Even before Naomi won the title at Elimination Chamber, I said she should not have. One of the reasons I felt she should not win the title yet is because she was just returning from being injured. In 2016, there were at least two occasions where Naomi needed to take time off due to an injury. Before the WWE makes the decision to put the title on her, one of the things that needed to happen was that she needed to prove she could stay healthy. They did not do that. They put the title on Naomi just a few weeks after she returned to the main roster.
And she got injured. It looks like she got injured in the very match she won the title. Last week, they just mentioned it in a segment. I don't think most fans took it seriously that she was so hurt that she would have to surrender the title. This week, however, she did have to surrender the title due to her injury. It is the rise and fall of Naomi, all within about a month.
I don't blame Naomi for this situation. Yes, she could do some work cleaning up her in-ring style a bit. But the WWE were the ones that booked her to win the title. They should have been smarter. They should have realized this is a woman that has had some injury issues in recent years. They should not have rushed the title on her like they did. The smart thing to do would have been to monitor her and make sure she could stay healthy. As I mentioned before, see if she can clean up her in-ring work. The WWE put themselves in this situation.
You can say that you cannot predict injuries, and I would agree with that. You can't tell when someone is going to get injured. However, I think you can at least determine if it is likely someone might get injured. Look at three things. First, does the person in question have a history of injuries holding him back? Second, is the person in question doing something physical where injuries frequently happen? Third, is the person in question doing what is expected of him in this physical environment in a safe manner or a manner in which injuries might be even more likely?
If the WWE was smart, they would have this kind of thought process. They know Naomi has a history of injuries taking her out, especially in the last year. They know the kind of environment pro wrestling is. Keep in mind, they are giving women more freedom to go at it in the ring in this era. And they should have been able to look at how Naomi performs and see that it was likely she would get injured again. She does a lot of high-risk spots. Her execution is not always smooth. And you also have to worry about the people you are working with not doing their end of spots properly. Alexa Bliss is not a great wrestler. I am not blaming her for Naomi's injury, but these are all the things the WWE should have thought about. And if they had done that, I don't think they would have given Naomi the title as quickly as they did.
Is this the end of Naomi? I think it would be fair to give her one more chance when she does come back from her injury 100% healthy. That doesn't mean they dump the title in her lap 5 seconds after she returns. They should learn from their mistakes. Naomi needs to stay healthy. I think it can be done. Look at Sean Lee of the Dallas Cowboys. For years, he had injury issues that left many people thinking he was a bust and would never reach his potential. He was healthy enough to be available for every game this previous season. The only game he did not play was the meaningless regular season finale. He found a way to stay healthy. I think Naomi can do it. But she needs to actually do it. There are other women deserving of title reigns on the main roster. There are women in NXT that can earn them. There are women not even under contract yet that would love to get a title reign.
The WWE wasted no time in crowning a new Smackdown Women's Championship. Alexa Bliss faced Becky Lynch. Alexa Bliss got the win by cheap heel tactics. I am not going to criticize having the title be decided by these two and having Alexa Bliss win.
I will say something about how they decided to have Alexa Bliss win. It just looked clumsy. I am not saying it was botched. I am saying it looked poor. It lacked more of an impact. They had Alexa Bliss grabbing onto the ring apron and all that. I believe Alexa Bliss can be built to be a great heel, but I do not believe that because she is a great wrestler. If she was a great wrestler, maybe the WWE could have come up with a better finish to put her over as a great wrestler. But in terms of looking like a great heel character, winning like she did doesn't make Alexa Bliss look that great. It was just a cheap, clumsy win.
What should they have done? Why did they not have Mickie James be the one to screw Becky Lynch? Whether they did that or the way they ended up doing it, the face, Becky, gets protected by not taking a clean loss. And it would have looked even better. It would have looked even more like Becky got screwed. Becky Lynch and Mickie James are supposed to be feuding. Mickie James is supposed to be this thorn in the side of Becky Lynch. Not having Mickie James screw Becky Lynch is a missed opportunity that I would say in unforgivable. It would also do something for Alexa Bliss. If you want her to look like a boss heel, give her a competent sidekick that could actually help her. I will give the WWE credit for letting Mickie James get a win over Becky Lynch last week without Alexa Bliss. Mickie James is a veteran female wrestler. It is good to let her get a win through her own heel tactics. But Alexa Bliss is not what Mickie James is. She can use the sidekick rub.
As I said before, I did not think the WWE should bring back Mickie James, I did not think they should bring her back the way they did, I did not think they should have her play the heel character they want her to play, and I do not think they are handling this feud with Becky Lynch right. But if this is the way they are going to do it, they are still not getting the most out of Mickie James. I would rather Mickie James not be a sidekick, but they can get a lot out of her to help give rubs to Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss. If they built Mickie James up properly, Becky Lynch would look even better by going over her. If they built the relationship between Mickie James and Alexa Bliss better, Alexa's character would look even more amazing. Mickie James is being underutilized.
The last thing to bring up is the depth issue. Smackdown is now right back where they were before Naomi returned last month. Your faces are Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella. Your heels are Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, Natalya, and Carmella. Terrible unbalance. To make matters worse, it seems Maryse is getting a feud against Nikki Bella. I will talk about that more later on. Just with the women that have been wrestling on a more regular basis than Maryse, they might just have to rush a face turn to balance things out. But will it work properly? It really is for the sake of depth, not trying to make anyone into a star.
Aside from a face turn, there is the possibility of bringing someone like Asuka or Tamina in. They will at least help at house shows. Asuka obviously still has business in NXT. Tamina could show up on Smackdown to help the depth issue. Tamina has been a face. She has been a heel. She has been pushed. She has been depushed. She has been injured. She has just been there. She has never been really over. She is also the oldest active in-ring performer in the women's division. Yes, even a little older than Mickie James. If they do bring her in, it should only be to help the depth. Don't try too hard to give her a separate angle and push. Smackdown has tried to give all their women a role and Naomi's injury has shown how it can backfire. It has an impact in what Naomi was doing and what other women were doing. It really stings the division.
Let me end it by just saying that giving someone a chance does not mean handing them success. When #GiveDivasAChance happened, people weren't asking for the divas to be given a chance. What they really meant was #TreatDivasBetter. And that is what the WWE did. They never looked back. And I have seen similar things for women like Paige or Naomi. Their fans are asking for them to be given a chance. What they really mean is give them a push and a title. Some things should just be earned. Staying healthy is one of the things you have to do to earn something. The WWE did not give Naomi a chance. They just pushed her too quickly and gave her the title too quickly. When you are giving someone or something a chance, the possibility of failure has to be there. It is only fair. I just hope the WWE learns from their mistakes.
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