Summer Rae Gets Her Feet Wet and The Devil Made Him Do It

The issue the WWE had in the diva division recently was not developing a variety of diva angles outside of just the title matters. I thought they should get the title off AJ and move her onto another angle, which would lead to both AJ and Brie Bella getting separate angles. The WWE didn't go that route, but they did make a good move.

Summer Rae and Mr. Summer Rae have recently entered a little feud with The Great Khali and Natalya. This is Summer Rae's first real diva feud since debuting alongside Fandango. Considering this is a woman they may eventually want to develop as the centerpiece, it was bound to happen sooner or later that she would get a diva feud.

I wouldn't say things will now skyrocket for Summer Rae. This has not exactly been too serious of a feud. But if they like what they see, they may eventually start pushing her in the diva division more consistently. She will eventually ditch Fandango. Will they give her an even bigger angle in the periphery? That is something to look out for. They may want to actually get her over as more than just a beautiful woman prior to tossing the title at her.

Let's do a little comparison to the first dark age of the diva division. To whom would I compare Summer Rae and Natalya? Summer Rae is obviously comparable to Trish Stratus. Some people might want to smack me for comparing the greatest diva ever to a woman that dances around Fandango. Keep in mind Trish debuted as a valet/manager during the first dark age. She was a periphery eye-candy diva. That is what Summer Rae is now. Just like Trish developed her wrestling ability, so will Summer Rae. What about Natalya? I would say she is comparable to Molly Holly. During the first dark age, Molly Holly benefited from getting angles in the periphery. She was alongside Hardcore Holly & Crash Holly, had a romance angle with Spike Dudley, and ended up with Hurricane Helms. Once the dark age ended, they did not remain consistent with her in the periphery and she was used as a credible jobber. During this dark age, Natalya has been alongside The Great Khali. He has not exactly been pushed too well, but you have at least seen Natalya on TV more often than if she had not gotten this angle. Prior to this dark age, Natalya has been pushed as a credible jobber. Even though she was a part of The Hart Dynasty, she has never been developed to be a periphery diva. Being a periphery diva means you are actually being developed or featured in the periphery to be a star, not just paired with the guys for a few months, then phased out. And of course, Natalya has been a part of the extracurricular activity that is Total Divas. You can say that Natalya has been treated worse than Molly Holly during their respective time in the dark ages, but you can say she is treated a little better in some ways. In the end, I would say the two women are comparable. Molly Holly just seemed to benefit from a stronger midcard back then that is not here now.

This has been a busy week, so I am going to cover another topic today. How about that Bray Wyatt? I am not going to say too much about Kane, which will definitely be a topic for another day, but if they were willing to repackage him now, why not do it as part of his storyline with Bray Wyatt? That is what a lot of people were anticipating and wanted to see how it would turn out.

His angle with Kane seems done. His feud with Miz seems like it may not go anywhere. On Raw, they had The Wyatts attack both Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Daniel Bryan is coming off that feud against The Authority. CM Punk looks to be just about done with Paul Heyman. Why just randomly go in this direction? I hardly believe an injury to Curtis Axel caused them to shift everything around like this. Daniel Bryan has an obvious reason to still be involved in the main storyline because of what Shawn Michaels did to him. I don't like CM Punk's feud with Heyman ending here. Even if they did want to split Kane away from The Wyatts, why not have Wyatt just continue feuding with Miz? As the sun seems to be setting on The Shield, which look to be having some friction, enter The Wyatts to be henchmen that randomly attack different people?

I would say this is another example of overshadowing. The larger corporate angle has been making it difficult to keep other storylines and feuds going at an interesting level. That corporate angle looks to have stolen Kane. And "The Devil" made Wyatt do it? If it turns out The Wyatts are soon going to be used as henchmen for The Authority, which would be stupid due to their weird gimmick, that is just more overshadowing. Is all this just to set up a Survivor Series tag match? Whatever the case may be, I am back to not having high hopes for The Wyatts.

Injured Cena Wins, Then Wins Again

John Cena returned at Hell in a Cell and took the World's Heavyweight Championship from Alberto Del Rio. The story was the typical Cena match. Could injured Cena overcome a vicious foe? Yep.

The fun didn't stop there. On Raw, the first 30 minutes were devoted to Cena. After his return promo, Damien Sandow cashed in on him, after brutalizing Cena's injury even further. Could a hurting, one-armed Cena possibly overcome a fresh and unexpected threat to his title? Yep.

