Beth Phoenix Inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

Beth Phoenix is this year's female representative in the WWE Hall of Fame. The customary response would be that it is well-deserved. No, I do not agree. Beth Phoenix should not be going into the Hall of Fame, especially now.

Look back at her career in the WWE. It got started in 2006. Some people might not even remember that. She debuted as part of the storyline between Mickie James and Trish Stratus, but got injured in her first official match on the main roster.

She returned one year later and quickly found herself in a title feud against Candice Michelle. It is not unusual for credible jobbers to find themselves getting a big push so soon after debuting or even returning from an injury. Candice Michelle got injured, and that hurt Beth's push. There were some weeks where she held the Women's Championship and they had nothing for her, a clear sign that you are a credible jobber. Candice Michelle returned and got injured again. Beth lost the title to Mickie James, then won it back when Candice looked like she was ready to go again. Mickie James wasn't the only woman getting pushes in 2007 and 2008 that were dependent on what was going on with Candice Michelle. 2008 was the year that Beth won a Slammy, which some people are bringing up like it validates her being in the Hall of Fame. This was not even a fan-voted award at the time. The WWE just gave it to her, and with the poor way they pushed her during the year, and in 2009, you have to wonder why. This was the year PWI honored Awesome Kong, so the WWE might have wanted to take the opportunity to put some hype on their diva-version of a dominant female wrestler.

Of course, as I just mentioned, 2009 ended up being pretty much a dead year for Beth Phoenix. If they really cared so much about her, that would not have been the case. She got overshadowed by Santino, then spent much of the year without any real direction.

Things picked up again in 2010. She was in the Royal Rumble, although not the first woman to do that. A few months later, she would win the Women's Championship from Michelle McCool. And she would suffer another injury just a few days into her reign, forcing her to drop the title and take more time off. She would come back later in the year, but soon once again find herself lost in the shuffle.

She would get a run with the Diva's Championship later on. Of course, she got injured again during that reign. You can blame Alicia Fox for that. The WWE kept the title on her this time, but she did miss some time in action. They took the title off her before she could become the longest-reigning Diva's Champion. Her reign was long more out of the WWE not having a woman they were willing to push as centerpiece, not their desire to push Beth as a star. There were really no epic feuds through much of the reign. Some wrestling fans can bring whatever matches they want during the reign, but I am talking feud development. If the WWE is building someone to be a star or featuring them as a star, it shows through feud development, not match quality. And after that, she never really did anything else major until retiring in October 2012.

Does this really sound like a career worthy of the Hall of Fame? It was filled with time spent away due to injury or just not doing anything important. Don't get me wrong, if Beth Phoenix overcame this to became very over, I would probably be on her side to go into the Hall of Fame. She would have done the kind of thing Mickie James did. But she didn't. She didn't become very over at all. Wrestling fans love her and her hometown fans love her, but she never became one of the most over female workers the diva era ever had. She would probably be better received in this era, but we will never know for sure.

Not only do I question the induction of Beth Phoenix, I question them doing it now. There are multiple women that I would induct before her. Let me bring up three.

Wrestling fans would definitely disagree with this. Sable? Rena Mero? Brock Lesnar's wife? People don't realize that she helped to start the diva era. "Diva" may be a bad word now, but the WWE shouldn't act like they were always above it and always treating female wrestlers great. If Sunny is in the Hall of Fame, Sable also deserves a spot. She helped to pave the way for Trish Stratus. It was the success they had off her that led the WWE to look for another eye-candy centerpiece.

Sable was also a star during the Attitude Era, the hottest time in the WWE's history. This era definitely preceded the era Beth Phoenix was a part of, but there are still a number of women from this era not in the Hall of Fame that should be. That does not seem right to me.

Here is a choice wrestling fans might love. Victoria, Tara, Lisa Marie Varon, whatever you want to call her, she's a respected female wrestling talent. She won two Women's Championships in the WWE, and then had a little more title success in TNA.

Victoria did not get that over in the WWE and she got the same type of career Beth Phoenix had, a credible jobber. But this is an era where they are doing some revisionist history and acting like these type of performers are more worthy to be in the Hall of Fame than they might have been under the old status quo. And you might say Victoria paved the way for Beth Phoenix. She relied on power moves, much like Beth Phoenix did. I would say Victoria was a better overall in-ring performer. Regardless of that, she preceded Beth Phoenix. With the women's revolution era here, she is obviously going in one day. But why is Beth Phoenix ahead of her?

This one just seems obvious. I mentioned that Beth Phoenix was in the Royal Rumble, but she was not the first woman to do it. The first woman to do it is not in the Hall of Fame. That would be Chyna (Joanie Laurer). Chyna was a part of multiple firsts for women in the men's world of wrestling. She held the Intercontinental Championship. Beth Phoenix never did that. Chyna was also one of those female stars from the Attitude Era that have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. You can say Chyna paved the way for the kind of things Beth Phoenix did.

Of course, the big reason Chyna has not been inducted in the past is her personal issues. The WWE would have to be worried about giving her a live mic. But she past away last year. And the WWE already acknowledged her after that. It would just have seemed fitting to induct her, either this year or in the near future. I think that it will happen one day. But until it does, it seems a little insulting to put Beth Phoenix in there first. Beth Phoenix didn't pave the way for Chyna. Beth Phoenix was really just the credible-jobber version of what Chyna was back in the day.

Let me bring up a name that is in the Hall of Fame. Look at Trish Stratus. She was the greatest diva the WWE ever produced in the previous era. The WWE pushed her very well and have protected her legacy. She was even the youngest Hall of Fame inductee at the time in 2013. She was 37. She had to wait 7 years to get inducted.

Compare that to Beth Phoenix. Beth is 36. She retired in 2012. That was 5 years ago. Beth Phoenix is getting inducted at a younger age than even Trish Stratus and even faster than Trish Stratus did.

Tell me, what has Beth Phoenix ever done to deserve this? What has she done to deserve being inducted at a younger age than even Trish Stratus? What has she done to get inducted faster than even Trish Stratus? What has she done to get inducted ahead of women that you can argue paved the way for her, and some of whom were doing their thing in the WWE before even Trish Stratus? Nothing. Beth Phoenix does not deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this soon, and ahead of many women that are not in there yet. I didn't even list all of them. Some of them from eras before the diva era should still get in ahead of Beth Phoenix. Some fans want Miss Elizabeth in.

I would also question whether she deserves to be inducted at all. She never got that over. I looked at her career and pointed out how inconsistent it was due to injuries and depushes. She never had a big impact on the status quo. And she never accomplished anything big outside of the WWE, whether in wrestling or some other industry.

I would say Beth should come back for one more run, if she or her fans really want her to be worthy of the Hall of Fame. I know she has kids, but she is still young. She's younger than Mickie James, another woman that has a child. Mickie James still came back for another run. I don't think Mickie James even needed to come back to be worthy of the Hall of Fame. She was the most over female performer the WWE had for a number of years, won more major women's titles than any other woman, and had an impact on the status quo. All she had to do was wait a respectable time to get inducted. But Beth Phoenix still needs to do more, in my eyes. This is the perfect era for that. They value female wrestlers more.

Where are the respected veterans? In a lot of sports, you will see players that are respected and have lasted a long time. These are the respected veterans. But they are not really the elites of their field. They are not the big names. Some of them might get into the Hall of Fame, but no one would be shocked if they didn't. In basketball, everyone knows Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. These are the legends. But I sometimes hear the commentators talking about guys I never heard of. They stood out, had some good years in some regards here and there, but they were not the top stars.

Should Beth Phoenix be considered a respected veteran? I certainly do not consider her someone that should be getting inducted at a younger age and faster than Trish Stratus did. Trish Stratus is featured as a true legend. Inducting Beth Phoenix now is like saying she is in the same class as Trish Stratus. And she isn't. I would say she didn't even last long enough in the business to be considered a respected veteran. And let me repeat it again, to put her in there before women that helped to pave the path for her is just terrible.

