Previewing The Extreme Rules 2017 Women's Matches

I am not surprised the WWE would add another women's match for Extreme Rules. And this one is a mix of everything. It's a tag match. It features the women. It features the cruiserweights. Rich Swann and Sasha Banks face Noam Dar and Alicia Fox.

I like that it is a mixed tag match. These things have been rare ever since the women's revolution started. I have seen some fans get upset when the WWE finally had one last year. They felt it was a waste for the women to be teaming with the likes of Roman Reigns or Rusev. Face it, it needs to happen. The WWE can create interesting feuds, storylines, and segments when men and women interact. That is not just a "diva" thing. It can save fans from having to see stale matches. Did anyone want to see Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox for the millionth time in the last few weeks?

That is what I like. What don't I like? This feud is obviously just thrown together. Noam Dar wasn't even in the picture when these two women first faced each other to start this feud in England last month. And his involvement since then has not been that huge. It is like the WWE was just throwing this together from week to week. The injury to Emma obviously caused the WWE to shuffle things, so I won't make too much of this.

Who wins? Should be the faces. I see some people expecting the heels to win because Alicia Fox and Noam Dar are an actual pairing. That doesn't matter. Alicia Fox is a jobber. Sasha Banks is obviously not a top star in the women's division, but she's higher up the ladder than Alicia Fox. She should be winning this.

The Women's Championship will be decided in a Kendo Stick on a Pole match. This is actually one of the most "extreme" match types on the card. That should tell you how pathetic this PPV is. If you are a fan of hardcore-type matches, this PPV is mostly disappointing.

Alexa Bliss has looked way too strong in the last few weeks. She has bashed around Bayley with the stick, as well as Mickie James. She had the upperhand in that elaborate segment on Raw last night. Fans were sour overall on the segment, but that is a different story. The overpush of Alexa Bliss is just disgusting. I don't think even Charlotte has looked so strong for consecutive weeks during her centerpiece run on Raw as Alexa Bliss has. You will usually see a heel win the title, but still at least lose some non-title matches, like tag matches, or at least let the face challenger look better than Bayley has.

You can also compare Alexa Bliss to Trish Stratus. Something that Trish Stratus did during her run in the WWE is take hits. She got roughed up by men. That is obviously not going to happen to Alexa Bliss in today's WWE. But Trish was also involved in some hardcore matches where she took some hits. So far, Alexa Bliss has just been dishing it out. She has not tasted the wood. I would expect it to happen at Extreme Rules. That will help fans respect her as more than just a pretty face. I hate that Alexa Bliss is getting this push, especially in an era that is supposed to be more favorable to women's wrestlers, but if they are going to do it, this is just something they have to let happen. If it does not, it will just be even more disgusting how Alexa Bliss is protected.

Throw the rule about the person that has the momentum heading into a PPV losing. Alexa Bliss has the momentum. I fully expect her to retain. She can then feud with Sasha Banks over the title. I cannot imagine any title feuds for Bayley that the WWE would be willing to do with the other heels on Raw. Alicia Fox is a jobber and I am just not feeling Bayley vs. Nia Jax. What I expect this Sunday is for Bayley to get the stick, whack Alexa a few times, and then Alexa capitalizes on some small thing to get the advantage, hit her DDT, and win the match. Some people have brought up the partnership between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. The WWE has not followed up with that at all in the last few weeks. They have portrayed Alexa Bliss as a heel more than capable of  taking care of herself. I hate that. If you are great in the ring, then you can take care of yourself. If you are not, then get a sidekick. A woman that is not a great wrestler cleanly beating around women more talented than her can get annoying and it is basically an attempt to manipulate fans into thinking this woman that is not so great really is as great as the better worker. That is straight out of the diva era. And I expect the diva era to continue to make a comeback through Alexa Bliss as her run as centerpiece continues.

Survivor Series 2016 Preview: Part 2

I will talk about the women's match today. Aside from the actual match, I have to bring up the personal feuds on both brands with these women. It will obviously spill over to some degree this Sunday.

Let me start with Smackdown. Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Naomi will be teaming up. Three faces and two heels. Aside from that, Nikki Bella and Carmella are coming off a feud that seemed to be more heated than it really needed to be at times. Carmella would be assaulting Nikki before matches even had a chance to start. And there was never any strong personal reason for that. Becky Lynch has been feuding with Alexa Bliss over the Smackdown Women's Championship. Becky may have retained it, but this feud is not over. But these will be two feuds that might spill over to the women's match at Survivor Series.

How about that decision to not make Becky Lynch, the Women's Champion of Smackdown, team captain? I still see some fans annoyed by it. Again, I am not going to shake my head at this decision. Becky Lynch was out for a while due to a medical issue. When she came back, she was immediately still tied up in that feud with Alexa Bliss. She was not really free to handle the angle of being team captain. Why not spread some of the attention around?