This is the kind of thing that might make you want to change the channel to the World Series or Monday Night Football. There were also some horror movies on, if you like that kind of thing. The only reason I had to look forward to seeing Cena return was a fresh player coming into the major storylines. Instead of getting some of that, you get Cena overcoming the odds. If they do have him wrestling on a regular basis, I hope all his matches aren't focused on his opponents exploiting the injury, then Cena pulling off the win in the end.

What does this mean for Sandow? He is the second man to cash in and fail to walk away with the title. But look at the first man to fail and the match in which he failed. It was John Cena, who had held World titles multiple times prior to getting the briefcase and went on to win the title again after that failure to cash in and win. And Cena wasn't even pinned or submitted in that match. Big Show interfered. Sandow is actually the first man to get beaten when he tried to cash in. Couldn't have happened to a better guy? Sandow could have been the first brand-new World Champion in almost 2 years. They weren't developing him very well for it, so it is not shocking to see him not get the title. Many might say that he didn't deserve it. Fact is, if they had developed him better, not as many people would be saying that. Do I think Sandow will eventually get the proper build to be a World Champion and get the title run? Personally, I don't see it happening. Still, would be nice if they eventually gave this guy some kind of midcard title run.

Cena comes one step closer to tying and breaking Ric Flair's record for most major World title wins. Ric Flair's official record is at 16. It doesn't seem likely that Cena is going to retire in a few months. It doesn't seem like the WWE is souring on him in the main-event scene. He will definitely take the record. That has a lot of fans talking about whether he deserves it. Some say he is not as good as Ric Flair. Some say he deserves it because he is the top guy. Some say it doesn't matter because title reigns are meaningless. Pro wrestling is a funny business. Wrestlers typically "make history" by having it booked for them. There is a slim chance that an injury or botched finished can screw them out of what they were booked to get, but it happens not that frequently. So should you make too much out of these records? Is it all trivial? Let me say this, if a wrestler goes out there and accomplishes something for the company or industry that sets him apart from his peers in a major, positive way, he deserves to be booked to make history. Is he a top draw? Is he amazingly over? Has he introduced a style that is revolutionizing the industry? Is he truly paving the way for future stars that are influenced by what he did? If you are only getting booked to make history because the bookers want people to think you are that great, then it really isn't an honor. It is a tool to get you over. Moreover, I don't think people should be booked to break major records just because they are a solid worker or just because they were a loyal worker. Hand them a midcard title, but save the better treatment for those who earned it by excelling. Getting right to the point, do I think Cena deserves to break Ric Flair's record? Going by what I just said, whether you like him or not, Cena is a top star in the company. One of those little kids that love him so much may grow up to be the next big star in pro wrestling. I am not going to be upset if Cena breaks the record. This is coming from a true Ric Flair fan. Cena breaking that record won't make me prefer Cena over Flair, but Cena is definitely someone who has earned making history.

Kane Returns At Hell In A Cell

You don't have to wonder when Kane will be returning any longer. He returned at Hell in a Cell to attack The Wyatts. And Miz.

No new gimmick or aligning with The Wyatts for Kane. This is a mediocre way to further the feud. Go back a few months. The Wyatts took Kane out for a short period. He came back to get his revenge and this led to a match against Bray Wyatt, which Wyatt won. They then took Kane out, again. He was out for a longer period this time. How does he return? Just like he did the first time? They had the opportunity to take this storyline to an interesting direction. They are not making the most out of Bray Wyatt's gimmick.

Is there still a chance of them making some kind of storyline swerve? How about Kane attacking Miz? Heel turn? More like Kane being Kane. What if Bray Wyatt once again gets a win over Kane, then they choose to have Kane join them? I feel like if they were going in that direction, pulling the trigger last night would have been the right time. I am not getting my hopes up for this one.

How Long Until Cena Faces The Authority?

John Cena returns at Hell in a Cell. But I am not really going to be previewing his match against Alberto Del Rio. I am going to look ahead. CM Punk is not the only guy you can anticipate eventually getting involved against the corporate heels, The Authority. How about Cena?

John Cena was involved in this major storyline when it first got started. It all started with Vince McMahon not thinking Daniel Bryan was good enough to be the WWE Champion. John Cena was the WWE Champion at the time and the guy that picked Daniel Bryan to get the title shot. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were faces back then, but have since turned heel and picked up Vince's mentality. John Cena is coming back to get a title shot against Alberto Del Rio, who has not really been involved in the major storyline too much. John Cena had a rematch coming to him for the WWE Championship, but that is not the only reason to get Cena involved in this storyline. This storyline just screams for a guy with Cena's character to get involved and stand with Daniel Bryan against the heels. It is only a matter of time after his return that Cena does get back into that storyline.