I just want to make it clear, this is nothing personal against Beth Phoenix. When there were rumors Mickie James might get inducted 2 years ago, I said she should not. I am a Mickie James fan. She would have gone in at age 35, even younger than Beth Phoenix now. Even though I pointed out that she has a career worthy of the Hall of Fame, she should wait. She hadn't retired yet. I even would have viewed it as a little insulting if they did seriously want to induct her. Are they implying her career is over?

This is just a sign of the times. It is one of the bad aspects of the women's revolution era. They are trying too hard to honor female wrestlers, even ones from the era where most of them were mistreated. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure someone like Vickie Guerrero will be inducted one day, but there are still so many other women being left out right now that are more deserving than Beth Phoenix.

One last thought. I read someone on a message board say last week that the WWE should induct more than one woman every year to get in more women that deserve it. Terrible idea. After a couple years, you are going to have everyone in the Hall of Fame that actually deserves it. After that, they are pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel for a while. Don't force these inductions just to meet some quota.

Depth In The Diva Division

There's this old episode of Yogi Bear where Yogi gets involved in a football game. As the guys on the team get taken out due to injury, the coach goes to the next guy on the bench. Guys keep on getting injured, the coach keeps on going down the line. Soon, no one is left. The coach is forced to send in Yogi.

That's the idea of depth that you hear about in some team sports. There is usually more than one person available to play a given position. When someone gets injured, ejected from the game, is playing badly, simply needs a break, or whatever, you have someone to take the spot. The person you start might usually be the best player and one you want to be out there. When he goes out, you want to go to your next best guy. Because of this, it isn't just replacing one body for another, but also trying to replace a good, prepared player with another who can get the job done.

Depth is obviously an issue in wrestling. When the WWE loses a top star, they have to call on someone else. This is usually not a huge problem in the men's division. You have so many men and top stars, you usually have someone you can go to when another top guy goes down, whether to injury, suspension, or what have you. When Cena got injured a few months ago, the WWE went with Ryback. When CM Punk got injured, The Shield got a PPV match. It is in the diva division that depth becomes a real issue. I have spoken about it many times, but I don't believe I have ever used this term to describe it. I think I'll start using it, so I that's why I'm talking about it now. If you are a sports fan, you might have already been familiar with depth. It might be easier to understand than me talking about centerpieces and the periphery. Let me just list a few instances where depth is worth discussing in the diva division.

First, I have to talk about Mickie James. How many times have I said that Mickie James was getting pushed mainly because she was the only convenient and qualified option around? If you look at the face options in the diva division at the time, there was not much depth. At one time, Melina, Beth Phoenix, and Jillian were the heels. You have good depth there. A lot of good options. The faces? Mickie James, Maria, and Ashley. This was when Candice Michelle, the centerpiece of the diva division, was out with an injury. Mickie James was most qualified out of all the faces to carry the division. That's how the WWE would use women with wrestling credibility. Could you imagine the situation you would have had if Mickie James suffered a serious injury around this time? Since the WWE did not have faith in pushing eye-candy divas as credible jobbers back then, they would have either have had to rush a face turn for a heel credible jobber or debut a new female wrestler from developmental. The WWE was lucky Mickie James was around.

The WWE's luck soon ran out. After the WWE released Mickie James, the only credible jobber available on Smackdown was Beth Phoenix. Outside of her, you had Kelly Kelly and Tiffany, two eye-candy divas. What kind of depth is that? Your centerpiece is a heel, so it would have been smart to have more options in the face credible jobber position. To top it all off, Beth Phoenix got injured. The WWE actually pushed Kelly Kelly and Tiffany more. Tiffany then got suspended and eventually released. You are left with virtually no real depth at all. It is no surprise the WWE soon unified the titles and the divisions. It is also no surprise that the WWE would warm up to the idea of using eye-candy divas as credible jobbers. If they saw that they could keep the division going without female wrestlers being used as jobbers and filler, why not give the eye-candy divas those opportunities. That widens the depth they could possibly have now. Tamina and Natalya are the only two female-wrestler credible jobbers. However, because the WWE can use eye-candy divas like Layla as credible jobbers, that gives them added depth. It gives them more options now, even though they still have issues with the centerpiece position.

Speaking of centerpieces, how about the greatest centerpiece the diva division ever had? Trish Stratus was fortunate to be in the diva division at a time when they had a lot of female wrestlers. From the time she started to be pushed as centerpiece, Lita was the only female-wrestler periphery diva. All those other female wrestlers were credible jobbers. Trish had no less than half a dozen women with solid wrestling training and credibility revolving around her. The WWE was always bringing in fresh options for her to work against. They were running an effective women's division. Not only were they investing creatively and had a centerpiece that was working out, but they had a lot of options to go to. However, as great as some people view this time in the diva division, it was showing signs of the issues you have had in recent years. When Trish returned from her injury in 2005, the only face divas getting action in the ring were her and Ashley. The heels were Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle. You have one heel credible jobber and two eye-candy periphery divas. Prior to Mickie James debuting, you did not have a face credible jobber. If Trish had gotten injured again during that time, the WWE would have been in trouble. If Victoria had gotten injured, the WWE would have been in trouble. Trish Stratus eventually did get injured again a few months later. Because that psycho storyline was so rich, the WWE could carry it on with just Mickie James for a while. They eventually debuted Beth Phoenix, who became the only face credible jobber, since Mickie had turned heel. Beth then got injured. Those are depth issues you have at the credible jobber position. The WWE had some options on Smackdown to keep things fresh and bring in if injuries really proved to be too much, but it's plain to see the "Golden Age" was starting to lose some stability even while Trish and Lita were there.

Everything I have spoken about so far has been about depth issues for the credible jobber position. A lack of depth caused the WWE to continuously go to Mickie James. There was a time when there was absolutely zero depth for female-wrestler credible jobbers on Smackdown. Even during the best years of the division, a shortage of credible jobbers was starting to arise. You also have depth issues with the centerpiece position. Michelle McCool left, so they went to Kelly Kelly. They gave up on her and went to Eve. She left, and now we see who is next on the bench. As I said before, it's not just about replacing one body with another. You want to go with someone you have confidence in. In the WWE's mind, it seems to be less about having confidence in them and more about being willing to develop that woman into a major star. You have women on the bench, you have women you can go to, but it means nothing if the WWE does not put them in there. Then again, with the luck the WWE is having with their centerpieces, they might go through the entire depth chart and they will all flop for one reason or another. What's left then? Send in Yogi Bear? How about Jinder Mahal? Whoever looks better in lingerie? My money's on Yogi.

State Of The WWE Diva Division: October 2012

Before recent developments, I figured my next post about the diva division would only be about the current storyline they are running. Now, it seems some fans think the sky is falling.

Let me still start with the current storyline involving the divas. It is the most elaborate storyline you have had in quite some time. Who took out Kaitlyn? Was it a blond diva? Eve in a wig? Rikishi? Not only is Eve involved, but Kaitlyn, Layla, a number of other suspects, and this might be Beth Phoenix's last act. She will likely put Eve over in the storyline. And even after that, they might still run the storyline longer to include Eve vs. Kaitlyn. The characters are rather weak in this elaborate storyline, but it is still better than anything you have seen with Layla and Beth's previous reigns this year. I need not mention the reign in between those two. The fact that they are investing this much into Eve makes me believe further that she is the centerpiece.

