Discussing The Future Of The WWE Divas Division

The WWE Divas Division lacks direction…again. I sometimes wonder if it ever knows where it’s going. It’s no secret that storylines, involving the female talent of the WWE are often superficial, illogical and completely immune to any sort of continuity. Divas make and break alliances and turn from face to heel and back again without implementing any long-term plans.  As a result, the fans really couldn’t care less about the division. The one thing that’s remained unchanged for a long time is the fact that Nikki Bella is the WWE Divas Champion.

Nikki won the title back in November 2014. This makes over seven months since she conquered the top of the Divas Division. Although Nikki proved her critics wrong and upped her in-ring game significantly in the last half a year, her reign has become stale. Technically, we can’t blame the champ for that. The issue is that the feuds she gets pulled into are badly written. The Bellas vs. Paige rivalry, based around the “diva vs. real wrestler” idea that we’re watching right now has been done many times before during Nikki’s reign. I think the WWE writers realize this, which is why they are trying to spice things up by having Paige attempt to create her own anti-Bellas movement in the locker room.

I had my suspicions of who could join Paige on her quest to taking down the Twins. My bet was Charlotte. The Genetically Superior Queen of NXT would have been the best choice of an ally against the Bellas. Charlotte is a WWE-bred, no-nonsense, technical wrestler. She could easily outwrestle both Nikki and Brie on a rest night. I can imagine that it wouldn’t be too difficult for Paige to convince such an individual that it’s an offense to female wrestling to have two self-proclaimed divas hog the spotlight for so long. But then Alicia Fox joined the Bellas and took my predictions off balance. Adding Foxy to the mix is important because it means that Paige doesn’t need a tag team partner, she needs a faction. The idea of having a full-fledged faction war in the WWE Divas Division sounds almost too good to be true.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Charlotte is out of the question. Quite the opposite, actually.  The WWE could have Charlotte and Bayley form a faction with Paige. In a perfect world, the three of them wouldn’t just challenge The Bellas and their newfound follower – Alicia Fox, they’d pull a Kevin Owens on us. By that I mean that they’d rush straight from NXT and right into the spotlight, unapologetically changing the entire complexion of the division. The NXT women would suddenly dominate the main roster, outwrestling every diva on their way. The shocking mega push, received upon transferring from developmental to the main roster, was meant to happen to Paige but it didn’t really work the same way as with Owens because her win over AJ was presented as a fluke. However, the NXT divas faction on the main roster would be different. They’d be strong, confident and brutal. The last adjective doesn’t necessarily fit Bayley but we could easily replace it with “dignified” and it would work. This surge of new blood in the Division could finally put some pressure on the WWE divas. The female talent on the main roster is too comfortable. They don’t even need to wrestle. They just need to look pretty. Paige or AJ by themselves couldn’t bring a core metamorphosis. One person with abnormally high standard is just considered an exception to the rule, without having to change the rule. An entire faction of great wrestlers, on the other hand, would serve as basis for comparison. If Charlotte, Paige and Bayley together were to set the bar in the Divas Division, the others would need to jump much higher than what they are used to.

If we’re to indulge ourselves into a little bit of conspiracy theory, we could pick up on the fact that two new girls entered the NXT programming – Dana Brooke and Cassie. Could it be that they were brought in to replace the two that would get called up to aid Paige? Charlotte and Bayley wouldn’t just be helping Paige, they’d be helping the division. The idea of a faction war sounds thrilling. Some divas would side with the newcomers and some- with the Bellas. That would give girls like Summer and Cameron the opportunity to put their act together and do more than strutting around, parading their (undeniably luscious) bodies. And if we look beyond the divas vs. true wrestlers rivalry, we’d find much more possibilities just waiting to happen. For example, Paige could become jealous of Charlotte, who would have been called by her but who would have also surpassed her by winning the title. That jealousy would slowly rot the core of the faction, leading to an inevitable stab in the back and a heel turn for the Brit. Just this time it wouldn’t be a moody, plotline-driven switch of alliances, but a well-developed character change. And that’s just the beginning of what could be the rebirth of the WWE Divas Division.

Realistically, there is a chance that the WWE will do something much less logical and much less exciting, yet very typical for the Divas Division. It could be theorized that instead of a massive shift from NXT, the addition of Foxy to the Twins’ group will lead to Naomi and Tamina, teaming temporarily with Paige. There are some signs, pointing towards this. In the segment where Paige tried to rally the divas locker room, Naomi and Tamina were the last two who were left hesitating whether to join her. Then this week on Smack Down, the Bellas used the numbers’ game to steal one from the duo. Frustration over the Twins’ tricks might inflate the dislike for the Bellas so much that Naomi and Tamina would agree to join forces with Paige against them. However, that would be a temporary move. It probably wouldn’t survive past Battleground. Once the Bellas are defeated, the need for revenge would have been fulfilled and without common ideology, the teammates would turn enemies, especially with the title on the line. The alliance and its destruction would be quickly forgotten, without leaving a trace. Also, Naomi turned heel less than two months ago. It was a big deal and a complete character switch but it never had an effect on her career. Joining Paige would mean toning down the flamboyance of Naomi’s heel persona, which we barely got acquainted with. Then again, when it comes to the divas, the WWE puts much less value in characters and storyline than I do, so this scenario is not unlikely to happen.

Once again, I’m going to finish an article about the WWE Divas Division by saying that a bright future that puts the female talent on a par with the male superstars is within our reach; all that’s necessary is good storytelling and a few risks.

What do you think? Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised.