Do the divas have the best booked feud of Wrestlemania 31?

[Abdullah]

It does speak to how weakly the main matches have been built up. Shockingly weak.

But there are many threads about that. I want to talk about how well the divas have done with the chances they've been given since the online uproar forced WWE's hand. There were hiccups and limited time to sell the story but I believe it's been a success. The divas had the best segment of an okay RAW with a very hot crowd and it was a delight to see. Apparently, on Smackdown...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}PaiJ and the Bellas get the in-ring promo I've been hoping for where they confront each other about their issues.

The writers have done three things quite well here:-

- They've put the division either at the start of the show or at key points where the crowd is still awake to help crowd reaction. In the past, they've done the exact opposite of that.

- They've hyped up the segments instead of randomly throwing them out there.

And the third one, the big one, is that for better or worse WWE have been pushing these four women since April of last year. Since Paige debuted. Or in the Bellas case, since Brie got into it with Stephanie. Of all the 'Mania angles, this one makes the most sense. A fatal four way would be better yet but I'm hoping that's where we end up.

Kudos to the women involved as well. The matches actually aren't amazing but they are very, very good for a RAW episode and better than most divas matches of last year on the main roster. They've been given time and they've shown, quite clearly, that they know how to work a WWE-style bout as flawed as that style is. I almost feel like I'm jinxing it by heaping the praise on thick, so let me be clear, I don't expect this streak of good booking to last but while it's going, I feel compliments are deserved. Paige and AJ's gay chicken routine last year and a lot of the Bellas feud was either confusing or boring to a crowd that tried to get into it but found nothing worthwhile.

It's a wonder what even just decent booking and presentation can do.

[Deleted]

I say Rusev vs. Cena. Cena is chasing his win back which is extremly rare, Rusev doing some amazing heel work lately and really stepping it up on the mic saying some memorable lines, him killing Cena and his spine (while Cena takes some brutal bumps that would make Ziggler proud) was great. The final shot of Cena laying on the announcers table with his back broken and the Russian flag in the background was a great photo shot

Hell I even loved on how Cena was talking about if he wins the title, he wants to treat the title with the utmost respect and never lose it. He added so much credbility to the belt with one sentence then wwe creative has done in years.

[Deleted]

Agreed. I'm no fan of the Bellas but this whole feud has been booked almost shockingly well over the past several weeks.

[Abdullah]

Mar 24, 2015 10:49:02 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

I say Rusev vs. Cena. Cena is chasing his win back which is extremly rare, Rusev doing some amazing heel work lately and really stepping it up on the mic saying some memorable lines, him killing Cena and his spine (while Cena takes some brutal bumps that would make Ziggler proud) was great. The final shot of Cena laying on the announcers table with his back broken and the Russian flag in the background was a great photo shot

Hell I even loved on how Cena was talking about if he wins the title, he wants to treat the title with the utmost respect and never lose it. He added so much credbility to the belt with one sentence then wwe creative has done in years.

That would be second in line for me. My worry is how Rusev will be handled after his seemingly unavoidable loss.

[Deleted]

Mar 24, 2015 10:53:01 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Mar 24, 2015 10:49:02 GMT -5 @supersweetbotch said:

I say Rusev vs. Cena. Cena is chasing his win back which is extremly rare, Rusev doing some amazing heel work lately and really stepping it up on the mic saying some memorable lines, him killing Cena and his spine (while Cena takes some brutal bumps that would make Ziggler proud) was great. The final shot of Cena laying on the announcers table with his back broken and the Russian flag in the background was a great photo shot

Hell I even loved on how Cena was talking about if he wins the title, he wants to treat the title with the utmost respect and never lose it. He added so much credbility to the belt with one sentence then wwe creative has done in years.

That would be second in line for me. My worry is how Rusev will be handled after his seemingly unavoidable loss.

I think Rusev is going to win. If there is one heel that could get booed over Roman Reigns it's Rusev. Like he got the crowd to 100% support Cena at the end of every night and it's not just because of his anti american character, dude is just an amazing heel who knows how to make anything work. There's one thing of someone remembering a line they are suppose to say and another thing where you actually believe the guy saying the line believes in what he's saying.

[Perd]

Nothing earth shattering, but yeah, it's been pretty good. And pretty good, in this Mania build-up, is just aces in my book. Nikki is a really good heel and is having good matches. AJ and Paige have much better chemistry as "frienemies" than enemies. I liked that they had AJ and Paige acknowledge that, last night, Nikki was obviously trying to sow dissension between them. But the chance at the title was too tempting not to accept.

I'm guessing PaiJ win at Mania. Nikki blames Brie and it leads to a fatal four way at Extreme Rules.

