ironworks
09-02-2013, 01:36 AM
Feed Source: Bleacher Report
Over the past month or so, the WWE Divas division has arguably seen the biggest surge in relevancy of the modern era. The hit Total Divas show on E! means these women are mainstream. The show even held strong against MTV's ratings juggernaut and pseudo-pornographic Video Music Awards.
Every Sunday night, the Divas attract the valuable attention of casual fans who don't even watch wrestling. Another season or two, and The Bella Twins could be on the verge of becoming household names within some demographics.
WWE smoothly synergized Total Divas with current angles on Raw, creating an interesting dichotomy between current Divas Champion AJ Lee and the stars of Total Divas.
AJ's polarizing promo this past week on Raw saw the overachiever run down the Total Divas for not being deserving of the mainstream spotlight afforded by prime time television.
The tirade killed three birds with one stone. WWE fans were reminded of Total Divas on E!, a legitimate conflict between AJ and the Divas was created and the Divas Championship was positioned as the centerpiece of a pivotal line-in-the-sand moment. Seeing that pretty little butterfly belt on a major cable channel will do wonders for the Divas Championship and the Divas division itself.
Then there's the World Heavyweight Championship.
Alberto Del Rio won the World Championship in spectacular fashion, with him and Ziggler pulling off a rare double-turn at WWE Payback.
Del Rio would go on to brilliantly defend a bush-league victory over Ziggler, hearkening back to the Raw after WrestleMania when Ziggler took the World Championship from him, via his Money in the Bank contract, like a vulture waiting for its prey to die.
Ziggler's chase was quickly curtailed following one pay-per-view match at WWE Money in the Bank. With no strong hero to develop, Del Rio was thrown into a hollow feud with Christian. The split between Del Rio and Rodriguez became a bigger story than any conflict with Christian or the World Championship.
With Christian recycled after another ho-hum month, a similar situation is ongoing with Rob Van Dam. Despite Van Dam's popularity, he is being used as a pawn to forward the budding, seemingly duplicitous, rivalry between Del Rio and Rodriguez. Again, the championship comes off as secondary to the conflict between Del Rio and Rodriguez, who recently aligned himself with Van Dam.
Does this feud even need a championship?
Believe it or not, the tale of two titles has rendered the World Championship less relevant than a Divas Championship, which has historically struggled to get over. Rest assured, wrestling fans have become more emotionally attached to the AJ-Divas storyline.
This will culminate in a title match to confirm whether or not any of these Divas really do belong. See? The Divas Championship is being used as a measuring stick to determine who the best Diva in the WWE is.
No matter how brief, remember this as the era where the big gold belt got beat up by a girl.
Over the past month or so, the WWE Divas division has arguably seen the biggest surge in relevancy of the modern era. The hit Total Divas show on E! means these women are mainstream. The show even held strong against MTV's ratings juggernaut and pseudo-pornographic Video Music Awards.
Every Sunday night, the Divas attract the valuable attention of casual fans who don't even watch wrestling. Another season or two, and The Bella Twins could be on the verge of becoming household names within some demographics.
WWE smoothly synergized Total Divas with current angles on Raw, creating an interesting dichotomy between current Divas Champion AJ Lee and the stars of Total Divas.
AJ's polarizing promo this past week on Raw saw the overachiever run down the Total Divas for not being deserving of the mainstream spotlight afforded by prime time television.
The tirade killed three birds with one stone. WWE fans were reminded of Total Divas on E!, a legitimate conflict between AJ and the Divas was created and the Divas Championship was positioned as the centerpiece of a pivotal line-in-the-sand moment. Seeing that pretty little butterfly belt on a major cable channel will do wonders for the Divas Championship and the Divas division itself.
Then there's the World Heavyweight Championship.
Alberto Del Rio won the World Championship in spectacular fashion, with him and Ziggler pulling off a rare double-turn at WWE Payback.
Del Rio would go on to brilliantly defend a bush-league victory over Ziggler, hearkening back to the Raw after WrestleMania when Ziggler took the World Championship from him, via his Money in the Bank contract, like a vulture waiting for its prey to die.
Ziggler's chase was quickly curtailed following one pay-per-view match at WWE Money in the Bank. With no strong hero to develop, Del Rio was thrown into a hollow feud with Christian. The split between Del Rio and Rodriguez became a bigger story than any conflict with Christian or the World Championship.
With Christian recycled after another ho-hum month, a similar situation is ongoing with Rob Van Dam. Despite Van Dam's popularity, he is being used as a pawn to forward the budding, seemingly duplicitous, rivalry between Del Rio and Rodriguez. Again, the championship comes off as secondary to the conflict between Del Rio and Rodriguez, who recently aligned himself with Van Dam.
Does this feud even need a championship?
Believe it or not, the tale of two titles has rendered the World Championship less relevant than a Divas Championship, which has historically struggled to get over. Rest assured, wrestling fans have become more emotionally attached to the AJ-Divas storyline.
This will culminate in a title match to confirm whether or not any of these Divas really do belong. See? The Divas Championship is being used as a measuring stick to determine who the best Diva in the WWE is.
No matter how brief, remember this as the era where the big gold belt got beat up by a girl.