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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2013 14:10:25 GMT -5
Good response by Natalya in that video, claiming BS on AJ saying she was homeless, yet somehow finding enough money to attend a lot of WWE shows as a kid. One can be homeless for a 1-2 year period, and have money at times and not at others. But, it's Natalya's birthday so I'll give her this one.
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Post by Hit Girl on Aug 27, 2013 14:10:34 GMT -5
AJ could kill her by saying "they were giving away free tickets outside the arena" Not exactly the best thing to say on WWE programming... It would provoke a "ohhhhh" from the smarks. That would satisfy WWE.
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Post by wallabylikeyou on Aug 27, 2013 14:13:45 GMT -5
This is not what Natalya needs during her birthday week.
Seriously though, good promo by AJ and good response by Natalya.
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Post by Wolf Hurricane on Aug 27, 2013 15:17:25 GMT -5
AJ's promo was awesome. It was a worked shoot done the right way; nothing about bookers or backstage politicking or someone getting better storylines. She kept it on the border between work and shoot, talking about how they didn't deserve to be there as much as she did, how they were on a reality show to try and keep relevance since they couldn't do it in the division, talking about the "avenues" certian Divas took to get in the company. As far as her "burying" anybody, she didn't trash the division per se; she went out there and said that nobody deserved to be there but her, clearly there'll be an avenue for a face Diva or multiple face Divas to prove her wrong in (or out) the ring. Natalya's response, I'm torn on. I so did not dig her pimping Total Divas the way she did, as if the only reason AJ said what she did was out of jealousy. But at the 3:24 mark, when she started to go in, she went in! The way she mocked her backstory, using homeless in air quotes and talking about how she was going to WWF live events while she was supposed to be sleeping in her car; it felt like classic heel Bret with the condescension and I loved it. Except AJ's great in the ring, charismatic as all hell, exceptional on the mic, over with the crowd, and by pro wrestling standards -- she's damn-near Oscar-worthy as an actress. So clearly, she's not as "useless as the rest of them". As a character and in the ring -- AJ is on a level that only Trish Stratus, Mickie James, and to a degree Lita have been before. I can't even respond to this any other way than to each their own. I can dislike something that you enjoy. That's clearly overselling the girl quite a bit. I like AJ. Actually, I'd say I've grown quite fond of her. But "exceptional on the mic?" "Oscar-worthy as an actress?" That's a big - no, that's hella generous, don't you think? I mean, she's pretty good in the ring, but given who her competition is, that's not saying much. Even then, Natalya blows her clear out the water and Naomi's got her beat pretty well too. Hell, the minute Paige, Emma or Bayley come to the main roster, they'd automatically move into number two - hell, Paige to number one. As far as her mic skills, I'll give you that; again, in comparison to the rest of the Divas. As for her Oscar-worthy acting skills, I'll give you she can sell a cutscene better than a lot of the other girls (even then, Vickie Guerrero can run a much larger gamut of emotions without saying anything), but Natalya's easily got her beat selling in-ring, if you ask me: Note I said selling, not overselling. As far as "Trish Stratus, Mickie James and Lita to a degree," I don't even know where to start. If you're talking about the sex appeal thing, yeah I'll give you that, because that's about all Trish had going for her damn self. I can't think of a single important match that Trish Stratus has had or anything in-ring outside of Vince making her get on all fours and bark like a dog. Trish may have set the standard for Divas sure, but Lita set the standard for wrestlers; daring to do moves and take part in matches that few other women would or could even conceive of. Also, as another person said, your list completely leaves out other people in that rarefied atmosphere you seem to have reserved for "three or maybe four" people. Sunny, Sable, Chyna, Sensational Sherri and Miss Elizabeth all qualify just as much as Trish, Mickie and "maybe Lita." Except AJ's great in the ring, charismatic as all hell, exceptional on the mic, over with the crowd, and by pro wrestling standards -- she's damn-near Oscar-worthy as an actress. The secret to winning an Oscar: a million head tilts and lots of skips. Neither of which Leonardo DiCaprio is known for doing. There may be more truth to this than you think.
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Cronant
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Post by Cronant on Aug 27, 2013 15:21:36 GMT -5
I can't really agree with that. Lita was not an active wrestler all that long.
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Pushed to the Moon
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Post by Pushed to the Moon on Aug 27, 2013 15:45:42 GMT -5
I'm not sure anyone has ever won me over so substantially as AJ has over the last few months. I couldn't stand her during the AJ scandal nonsense with Cena but after watching a few interviews with her and seeing her improve in the ring she's pretty near my fave 5 right now, dawg. Last night just topped it off.
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Post by turkeysandwich on Aug 27, 2013 15:49:30 GMT -5
Basing on Nattie's response, I wonder if WWE just decided that they should just let the Diva's say whatever they want to each other and doing away with scripted promos for them, since nothing has really worked on getting any of the girls other than AJ over. Perhaps this is their new philosophy for the Divas to be "real" like reality television, except more real than that since reality TV is mostly fake, and yet its wrestling so some kayfabe has gotta be thrown in....so I don't know. I think I just tied myself in a knot there.