One person who it will not be, Kelly Kelly. She is officially released from the company. When I look at some of the reactions by some fans, it seems so ridiculous. They act like this is a big development. She hasn't been around in weeks. And when she was there, it was only for a single televised appearance. Prior to that, she was gone for a long time. And if you go back even before that, the WWE had already given up with her as centerpiece. Did her desire not to be committed to the WWE lead to them giving up on her? I am not going to act like I work backstage and know exactly when she first gave notice to the WWE. As far as I was concerned, Kelly Kelly was already finished with the company the first time she left. When she did return, had she expressed interest to be more committed, they might have ran with her again. Fact is, you can't have a centerpiece who is not going to be around prior to even solidifying her position. Kelly Kelly was no longer being pushed as something vital to the diva division. Because of that, they did not really lose anything that will force them to take a bigger blow than they have already taken in recent years.

Sara Del Rey might just be a trainer for the WWE. I believe I already said what I thought about Sara Del Rey wanting to be in the WWE. I am not going to repeat it.

I hope you can see how the current diva division is different from what you had a few months ago, when the focus was mainly just on developing AJ in the periphery. The diva division itself was not being featured properly. Now, you have a storyline that actually involves the title and numerous women. That is interest in the diva division. That is what it is like to have a centerpiece. That is the most important position in the division. You can't really blame the WWE for wanting a new centerpiece so badly after Trish and Lita left. A centerpiece is worth more than a periphery diva. Let me put it this way, in football, a field goal is only worth 3 points, while a touchdown is worth 6 (plus a chance for an extra 1 or 2 points). When a football team works their way down the field, they would love to get a touchdown, if they are able. That has the most value. Developing a centerpiece is like scoring a touchdown. Having to settle for a periphery diva is like settling for a field goal. It still has worth, but it doesn't have the same worth as the centerpiece. With a centerpiece, you have real interest in the actual division. That is the woman they want to be the top star of their division.

Is the sky falling? That is the say, is this the end of the diva division? As I have said before, if the WWE has 9 out of their 10 divas in the division being real female wrestlers, but that odd woman out is an eye-candy diva being pushed as a centerpiece, the division still stands. That is not exactly the division you have now. You have the typical centerpiece, but not a lot of good female wrestlers to really revolve around the centerpiece. That makes for a messy division. The division had already collapsed. They are now trying to rebuild. If it collapses again, I would love to see how the WWE reacts. How much can they take before they realize that this style of a women's wrestling division no longer works?

Layla: Not The Centerpiece

I had said that what would really show whether or not the WWE wanted to develop Layla as centerpiece would be how they push her after her current title reign ends. Would they continue to revolve the major diva matters around her? You don't even have to wait that long. The WWE has pretty much already shown that they do not currently want to develop her as the top diva.

Go back a few weeks. Beth Phoenix got another title shot at a PPV. Before they brought this feud back to the main shows the week prior to No Way Out, it was pretty much nonexistent. When they did bring it back, it was just to hand Beth two wins to build momentum before losing to Layla, again. This match was more diva filler for the PPV card.

Where has Layla found herself since then? No credible jobber looks to be on the horizon. They can definitely try to push a heel Tamina against her, but they aren't. She has a brief encounter with AJ this week, including what happened on Raw and what will happen on Smackdown, but AJ is already tied into something more important. Layla is the one who does not seem to have a clear, great direction. And yet, she is Diva's Champion. But not the centerpiece.

As for AJ, her storyline continues to revolve around 3 main-eventers. They are pushing her hard. This is the hardest they have pushed a diva in the men's division since Lita. Depending on how much longer it lasts and what more they have her do, this might top what the WWE did with Lita. Because the WWE is not yet showing any interest in developing major diva division matters around her to hype her as the best diva in the division, she is not the centerpiece. It just goes to show that a diva does not need to be Trish Stratus for the WWE to develop her as a star. It is a smart move to shift to building divas in the periphery after years of failures with creating a centerpiece. AJ is definitely getting over.

Speaking honestly, I find it a shame that Mickie James will have to end up with this tainted legacy, while a woman hyped by many as her replacement is getting built to be a success. Comparing AJ's career in the WWE to Mickie's is comparing the career of a periphery diva to a credible jobber. Mickie James earned her overness the hard way and a better career than she was given. As I just mentioned, AJ is really benefiting from years of inability to recreate Trish. They are not even pushing their Diva's Champion as well as they are AJ.

Final point, what about Beth Phoenix? If you have ever read my blog before, you probably guessed that this depush and poor treatment would be coming for Beth even before she won the title last year. If you have never read my blog before, let's just look at the history of Beth's recent push. Before she got the push last year, she wasn't doing anything. She had no storyline or feud going. The WWE even had to turn her heel the very night she won a title shot and started her feud with face Kelly Kelly. After Beth did win the title, they never really developed any great feuds for her and often pushed her inconsistently. Good focus was not on her. It should have been easy to see that this push for Beth would end like all her other pushes in the past. She is back to being lost in the shuffle.

The Other Bella Wins The Diva's Championship

The Diva's Championship changed hands last night on Raw. If you saw the match, you saw the awkward finish. Beth Phoenix hopped off the apron and landed awkwardly. Looks like an ankle injury. Reminded me of how Orton got injured a few weeks ago. Hopefully, nothing too serious. Beth has had bad luck with injuries. She was out for about a month while still holding the Diva's Championship.

And the new Champion? Nikki Bella. Did they toss her the title to convince the Bellas to stay? Were they never leaving? Giving them the title so they can drop it to Kharma, assuming she is ready to return? Whatever the case may be, will the WWE even do anything good with this title run? What did giving the title to Brie really accomplish for her last year? Aside from that little boost in credibility, it didn't make her more over or do too much for the diva division. I can say the same thing will happen with Nikki. And this is all definitely not a reward for getting very over.

How was Beth's title run? Aside from the month she was injured? They pretty much just built up various opponents for her to work with and go over. They created this partnership with Natalya, but that dissolved rather easily. People can talk about how great it is that her reign lasted so long, and she did come close to breaking Maryse's record as longest-reigning Diva's Champion, but so what? Being realistic, did it actually help her get over, entertain, or do anything to really draw for the WWE? I don't think so. It was a long reign, but the WWE did not invest good creative interest in it. That is exactly what you would expect in how they treat a credible jobber.

Does that make Nikki a centerpiece? Beth Phoenix is a credible jobber, which is one of those women whom the WWE has around for their wrestling ability, not to develop them to be over, and she lost the title to a woman who was obviously hired more for looks than wrestling ability. But Nikki is not a centerpiece. Just like the WWE did not do a proper job of wrapping the division around Brie a year ago, they are not going to do it with Nikki. The build to Nikki's title match was poor. She beat Beth a few weeks ago in a non-title match, didn't really do much since then to further the feud, and got the title shot. That's not how you treat a centerpiece.

The WWE diva division is still a mess. But you probably know that. They are still in this dark age. More interesting stuff is going on in the periphery than in the actual wrestling division. Eve is the Executive Assistant to John Laurinaitis. They are doing more for her than they had been doing for Beth Phoenix. They are developing Eve. If Eve should succeed in becoming over from this, they can insert her back into the diva division as the centerpiece. Go back to the first dark age of the diva division. That would be after Sable left. Sable was their first centerpiece of the diva division. After she left, it took a few months to get Trish Stratus, then it took even more time to develop her, but they eventually did get the division revolving around her. Remember one of the major things they did to develop her? Put her in a storyline with the McMahons. Eve is going in the same direction. I would be paying more attention to what they do with Eve in the coming months than Nikki.

Wrestlemania 28 Diva Feud's Minor Development

Before I talk about the Wrestlemania diva feud, let me just briefly mention what happened to the previous woman to feud with Beth Phoenix. Remember Tamina? She was given a bunch of wins, most at the expense of Natalya, made to look like a major face for a few weeks, got a PPV title shot, was booked to lose, and has not been doing anything important since. This is not surprising at all.