[gr1990]

Contrast it to last year where we had 'every Diva is fighting for the title because a heel who isn't in the match hates the champion, who is also a heel yet the stipulation makes her seem like a gallant underdog,' and it's a huge improvement. They've done very well to get this much TV time in Mania season, and as cynical as people were about it, I think the Twitter movement has actually contributed to them getting chance to actually do something. They pretty much couldn't go back to two minutes of nothing for the Divas every week after all that and not look terrible.

[Abdullah]

Mar 24, 2015 15:55:55 GMT -5 gr1990 said:

Contrast it to last year where we had 'every Diva is fighting for the title because a heel who isn't in the match hates the champion, who is also a heel yet the stipulation makes her seem like a gallant underdog,' and it's a huge improvement. They've done very well to get this much TV time in Mania season, and as cynical as people were about it, I think the Twitter movement has actually contributed to them getting chance to actually do something. They pretty much couldn't go back to two minutes of nothing for the Divas every week after all that and not look terrible.

The WWE usually save this kind of divas push for the summer. Last year, we had three women's feuds and the year before that we had AJ/Kaitlyn. But we've never, not even in the days of Trish and Lita, had ten minute matches on RAW. I think that's the most important part of this - it's that the women are seen as being just as capable of killing time as any mid-carder. It sounds reductive but it's true. There is no reason that a random Swagger/Harper bout should go longer than two women that are actually have an angle going.

youtu.be/YlSfm0332Hs

This is the complete Smackdown segment; in some airings, it cuts out the last two minutes or so. It's really good with Nikki stealing the show and AJ coming off more relatable than entirety of her last run. It does feel a bit rushed at parts and more could have been done though as far as last minute builds go, this week has accomplished a lot. There is still more history here, and more to cling to, than Wyatt vs Taker and especially Lesnar vs Reigns.

[Deleted]

It's hard to really care about the match. But that's mainly because this'll almost surely be the one that gets the "wrestlemania rematch" the next night on RAW.

[Abdullah]

Mar 27, 2015 8:29:50 GMT -5 @bootytime said:

It's hard to really care about the match. But that's mainly because this'll almost surely be the one that gets the "wrestlemania rematch" the next night on RAW.

It all really depends on the Charlotte factor. I'd like to see a fatal four way the next night and I think they could give the NXT4 a run for their money if allowed.

But 'a tag match + Charlotte's debut' seems like the easy thing to book.

[Deleted]

Bryan Alvarez made a good point about how bad the booking is just based on the fact that the conniving heel in this feud has been trying to turn AJ and Paige against each other by giving them title shots on Raw in order to get an advantage in a non title tag match at Wrestlemania. It's extremely backwards. There's no established benefit to winning or losing this match, there's no expectation that any scores will be settled, there are no stakes. It's alright when you compare it to most women feuds going into WM but it's still just as flawed as most builds this year. The whole premise of AJ and Paige getting along vs. Brie and Nikki is so shallow and the "we're sisters" thing is such a copout. Can't be overlooked how sloppily they united the Bellas.

[Abdullah]

Mar 27, 2015 8:45:49 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

Bryan Alvarez made a good point about how bad the booking is just based on the fact that the conniving heel in this feud has been trying to turn AJ and Paige against each other by giving them title shots on Raw in order to get an advantage in a non title tag match at Wrestlemania. It's extremely backwards. There's no established benefit to winning or losing this match, there's no expectation that any scores will be settled, there are no stakes. It's alright when you compare it to most women feuds going into WM but it's still just as flawed as most builds this year. The whole premise of AJ and Paige getting along vs. Brie and Nikki is so shallow and the "we're sisters" thing is such a copout. Can't be overlooked how sloppily they united the Bellas.

I agree that the Bellas reuniting is a joke. In real life, absolutely, siblings forgive each other but it doesn't make for compelling TV.

I disagree about Nikki's ploy to split up PaiJ. It was nice to see a fighting champion and to me it signifies how well Nikki knows that her rivals can barely get along and how confident in her own abilities she is. It's cool to see a bullying character that is also a legitimate competitor rather being just another chickenshit heel. I don't think Alvarez considered that perspective. When Nikki cuts a promo now saying she's the best, it's believed; it's backed up by kayfabe and it makes most fans want to see her taken down even more.

[kevin]

Mar 27, 2015 8:45:49 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

Bryan Alvarez made a good point about how bad the booking is just based on the fact that the conniving heel in this feud has been trying to turn AJ and Paige against each other by giving them title shots on Raw in order to get an advantage in a non title tag match at Wrestlemania. It's extremely backwards. There's no established benefit to winning or losing this match, there's no expectation that any scores will be settled, there are no stakes.

