When A+ Leads To Failure

If you are being pushed as an A+ player in the WWE, you are being pushed as an absolute top star. The centerpiece of the company is an A+ player. The centerpiece of the diva division is an A+ player. You even have certain part-timers treated as big deals that can be considered A+ players. You are being hyped and pushed to be the best and be great.

How can such treatment possibly lead to failure? Is it an issue where certain wrestlers can't handle the pressure and just crumble? You might think that. But that is really not the issue. I have never seen an A+ player fail because of that. Various wrestlers have flopped as A+ players for various reasons. Funny thing is, they were actually doing better prior to being pushed so hard or could have done better if they were not pushed so hard. Let me bring up a few names.

John Cena is a good choice to start with. He is obviously the face of the company. He is the centerpiece. He is an A+ player. And he also happens to have an issue connecting with the audience. Certain fans out there hate him with a passion. And it is a large enough number to be noticeable and even get mentioned in promos and storylines. There was a time when Cena was not this hated. In fact, there was a time when he was very popular. That was back in his rapping days on Smackdown. I never liked him, but I will not deny his overness. What went wrong? They made him the centerpiece of the company. They changed his character to something they can hype as someone great that can overcome odds and little children love. People want him to turn heel. I doubt that will really fix him at this stage. Bring back the rapper gimmick? I don't know if that will work, either. How about depushing him slightly? That might kill some of his hate. He won't be as overbearing. In the end, John Cena is an A+ player that brings questionable results.

As far as divas go, there are a few examples. Let me start with Candice Michelle. I don't think fans even realize that she was supposed to be the one following in Trish's footsteps after she retired. The division was revolving around her. Credible jobbers were revolving around her. Because she got injured so much and regressed in her in-ring ability, they gave up on her. Prior to all that, she was sexy and charismatic. She was what you would want an eye-candy periphery diva to be. A lot of divas get over like that. But when you become the centerpiece, you have to wrestle serious matches more frequently. She just couldn't avoid injuries. If they had just kept her as a periphery diva, she could have had a very nice career. Instead, after failing as centerpiece, they never did anything meaningful with her again.

Michelle McCool was also centerpiece of the diva division. She is the only centerpiece since Trish to actually last a while in that position. Her issue wasn't really injuries. Her issue was connecting with the audience. I was looking at some of her matches back in around 2008 last week. She was hotter back than. Aside from that observation, I also saw she was getting some good reactions back then. A or A+ overness? I wouldn't go that far. Overness is about more than just crowd reactions. It is about how much fans are really willing to support you. Besides, if Michelle McCool was really getting A-tier overness, she wouldn't have lost it so easily, especially considering they started to treat her better, not worse. I would say she was showing a respectable B connection with the fans. What went wrong? She just didn't have the charisma to pull it off. Even though she became very solid in the ring, she was not amazing enough to get over and stay over with that. Prior to being pushed as centerpiece, she was pretty much in the spot Torrie Wilson held on Smackdown for a few years. Torrie Wilson was the top periphery diva on a show with no title. She was an A- player. What's wrong with being pushed like that? Nothing. Torrie Wilson got over with the fans and things worked fine. Michelle McCool was doing fine with this type of career. Maybe she never would have connected with the fans as well as Torrie Wilson did, but at least it was better than overpushing her and doing damage to the overall diva division. If she was connecting better with the fans as an A- player, then the fans would have bought into her more naturally when they hyped her up to be the centerpiece.