Had the WWE not set up a tag match to allow a celebrity to get involved at Wrestlemania, there probably would have been not as much Beth Phoenix around this time, either. Even then, you have not seen good development for this feud last week. Last week, it was just a recap of when the four women involved in this match got together. A lot of it is just WWE.com segments. Could you imagine if the WWE just hyped Cena/Rock with online segments? Funny thing is, even though the two men have been having exchanges on social media, that still gets mentioned on TV with hype. This diva feud is definitely getting the short end of the stick in comparison to all the other Wrestlemania feuds. This is the last week. How will the WWE develop Kelly Kelly, Eve, Beth Phoenix, and Maria Menounos to make this feud seem like something more? I'm not even going to try guessing on it.

Wrestlemania's Bottom Three

There are some big feuds being developed for Wrestlemania. That is to be expected. This is the time of year for big hype from the WWE. I want to talk right now about how the WWE has recently been developing the 3 feuds that I don't like that much. Those will be Sheamus/Bryan, Orton/Kane, and the diva match.

First, you have the Royal Rumble winner, Sheamus, taking on the World's Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan. If you have read what I have been saying about this feud since Sheamus earned the shot, you might think I am pessimistic about everything. No matter what the WWE does, I seem negative. It all comes down to a matter of expectations. When I see the WWE will not live up to my expectations, I modify my expectations. Sometimes, that means lowering them. Other times, it means hoping the WWE will do something else possibly even better than my original expectations. Instead of repeating everything I have felt about this title feud from the start, let me go back to the point where Orton returned from injury. Since I realized that the WWE was not going to develop a good feud between just Sheamus and Bryan, I started to like the idea of Orton getting in there. Then I see Kane enter the picture to feud with Orton. I'll get to that feud in a minute. Back to the Smackdown World title feud, how has it developed between those two men recently? They have inserted AJ a little more into what is going on, but other than that, no strong development. Even that development does not raise the bar of this match to what you would expect for someone who won the Rumble. Bryan's relationship with AJ is probably more interesting at the moment than the title feud. And even that romance angle can use more focus, but it will probably be getting that in time. Aside from so many wins and momentum, Sheamus is almost left out here.

The storyline reason for Kane feuding with Orton will be revealed on Smackdown this week. It makes sense and sounds good. He is still playing mind games with Orton, but his character has been diminished since Cena, which isn't shocking. My main problem is that they have been having Orton look way too strong too soon in this feud. The way things are going, they might as well have Kane win this feud. But I would think this match, which is on Orton's birthday, will go to him. Meaning, Orton will win it. They need to give Kane some major momentum in the coming weeks. They did it for Jericho/Punk, so I am sure they will step in with something here.

And then you have the diva match. I talked about lack of good storyline development and hype in the Smackdown title feud. Momentum is my issue in Kane/Orton. I don't even know where to start with this diva match. A storyline was being developed between Eve and Kelly Kelly. This was a personal storyline. It was really between just these two women. If anyone else really had a business in the match that should have happened between these two at Wrestlemania, it would be Zack Ryder, a guy. If they wanted to insert another guy to make it a tag match, that would make sense. But a match between just the two women would have been fine. The storyline was heading there. The only thing that was missing was the proper hype to build it. And they didn't build it. It is going to be Beth Phoenix and Eve vs. Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos. Not to be rude, but I don't give a damn about Maria Menounos. What do these two extra women have to do with Eve's heel turn and initial issues developing with Kelly Kelly? The WWE have thrown them in there now, that's for sure. And with so little time left to now develop this tag feud, you are going to have to do a rush job to hype it more properly and build up the momentum, if you want to make it good. What am I even talking about? This is a celebrity match. This is a diva match. Why would the WWE even bother building it right? To them, the glamor will draw. Luckily, I'm sure the feud between Eve and Kelly will be developed better after Wrestlemania. The WWE needs to do something interesting with their women. Last time I checked, this Maria you will be seeing a lot of in the coming weeks is not one of their women.

Heel Eve And Face Kelly Kelly

Heel Eve looks like she has her first face diva rival. That would be Kelly Kelly. That's right, after a few months with nothing really going on, Kelly Kelly is back in the picture. Heading into Wrestlemania, this looks like it will be the big diva feud for the event for the WWE.

The question you have to be wondering, who is really being used to put over who? After the feud ends, which woman, if either, will be depushed back into the mix. Is Kelly Kelly being used to put over Eve's new heel character? Was Eve turned heel so Kelly Kelly could have an interesting storyline to work with again? Or will both really benefit?

Should the WWE be taking advantage of the heel turn to benefit Kelly Kelly, that would mean the rest period they gave her was only meant to plan and develop a storyline that would benefit her. That is not too unusual. It would have been messy to overpush Kelly Kelly, while furthering an elaborate storyline involving Eve and still featuring Beth Phoenix, who is still holding the Diva's Championship. You could say that the WWE could have tossed the title back on either Eve or Kelly Kelly for this feud, but one of them will be holding it again soon enough. Besides, Cena didn't need the title for his feud with Nexus or recent feud with Kane. Sometimes, the WWE will invest more in non-title storylines than title storylines. I was never totally convinced that the WWE gave up on Kelly Kelly as centerpiece. Am I going to say that it was the WWE's plan all along for this to happen from the point they had her lost the title, or try to pinpoint exactly when they might have decided on doing what? Why bother?

If the WWE is using Kelly Kelly for the benefit of Eve, that could mean that they have decided to further her as a new centerpiece. Although Eve has held the title twice already, she was never really the centerpiece. The centerpiece is the person the WWE wants to be the main player in the division or show. When Eve won her first title, she lost it rather quickly to Alicia Fox, then got phased down for a while. When Eve won her second title, she became an afterthought around Wrestlemania time, lost it to Brie Bella in a mediocre feud, and got lost in the shuffle again. Her recent storyline has been the best she has ever had. I already compared it to what Trish Stratus got. But will the WWE follow through with it for her benefit?

What if this is for the benefit of both? The WWE is developing rivals in the diva division. They are developing two women who will be the "faces" of this era of the diva division. In other words, this is your new Trish and Lita. If that is their plan, it is weak, so far. Before Kelly Kelly came to Raw last year, there was no really strong relationship between these two women, in terms of the storyline world. They tagged up, would be out there for the other girl's matches at times, had a few segments here and there, and the relationship was casual. They didn't build up the friendship well enough. However, having them be rivals now can really add that story to their relationship. Inserting Zack Ryder will not hurt.

The situation I doubt will happen? Unless one of these two women flops in some way, you will not see both get phased out and pushed back down after this feud. Why would the WWE depush two individuals who feuded against each other? Look back at that feud between Tamina and Beth Phoenix. Where's Tamina now? Where's Beth? Someone can argue that the WWE is simply rotating things to keep it fresh, but I have two problems with that logic. First, the WWE did not invest well creatively in Beth's feud with Tamina. If the WWE really cares about making people into stars, they do more than just have them wrestle every week. Second, Tamina and Beth are the kind of women who have always been held back in the history of this division, so I can imagine them getting phased out easily, and possibly released eventually. To put it simply, rotating to keep things fresh? To me, what they just rotated out was poorly developed and involved women who the WWE does not want to make it. What just rotated in, on the other hand, has better development and includes the kind of women the WWE does want to succeed. There is an inequality here that makes the "keeping it fresh" argument fail.

Of the three real options as to where this feud between Kelly Kelly and Eve will go, I am think the WWE is trying to build both women up to be top divas. Even though Kelly Kelly was not absolutely perfect in the months before her depush, I don't think she did anything to make the WWE actually give up on her. It looks like it was just a rest they gave her to develop something else down the line. As for Eve, a lot of people could compare her to Lita, so why not build her up as the rival to the new Trish Stratus? But can the WWE get the fans to connect with it?

Elimination Chamber 2012 Preview

Since Elimination Chamber is this weekend, I am going to look at the four major matches announced for the PPV card.