What is one way things can go down? Survivor Series is coming up. Why not speculate on another big tag match they can make? Team Cena vs. Team Orton. What would it mean for Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship and Cena to win the World's Heavyweight Championship, then they both captain their own teams to face each other? Randy Orton & The Shield vs. John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Goldust, and Cody Rhodes. If you want, you can stick Alberto Del Rio with the heels. Let the faces get Dolph Ziggler. What about Alberto Del Rio's rematch? Either book that for a Raw or Smackdown prior to Survivor Series or save for after the event. I think this can be a great main event. You still have Triple H vs. Big Show and CM Punk's feud with Paul Heyman to also go on the card, plus diva action and other filler matches. And if Cena isn't really 100% ready to go yet, a big tag match might be right for him.

I am actually looking forward to Cena getting involved in the big storyline. I am not a Cena fan. I just feel that the corporate angle has gotten very stale in the last few weeks. Not to take anything away from what Daniel Bryan and The Shield can do in the ring, but I am a little bored of seeing them so much in the main-event scene. That is the same problem people have with Cena, and I'm saying he is the guy to make things fresh with this current storyline? It would be a change of pace, if nothing else. And the thing about how they book Cena, at least they would rotate the heels feuding against him. The Shield have been doing the same thing and being featured in the main spotlight for a long time now, even before they aligned with The Authority. They are stale. I am not criticizing them as much as I am the WWE's handling of them. If the WWE had done a better job of developing more heels to be a part of the group, things would be better. It cannot just be The Shield and Randy Orton. Daniel Bryan is also getting stale. His whole story has been about proving people that don't believe in him wrong and beating up The Shield. They need something different to mix things up a little. How ironic is it that something different might end up being the same old thing from John Cena?

AJ Lee Vs. Brie Bella At Hell In A Cell

Not surprisingly, the title feud between AJ Lee and Brie Bella will continue to Hell in a Cell. Getting right to it, who should win? I still believe they should move the title onto Brie Bella. I think it is less likely that they will run some angle where Daniel Bryan has to choose between costing Brie the title and the WWE title, but having a face diva holding the title will be more interesting for the major storyline currently going on, especially given the relationship between Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan.

As for AJ Lee, I really think they can do more with her than just title feuds, regardless of whether she keeps the title or not. Go back a few weeks to when she was out with an injury. It was just one week with her not there, but the booking was sloppy and unfocused. It was obvious filler. If the WWE starts doing a better job of developing more diva angles, you limit the risk of things getting messy should something happen to one of the divas in the main angle. Brie Bella getting the title does not mean AJ Lee is done. Have AJ Lee really become a part of The Authority (corporate heels). Have her get paired with another top heel in the men's division. You can even have her feud with Tamina for a while. This is a woman they developed to be a success and they are not going to ditch her that easily. It may take them a while to come up with something, if they have not already, but she will end up somewhere good. And they need to spread it around. If AJ and Brie are the two women they are focused on featuring well, then for the sake of making the diva division interesting and not putting yourself in a position for an easy collapse, both of them should be treated well.

One last thing, some AJ fans may not want to see her title reign end now or to Brie Bella. You have to look at what's best for the diva division. Face it, now is not a time when they are interested in featuring great title feuds in the division. Just about everything of interest for almost the entire year has been in the periphery. If the WWE keeps the title on AJ, I don't think it is a safe bet to believe they will develop these solid women's wrestling feuds over the title that these kind of fans would love to get. AJ may be someone they want over, but the other divas on the roster may not be pushed well against her in title feuds. You are in a dark age. The WWE is not trying to get themselves out of it. They are not likely to make things look respectable, but that does not mean that they won't develop interesting angles. I think AJ fans should want her pushed in an interesting manner than have her hold a title and get these dry feuds.

Miz Finds A Worthy Foe

I think it is a step up from a filler push from Fandango. I am talking about Miz's current feud with Bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt wasn't doing anything too important. Miz wasn't feuding with anyone. Why not stick the two together?

Let me tell you why I like this feud. First, there is an actual storyline and the reason for this feud isn't that random. Bray Wyatt did a good job of putting over why he doesn't like Miz in his promos. Second, I buy Bray Wyatt more easily than Fandango. Bray Wyatt enters this feud having never lost yet. Fandango did not have that heading into his feud with The Miz. The fact that they can sell that Wyatt took out Kane is another bonus for his credibility. Third, I have a feeling that Bray Wyatt won't get lost in the shuffle after this feud. That is what happened with Fandango. If they had been consistent with him, I would say the purpose of the feud was to build up his credibility. They weren't. I just had a feeling it would be filler. With this feud between Wyatt and Miz, it is likely Wyatt will win to continue his momentum. Meanwhile, I doubt Miz will get buried away after this feud.