Over to Raw. Charlotte will be teaming with Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax, and Alicia Fox. Once again, three faces and two heels. Charlotte being the captain here is understandable. She wrapped up Sasha Banks at Hell in a Cell and the WWE got around to pushing her for this Survivor Series match right away. Even though both Sasha Banks and Bayley will be gunning for Raw's Women's Championship, a title feud has not been as active on Raw as you have had with Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss on Smackdown in recent weeks. Nia Jax had lost a ton of momentum prior to this push. Alicia Fox was even further down the ladder than her. She was last relevant when being used to put over Nia Jax. But these two are really just extra bodies.

Who wins? There is obviously a ton of personal feuds on both teams that can influence the story of this match. There will be a lot of talk from the commentators about how all these women can coexist. But I think Raw's team will win this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bayley as one of the survivors, if not the sole survivor.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Women's Championship Match

Clash of Champions will be the first Raw-only PPV of the new brand split era. Not a lot of big matches to talk about at all. I'll talk about the women's matches today.

Sasha Banks had won the right to face Charlotte at the PPV last week on Raw. Due to a questionable finish that the WWE obviously did not like happening, they changed it this week to a triple-threat match, adding in Bayley. If the WWE had planned for both their shoulders to be down at the end of the match last week, they just would have acknowledged it during the show. The Internet sure saw it and made a whole bunch of noise. I am not surprised at all that they would turn it into an angle this week. Considering how many times Charlotte has faced Sasha Banks on the main roster alone, adding in Bayley at least makes the Clash of Champions match a little fresher.

Who wins? Charlotte just won it back last month. I don't care if they want her as the centerpiece, Sasha Banks as the centerpiece, or will just juggle these women around, there is no need to rush the title off her now. The WWE needs to do a better job developing these women. Bayley has just debuted a few weeks ago. Sasha Banks just returned from her break a short while after that. And now they are both in a title match. Bayley has already tasted defeat on the main roster. You have a botched finish in a #1 contenders match last week. Sasha Banks always seems to have a dangerous botch in big matches. This Sunday will probably be no different. I just think the WWE needs to stop and think things over. Even though I think it would be a good decision to keep the title on Charlotte, I will say the WWE puts it back on Sasha Banks. As long as there isn't some injury issue, the WWE might just put it back on her.

A less-important match happening his Sunday is Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax. I don't think I need to spend many sleepless nights wondering who will win this one. At least Nia Jax has graduated beyond local jobbers. But the WWE actually has to go somewhere with her. If she is going to get a title shot soon, that means a face will have to be holding the title, which is another reason I feel Sasha wins this Sunday. By the time Sasha is done feuding with Charlotte, she can move on to Nia Jax.

Previewing Sasha Banks Vs. Charlotte At Summerslam 2016

How did the WWE further the women's feud on Raw this week? They dug up Alicia Fox from wherever they buried her and had Charlotte go over her. I have been saying that the WWE has a little bit of an emergency situation with their depth in the women's division right now. Using Alicia Fox again is a step in the right direction, but not much. It's like having a bunch of poor quarterbacks behind your starter. Having all those bodies there means nothing if they aren't helping you win games when the starter goes down. The Dallas Cowboys learned that last season. Depth isn't just about quantity. It is also about quality. Alicia Fox isn't terrible, but she has no credibility, despite having held the butterfly title once, and most fans don't care too much about her. Can you imagine Sasha Banks getting injured and the WWE pushing Alicia Fox as the top face? I can't see them doing it. They would probably immediately go to Bayley or bring back someone like Melina. But just in terms of the match they booked, the WWE at least put two people together that haven't gone at it in a while.

What happened after the match is what really matters. Sasha Banks, who was on commentary during the match, made her way down to the ring to confront Charlotte. Dana Brooke went after Sasha. Charlotte got the upper hand and locked Sasha in her submission for a good while. That is a better way to build some heat in the feud prior to Summerslam beyond just having Charlotte go over a jobber.

Who wins this Sunday? Going by the momentum rule, Sasha Banks will win. The odds are against her. Or did they have Charlotte weaken her on Raw just to give Sasha a bit of an excuse for losing?

It pretty much comes down to what they have planned after Summerslam. Is Nia Jax going to be moved in as the top contender? Then it makes sense for Sasha to retain to face her. Is Bayley popping up? Then the WWE might want to give the title back to Charlotte and let the feud between Sasha and Charlotte continue a little longer to have their rematch, then move on to heel Charlotte vs. face Bayley. I will say Sasha retains and moves on to Nia Jax. Nia can't continue just beating local jobbers forever. The WWE should start going in some direction with her. Probably help sell more of those generic-looking shirts they made for her.