First, Raw's Elimination Chamber match. CM Punk defends against Chris Jericho, Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, and R-Truth. Obviously, you have some great workers in this match. Match quality should not be a problem. But how has the WWE been doing in building up the idea that every man involved really has a chance at winning? I have said before that this is really a feud between Punk and Jericho. I am not expecting any of the midcarders and upper-midcarders in this match to win. It is going to come down to either Jericho winning or Punk winning. I am not saying either will necessarily be the final two. I'm just saying the winner will most likely be one of those two guys. I am not going to bother picking the order of eliminations. Personally, I would have Jericho win the title. That sets up the rematch at Wrestlemania.

Second, Smackdown's Elimination Chamber match. Daniel Bryan defends against Big Show, The Great Khali, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, and Santino Marella (replacing Randy Orton). Remember what I just said about match quality not being a problem in Raw's Chamber match? You might have some problems here. Santino is a joke character. The Great Khali is not so great. Luckily, the type of match this is should allow for some impressive spots, regardless of the type of workers you have. Obviously, this match has been ravaged by injuries. The Great Khali came back to fill in for Mark Henry. Santino is in for an injured Orton. I would rather have a healthy Mark Henry and Randy Orton in this match. I'm sure the WWE would too. Nevertheless, the Smackdown title picture is not set yet for Wrestlemania. Who will Sheamus face? I am not thinking they will insert him in Punk/Jericho. I still don't feel Sheamus vs. Bryan for the title is that epic, no matter how they try to build it. If there is going to be something controversial in either Chamber match, I am thinking it will be here. Title change? Someone takes out Santino and robs him of his spot? Who do I think will win? Out of the men in the match, judging by the build they have been giving them, it really is a toss up. They have brought down Barrett's momentum recently, which is a topic for another day. Cody Rhodes already has a title, and I doubt he will be holding two right now. Big Show might win from how the storyline is going. Santino is doubtful. The Great Khali winning would show that the WWE is really in a desperate position. And you have to give some credibility to the notion that the WWE will continue Bryan's pattern of sneaking out wins to somehow have him retain. Whatever the case, this match will most likely not end the way the WWE would have wished it to before all the injuries. Unless there is some kind of switch in who is in the match, I wouldn't be surprised if the Champion retains.

Third, the Ambulance match. Cena and Kane will end the feud here. Time for Cena to start moving on to The Rock and Wrestlemania. That kind of already started before the end of the current feud between Kane and Cena, but that was to be expected. Had Orton not gotten injured and taken out the PPV, I was going to spend the other day talking about the Kane/Cena development from Raw. It was great. I won't go into it too much, but I feel the WWE both developed the storyline and hyped the match. Will Cena embrace the hate? I still doubt that will be happening this Sunday. If Cena turns heel, it would make more sense to do it when The Rock is around. Match quality? This is the kind of environment where this feud will make for a good match. Eve involvement? Will they stretcher out whatever remains of Zack Ryder? As for the winner, it would make sense for John Cena to overcome Kane.

Fourth, the match for the Diva's Championship. Tamina will take on Beth Phoenix. This is a filler feud and a filler match. It is funny how they have developed this feud on both Raw and Smackdown, yet I think you can see that it is not even as hyped as Kane/Cena, which has really only been developed on Raw. There are numerous reasons for this. Obviously, the feud between the two men may only be progressed on one show, but it is progressed in many segments in a given night. Most importantly, there is an actual storyline there. In this diva feud, it is just a basic title feud. They loaded Tamina up with wins, credibility, and some attention, while still keeping Beth Phoenix strong, then have them meet at a PPV for the title. Tamina winning the title is doubtful to the highest degree. Whether they want Beth Phoenix to face Kharma, Layla, or Kelly Kelly at Wrestlemania, or whatever, they are keeping her strong for something. They are just gliding her through. Her overness? Outside of Buffalo? Not too great. As for Tamina, this treatment will do about as much for her overness as Natalya's title run a little over a year ago did for her. Nothing. Neither diva will gain too much from this, not that they are supposed to, but Beth will probably walk out with the title, for what that is worth.

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.

Natalya With Kidd, Not Phoenix

Natalya teamed up with her former Hart Dynasty partner, Tyson Kidd, to take on Zack Ryder and Eve. Of course, the heels were really just there for the benefit of the faces. And no Beth Phoenix in Natalya's corner?

Natalya teaming with Tyson Kidd was most likely just a one-time thing, for now. But what I want to point out is how easy it would be to split up the Divas of Doom. A few weeks away from each other, and they can be slowly phased out. Their split can occur without much attention and hype at all, unlike what happened with LayCool earlier this year. That shows the difference right there. LayCool was a centerpiece team. The Divas of Doom are two credible jobbers. Women like that don't get the same hard pushes as the centerpiece. Even when it appears they are, it is usually meant to build them up to put over the centerpiece and never lasts long. Is this the end already for Natalya and Beth Phoenix?

I don't see any good reason to split the team right now. You will probably see them together again in the near future. But recent use of the two as a unit, or lack of using them as a unit, illustrates what the WWE thinks about pushing them to be the same kind of team in the diva division that LayCool were. It shows how the team can end without much hype at all. At least Natalya might still have Tyson Kidd to team up with again. On NXT?

Beth Phoenix Vs. Eve At Survivor Series: Eve Doesn't Even Matter

Eve is getting another title shot against Beth Phoenix at Survivor Series. I'm surprised they didn't just bother having the title match on Raw and pushing for a big tag match featuring divas from both brands at the PPV. If you are going to draw a feud out like this, it would be nice to actually develop it.

What was pushed on this week's Raw? Kelly Kelly and Maxim. Once again, I doubt the WWE has given up on her as centerpiece. But did they really need to feature her in even the diva match on Raw? It was a short match, but Kelly Kelly still won it. What about Eve? She was just there. If they didn't want to go for a tag match at Survivor Series, they should have least have had a tag match on Raw or Smackdown that featured Eve, Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, and possibly another one or two faces going against Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Tamina, and possibly Rosa or The Bellas. I've read the Smackdown spoilers. Nothing from Eve. The heels gained some momentum, but that does not mean too much here. Kelly Kelly has more hype around her right now than the face going after the Diva's Championship.

It would be really funny if Eve, with all the lack of attention and build she has gotten, is booked to win the title. I could say that I don't understand why the WWE is treating Eve like this, but that would be untrue. Eve is the face credible jobber here. She is Kelly Kelly's sidekick. The WWE could easily do more to give Eve fairer hype and a better chance to get over, but they do not. That is not how the diva division has worked for over 13 years now, and it doesn't look like it is changing for the better. Given that the WWE is still promoting Kelly Kelly, the only reason for a title change would be if someone was turning heel. Having Eve win it just to drop it to another heel to drop to Kelly Kelly would make sense too, but seems too convoluted. Beth's momentum may have been running dry recently with how the WWE is pushing her, but she is still top heel and Kelly Kelly might still stand to look best by going over her to regain the title. Eve, once again, just seems to be filler.

Team Orton Vs. Team Barrett At Survivor Series

I said to expect inconsistencies and things to get a little messy around Survivor Series, but I never expected this. The big Survivor Series elimination tag match at the PPV will be Team Orton vs. Team Barrett.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Barrett is getting the push. But these are the captains of the teams? Orton and Barrett? I first figured it would be Christian and Sheamus. They had been feuding for months now. Not only that, they have both held World Championships in the WWE multiple times, as well as other honors. They had the credibility to lead teams. I know about the reports of Christian being injured recently, but they still were not heading in the direction of booking the match like this prior to the injury. If they want to make Randy Orton a captain, I can understand that. He is still top face of Smackdown. But how about making the captain of the heel team the guy he was just feuding with, Cody Rhodes? Not only would it make sense in terms of some continuity, but Cody is the Intercontinental Champion. That gives him some credibility. Barrett has the credibility of being a former Intercontinental Champion, former leader of Nexus/Corre, and has been in some PPV main events. But what has he done lately? They were just starting to rebuild him. This is a huge step in that rebuild. I also think it is unnecessary.