Let me bring up one last diva. Maryse was the centerpiece on Raw after Candice Michelle. She also looked like she was following in the path of Candice Michelle. Injuries became an issue for her and there were a few matches here and there after her return in 2009 where things got a little awkward. Sometimes, it just looked like she cared too much about showing her character than putting on a good match. How can fans connect with an eye-candy diva as the centerpiece when she cannot maintain a respectable performance in the ring? Instead of completely giving up on her, they pushed her back in the periphery. Not too hard, however. I would say she was a B+ player. I honestly believe she had potential to be better than that. Don't get me wrong, she annoyed me a lot when she was pushed as the centerpiece, especially in her final months as an A+ player, but when she was used differently, then I could enjoy her more. She is very sexy and she has a great character and charisma. She should have been pushed like an A- player. Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler had great careers in the golden age as A- players. And I think Maryse could have been better than them. I am not even talking about looks. She has a personality that stands out more in comparison to Torrie and Stacy. She has the French thing going for her and has a little attitude to her charisma that makes her fun. I am not saying she has the acting depth of Denzel Washington, but she had what it takes to get over. Problem is, trying to push her as the centerpiece just was not the place for her.

I talked about 3 divas and only one guy. Let me bring up Triple H. He was obviously the centerpiece at one time. These days, he is a part-timer. He is a part-timer that can find his way in main events whenever he wants. He is an A+ player. Prior to being pushed as centerpiece, I would say Triple H was connecting well with the fans. DX helped with that. Since being pushed as centerpiece? Well, he hasn't gotten Cena-like reactions. Nothing near that. There are a few fans annoyed with how he seems to hog the spotlight. Mostly smarks. There also seems to be a few wrestlers that are irritated with how A+ Triple H does things. Although it has not really screwed Triple H's connection with the fans too much, would these issues ever exist if Triple H was never pushed as top star and given the power he has? He would still win a few world titles here and there, but he would not be as overbearing as he seems to be to a few people. In the end, I think more people can put up with Triple H in the position he is in than they could put up with John Cena in the position he is in.

Moral of the story? Some people are just better off not being pushed as A+ players. I have brought up individuals that were connecting well with the fans prior to an A+ career ruining it or might have connected with the fans well had that A+ career not come up. Not everyone needs to be the quarterback on a football team or the boss in a company. You can do great from whatever position you hold. In some situations, a person getting an A- career might bring better results than a person getting an A+ career. Did the WWE have a right to push these individuals I brought up as A+ players? Sure, but the problem was not making better decisions when they saw things were not working out right. John Cena should have been depushed long ago. Maryse should have gotten a better career in the periphery than she did end up having. These bad decisions are what have led to the quality of the product going down and workers not being pushed right. Push the right workers in the right positions. If a C+ player in the diva division definitely deserves to be pushed as an A+ player, give her the opportunity. On the other side of that, if the A+ player of your entire company cannot get the job done, take him out of that position.

And That Leaves Kelly Kelly

I've been noticing Smackdown's diva matters being used for the benefit of Raw's diva feud lately. That may not sound too important, and it isn't, but it is a sign of a change in the diva division.

Who is the centerpiece over on Raw? Even though she lost the title, it is Kelly Kelly. Who is the centerpiece over on Smackdown? None. Smackdown has been used to further the feud between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix. No centerpiece, or even interim centerpiece, has been getting attention. When Michelle McCool left, it looked like they would still treat Layla as the center of attention on Smackdown. Raw had Kelly Kelly. Layla got injured. AJ Lee's debut followed. It looked like she would get the spot Layla left. The WWE was working on some kind of angle featuring AJ, Kaitlyn, and Natalya as the faces. Alicia, Tamina, and Rosa were heels. Things sure have changed since then. The biggest change is that Natalya turned heel and joined Beth Phoenix. Whatever feud was brewing there is gone. Smackdown has no true diva feud of its own being furthered. They have Aksana, but that is another topic for another day.

This is somewhat like how things went before separate brands and two distinct titles. Let me just go back to 2008. From the time the Diva's Championship was created, Michelle McCool was the centerpiece of Smackdown, while Candice Michelle, even though she was injured at the time, was centerpiece of Raw. Candice flopped as centerpiece. Raw went a few months without a true centerpiece. Maryse moved to Raw with the Diva's Championship, sending Melina to Smackdown with the Women's Championship. Maryse was Raw's new centerpiece. McCool was still centerpiece of Smackdown, and had pretty much become the main focus of the whole division. Maryse flopped in 2010. The two titles were soon unified under McCool, surprisingly? Through it all, she failed to get over. In a kind of reverse to the bad luck Raw has had with finding a centerpiece since 2008, Smackdown is now the show without a focus. And the WWE does not seem too interested to get one. Using Smackdown to help further Raw's diva feud seems to be working for them. They get to build up more momentum.