Even more important than who ends up with the title, who is the centerpiece? Is the WWE even going to have one true centerpiece in their women's division anymore? Last year at this time, Nikki Bella, an eye-candy diva, was Diva's Champion and looking like the centerpiece. What is the status quo of this new era in the women's era? I would say it is way too early to tell. Charlotte just lost the title a few weeks ago. Sasha Banks just won it. Which of these two women is the centerpiece, if any of the two? What happens when Nikki Bella returns? What is going on with Smackdown's women? How will the WWE react to injury issues piling up? Injury issues were a factor in the decline of the previous era in the women's division. How long of a leash does this era have? Giving these female wrestlers an opportunity does not mean you let them do whatever they want and outcomes don't matter. I know wrestling fans want to hand every respectable female wrestler to come out of NXT a gold medal, but I wouldn't be so quick to say everything is so marvelous. Some of these women need to clean up their in-ring work a little. Some of them can work on developing their characters more. There is still more work for both the WWE and these workers to do. And all it may take is a few big injuries to ruin this era.

Three Vs. Three Vs. Three For Summerslam 2015

The main diva match for Summerslam is what many probably expected. You have 3 teams of 3 divas feuding. The PPV match will be 3 vs. 3 vs. 3. It will be The Bellas & Alicia Fox (Team Bella) vs. Paige, Charlotte & Becky Lynch (PCB) vs. Naomi, Tamina & Sasha Banks (Team B.A.D.). The WWE has added the extra wrinkle of making this an elimination match. That is fine.

The WWE has really not done anything interesting in developing this feud since the last time I talked about it. I do not expect them to do anything interesting next week before the PPV. It will be more of the same. There will be some matches featuring some combination of these women. There might even be another standoff. The hype that there is a revolution going on and having these NXT divas around will be enough to keep many fans interested. As long as the WWE gives these women proper time to work, there should be no problem. The WWE will get away with still being pretty mediocre with the booking of the diva division.

When the dust settles, who will be left in the spotlight in this match? Even though this is a team match, I do not expect the WWE to use this match just to put over a team. They will use this to put over one of the divas. The title is not on the line in the match. There is no need for Nikki to come out looking too strong. I would also say there is no need to have Team Bella win at all. The WWE will likely use this match to put focus on the diva that will be taking the title off Nikki. That is not likely to be a heel. Someone from PCB will likely get the attention. The sun is likely setting on Paige. Becky Lynch seems like the diva at the bottom of the group. That leaves Charlotte. She is the one I expect to shine with this match.

The Diva Revolution Hits A Bump

The diva revolution has only been around a few weeks. Fans love the WWE debuting new divas from NXT, giving the divas time, having more than one diva match on Raw, advertising diva matches, and so on. A few issues have popped up recently.

First, Alicia Fox was injured while working with Charlotte on Raw. She suffered a concussion. Two things to talk about with that. First, these NXT divas are obviously not flawless. Botches and miscommunications will happen. There is no need to condemn anyone, yet. If serious botches continue to be an issue, then the WWE might have a good reason to hold these women back a little. I do not think it will come to that.

The other thing to talk about with this injury to Alicia Fox is whether or not she should be replaced in Team Bella. I have already seen some fans writing her off and discussing which diva should replace her. I don't think the WWE should jump to doing that. Just have her not wrestle for a while. There are plenty of women already involved in this feud. However, just for the sake of discussion, I would replace her with Emma. All the other teams have at least one NXT star. Emma could use something meaningful to do on the main roster. It isn't like this would be a huge push, anyway. Alicia Fox is essentially at the bottom of Team Bella. Emma taking her spot would not be huge, but it is still putting her in a meaningful angle.

Second issue, there was a match advertised for Smackdown this week. Nikki Bella would face Becky Lynch. Smackdown was taped already. No diva match. This is not the first time the WWE has advertised a match and not followed through, but this isn't the kind of thing you should do when you are trying to promote your diva division as something respectable. This is not even the first time since the diva revolution started that there has been a show without a diva match. I have seen some fans happy because they were afraid Becky Lynch would job to Nikki Bella. She's going to job eventually. The WWE should not go the route of making themselves look like they will make false promises. They have already done things to make people question how trustworthy they are. And after you betray someone's trust to their limit, you have to earn it all over again. The WWE isn't exactly doing that with things like this.

Last thing I want to bring up, yes, it is nice that the WWE is promoting diva matches. They are making Stephanie McMahon look like some kind of hero for the diva division. Problem is, these are pretty much filler matches. These NXT divas may be getting a chance to introduce themselves to the general audience, but what is the overall point of this feud? I never liked the 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 thing, but if they are going to do it, they have to do more to make it more interesting. What is the point of advertising these diva matches when nothing is on the line? The WWE cannot be fooled by those people complaining on Twitter. They want to see fresh talent and great wrestling. But there are a lot of other fans that weren't saying anything at all on Twitter about giving divas a chance. The WWE has to actually add more intrigue into this storyline to talk to those fans. As I have said before, you pretty much only have a juggling act going on. Sasha Banks will look good here. Charlotte will look good there. Paige will look like the leader of her group, then tap out to Sasha. Nikki Bella is holding the title and closing in on breaking AJ Lee's record. Proper focus isn't on one diva. And even if some divas look protected now, it will not last long. You see singles matches. You see tag matches. Will we see the obvious 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 match? In the end, what's the point?