What would I have done? Team Orton vs. Team Rhodes. Wade Barrett would definitely be in the match too, but he does not have to lead his team. Have him be the soul survivor of the victorious heel team or last heel eliminated by the winning face team. That still makes him look impressive. He could then branch off to a feud with Orton.

Orton's feud with Cody Rhodes was disappointing. I knew not to expect great things to branch off from this for Cody Rhodes. But how the feud itself progressed was pretty dull. Good workers. Cody looked good at times. The problem? Just ended too soon and development was held back at times by Orton still going after Mark Henry. Cody looked a lot better during his feud with Rey Mysterio earlier. I hope they at least start giving him a good Intercontinental title feud now.

In a completely unrelated topic, I heard a "report" that Natalya and Beth Phoenix are going to enter a feud over the Diva's Championship. Given the source, I will wait to see what happens. 40% of me does not believe that these two will be entering a feud over the title. 40% of me believes it will be as mediocre as Jillian/Melina or Natalya/Melina, not to mention still be overshadowed by possibly Kelly Kelly. 20% of me believes this may be actually the turning point of the diva division to something respectable. Are all those poor ratings on Raw leading to a change? Is TNA's KO division developing even further leading to the WWE making better use of as much of their diva roster as possible, similar to TNA? It could happen. I'm just not convinced just yet. The partnering between Beth and Natalya definitely would have to end sooner or later. With Natalya losing so much recently, some may make the assumption that the split will happen now and you will have some kind of feud similar to LayCool earlier this year. LayCool were centerpieces. Beth and Natalya are credible jobbers. That is what really makes me doubt that I will see an elaborate storyline between these two heels.

Raw's Halloween Muppet Mess

You can usually expect things to get a little convoluted around Survivor Series. They have to start combining feuds to promote those tag matches coming up at the PPV. That is one thing. Looking over what happened on Raw last night, things seemed like an even more unexpected mess, and without even bringing in the Muppets.

First, Raw started off with The Rock answering John Cena's invitation to team with him at Survivor Series. He danced around it a while, then accepted. That is not surprising at all. In fact, given that it was already advertised that he would be wrestling at the event, you could just say it was all just useless ceremony to make it official for those who might not have seen it coming. Besides, you get to see The Rock live on Raw! Via satellite, of course.

They have a battle royal to find another challenger for Beth Phoenix. Eve wins. Again? They showed signs of building up Alicia Fox, but they go with Eve again? Nothing against Eve, but how about giving Smackdown's diva roster more shots at the title to make the feuds fresh? It is all just filler anyway. Once again, unless the WWE has lost confidence in Kelly Kelly or someone is turning heel, they are just building Beth's credibility and momentum up still.

Ryder or Ryan? Zack or Mason? Woo Woo Woo or Batista clone? Zack Ryder picked up another win against Dolph Ziggler, the US Champion. If they are planning to give him the title, fine. My problem is all this flip flopping. It is getting really annoying now. They could have developed a really good feud with either one of these faces, but they have created this mess. Who do they want the average fans to connect with? Zack Ryder is already over. He gained that overness on his own through his web show, which is why the WWE has not been very good on pushing him. They didn't want him over. Is this going to be one of those situations where the WWE bends to the desire of the vocal fans?

That brings me to the last point I want to make. The Michael Cole Challenge. It was postponed. Jim Ross commented that he was in Atlanta, where Raw was held last night, but was not used. Didn't seem like there was too much time for that elaborate segment anyway. Nevertheless, they still had Cole humiliate Jim Ross a little more to add heat to the feud. Cole has never been one who has had trouble getting a reaction, same goes for Jim Ross. Both are relative equals in how the WWE uses them. One is not being used to simply make the other look good. Still, all this bullying of Jim Ross is really getting old now. Not just in terms of the storylines, but just tossing him around when and where you want him in general. But let me get back to my main point. The WWE bending to the desire of vocal fans once again? They fired Jim Ross in kayfabe, then brought him back the next week. The reason being given is that fans hated what happened to Jim Ross. And now Jim Ross is being given a push? Do they really think that this is a good feud to push? I know Michael Cole got some high ratings earlier in the year against Lawler, but they are trying it with JR now? Let's see how this one plays out.

Eve And Beth Phoenix At Vengeance

In case you missed it, the WWE is treating the match Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix had last Smackdown as Kelly's rematch. That clears the path for Beth Phoenix and Eve to face each other for the Diva's Championship at Vengeance. Had they have gone with Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix at the PPV, that would have been the 4th consecutive time these two same women fought over the title without the type of match being changed or the bar being raised in some other way, which is what I was hoping for. That would have made it even worse than Orton vs. Christian. Keep in mind that their third PPV encounter had a stipulation in it that favored Christian and their fourth PPV match was No Holds Barred.

It has only been 3 weeks since the last PPV. I can understand them wanting to put in a filler title defense here. Break up the monotony. I do not see any reason why the WWE might be giving up on Kelly Kelly as centerpiece. She has been a little shaky on a few spots that I have seen, but so has Eve in that same amount of time. Nothing too serious. Kelly Kelly seems to be still more over than Eve too, although I would say Eve can be more exciting in the ring. Point is, this does not look like the end of Kelly Kelly and Eve becoming the top face of the diva division.

Beth Phoenix will most likely retain here. If Kelly Kelly is still centerpiece, the only reason they would have for putting the title on Eve is if either Eve or Kelly Kelly will be turning heel. It would be stupid for them to use Eve to transition the title to another heel to put over Kelly Kelly. Kelly Kelly could still get more value out of a feud with Beth Phoenix. Are they trying to have Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix last until at least TLC? You can have a gimmick match there that can put over Kelly Kelly as more than just a hot blonde. Until then, I do not see the WWE tossing the Diva's title around so soon as they have the WWE Championship.

The build for Eve vs. Beth has been pretty poor. A little more will happen on this week's Smackdown, but not too much. After Hell in a Cell, focus was still on Kelly Kelly, who attacked Beth in a rage on Raw. Week after that, Eve scored the pin in the tag match. Signs right there of the push that she now has. Kelly Kelly lost to Beth later that week on Smackdown. This week, Eve beats Natalya. Anything outside of just matches to promote this match? You will see it on Smackdown, but again, that is not too much in my book. Filler feud. Can you even call it a feud? Remember that saga Orton and Christian had earlier this year? Orton had a filler title defense against Sheamus. That match was really just an extension of Orton's feud with Christian. Orton and Sheamus never really feuded there. That is what I see going on here. It really isn't too much about Eve and Beth. This is just being used to prolong the feud a little more and build Beth's momentum up further. The only way I see myself being wrong is if either Kelly or Eve turns heel or the WWE really has lost confidence in Kelly Kelly. I doubt these things. In the meantime, the poor build just adds to the overall poor hype for the coming PPV. It may be worth it in the long run with Kelly Kelly's feud with Beth Phoenix, but it will not be a great draw for Vengeance. Eve is being used as a credible jobber.

Kelly Kelly Rages

The WWE pretty much had to raise the stakes with this Kelly Kelly feud against Beth Phoenix. Just tossing the title to Beth and having a blow-off match with Kelly was not going to happen. Beth is not the important one in the WWE's booking. Beth is the tool. Kelly Kelly is the centerpiece. How may she benefit?