The WWE Career Of Mickie James - Part 4

Mickie James received her push at the end of 2007 after the injury of Candice Michelle. She was the most credible face option to work against Beth and keep her fresh. Mickie James ended up being more than that. The "story" of this feud soon became that Mickie James could not defeat Beth Phoenix. The televised match before their PPV title match, Beth Phoenix pinned Mickie. Without gaining any momentum before the PPV title match, Mickie lost again. Mickie lost to Beth several times after this. The WWE had Mickie James cry and act upset about her inability to defeat Beth. This was done to help Beth look stronger and fresher for Candice's eventual return. Mickie James could not take the title from Beth, but could Candice? This would not be the last time they used the tears of Mickie James. Had the WWE pushed this idea consistently, I would be arguing that this all really was done just for Mickie's sake. The WWE has underdog stories like this all the time. Problem is, they did not push Mickie James against Beth consistently.

In a tag match, Mickie teamed with Kelly Kelly to face Beth and Victoria on Raw. Mickie James pinned Victoria to get her first victory against Beth in any type of match for the first time in 2008. Mickie looked re-energized, like she would be closing in on Beth's title after that. Next week on Raw? Mickie James is not seen at all. Candice Michelle, however, makes her return to Raw to cost Beth a match. Mickie James was put back on Heat. Mickie James remained off of Raw until after Wrestlemania, while the WWE pushed "Bunnymania" between Maria and Candice (later replaced by Ashley) as the faces and Beth and Melina as the heels.

Fans wanted to know what happened to Mickie James. Enter the dirtsheets. They said Mickie James was being punished for saying in an interview that the WWE should treat their women more like TNA treats their women. Back then, when I was a little more naive, I bought it. In retrospect, do you know what it sounds like to me? It sounds like Beth Phoenix is pregnant. It sounds like the WWE is in love with Alicia Fox just because she is holding the title at the same time they sign her sister. It sounds like Eve will be a part of a triple-threat match at Summerslam with Alicia and Melina. It sounds like something I might as well flush down the toilet. The real reason Mickie James was depushed? The centerpiece came back. This is how you know the WWE wanted Candice to have the spot. They push everything else aside going on with Beth, putting the two in the same picture again, the day Candice returns. Mickie James really was meant to just hold things down. She did her job, they gave her a trivial win, and they tossed her aside.

Candice got injured again before Wrestlemania. Did they bring back Mickie James to compete at the big PPV? No. Although she is the most credible face diva and was just involved in issues with Beth before Candice returned, they wanted to push Playboy. Ashley gets Candice Michelle's spot in the match. Mickie James remains on Heat, acting as fodder for the heels in the match.

In a meaningless aside, I remember a certain topic in a message board I posted in at this time. The topic creator asked who your favorite diva was on each show. He even counted Heat as a show, even though it was primarily a place for Raw jobbers to get matches. He chose Mickie James as his favorite "Heat diva". A few others did the same thing. That is what the WWE would have liked to have done with Mickie's importance.

With Candice once again injured, and the WWE not yet at the stage where they would give the title to someone like Maria or Ashley, they once again push the woman they used when Candice got injured in 2007. With not many fresh options to work with Beth to keep the belt on her until Candice returned again and Beth not getting over with the title on her, not to mention the fans' support of Mickie James not breaking during her disappearance from Raw, Mickie James won her fourth Women's Championship in England.