What would I do? TNA used to do the Bound For Glory Series. It was a tournament where the winner got a title shot. Why doesn't the WWE do something like that for these 9 divas they are putting focus on? There are even other divas they could bring into this tournament already on the roster. Whichever diva scores the pinfall/submission gets a certain number of points. Whichever diva has the most points by Summerslam, Night of Champions, Survivor Series, or whenever, gets a title shot. Another way of doing it, whichever group gets the most points gets to "run" the diva division, however you want to interpret that. Part of the story has been The Bellas pushing their weight around and acting like they run the division. Make it seem like one of these factions can run the division for a certain amount of time. It would make all these filler matches seem more important. Even if you think my idea sounds stupid, which it might, the WWE should do more to make things more intriguing than just having these women wrestle. Make the matches worth more.

Three NXT Divas Debut On Raw

The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox came out to gloat on Raw last night. Stephanie McMahon came out and put them back down. That led to Paige, Naomi, Tamina, and a few new divas from NXT coming out. Those NXT divas would be Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch. Charlotte and Becky sided with Paige. Sasha Banks has been paired with Naomi and Tamina. Not surprisingly, a lot of fans are praising it as the greatest diva segment in years.

What kind of feud do you have here? 3 vs. 3 vs. 3? As I have said before, the WWE has just made the diva feud more complicated than it needed to be. They did not need to call up three women in one night to insert them into this feud. If they had kept things simple weeks ago, they only needed to debut one diva to keep things fresh for the rest of the year. No need to put Alicia Fox with The Bellas. No need to bring back Naomi and Tamina against The Bellas. If they really wanted to do something with these other divas, do a better job utilizing other women already on the main roster, like Emma. I know #GiveDivasAChance is not all about Emma, but she was the one that took the pin the night all this started. And what has she done on the main roster since? No need to hand her the title, but a minor feud on the main roster would be nice.

Another issue with the development of this diva feud, there isn't exactly a lot of time between the debuts and Battleground. The WWE could have debuted a new diva a week or two ago and spent the time between then and the PPV introducing her to the main audience by having her wrestle singles matches and be in Paige's corner for her matches. The PPV match would then be Paige and the new diva vs. The Bellas. Instead, all you have until the PPV is one more Smackdown. And how well can you feature three new divas on that one show? It has just not been timed right to properly build to whatever match they are aiming for.

How the WWE follows through with these women after Battleground will also be interesting. If they had just debuted one diva, you could just put the focus on her as she slowly takes the spot against The Bellas Paige has held for months now. You now have three new women in the picture. Obviously, these women still have NXT stuff to do. That makes the decision to use all three on the main roster right now even more questionable. It would have been better to just debut a diva you were prepared to properly develop on the main roster. Good luck trying to keep the ball rolling with this after Sunday.

Let me just talk about Stephanie's promo. She talked about a revolution with women in sports. She brought up women's soccer, UFC, and tennis. Yeah, I can respect what the US women's soccer team has done, what Ronda Rousey has done, and what Serena Williams has done. What makes these women great are not the accolades. It is how they have earned those accolades. It is not just talent. It is how they have utilized that talent. It is the fact that they have beaten other top challengers. Competition. Stephanie also brought up that word. But is there competition in the diva division now? There is fresh talent in the diva division. But will they be given a fair shot to actually succeed and earn the top spot from The Bellas? If not, nothing has changed. This is still a women's division that revolves around eye-candy divas and women with wrestling credibility are often just used to put the stars over. These new divas will get to show how great they are on the main roster. That freshness will excite a lot of fans. But there is more to it than that. What about earning those better careers? What's the point of earning something when you are not allowed to get it? What if those female athletes I brought up did everything right to earn a major title, but some official or committee decided to just hand the title to someone else that did not earn it? Unthinkable, but it happens in the WWE. And I don't mean titles. I mean being actually pushed as a star.

Paige Has A New Friend

Paige has a sidekick as her feud with AJ Lee progresses. That would be Alicia Fox. The pairing became official on Raw this week.

This is a good move. This feud between AJ Lee and Paige probably should have been over by now. How can you keep it going another few weeks? Inserting another supporting player would help. And that is what they did. It isn't great creative development, but it can help to extend things.

Do not make too much of this new duo. Will they end up like Layla and Michelle McCool? Probably not. Layla was a periphery diva being paired with a centerpiece struggling to get over. Alicia Fox is a credible jobber these days that is being paired with another credible jobber. Alicia Fox was actually the top heel credible jobber a few months ago prior to turning Paige heel. Go back to heel Beth Phoenix and Natalya teaming up a couple years ago. They treated it like it would be some real angle at first, but soon deflated it. The pairing seemed to be getting phased down even before Beth Phoenix suffered an injury during that title run. That is the kind of thing I would expect with Paige and Alicia Fox.