The WWE has already proven that Kelly Kelly can endure Beth Phoenix and squeak out a victory. They did that twice. They ruined a potential undefeated streak for Beth at Summerslam and had her lose in her own hometown at another PPV to do it. But what now? Eve and Kelly took on Beth and Natalya on Raw. I think this match sounds a little familiar. My memory is too horrible, but I believe this same match may have happened before. Just maybe. Point is, this time around, no match really happened. They used the segment to have Kelly Kelly show a vicious side. That is part of what they have to show. It is obvious that she is hot. You can look at her and see that. You did not need her stripping on ECW to sell that, but they did that anyway. But if you are going to push her as a centerpiece, you have to develop other aspects of her character. Build that she can wrestle, can show a vicious side, is charismatic, is respected, and do whatever you have to do to have her connect with as many fans across the board. Don't let Michelle McCool's run as centerpiece fool you, a diva who the WWE chooses to center the major focus of the division around is not getting that treatment to connect with 2% of the fans. How exactly did Kelly show this vicious side? She brutally attacked Beth Phoenix just after the match had started. She had to be pulled off Beth. Would this same thing have looked as impressive if Kelly Kelly raged against Alicia Fox? Kelly would still be showing that anger, but the target does help to make the picture more impressive. John Cena beating up Hornswoggle would not look too impressive. But John Cena doing the same to Big Show? Not backing down to Big Show? Showing he can handle Big Show? Taking down Big Show? That makes him look stronger. My example was extreme, but my point is that Kelly Kelly is meant to look impressive at Beth's expense. Credible jobber.

Will the stakes be raised for the rematch? The stakes have been raised in the feud itself. But the match? You have to make it a No DQ, Street Fight, or something along those lines. Whether Kelly wins or not, they will have to give her the space to show that same vicious side without getting a DQ. If not, it would be stupid to have Kelly just go back to the regular smiling act. The WWE wants to develop Kelly Kelly to connect with the fans. They know that this is a great opportunity to do it using Beth Phoenix. I doubt they will pass it up.

One last thing. What development has Beth Phoenix really had for her character? She turned heel, but is that supposed to help her connect with the fans? Remember Melina's final heel turn? That was not done to help her connect better with the fans. They needed a new Jillian. And Beth? They needed a new heel to work against Kelly after The Bellas. Turning heel was not done to help Beth's character connect better with the fans. Okay, what else has the WWE pushed with Beth's character? They had her team with Natalya and run this angle where they are sick of the eye-candy divas. Is that supposed to help them connect with the fans better? I know there are groups out there who hate the eye-candy women getting pushed too, but these same people are usually Beth and Natalya fans whether or not the two are heels attacking eye-candy faces or faces teaming with eye-candy faces. What about the rest of the fans? The average fans? The majority? The WWE wants Beth to be hated. They will settle for people not caring too much about her at all. Is this angle doing anything for Beth with the average fans, whether to get her massively hated or somehow over due to Beth's own ability to connect or fans being sick of the diva division? I don't think so. I'm not talking about a hometown crowd or hot PPV audience. I don't feel the fans really rallying behind Beth, whether to hate her or love her. They are not supposed to. The storyline is designed for Kelly Kelly to go over a credible wrestler and develop her own character in relation to the gimmick Beth and Natalya are now doing. Just want to make that difference clear. Real character development is meant for Kelly Kelly, not Beth Phoenix.

Beth And Kelly lll

Beth Phoenix will once again go after Kelly Kelly's Diva's Championship at Hell in a Cell. Makes sense. With so little time since the last PPV, what other feud did they really have time to further? A triple threat or four-way match with Eve and/or Natalya? Maybe, but they did not go that way.

This is not classic diva booking, but it is the similar type of booking Natalya got last year against LayCool. Natalya failed to win the title on her first two PPV attempts, but did on her third. However, there is one important difference between this feud and last year's feud. LayCool did not win both of the first two matches. One was a DQ. To me, that helped to progress the booking better than what is going on with Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix now. Kelly Kelly already beat Beth Phoenix twice, including once in Beth's own hometown. They couldn't let that be the match with the shady ending? Have Natalya or Eve get involved to cause the DQ. Have the match end by No Contest. Raise the stakes for the third encounter. It might have even made things more interesting by leading to a No DQ match, a tag match where the person who scores the pin gets the title, or any other idea more interesting than seeing these same two women at a PPV in a regular match for the third time in a row. This is getting as bad as Orton/Christian. And it can only get worse.

Kelly Kelly will have to lose that title sooner or later. It might as well be to Beth on the third time. I just pointed out two instances where a title changed hands on the third attempt. I won't go into too much more detail on how they progressed Natalya/LayCool, even though I could, but what about Orton/Christian? Orton retained against Christian when Christian was a face, again when Christian was a heel, then lost to him in a match that favored Christian. In other words, there was some progression in the booking there too. The WWE failed to build his second World title win mean as much as the first and the reign itself was weak, like I say all the time, but it still looks a lot better in retrospect compared to this diva feud going on now. Because I see the WWE failing to capitalize on how this feud has progressed, I still believe having Beth win back in Buffalo might have been the better option. I see her winning now. Then it gets worse. How? Kelly Kelly gets a rematch. That means these two will go at it again. Will the stakes at least be raised next time? I want to believe they pretty much have to be.

As a reminder, Beth Phoenix is the credible jobber here. Kelly is the centerpiece. Remember the last credible jobber(s) to work with Kelly Kelly?

It's Brie & Nikki! Yeah, they're hot. Never said they weren't. Just once again want to take a moment to point out what happens to the credible jobbers who are used to put over the centerpiece. It is sad how models are now being used as the credible jobbers due to the lack of fresh women coming in with true wrestling experience, but that is another issue. The Bellas were on Superstars this week. After their feud with Kelly Kelly ended, they have done nothing important whatsoever. Wrestling on Superstars is also pretty much nothing important whatsoever. It won't help them get majorly over. Had they gained any major overness from their last feud, Superstars treatment now would not be helping much. Will the WWE do better with Natalya and Beth when the time comes?

Divas Of Doom Change Nothing

The Divas of Doom (Beth and Natalya) are not looking that great at all. Beth Phoenix lost once again at Night of Champions against Kelly Kelly, and in her own hometown this time. Yes, that was a booking decision I did not call. They should have given it to Beth. It would have given the storyline they are doing more momentum on the side of the heels. Of course, it would not have been too much momentum. Beth failed to win the title at Summerslam. Kelly Kelly has had numerous wins prior to Night of Champions. This whole idea of Beth Phoenix and Natalya changing the diva division would have been taken to a higher level and looked good.

Tonight, things get even worse. Beth and Natalya lost to Kelly Kelly and Eve. Eve won the match this time. They then teased the idea of the Divas of Doom not being able to get the job done and having issues. This storyline is already starting to head south. I knew it would. CM Punk brought no real change at all and the tag division has not really improved. But can't they at least sell the illusion for a while for the sake of the storyline? I mean, Mark Henry did win the World title. I am glad. Tonight on Raw, he was still looking monstrous. This title reign will last longer than Christian's first World title run this year. This is good. Bringing reality into the mix, you know it will not last. Orton will eventually regain the title. If Orton should get injured or quit the WWE for a full-time acting career, the WWE will just find another centerpiece for Smackdown, and I doubt it will be Mark Henry. Nevertheless, for the short-term storyline and feud, it is good to see Mark Henry used like this. They could not do this for Beth and Natalya?

The storyline is not over yet. Beth and Natalya still have the most momentum on them than other heels. There are not a ton of other credible heel jobbers in the entire WWE diva division. This crappy booking, however, does not even have the intensity and drama to it that Christian getting screwed over this year had. To me, this is just regular poor diva booking. They should have given Beth the title, have her hold it for a few months, give it back to Kelly, have it go to Natalya, and then have it go back to Kelly Kelly in a triple threat or fatal four-way match (including Eve), where they could also push the demise of Natalya and Beth as a team. The centerpiece gets the title back, the two heel credible jobbers each get attention on each of them as they hold the title, and the storyline they were pushing gets to be developed through all this. They could have done a lot better. Again, I never expected Beth and Natalya to change the diva division, but things could have been done a lot more interestingly.