I will skip over most of what happened during the actual reign itself. I have no huge complaints or see any great evidence that the WWE was madly in love with Mickie during this reign. It was still a good reign. However, Mickie's romance angle with John Cena led to many rumors that the two dated in real life. So many other rumors against Mickie James have been built on this. For now, I will only say that I am still waiting for a credible, impartial, direct source to confirm any of it. But I will bring it up again. It looks like one of the main reasons for the angle was just to give Mickie something to keep her busy while Melina turned face and feuded with Beth. Like every other angle Mickie James has ever gotten outside the title scene, this romance angle failed. WWE stopped pushing it. It never elevated Mickie James up the card. WWE just used it to push the idea that Mickie was trying to sleep around and keep it secret. Was that supposed to be the payoff, WWE? It accomplished nothing lasting for Mickie's WWE character.

History repeats itself. I said before that I would argue that the WWE intended for Candice Michelle to be a centerpiece because she was a model who became a credible wrestler under their watch, had a very strong build to the title, and most blatantly, had things pushed aside for her benefit when she returned from injury in early 2008. In August, having already lost momentum on the Raw before the PPV, Mickie James lost the Women's Championship back to Beth. Losing a PPV match to Beth Phoenix after not having momentum going into it? History really does repeat itself! Before the end of the month, Candice Michelle, not surprisingly, once again made her triumphant return to Raw. It is no coincidence that the title was put back on Beth, Mickie James received her "gold watch" victory, and Mickie was starting to be depushed again. The WWE were finally going to push Candice against Beth again. Mickie James was no longer that important to them. In fact, when Mickie James did finally get her rematch, the WWE had Candice Michelle sitting at ringside. They announced that whoever won between Beth and Mickie would face Candice. Could they have done anything more to make it obvious who would win? While Beth and Candice are busy looking at each other and laughing it up, Mickie James wastes her time trying to act like a focused challenger. Beth retained the title.

Let me go back a step. Candice Michelle made a fool of herself in her return match. Raw was taped, so most fans never saw the part edited out. This is not one of those instances where the opponent messes up his or her part, making the person executing the move look bad. Candice was not as solid as she used to be. This is the start of the WWE giving up on Candice Michelle as the centerpiece. That is the thing about centerpieces, they do not change like the seasons so trivially. A person has to really mess up for the WWE to really stop pushing them as a true centerpiece. In one year, Candice Michelle got injured, returned and got injured in her first televised match back, and returned and performed poorly against a solid performer, Beth Phoenix, in her first televised match back. She did not regain the WWE's confidence in the time before her title match. She lost and never got a second shot at Beth.

Does that mean the WWE pushes Mickie James hard against Beth again? If Mickie James really was the centerpiece they wanted, and there is already enough of an argument that she was not, she would have gotten that push. Her previous push against Beth was blown off easily in favor of Candice. Mickie James got one title shot, without any build to it, and did not win the title. She was once again just being used as fodder during this period. Since TNA's Awesome Kong was strong in 2008, the WWE continued pushing Beth hard as an answer to that. They had already bought out Gail Kim. Who would be the main face they push against Beth? They would stall until Melina returned from injury.

The WWE did not reinvest in Mickie James. They mainly treated her as a face diva on the same level as Candice and Kelly Kelly on Raw. They did place Mickie in the storyline between Jamie Noble and William Regal and Layla, but what did that do for her? She never got mic time, did not get adequate focus on her or her real involvement in the feud, and most surprisingly, their was never a televised mixed tag between these people. The feud just got forgotten as William Regal went on to win the Intercontinental Championship. Another failed angle for Mickie James. The WWE did not care to develop her, elevate her, or even keep her that fresh.