Overall, how is the feud between Paige and AJ Lee going? Even with the addition of Alicia Fox, this still feels like a dry feud. I do not feel there is anywhere else to really go with this story. I have said before that I never really bought Paige and AJ as friends, but I will move on from that. Is there potential to keep that story interesting with the addition of Alicia Fox? Yeah. Do I think the WWE will build on that story? No. The best creative interest in this feud seems to have been in the last few months. This is pretty much the point where they need to just wrap this feud up.

Gail Kim: The Closest Thing To A KO Centerpiece?

Gail Kim just seems to be getting KO title reigns. And she is getting them pretty needlessly. Taryn Terrell just returned. She should have been in line to get the title.

Is Gail Kim the closest thing to a centerpiece that KO division has? I think so. They don't do it exactly like the WWE does it. The WWE would develop credible jobbers just to put over their centerpiece, then phase out that credible jobber. TNA will develop women just for the sake of making them look interesting. Everyone puts over everyone. It's not just about developing someone to put over Gail Kim. The WWE diva division tends to look dry or completely collapses when there is no centerpiece or a struggling centerpiece. TNA's KO division would look pretty much the same whether Gail Kim was there or not. The WWE diva division also revolved around making their centerpiece into a star, which includes getting her over. With what TNA does with Gail Kim, it seems to be just about passing around the title. They seem to be blind to overness.

TNA obviously wants to sell Gail Kim as the greatest KO. They even made a documentary about that. But does she deserve to be pushed this much? I like Gail Kim. She's in my top 10 favorite women of wrestling. If I had to pick a centerpiece for a women's wrestling division based just on wrestling ability, and not overall overness, I would pick Gail Kim. She has a great technical style and great agility. And she's hot, but that isn't about wrestling ability. TNA is trying to run a major wrestling promotion. You have to care about overness. You have to make and feature stars that can get you more viewers and people interested in you. As I just said about the WWE, the centerpiece there isn't just winning the title a lot. The WWE invests creative interest to make her look even better. TNA's creative interest in Gail Kim is lacking. If TNA wants to run a successful women's division that actually produces stars, Gail Kim isn't a great choice as centerpiece. And even if they really want her to be that great choice, a lot more creative interest would be nice.

There is a drought of first-time World Champions in the WWE. Haven't had one in years. The same thing can be said for TNA's KO division. When was the last first-time KO Champion? Brooke Tessmacher in 2012? You have other women to give it to. Give it to Taryn Terrell.

Look at their men's division. There is no one man being pushed like Gail Kim. You have a bunch of first-time TNA World Champions recently. Lashley just won it. Eric Young held it. Magnus held it. Their men's division still obviously lacks a centerpiece. They just rotate things there. Am I saying that the KO division should be run like the men's division? Or that the men's division should be run like the KO division? Balance would be nice.

Let me switch gears to the WWE. There is a rumor that AJ Lee is pregnant. Let me talk about that assuming it is true, just for the sake of discussion. Obviously, congratulations to her and Punk. But what does this mean for the diva division? That diva division just seems to be cursed. AJ Lee is their top periphery diva. She is the only real star that diva division created since Trish and Lita left. Without even talking about a possible pregnancy, the fact that she has been away all these months and married to a man that is currently in an interesting predicament with the WWE is kind of not allowing her to do anything for the diva division. If she is pregnant, including the few months she has already taken off, she is going to end up being away from the WWE for about a year. A year. And that is under the assumption she even comes back. The WWE just cannot catch a break. A lot of this they did bring on themselves, but a lot of it is just things out of their control.

This is the worst the diva division has ever been. I should probably put that on a coffee mug and sell it in the gift shop. I have no job right now. I can use that money. I say that a lot. What makes me say that the current situation is worse than any other situation this diva division has even been in? This division lacks stars. Stephanie McMahon is your only A-level player. And she's a non-wrestler. Vickie Guerrero was not being used for much for a while, but they featured her frequently recently for her farewell angle. You do not have a centerpiece being pushed. Go back to before the WWE pulled the trigger with AJ Lee in the periphery. They lacked any strong periphery divas. What they did have, however, was that they were pushing someone to be their centerpiece. That would be Kelly Kelly. She did not work out, but they were more efficient during that time. After they gave up on her, they reset. They slowed things down and built up AJ Lee and Eve Torres. Title matters were dry for a while, but the periphery was interesting. The periphery is not that great now. Summer Rae is being developed to potentially be the next centerpiece, but she is not there yet and the WWE probably should do more with her than just this angle with Fandango/Layla. Aside from the weak periphery, title matters are also rather dry. Cameron's heel turn is the top story.