And where is Kane? Just like Kane's return a few years ago was a popular topic, people wanting to know when Kane is coming back this time are visiting my blog off those searches. I even had one person search something like "did bray wyatt kill kane?' and end up on my blog. No, Kane is not dead. He was making a movie. I read somewhere that he finished it. That would lead me to say that Kane should be coming back sooner rather than later. And because Kane getting involved again with Bray Wyatt when he returns seems so likely, that is another reason for Bray Wyatt to win the feud with Miz and not get buried away after. Depending on how they follow through with things, it looks like the WWE is taking this Wyatt angle back in a good direction.

Has CM Punk Found Yet Another Friend?

If the WWE is planning to have the Punk/Heyman feud lead to a big tag match at Survivor Series, CM Punk may have found another member for his team. Big E Langston turned face on Smackdown last week to stand with CM Punk against Heyman's guys.

Is this a good thing for Big E? Obviously, in terms of a short-term push, this is great thing for the guy. However, in terms of the long-term potential of what will likely happen, I would not expect too much. How many years now has the WWE had an issue with keeping the ball rolling properly with midarders? Even though Big E is getting pushed and a part of a storyline, he is merely a supporting player in someone else's storyline. Don't make too much of that.

Should he win the Intercontinental Championship from Curtis Axel? I wouldn't be surprised if he did, but I would have chosen to give it to R-Truth. Big E is still in his rookie year on the main roster. R-Truth as never held this title before and he has been almost as solid a midcarder as Kofi Kingston. Do more with R-Truth. Big E will still have time to solidify his overness. If they rush the title on him, I can picture things going for him as they did Big Zeke. Remember his run with the Intercontinental Championship? No? If they do give Big E the title, hopefully they make his reign a little more memorable.

Does The WWE Title Find A Home At Hell In A Cell?

The feud between CM Punk and Paul Heyman isn't the only major storyline that might or might not find some closure at Hell in a Cell. Will the WWE Championship finally go to either Daniel Bryan or Randy Orton? This will be a Hell in a Cell match, which I mentioned before usually have that idea of closure. If that wasn't enough, Shawn Michaels, the special guest ref, has promised a Champion.

Just because the conditions are right for one of these two guys to finally get back the title, that doesn't mean it has to happen. They can still come up with some crazy way to have this match end without a clear winner. They could prolong this until Survivor Series. Some fans are talking about doing a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. It has been done before. I don't think they need to repeat that story here, even if they felt they had the depth to run with that properly.

Do I think a new Champion will be crowned at this PPV? Yes. I am not one of those people that think that having no WWE Champion is leading to bad ratings. However, I don't think that running this storyline is actually drawing interest. It isn't hurting things, but it isn't helping. I don't think the storyline here has been developed as best as it could. The title has been vacated. You would expect a certain vibe of uncertainty over what is going to happen. I just feel like it is being overshadowed by other things. The Rhodes angle and Big Show drama have been getting better focus recently. They might as well put the title on someone and carry things to another direction in the feud at Survivor Series. Have the person that wins the title have a final rematch against the loser, make them captains of teams for a big tag match, or whatever.

Shawn Michaels will be a wildcard. Will he call it down the middle? Or will he turn heel and side with his buddy, Triple H? I think you would have a better chance of Shawn Michaels going heel than John Cena. Of course, this match doesn't need any big swerve. As I mentioned before, the WWE is treating other angles well that can draw interest for them. In addition, you have Cena being hyped to return. There is no need to get too tricky with Shawn Michaels.

Does Punk/Heyman End At Hell In A Cell?

The issues between CM Punk and Paul Heyman continue on to another pay-per-view. At Hell in a Cell it will be CM Punk vs. both Ryback and Paul Heyman inside Hell in a Cell. Is this where the feud ends?

Hell in a Cell matches used to be the kind of match that mark the climax of a feud. That is probably the only real reason to think that it will end here. It has lost that big feel over the years. And is the cell supposed to be what keeps Heyman in and Curtis Axel and any other potential Heyman guys out? It has been proven over the years that people not meant to be inside the cell can still get in and the guys involved in the match can somehow get out.

There is one big reason why this should not be the end of the feud. You have Survivor Series right around the corner. That is one of the biggest PPVs for the WWE. What better place to end it or make things even more interesting? Hell in a Cell isn't at much of a throwaway PPV as Battleground, where it just seemed too obvious that nothing was going to be ended there, but the feud just doesn't seem like it is ready to end so easily.