Raw Meets Football 2011

I want to talk about Raw's rating this week and pick up on the scraps of certain other things that happened on Raw that I did not mention before. First, Raw received a 2.72. That actually does not surprise me at all. Football is back on Mondays. NFL, the big stuff. Tom Brady, a bigger draw than CM Punk. Raw will rebound in the weeks to come, but its yearly average will be damaged. The Rock will be coming back to bail them out in a few months.

In comparison, TNA Impact received an 1.02 in the ratings last week. Football was a factor there too. TNA did not drop below that 1.0. I am not talking about quarterly ratings or hourly ratings. I am talking about the overall average for the whole show. How long can Impact go without dropping below that benchmark? Raw has already dipped below that 3.0 several times in 2011. Just for the sake of mentioning it, Smackdown has rebounded well in the ratings recently.

What did the 2.72 Raw feature? WWE knew what they were up against, so what did they pull out to try to make their show stronger? There is also the fact that a PPV is coming up. Let's start with Bret Hart. Raw was in Canada, so they brought in a Canadian legend to please the live audience and try to draw viewers that way. The fact that Raw could not average over 4 million viewers against football should not say anything about Bret Hart no longer being a draw. In terms of the quality of performance Bret brought with him, I would have changed the channel myself. Wasn't TNA the retirement home for wrestlers? If you want to have Bret cut a promo or ref a match, fine. Still trying to sell this guy like he can still go in the ring creates a pathetic illusion. He is not Shawn Michaels.

The tag title match got hyped and furthered pretty simply. Heels cut a promo, beat faces in a singles match, and that is it. Aside from the promo, nothing really stood out.

The diva match was stupid. Vickie Guerrero learning to take a few bumps and do a few moves does not mean she belongs in the ring at all. The only furthering the diva match at Night of Champions had was when Kelly Kelly escaped Beth Phoenix. Kelly Kelly looks strong on Raw. Considering she already beat Beth once, I expect the title to change hands. Big deal? No, not really. Beth winning will make the Buffalo fans happy. She is female CM Punk, isn't she? That would make Kelly Kelly a female John Cena. At the end of the day, Kelly Kelly will win it back and I doubt the WWE will push Beth Phoenix well on the periphery, so nothing will really change.

It surprised me that the WWE actually used the diva match to further the US title feud as well. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger got into it again over Vickie Guerrero. They were also involved in a tag match earlier in the night. Alex Riley was the one made to look impressive in the match. John Morrison is the 4th man involved in this, and he seems like the odd man out. I see no reason at all for him winning this Sunday. The storyline between Ziggler and Swagger is the interesting thing here. Riley is the one they seem to be putting good attention on. Morrison is just there.

Randy Orton took on Cody Rhodes. Mark Henry once again did his thing. I'll probably talk about this feud again before Sunday, so let me not say too much about that. I will say that Cody Rhodes pinning Orton is a good sign for Cody.

There is only one thing left to talk about. John Cena and Alberto Del Rio. So sad. The WWE has been breaking Del Rio to pieces in the last few weeks. He starts out beating Rey Mysterio cleanly in the main event of Raw. The week after that, he attacks John Cena after Cena earns the right to face him for the title. Nothing the following week. When he returns, he talks a few heels into going after John Cena for him. After they fail to put Cena out, Del Rio tries to take advantage of Cena again and gets the AA. This week, Del Rio is trying to send Ricardo to do his dirty work. Del Rio is acting scared of Cena and isn't even getting fresh and credible people to stand between him and Cena. Del Rio looks so weak, I doubt he will lose the title to Cena just yet. Nevertheless, pretty sad direction after he looked so strong not too long ago. He is gradually becoming an typical heel again. I knew the WWE would do that to him eventually, but I was hoping they would at least keep him more fresh for the storyline.

Looking it over, Raw was not too horrible. There is an actual storyline going on in the midcard, they are bringing in legends, and young talent is still getting developed. It cannot stand against football, obviously. You need major excitement and suspense for that. But if Raw can keep up this minimal amount of attention, including the angle between CM Punk and Triple H, there is no way the show can be coming up with 2.72 every week. 3.2 will still bring the average down, but it is better than anything under a 3.0.

Kelly Kelly Will Face Beth Phoenix Again

This is indeed typical diva division booking. Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix the first time around at Summerslam to retain the Diva's Championship. On Raw, Beth defeated Eve to get another shot at Kelly Kelly. Who do you think will win this time? History has shown multiple examples where this happens between a centerpiece and a credible jobber. And if Kelly Kelly does eventually regain the title from Beth Phoenix, it will again fit right in. I am already predicting Beth to win the title. If they wanted to give it to someone like Natalya or Tamina, they would not waste time giving Beth this shot.

And you have this great debate springing up from comments some of the divas have made about this whole angle involving Beth & Natalya and the other divas. I find it very disheartening. At the same time, very smart move by the WWE. They are getting the fans involved in what is going on. They are playing with the idea that the opinions of the fans matter. If you feel you actually matter in something, is it hard to believe you will more likely take more interest in it? Fact is, WWE is still controlling what will happen. And that is why I find this disheartening. They are framing the debate. Should the diva division die to be more pleasing to fans of serious wrestling and wrestlers like Beth and Natalya? Or are women like Kelly Kelly and Eve working hard and earning their spot? Which side are the various fans on? What is their opinion? My opinion? The eye-candy divas definitely can prove themselves. But that is not my issue. I am going beyond opinion. I, and I know you are as sick of me saying it as I am, am doing analysis. My major issue is how the WWE is actually running the division. I do have some issues with certain women here and there, such as Michelle McCool and her inability to get properly over, despite her monster push, but I do not praise all the serious female wrestlers used as jobbers and bash the Diva Search contestants who have taken a prominent position on the roster over the years. I believe it is easy to have an opinion. When it comes to actually thinking and figuring out what the WWE is really doing, that is harder, that is analysis, and that is not what the WWE is trying to get the fans to do. They are basically telling them to let their feelings out. This is exactly the kind of environment where I will have a tough time trying to explain that the WWE chooses the type of women they want to make into the centerpieces, uses women with wrestling ability to help get the centerpieces over, and then mistreats these jobbers for the simple reason that they were never meant to get very over themselves in the first place. This is the booking practice I want changed. Getting rid of the eye-candy divas is not my concern. I think asking for that is pretty stupid, and not something the WWE will do anyway. The WWE itself is the target to me, not any type of diva or one individual diva...except Michelle McCool.

One last thing. Gail Kim. Last time I checked, the WWE still has not made an official statement on her release. Unless I missed it, which could have happened, they are not wanting to let her go. It is funny. They did not appreciate her at all for years. Even when she did get a push or a storyline, it was crap. Her romance angle with Daniel Bryan? How did that end again? Pretty much the same way as John Cena and Mickie James? Then there was her push in early 2010 against Maryse. She got it because Melina was injured and she was the only credible face jobber with solid experience. She jobbed to Maryse, and that was it. All the build they gave her went nowhere else. Her recent situation could have really brought light to what the WWE is doing to their diva division, which would have been exactly the kind of thing I would want. Here you have another reason I dislike what the WWE is doing by treating this current Raw diva feud between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix like it is a debate. It is burying Gail Kim's situation. The Bellas and all the other divas can point fingers all over the place and praise whoever else they want, but what Gail Kim was doing was genuine. They can ask why the mistreatment is happening, but your answer is found right with Gail Kim. It is not enough to say the WWE does not care about the divas and have mistreated so many women. Someone can come up with reasons to say otherwise. But when you go down to the foundation of what the WWE is really doing, there is no way out for the WWE. They are guilty. And now, they are exploiting the situation, similar to how they did with CM Punk, to get people talking and interested. I hope their ratings come in at a 3.2.