I just had a shocking realization last night. Alicia Fox is the top heel credible jobber. Alicia Fox has definitely become more solid over the years, but she is no Beth Phoenix or Ivory. That is another reason the current situation is worse than times before. I thought the WWE was taking steps to fix the depth issues with credible jobbers. AJ Lee wasn't even a heel credible jobber. She was a heel periphery diva. But who took her place among the heels when she left? It wasn't Tamina. She wasn't pushed as a top heel credible jobber. Aksana was more of an eye-candy periphery diva than a true credible jobber. She got released. There really aren't any other options. Alicia Fox is it. Even with Cameron going heel, I don't think she has the credibility of Alicia Fox and will not even be featured as well as her in the ring. The WWE probably should not have debuted both Paige and Emma as faces. Or they probably should have turned one of them or Natalya into a heel in the past few weeks. Instead, they go with Cameron. Total Divas is probably the only thing this diva division has going for it right now. They might want to consider debuting a heel diva from NXT.

With the loss of their top star, no other real stars around, and poor credible jobber depth, the WWE might want to consider creating another top periphery diva. Even pushing Summer Rae up the ranks to be a main-event periphery diva might be nice, although I do not think it is likely. But do it for someone. You need more stars. They should just be running on the assumption that they cannot count on AJ Lee. They cannot wait for her. It isn't right for those women there now. If and when AJ returns, they can easily make her a priority again. Until then, do better with these women now. I never thought I would ever be eager to see The Bellas get a big push, but they would be a great option. Right now, it is not happening. Right now, this division lacks stars, is not doing enough to make them, and depth is still an issue.

Paige Vs. Alicia Fox & The Rise Of Summer Rae

Alicia Fox will be getting a title shot against Paige at Payback. This "feud" has been the opposite of what you had between Paige and Tamina. Paige was being featured regularly, but Tamina was not being developed very well at all. This time around, Alicia Fox has had a ton of creative interest on her and it is Paige that is just there. Not good.

What they are doing here is not good for Paige at all. Alicia Fox has a crazy gimmick. Mickie James had a psycho gimmick. But Mickie's psycho gimmick was tied to a storyline with Trish Stratus. The storyline started with Mickie James putting over how great Trish Stratus was. She idolized her. It went on to Mickie annoying Trish Stratus. Trish tried to be nice about it and handle it the right way, and it was Mickie that ended up turning on Trish. The character then turned to a psychotic threat that Trish would have eventually overcome. But Trish got injured and retired soon after. The whole storyline was really for the benefit of Trish, much like many storylines involving the centerpiece are meant to benefit the top star, not really the one being used to put over the top star.

What you have with Alicia Fox and Paige is nothing like what you had with Mickie James and Trish Stratus. Alicia is not putting over how great Paige is. The storyline does not really involve Paige at all, aside from the fact that Alicia is getting a title shot. And they don't seem to be developing Alicia to be a character Paige has to overcome. I am talking about the gimmick. As a contender, Paige might likely overcome Alicia. But the gimmick Alicia Fox has just seems pointless for Paige's benefit. I understand they don't want Paige as the centerpiece, but this just seems like a creative burial. Not blaming the writers.

I don't want to make it seem like I don't want Alicia Fox to get over. This gimmick can definitely get her over. I just don't think they really want her over and will push her with the consistency they would a diva they want over. They have already shown that Alicia Fox is a credible jobber to them. She was doing almost nothing meaningful for years before this recent gimmick and push. I am not convinced they will be consistent with her with star treatment. And her act kind of takes a lot. Not only do you devote time to her matches, but for the aftermath where her gimmick really shines. She needs people to work off of and victimize. I cannot imagine the WWE continuing this for long.

While center stage features a title feud between two credible jobbers during this dark age, on the periphery of that is what just might be the rise of the centerpiece that will end this dark age. I guess Summer Rae coming back to make out with Fandango and having a catfight with Layla is the PG equivalent of Sable powerbombing Marc Mero. Summer Rae has a ton of creative investment on her recently. Her issues on Total Divas are branching out to storylines on the actual wrestling shows. Her issues with Fandango and Layla are not over. They are really trying with this woman. She fits as the kind of diva they would want as the centerpiece. She is getting the kind of creative interest they would give a centerpiece prior to pulling the trigger on her. Consistency? Unless she flops, I think they will be consistent with her. Hype? That will come after she wins the title.

Let me go back to the beginning. Alicia Fox will be getting a title shot against Paige at Payback. Who wins? I think a lot of it depends on how quickly the WWE wants to pull the trigger on Summer Rae and whether she will be a face or a heel. Right now, they can go either way with her. If she is a face, it would make sense to put the title on heel Alicia Fox. If she is a heel, Paige should keep the title. Just ignoring Summer Rae, there is a lot of creative interest on Alicia Fox. And the WWE has shown that Paige is not a top priority. On the other side of that, Paige's title reign just started last month and I don't see a need to give it to Alicia Fox. I would say Paige retains and eventually feuds against a heel Summer Rae.