Does another Heyman guy debut? The last time Punk was close to beating Paul Heyman at a match, Ryback entered the picture. This time around, it wouldn't be hard to picture some other Heyman supporter finding his way inside the cell and costing Punk the match. Will it be Brock Lesnar? Another star returning from injury? Someone from NXT? Curtis Axel? Probably not Axel. Time to raise the bar, not lower it.

Another reason I don't think this feud is going to end, the emotion just isn't there. CM Punk seems too jolly. The momentum isn't really against him. The WWE still has time to change that before the PPV, but the feud just doesn't seem like it has reached that moment for it to end. I still find it disappointing that the feud doesn't have the same fire that it once had. They did get creative on Monday to decide the stipulation, but that does not overshadow the emotion. The WWE may not make the feel of this feud as intense as it once was, but I still don't think it ends at Hell in a Cell.

Creative Interest

Just a little talk about analyzing the diva division in general this time. Before I go into that, the last time I talked about the diva division, I was bringing up the main issues that had been causing the division to look sloppy recently. I went on and on, so it might have gotten confusing what I meant. Just want to make it clear what I was doing. There are two problems. First, the WWE is not spreading interest around properly with various divas. Second, the WWE does not have a strong foundation with women with good wrestling credibility to at least help to keep things looking respectable. The first problem is comparable to putting all your eggs in one basket. The second is comparable to relying on a basket that isn't strong. Just in case the comparisons confused people, just know that my overall point is the lack of developing multiple diva angles properly and not having good wrestling credibility.

When I analyze the career a diva is getting to understand what the WWE is doing with them, the three things I look at are consistency, hype, and character/storyline development. If the WWE wants a diva over, they are going to develop them with focus in those three categories. I know I have brought up those three things before at least once somewhere. I just want to change a bit of the terminology. Character/storyline development? That is a little wordy and lengthy. I am going to start calling that creative interest or creative investment. If the WWE wants someone to be a major success, they are definitely going to unleash the writers to come up with ideas for that person.

What is the difference between hype and creative interest? The way I use it when I analyze, hype is more about putting over someone as great or certain qualities they have as great, while creative investment is more about making them look interesting and entertaining. Giving someone a title reign or win streak is a way to hype them up. Giving them a unique gimmick or an elaborate storyline that lasts for months is a way to make them look interesting. The WWE always hypes Mark Henry's strength and gives him segments to put over his strength. When you want to talk about creative interest for Mark Henry, his "Hall of Pain" gimmick and storyline against John Cena are the best work he has done in recent years. To put it another way, hype can sometimes help you look credible, while creative interest isn't really about that. When they are investing in you creatively, it is usually to make you stand out to entertain. I typically believe it is better to develop someone to be over through making them look entertaining rather than building their credibility with title reigns, wins over top stars, and other forms of hyping them up. Once they do get over, then hype them. They would have earned it and it would not be so forced.

Examples in the diva division? Look at Michelle McCool. Having her make history on multiple occasions was a means to hype her as something great. That didn't get her over. What they tried next was giving her a huge gimmick. That was a big creative investment in her. She never got the overness to match all they put into her.

As I frequently say, eye-candy periphery divas used to get over so easily. The WWE did not have to do much for them at all. Just put over how hot they are and put them in situations to show it. Their sexy looks and general characters just got them over. You didn't really need to invest too much in them creatively. Of course, that does not mean the WWE never did anything for them when it came to gimmicks and storylines. Stacy Keibler has had some interesting angles in the periphery, including her involvement between Scott Steiner and Test. She never won the Women's Championship, but that never mattered. It is not about hyping these women as great wrestlers, unless they are being pushed as the centerpiece. It is about putting over their looks and hotness.

Will there sometimes be some grey area between hype and creative interest? Sure, but there is no need to kill yourself over it. The point is to take both things into consideration, as well as consistency. Some fans seem to think that the WWE tossing a title on a diva means they love her. Not so fast. If they are not doing anything else with her to help her get over other than having her hold the title, then I wouldn't make too much of that title reign. A title reign is only one form of hype, and it isn't enough to draw the conclusion that the WWE is really high on someone. Credible jobbers get title reigns. They always have. That doesn't mean they are getting developed to be stars. You look at AJ Lee. With all the creative interest they put in her, she really never needed the title to connect with the fans or to make you know they want her to connect with the fans. In a lot of situations, it might be more important to pay attention to how they are investing in someone creatively than how many title reigns and wins they are actually getting. And of course, never forget to look at how they are being pushed over time and in relation to the other women in the division. When you take it all into account, you can figure out what the WWE is doing with these women.