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Post by salsashark on Aug 27, 2013 16:05:16 GMT -5
I'm a huge AJ mark. Huge. I'm also a huge Nattie mark, so as a fan, I am conflicted.
But the more I think about it, the more her whole promo didn't make a ton of sense by including Nattie. Nattie has been in the game since the early 2000s and will bust her ass for a good match when given the opportunity. Calling her out as part of the Total Divas cast makes sense in that AJ wants to trash everyone there, but Nattie should absolutely be exempt.
It's also pretty bizarre to see Kaitlyn go to bat for AJ on this on Twitter. Isn't Kaitlyn another person signed for their body/look rather than her skills? She's become talented enough, but come on, she was pushed into NXT on a lark because Aloisia made a poor decision.
I just feel this shoot is better in theory than in practice considering the participants in the ring.
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Cronant
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Post by Cronant on Aug 27, 2013 16:09:47 GMT -5
I'm a huge AJ mark. Huge. I'm also a huge Nattie mark, so as a fan, I am conflicted. But the more I think about it, the more her whole promo didn't make a ton of sense by including Nattie. Nattie has been in the game since the early 2000s and will bust her ass for a good match when given the opportunity. Calling her out as part of the Total Divas cast makes sense in that AJ wants to trash everyone there, but Nattie should absolutely be exempt. It's also pretty bizarre to see Kaitlyn go to bat for AJ on this on Twitter. Isn't Kaitlyn another person signed for their body/look rather than her skills? She's become talented enough, but come on, she was pushed into NXT on a lark because Aloisia made a poor decision. I just feel this shoot is better in theory than in practice considering the participants in the ring. I think it has more to do with the reality show than anything else. AJ had other points, but I think the main thing was the show. And I'm pretty sure Kaitlyn just enjoyed her BFF destroying the Bellas, considering they've tried to bury their segments before.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2013 16:15:11 GMT -5
I don't know. It was some good stuff, but I'm never one to ever buy into the "I deserve to be here more than you!" shtick in anything.
It's really one of my biggest pet peeves.
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Post by salsashark on Aug 27, 2013 16:18:37 GMT -5
I'm a huge AJ mark. Huge. I'm also a huge Nattie mark, so as a fan, I am conflicted. But the more I think about it, the more her whole promo didn't make a ton of sense by including Nattie. Nattie has been in the game since the early 2000s and will bust her ass for a good match when given the opportunity. Calling her out as part of the Total Divas cast makes sense in that AJ wants to trash everyone there, but Nattie should absolutely be exempt. It's also pretty bizarre to see Kaitlyn go to bat for AJ on this on Twitter. Isn't Kaitlyn another person signed for their body/look rather than her skills? She's become talented enough, but come on, she was pushed into NXT on a lark because Aloisia made a poor decision. I just feel this shoot is better in theory than in practice considering the participants in the ring. I think it has more to do with the reality show than anything else. AJ had other points, but I think the main thing was the show. And I'm pretty sure Kaitlyn just enjoyed her BFF destroying the Bellas, considering they've tried to bury their segments before. In that case, AJ should have stuck to the reality show stuff and left off the Hart Family thing, and Natalya should have been cut from the segment while she went to war against Total Divas. Imagine if Bryan had been in the ring with Cena while Punk cut the Pipebomb. It would have ruined the effect. Part of what made the Pipebomb great was that Punk cut it on Cena, who was big fish and the perfect target. The details matter for something like this to feel right.
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Cronant
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Post by Cronant on Aug 27, 2013 16:21:58 GMT -5
I think it has more to do with the reality show than anything else. AJ had other points, but I think the main thing was the show. And I'm pretty sure Kaitlyn just enjoyed her BFF destroying the Bellas, considering they've tried to bury their segments before. In that case, AJ should have stuck to the reality show stuff and left off the Hart Family thing, and Natalya should have been cut from the segment while she went to war against Total Divas. Imagine if Bryan had been in the ring with Cena while Punk cut the Pipebomb. It would have ruined the effect. Part of what made the Pipebomb great was that Punk cut it on Cena, who was big fish and the perfect target. The details matter for something like this to feel right. That doesn't make sense. Natalya is one of AJ's main targets, if not the main one. She has to attack her too. She can't be exempt. No one said AJ had to be 100% right, and it makes no sense to only target some of the cast.
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Post by salsashark on Aug 27, 2013 16:27:34 GMT -5
In that case, AJ should have stuck to the reality show stuff and left off the Hart Family thing, and Natalya should have been cut from the segment while she went to war against Total Divas. Imagine if Bryan had been in the ring with Cena while Punk cut the Pipebomb. It would have ruined the effect. Part of what made the Pipebomb great was that Punk cut it on Cena, who was big fish and the perfect target. The details matter for something like this to feel right. That doesn't make sense. Natalya is one of AJ's main targets, if not the main one. She has to attack her too. She can't be exempt. No one said AJ had to be 100% right, and it makes no sense to only target some of the cast. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than saying Nattie only ever wanted to be a reality star when she was been wrestling for a decade, maybe more. I would have loved to see AJ cut a very similar promo to the one yesterday--with everyone in the ring except for Nattie, who is conspicuous by her absence--and then follow that up with a backstage segment where Nattie confronts AJ and asks her why she feels the need to talk so much shit. AJ then breaks out similar insults from yesterday (like the one about Tyson Kidd) but then adds that Nattie is lowering herself by participating in such trash in the first place. It would leave the door open for a Nattie turn to join AJ against the Total Divas or engage in a feud with AJ, for her personal pride or the pride or the "Total Divas" brand--not that there is much--or whatever other reason. That work out any storyline kinks and add more intrigue.