The Diva Division: A Melting Pot?

A melting pot. It is this idea that people from different cultures can just fit together. They say that New York City is a melting pot. You see all different cultures and types of people out there. Even during my time in college, my three closest friends were all different. One was Bangladeshi, one was Korean, and the other was Chinese. My Bangladeshi friend was Muslim, my Korean friend was Christian, and my Chinese friend was agnostic. I went to a Jesuit college. I'm not even Christian. I didn't consider my school to be dominated by other cultures, but there was a good mix and these differences stopped no one.

How do you relate the concept of a "melting pot" to the diva division? It's not about a difference of race, nationality, religion, or anything like that. It comes down to a difference of background. Are you a trained wrestler or are you some kind of eye-candy diva? Do they debut you because you have wrestling experience or because you have this glamorous look. You sometimes have non-wrestlers, like Vickie Guerrero, but that is an extreme minority. You are either a female wrestler or an eye-candy diva. What would it mean for this women's division to be a melting pot? Give the eye-candy divas a fair chance to become solid wrestlers. Give the female wrestlers a fair chance to go out there and be like those glamorous divas. Give them all a fair opportunity to succeed and keep track of how they are succeeding. Push these women in the proper positions to keep the division efficient and productive.

Is the diva division actually a melting pot? Is the agenda that makes the diva division what it is a "melting pot" agenda? I would say it is not. The whole premise of the diva division is that an eye-candy diva will hold the top spot. That kind of woman will be the centerpiece. The majority of female wrestlers get used as credible jobbers. A small minority of them have gotten great careers in the periphery in the 16 years the diva division has existed. And eye-candy divas outside of the centerpiece get pushed rather well in comparison to the female wrestlers pushed as credible jobbers. They may not win titles, but they become more over than the credible jobbers. Overness is more important than title reigns. Being treated as someone they want over is more important than whether or not you are holding a title.

Of course, everything I have said pertains to the diva division when it is working the way it is supposed to. The first dark age was the closest thing to a "melting pot" era in the diva division you'll ever see. No centerpiece. Periphery angles were all over the place, going to both female wrestlers and eye-candy divas. I sometimes like to think of those years as a "periphery soup". What brought about the end of that golden age you had with Trish and Lita was the WWE no longer able to get their eye-candy centerpieces to work. Failure mounted upon failure to bring you this current dark age. You can argue that this current dark age is a melting pot. I wouldn't. No centerpiece. You have both eye-candy divas and female wrestlers being used inefficiently. In that respect, you can make the argument that things have melted together. Problem is, there is no pot. All you have is a mess.

TNA's women's division is more of a melting pot, in regards to differentiating between eye-candy women and female wrestlers. Knockouts like Brooke Tessmacher and Velvet Sky have had success, but so have female wrestlers like Gail Kim and ODB. No one type is pushed too much better than the rest. And they are treated as equals. Problem is, TNA does not do a proper job developing anyone in that division to be stars. Giving all these women fair opportunities to succeed is great, but none of them ever prove that they can do the job better than the rest to deserve to be pushed as the centerpiece? Does TNA even know how to push a star? A woman can earn a great career and not get it.

Why bring up this idea of a melting pot? Because I think a lot of fans take it for granted that the diva division is a melting pot. They take it for granted that all these women are getting fair opportunities to succeed and earn better careers. I don't think they even consider that those better careers don't come in one flavor. During the first dark age, Trish and Lita were equals. They were periphery divas. When things got golden, the two top divas were not equals. The WWE was developing the division around one woman, while the other was getting angles regularly and primarily in the men's division. Female wrestlers do not get to be the centerpiece in the diva division. For years, they never even bothered creating another Lita after she left. Their priority, not surprisingly, was creating another Trish. The whole concept of the diva division is not to melt these women together and give them all a fair chance as if they were equals. Water and oil don't mix in this division. And as that agenda has failed, things have gotten worse for everyone.

Let me talk about current affairs in the diva division briefly. I said that if they would give Paige the kind of freedom they have given AJ Lee, she would be amazing. What does the WWE do? They give that kind of freedom to Alicia Fox. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are now talking about Alicia Fox like she's the greatest diva on the roster. Just goes to show, in a lot of instances, it all comes down to how you are being pushed. What are you being allowed to do? Will they be consistent with you? Will they be consistent with Alicia Fox? She has been treated as a credible jobber for years now. Honestly, I cannot even remember the last time she was relevant in singles matters. She'll cause some buzz. If she does get a title feud, it would be good for them to finally develop something more for Paige. But this whole idea that all the divas hate Paige, that is too similar to AJ Lee having to defend the title against all the divas a few weeks ago. A little more creative thought would be nice. And looking back at that match on Raw, Paige got a good reaction. What is with these reports that she wasn't connecting well with fans? It's a miracle she is even getting those reactions. She just debuted and has not been pushed very interestingly.