Despite being in the midst of this depush, Mickie James won the 2008 Cyber Sunday costume contest. Fans chose her two years in a row. She won over Women's Champion Beth Phoenix and her monster push, Diva's Champion Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, Kelly Kelly, Maryse, and other women, some of whom the WWE had invested more into in 2008. Speaking of depushes and fans choosing anything, the WWE had a poll on their website for an event they made up called "All-Diva's Day" in early 2008, prior to Wrestlemania. Fans voted for their favorite divas throughout the day. At the end, the final three left were Maria, who was in the midst of her Playboy push, Kelly Kelly, who had gained attention from dancing on ECW, and Mickie James, who was off Raw and exiled on Heat at the time. Mickie James won that poll too. My point? The WWE has no excuse. They knew how over Mickie James was. Nevertheless, they pushed her only when they had to in early 2008, depushed her when the person they were high on came back, then use Mickie James as just an extra body for tag matches and jobbing for the rest of the year. You want to tell me this is the woman they were in love with?

There you have Mickie's fourth title reign. It is clear that she was not the first choice for the push. She was not the intended centerpiece. If she was, she would not have been depushed as she was the two times the same woman returned to Raw in 2008 to claim a title feud against Beth Phoenix. If she was, she would have regained the feud, not necessarily the title, after Candice was depushed. If she was, and since the WWE knew she was over, they would have invested more in elevating her or keeping her fresh outside the title feuds. All she got were angles that never saw a finish and created rumors that damaged her character. It didn't matter. Mickie James was already very over before her title reign in 2008, meaningless rub from Cena, and in between all these attempts to bury her.

The WWE Career Of Mickie James - Part 3

After Mickie James lost the Women's Championship to Melina, she won it back in a triple threat match at a house show in France. She lost it back in that same show. Why? They say the title was not supposed to change hands in the first place. With the buzz already spreading, the WWE decided to acknowledge the change anyway. What else are they going to do? Admit wrestling is fake the next Raw and they didn't book the change? Not going to happen. Mickie James held the title for a shorter period that any other person. Nevertheless, this title reign was never supposed to happen. So much symbolism in that. It was never supposed to happen.

This installment of my analysis of Mickie's WWE career is supposed to last until roughly when her feud with Beth in 2007 starts. Aside from the title reign I just mentioned, what really happened for Mickie James that is worth note until then? She feuded with Melina after Melina finished with Ashley's Playboy push, but that seems to have been just an intermediary or filler feud for Melina's sake until the WWE started building Candice Michelle.

Candice Michelle. A sexy model-type who improved her wrestling ability while in the WWE. That is pretty much one of the chief qualities the WWE looks for when trying to figure out who they want as a centerpiece. I do believe the WWE intended to make her a centerpiece. Aside from the strong build she got before winning the title, the real evidence comes the following year.

If the feud with Melina was meant to do something lasting for Mickie James, her push would have continued in some clear way. It looks like they just fed Melina more credibility and momentum before eventually using her as well. While Melina was getting used to put over Candice, Mickie James got nothing worth note at all. She became a sidekick face diva. She would partner now and then with Candice. She would wrestle on Heat against heels even further down the ladder. Imagine Gail Kim for most of her time since she returned to Raw. Imagine how Melina is being treated right now. She is doing nothing meaningful now. The only time you have seen her in televised action recently is when she wrestles on Superstars, which is pretty much on the same level as Heat. See these instances of face tools being used weakly? That is what the WWE would have wished to turn Mickie James into. They did not completely toss her aside at this time. I do not think they realized how over Mickie really was or how difficult it would be for other women to get that overness, including Candice Michelle's fall from grace.

During this time, I recall a blogger writing that Mickie James was not getting pushed better because she was not pushing herself hard enough. Incorrect interpretation. She is a sidekick. In most tag matches in which she teams with Candice, it is Candice who is meant to really shine. The commentators will be talking mostly about her, not Mickie. If Mickie does too much to take the spotlight, that will not make the WWE happy. Moreover, her matches on Heat are minor, not seen by all the fans, and against women who do not have much development or story attached to them at that time at all. The WWE would toss these small bones which they know will not do too much in really building a diva. It is the hype from promos, major wins, and from the commentators, and any other source I am forgetting, which the WWE really uses to build who they want to push. Lack of this could potentially bury a very over talent.

