The Punjabi Princess

The Great Khali, Hornswoggle, and Natalya. An odd team. They have been together for a number of weeks now. Hornswoggle and Khali have actually teamed up. Natalya has just been inserted in there. This is obviously not something that will do too much for the diva division, but it would be scary if the WWE tried to do something with the tag division with this team.

What does this mean for Natalya? Are they developing her to be a periphery diva? I don't think so. First, there is no real development for her. Second, she is not exactly paired with a guy that is being pushed well. The Great Khali has not been relevant in years. He beats jobbers under him, but is frequently used to put over stars above him. Third, I cannot imagine the WWE being consistent with Natalya after this team breaks up. Consistency is one of the main things to look at when figuring out what kind of career a diva is getting. Go back to when Victoria had that long partnership with Stevie Richards. How would you compare Stevie Richards back then to The Great Khali now? Regardless, Victoria didn't get another good relationship with a superstar after that. Victoria was an obvious credible jobber, much like Natalya. This isn't Natalya's first time paired with the guys, but DH Smith and Tyson Kidd were not exactly pushed well for years. Getting to the point, going back to the original question, what does this mean for Natalya? Don't get your expectations up for anything too great.

It is still good that Natalya is getting featured, even though the development is not there to help her get over. Just like the WWE did more with the divas during their first dark age, you had to wonder how long it would take for them to do it now. That dark age started after the centerpiece left the company and they did not have a proper replacement already on the roster. This dark age came about after years of failure to recreate a good centerpiece. Even though they have a solid centerpiece now, I wouldn't say the problem solved until Eve has really solidified herself in that position. Beyond that, they have a shortage of good credible jobbers. Natalya is one of the good ones. Using her against Eve would not be enough to fix things and get out of this dark age, but I would not be surprised to see them feud in time. Kaitlyn will most likely win the title, but Eve will regain it in time. After that, unless they make the better decision of debuting someone fresh, Natalya is a good choice to feud with Eve. Until then, Natalya is benefiting in this current dark age by getting some periphery angles.

And what about Khali and Hornswoggle? Could you imagine them winning the tag titles? It obviously doesn't look like the WWE will head in that direction, but this tag division revival is slowing even further with only two teams getting the main spotlight. The WWE just cannot bring themselves to use The Usos or The Colons better. Jobber teams. The WWE has now formed another random team with Khali and Hornswoggle. If this trio ever feuds with 3MB, Natalya would make Jinder Mahal tap in under a minute.

And The Anonymous Raw GM Is...

The biggest disappointment of 2012 for me is still Chris Jericho's return, but the WWE's revealing of Hornswoggle as the Anonymous GM from over a year ago is definitely a good candidate for second place. Hornswoggle? Could Jinder Mahal not fit under the ring? On the one hand, I should be happy that they actually brought closure to that storyline. It could have easily have ended up as one of those phased out and forgotten storylines that get made fun of years later.

If you think about it, it is senseless. Vince McMahon chose Hornswoggle to run the show? Vince feuded with Hornswoggle years before that. And Hornswoggle was playing a heel GM? While being a face character? He even cost Jerry Lawler a win on Raw this week. It really is just crazy.

Thankfully, it seems very unlikely that the WWE will choose this little guy as a permanent GM. This whole thing was obviously just comedy. So who will become permanent GM? If not Paul Heyman as part of the feud with Triple H and Brock Lesnar, Teddy Long still seems like the safest choice. Right now, he is just around. He has no real purpose. Vickie is a manager. The WWE can try to make Teddy a manager again, but the GM role just suits him better. Of course, that would not be a controversial or surprise option. I am not going to list all the possibilities there. I will only say, it would be the stupidest decision in the world if they did go with Hornswoggle.

Be Thankful It Isn't A Midget

The good? Otunga and McGillicutty are still being used regularly after losing the tag titles. The WWE could push some people even less worthy than these two.

The bad? They are being humiliated and jobbing. The WWE continues to have this idea pushed that they are boring. With the way they are having them job to Lawler and a mystery partner so much, this reminds me of Chavo Guerrero and his "feud" with Hornswoggle. Chavo looked like a complete joke. I am expecting Hornswoggle to be used to humiliate Otunga and McGillicutty sooner or later too. Why not? The longer this goes on, the more likely it will happen.