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Cronant
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Cronant on Aug 27, 2013 16:33:08 GMT -5
But AJ being wrong about Nattie is exactly the reason to start the feud is it not? It just makes sense to do it after yet ANOTHER one of those "Lets squeeze all the Total Divas in one segment" matches.
Like it or not they've become their own subgroup so AJ had to get at them all at the same time.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2013 16:34:23 GMT -5
That is essentially the problem with worked shoots. Nevermind the kayfabe aspect of it, but it leaves the door wide open for hypocrisy, whether intended or not. AJ did not get over because of her ring work. She got over because she was put in a high profile position as the love interest (and make out partner) for multiple top male stars. She was put as the GM of the show for reasons that Vince Russo couldn't even write on a piece of paper without his head exploding. She was handed her spot just as much as the "failed models" were handed theirs. This wasn't a CM Punk situation. Punk had a reason to go off, as he felt "held back" for years, and there are tangible amount of clips that show Punk's "struggle" to the top (whether in the WWE or in indys). If anything, AJ was shoved down everyone's throats. There was nothing relatable about what she said (if their reasoning was to make her a face), and if it was supposed to be a heel promo she was blasting other heels.
The whole thing was a mess.
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Post by Hit Girl on Aug 27, 2013 16:36:20 GMT -5
AJ could say "Nattie you sold out, you're supposed to be a wrestler, from a wrestling family, and you've reduced yourself to being in a reality show"
Then slap her right across her face.
Eventually Nattie will realise the error of her ways. Which would make sense since the other "Total Divas" have mocked and ridiculed her mercilessly.
She needs some tough love from AJ.
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Post by salsashark on Aug 27, 2013 16:38:47 GMT -5
But AJ being wrong about Nattie is exactly the reason to start the feud is it not? It just makes sense to do it after yet ANOTHER one of those "Lets squeeze all the Total Divas in one segment" matches. Like it or not they've become their own subgroup so AJ had to get at them all at the same time. I still very much disagree on the basic premise--she could have feuded with Nattie slightly separately from the group (You could have explained her absence through any number of different ways)--but I think the crux of this feud isn't going to be 'Nattie is a legit wrestler,' it'll be 'AJ is a bitch who needs to be put in her place,' which might sound like the same thing at first but are different ideas. That said, I could be wrong, and maybe there'll be some respect angle with a "face" turn by Nattie at the end to join the "face" AJ. ("Face" is super relative here.)
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Aug 27, 2013 16:43:55 GMT -5
That doesn't make sense. Natalya is one of AJ's main targets, if not the main one. She has to attack her too. She can't be exempt. No one said AJ had to be 100% right, and it makes no sense to only target some of the cast. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than saying Nattie only ever wanted to be a reality star when she was been wrestling for a decade, maybe more. I would have loved to see AJ cut a very similar promo to the one yesterday--with everyone in the ring except for Nattie, who is conspicuous by her absence--and then follow that up with a backstage segment where Nattie confronts AJ and asks her why she feels the need to talk so much shit. AJ then breaks out similar insults from yesterday (like the one about Tyson Kidd) but then adds that Nattie is lowering herself by participating in such trash in the first place. It would leave the door open for a Nattie turn to join AJ against the Total Divas or engage in a feud with AJ, for her personal pride or the pride or the "Total Divas" brand--not that there is much--or whatever other reason. That work out any storyline kinks and add more intrigue. They needed Nattie there to make it to where AJ wasn't 100% right and utterly ruining everyone out there. As for Nattie, she did say that her family connection gave her an in. Of course Nattie cares and works on it, but being a Hart/Neidhart does help probably.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2013 16:46:41 GMT -5
All anyone really needs to know is that Total Diva's operates on a different level of kayfabe than the regular shows and when they try to mix them up it ends up being a complete clustersmurf. In the end like the Punk shoot and Paul E. shoot it won't matter in a few weeks anyways.
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Post by rybackrulez on Aug 27, 2013 16:58:14 GMT -5
It is stupid how strongly they've booked her against other divas.
If nattie gets to cut those promos on tout/youtube and they are relying on social media to build this feud? Bullcrap.
People will only see what happens on raw. Pretty much natalya has to just absolutely destroy AJ.
Also remember two weeks ago we were bashing aj tapping out akwardly before the sharpshooter was even locked in?
How did aj magically become as over as lita or trish? Lita was getting huge pops just like Jeff Hardy was.
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