Mickie James could not be buried. Summerslam 2007. WWE booked a huge diva battle royal to start the monster push of Beth Phoenix. Candice Michelle, Women's Champion, sat at ringside and just watched. Aside from the obvious silence Beth got after winning, what really surprised me was the reaction the fans gave when Mickie James was eliminated. Those boos were noticeable. No, they did not boo because they hate Mickie. They would be cheering at her being eliminated if they did. They were on her side. This was not a Richmond crowd or in an arena very near to Mickie's hometown. Mickie James was still over.

After that night, still nothing special arose right away for Mickie James. Candice feuded with Beth. Mickie was given an angle with Trevor Murdoch, who was a Tag-Team Champion at the time. Trevor saved Mickie from getting hurt, Mickie tried to thank him and be nice a few times, Trevor's partner, Lance Cade, got in the way, and nothing else really came of it. Failed angle. Never saw a legitimate finish. Meanwhile, Beth wins the title and Candice gets injured in the rematch. They still did not rush a feud between the two.

Cyber Sunday 2007 featured a costume contest for the divas. The fans decided the winner. Mickie James won, getting more votes than divas which included Torrie Wilson, Kelly Kelly, Maria, Michelle McCool (surprising, isn't it?), and so on. Was Mickie James the sexiest diva there? I am a Mickie James fan, but even I know that a lot of fans would find Kelly Kelly more sexy, especially with the costume she was wearing. Was Mickie's costume revealing enough or very awesome? That is somewhat subjective. Was Mickie still a psycho lesbian for the past few months? Aside from just her kiss + kick finisher she just started using around this time, no. Mickie James won because she was the most popular diva in the WWE. If the WWE did not know that for sure by the reactions Mickie would get, this had to be a wake up call.

The WWE slowly started building up Mickie by putting focus back on her as the main face diva. After about six months of nothing to keep her monster over, Mickie finally gets a push. Do not confuse the real reason the WWE did it. They did it because Candice was injured. Unlike what that blogger I mentioned before might like to believe, I do not see Mickie "pushing herself" more in the weeks prior to her push. She was working just as hard. They did not push Mickie because she won the costume contest either. Aside from being that popular, Mickie James was the most credible face diva on Raw to work with Beth. Sound familiar? Like the same rationale I pointed out as to why Mickie James worked with Lita in 2006?

Mickie's psycho gimmick had been gone for a year. She still maintained overness in 2007, getting consistently good reactions at events, and winning a costume contest which was basically based on overness. Some people make the argument that Mickie was only over because of that psycho lesbian gimmick. I already pointed out the flaw in that no other diva has ever become monster over from just a lesbian, psycho, or fan stalker gimmick, or any combination of that, in the past. Now you have the fact that many women were being pushed in Mickie's place. If sex appeal, what many people argue was the source of what made the psycho gimmick work, really was the key, why could Kelly Kelly not get those monster pops and win the costume contest? She came in second. With the way the WWE treated Mickie James, she was yesterday's news. What kept Mickie being over? Two things. First, the fans will not forget that easily. Thing is, many wrestlers have had great gimmicks that got them over, went through a depush and usually became more generic, and the fans just stopped caring. This is especially the case when the wrestler is treated as a jobber, not given the mic very much, and has other workers pushed ahead of them. Yes, Mickie James pretty much went through this stuff, but what really saved her? The second point, Mickie James was still bringing something the fans liked to see. They took away her gimmick, but they could not take away her charisma. They could not take her energy. They could not take away that she was an actual wrestler. She pushed herself. This is why Mickie James could not be buried.

2007 was not a remarkable year for Mickie James in terms of how the WWE pushed her, but you can learn a lot from looking at it. This was the year Mickie James got her first real depush. Why? The WWE was moving on to find a centerpiece. This was the first year after Mickie's psycho run, and she still remained over. How? Through her own doing more than the WWE's. The WWE certainly was not treating Mickie James as a major priority or centerpiece, and it didn't even matter. When they needed to push her again, she already had the overness to make the fans care, and they started to put the focus back on her. It did not last long.