I was expecting a little better when it first looked like a feud would be starting between these two heels and Lawler, but there is no one to blame for my expectations not being met but me. This is the WWE. Then again, at least it is some kind of storyline. And I do like that they are at least giving them some time to talk. Too many diva feuds have I seen that were a lot more linear and boring than this. The WWE might even bring in a good surprise to be Lawler's partner eventually. A legend? That might actually make things a little more interesting. Yes, the idea of who the mystery partner of the week will be can interest some fans, but only if it is sometimes someone more than a regular WWE guy. Ryder is a jobber and Sheamus has his own thing going on right now. There is still some potential here, but I am not liking what it means for the two heels involved.

Everything Evens Out In The End

Now that all the names have been traded around, and ignoring any bodies that may not make it to their new homes or make it just to be released soon after, I seem to notice two directions things may be going.

First, I know a lot of people will claim Smackdown is dead now. Others will say that Smackdown is now free to make new stars. I am in the latter camp. In case you missed it, Smackdown lost both Edge and Jericho. That was the Smackdown main event at Wrestlemania. Undertaker does not work a full schedule anymore. Who are your top faces and top heels? The answer is that they will have to rotate men who they have been using in the upper-midcard recently, like CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. Jack Swagger will continue to be pushed. Too soon for him? That is another issue. You can now potentially see the rise of Kofi Kingston or Christian, who were drafted themselves. Big Show, hopefully, will not be treated as some guy's tag partner. Whether he ever wins a World title soon or not, he belongs closer in the title hunt. This should be fresh.

Over on Raw, John Cena now has fresh, or slightly fresh, heels to overcome. Jericho is back. Edge looks to be starting a feud with Orton. Edge is heel again so fast? Both of these guys know what it is like to lose to Cena in title matches. Sheamus has never been pinned or made to submit to Cena in a televised match. Batista is focused on losing to Cena three pay-per-views in a row. The other guys sent to Raw, like Morrison and R-Truth, will fit in nicely in the midcard for now. Their characters may fit well with guest host crap or other segments and storylines. I cannot picture either of these two faces winning the WWE title so soon on a show that still has John Cena, Randy Orton, and Triple H on the roster. It may not be really fresh once you think about it, but at least Raw is stacked with big guys.

Now for the second direction. It may not be mutually exclusive to what I just said. One may feed off the other in some way. Thing is, I feel the two shows may now be balancing out. Raw just gained some guys who can wrestle a good match and are allowed to do so regularly. Hart Dynasty? I cannot picture them being wasted. The WWE cannot be that stupid. I am sure they must allow those two guys to raise the bar a bit. However, Santino is still around too. Over on Smackdown, comedy gold may be heading there. Hornswoggle? Reunion with Finlay? New push for Finlay? It could happen. Smackdown lost Khali to Raw. That somewhat negates the idea that Raw will feature good wrestling. Smackdown will definitely help good wrestlers who have been broken a bit on Raw, like MVP. But will Raw do the same for the good talent it just gained? I feel, or want to feel, that it must. Santino will still be doing his act on Raw. I look forward to seeing how far Hornswoggle will go on Smackdown. Did I forget to mention that his favorite personal jobber, Chavo is heading there too? Yeah, that doesn't make me too hopeful for Smackdown.

Maybe what I am trying to say is more clear if you consider the Smackdown diva division. Natalya is going to Raw. From Raw, Smackdown gains Rosa Mendes, plus Kelly Kelly, who moved on Monday. Two women without real wrestling experience take the place of one woman with wrestling experience? Natalya is definitely a step up for the Raw division, depending on how they treat her. But Smackdown? Raw was the show for crappy diva matches and segments. Smackdown focused on serious action and better developed angles. Can you see how Natalya does not seem to fit into the past Raw landscape? Two eye-candy divas going over to Smackdown do not fit that landscape. Why? I think it is stupid. Outside of the two women already involved in the title feud on Smackdown, I cannot easily suggest who can step in after one of them steps out, based on wrestling credibility and current angles going on. How much longer will Serena be tied into SES? I can say that Rosa will be released soon, but how much will that really fix? Is Raw good now that Natalya is there? Is Smackdown bad now that Rosa is there? In some way, have things just been evened out a bit?

Overall, the landscape has been changed. You have to admit that. Fresh stars can be pushed on Smackdown to become main-eventers (again). Built main-eventers can now face each other in matches that should not be too hard to hype over on Raw. The bar may have been raised in some ways. This past Raw featured many good matches. That can be a new norm? I won't hold my breath. The diva division seems like crap. This is where the landscape was not really changed. None of the women moved have ever held a title in the WWE. None of them are consistently featured in title feuds. None of them have proper spotlight on them regularly at all. Nothing was shaken up. Am I wrong? Then again, why bother taking diva matters seriously? They are not the main draw.