still shine through. Michelle McCool isn't that kind of performer. Neither is Eva Marie. They need gimmicks to enhance them.
Analyzing the situation, I still see issues. Eva Marie is an eye-candy periphery diva. The atmosphere in the WWE right now is one of treating wrestling with more respect. They are going to make a Women's Championship for Smackdown. I don't think they should. And if they didn't, what they are doing with Eva Marie would be perfect. If they are going for that respectable women's division, how they are pushing Eva Marie just takes away from that. Alexa Bliss and Carmella are also eye-candy divas, but they at least are wrestling since coming to Smackdown. I wouldn't say they are amazing, but at least the storylines with them are not as annoying as the one Eva Marie is getting can be for true wrestling fans.
This is similar to why I would say Roman Reigns should not be the centerpiece of the company. Given the era they seem to be heading in and how Reigns connects with the fans this era will most appeal to, he is just not a good fit. Given all the hype over a women's revolution, Eva Marie is just not used best in getting women's feuds and this storyline she is getting seems more diva-like than something that will excite women's wrestling fans.
Let me bring up a crazy idea. Is the WWE grooming Eva Marie to be the centerpiece of Smackdown's women's division? I brought up Michelle McCool, who got a lot of creative interest put into her to try to get her more over. Eva Marie has better creative focus on her now than any other woman on Smackdown. Or is she only getting it to eventually put over Becky Lynch, and will then be depushed, while Becky continues to be featured well? I know wrestling fans would love for that to happen. Let's see where the WWE goes with it.
For the past year, the WWE has been able to come up with little tricks to help Roman Reigns win over his haters, even if just for a minute. He got cheered when he beat up Triple H last year. He got cheered when he speared Stephanie McMahon this year at Wrestlemania. Some fans seem to have lightened up on him again with his feud against Rusev. It isn't that shocking that the WWE would come up with little tricks to help Eva Marie seem more appealing. But true overness isn't based on the reaction you get after doing something likely to get you a certain reaction. It is about how much fans care even when you are not doing it. The WWE still has work to do for both Reigns and Eva Marie.
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