Slow Start For WWE Diva Division In 2012

That injury Beth Phoenix suffered at the end of last year was obviously more serious than it first looked to be. The Diva's Champion has not been featured since that match with Alicia Fox.

It is still possible to keep the ball rolling without the Champion. The WWE has done so before. They have even kept the ball rolling at times when the centerpiece was not around. Beth Phoenix isn't even the centerpiece. You can even say that the WWE has kept the ball rolling when there wasn't anyone with any great overness in the diva division. Once again, Beth Phoenix, as strong a worker she is, is not too over in the diva division. All that being said, the ball is not rolling well right now.

There is a lack of focus going on with the diva feuds. The strongest feud you have going on is between Natalya and Tamina, but I doubt that will do too much. Storylines are also lacking. The strongest storyline you have right now is a romance angle between Zack Ryder and Eve. I have more faith in this storyline than the one between Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee, but that is another issue. Outside of that, no real continuity. Even on the night Beth was injured by Alicia, there was no Natalya at ringside or much ado about keeping that team looking like something, even if just a good mention. It was also one of the rare times Beth lost a televised match through a finisher, as opposed to a roll up. Since then, the WWE has not exactly been continuous with even keeping focus on Alicia. Zack Ryder and Eve won a tag match against Tyson Kidd and Natalya. The Bellas got a meaningless win recently. Last night, Beth Phoenix was teased for a match, but it was Eve who got the bulk of the diva attention, through her angle with Zack Ryder, who is being stalked by Kane, who is feuding with Cena, who happens to be the centerpiece. You have a clear feud on Smackdown between Tamina and Natalya, but I doubt that will get either too over or even succeed in being too entertaining.

No mention of Kelly Kelly yet, but you have seen her around in recent weeks. Has the WWE lost confidence in her as the new centerpiece? That is still the big question you have to consider. Whether Beth Phoenix was still around or not, this could either be seen as a time where the WWE is not using Kelly Kelly better because she is being phased out as centerpiece, they're planning to build Beth Phoenix up more before having her hand the belt back to Kelly Kelly, or the WWE just does not know what to do with Kelly Kelly, but they have not given up on her. I would not be too surprised if the WWE would want Kelly Kelly to win the title at Wrestlemania. That would be the first time the Diva's Championship would be defended at the big event, and Kelly would make history by being the first woman to win the title there. Having Kharma return and win the title from Beth Phoenix might also be an option. The WWE can then go back to that storyline between Kharma and Kelly, which was meant to put over Kelly Kelly anyway. Only this time, Kelly would stand to win the title right from Kharma. I have my doubts about that. How much longer can the WWE stall the title on Beth Phoenix? It has already gotten a little dull. Beth's injury could have been a chance to freshen up the booking, even if it did involve using Kelly Kelly more, but the WWE is not doing it well.

You Say Your Favorite Match Is The One With Melina And Alicia Fox?

Who? Relax. Austin apologized about what he said on Tough Enough. Of all the divas to pick, and there is nothing wrong with picking the divas, why a match with these two? Matter of opinion. You look at it, both of these women are jobbers. That, to me, is more fact than opinion. Neither of them are centerpieces or are meant to be centerpieces. Since they are pushed consistently only in the diva division, their characters are not getting the chance to properly develop from storylines outside of the title picture. If you are not being developed as either a centerpiece or on the sidelines, what are you? Melina did a little self-righteous response to what went on. I respect her. I feel bad for her and most of the other divas in the WWE being held back. But should she really be proud of how far she's come? She's been featured on Superstars more in the last few weeks than Raw. She has been used by the WWE for the benefit of other women more often than not. End of the day, it is a dream job and she still has her fans. What can I possibly say about Alicia Fox? Her sister is on Tough Enough! She's still in afterthought heaven herself ever since Trish Stratus popped back up and Vickie is seeing more time in the ring on Raw than William Regal. I pointed out a few weeks ago that the divas with wrestling experience and true credibility were not getting used on Raw week after week. Even I have to admit that this is getting ridiculous now. Wrestlemania was on Sunday. On Raw this week, it is still Trish and Vickie. Eve defended the title against a Bella many weeks ago. Needless to say, not a worthy title match. Could have been. I don't think these women are that horrible. Just not given enough time and the story in the ring was weak. LayCool madness is still running wild on Smackdown, as you will see this week. Then again, there's no other heels to push there. How convenient? As far as I am concerned, the WWE is once again showing how they really value women like Melina, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, and so on. I'm not saying they whip them backstage and refuse to pay them. But I believe these women would like to be used more and better. Some must anyway. Or have they sacrificed that self-respect for the fame of being a credible jobber on Superstars?