The Divas build is actually the worse build to me and this is a big reason why. Make it a fatal four way and and a lot of the problems would be fixed. It is idiotic that this match is not a fatal four way.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 8:58:29 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Mar 27, 2015 8:45:49 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

Bryan Alvarez made a good point about how bad the booking is just based on the fact that the conniving heel in this feud has been trying to turn AJ and Paige against each other by giving them title shots on Raw in order to get an advantage in a non title tag match at Wrestlemania. It's extremely backwards. There's no established benefit to winning or losing this match, there's no expectation that any scores will be settled, there are no stakes. It's alright when you compare it to most women feuds going into WM but it's still just as flawed as most builds this year. The whole premise of AJ and Paige getting along vs. Brie and Nikki is so shallow and the "we're sisters" thing is such a copout. Can't be overlooked how sloppily they united the Bellas.

I agree that the Bellas reuniting is a joke. In real life, absolutely, siblings forgive each other but it doesn't make for compelling TV.

I disagree about Nikki's ploy to split up PaiJ. It was nice to see a fighting champion and to me it signifies how well Nikki knows that her rivals can barely get along and how confident in her own abilities she is. It's cool to see a bullying character that is also a legitimate competitor rather being just another chickenshit heel. I don't think Alvarez considered that perspective. When Nikki cuts a promo now saying she's the best, it's believed; it's backed up by kayfabe and it makes most fans want to see her taken down even more.

I see that to an extent, but to me it's still a detriment to the title if Nikki finds it so important to win this no-consequence tag team match that she's gambling her title in the off chance that just by happenstance AJ and Paige's egos collide and stirs up their rivalry again. Fighting champion or not, they haven't established why this tag match is even all that important, all we know is that her title defenses are seemingly less important. There are other ways to accomplish what they did without making the title seem like a prop. Even her letting them both choose amongst themselves who fought for the title was a good way to go, but then they just...mutually agreed upon a contender without a hint of controversy.

[mrbananagrabber]

If having two people who loathed each other point out that the other two people who used to loathe each other no longer loathe each other is the best booked feud of Wrestlemania, this PPV is completely f***ed.

[Abdullah]

Mar 27, 2015 9:23:23 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

Mar 27, 2015 8:58:29 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

I agree that the Bellas reuniting is a joke. In real life, absolutely, siblings forgive each other but it doesn't make for compelling TV.

I disagree about Nikki's ploy to split up PaiJ. It was nice to see a fighting champion and to me it signifies how well Nikki knows that her rivals can barely get along and how confident in her own abilities she is. It's cool to see a bullying character that is also a legitimate competitor rather being just another chickenshit heel. I don't think Alvarez considered that perspective. When Nikki cuts a promo now saying she's the best, it's believed; it's backed up by kayfabe and it makes most fans want to see her taken down even more.

I see that to an extent, but to me it's still a detriment to the title if Nikki finds it so important to win this no-consequence tag team match that she's gambling her title in the off chance that just by happenstance AJ and Paige's egos collide and stirs up their rivalry again. Fighting champion or not, they haven't established why this tag match is even all that important, all we know is that her title defenses are seemingly less important. There are other ways to accomplish what they did without making the title seem like a prop. Even her letting them both choose amongst themselves who fought for the title was a good way to go, but then they just...mutually agreed upon a contender without a hint of controversy.

I'm not one to defend WWE's divas division and I agree that there is much more WWE could have done here. There is a year's worth of storylines between these four; making it for the title would have been much a smoother choice.

With that said, I have a very different view than you.

- The title seems more important than it has been since AJ lost it the first time. It's the first thing that comes up in the Smackdown segment. It is referenced repeatedly. It is exactly the reason why Paige, AJ, Brie and Nikki feuded to begin with. The title is important now. At least right now. That's why the matches have gone early in the night and went for two segments and had the announcers put on their serious voices and had a hot crowd. All of that makes a title seem important. Paige attacking AJ for costing her a title match makes it seem important. If Nikki's reign was forgotten, like Ambrose's US title stint, that would be one thing but it's a constant, active presence and motivator.

- AJ gave Paige the title opportunity as a way of telling FAN: 'I'm a face now. Look at my character growth. Are you happy now?' Seriously, the amount of threads about how awful AJ's character was - that was nearly a weekly thing. I thought it was a good sign that she'd give #GivePaigeAChance. The face thing to do.

Yes, they could have done a better job. They could have milked the history more. They should have made it a title match. But given it's not, outside of the Bellas reunion, the story has been fairly clear to me. Enemies have united to take on bigger foes before. It's not novel albeit it works.

However if we don't get a fatal four way soon I'll riot.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2015 9:40:50 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Mar 27, 2015 9:23:23 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

I see that to an extent, but to me it's still a detriment to the title if Nikki finds it so important to win this no-consequence tag team match that she's gambling her title in the off chance that just by happenstance AJ and Paige's egos collide and stirs up their rivalry again. Fighting champion or not, they haven't established why this tag match is even all that important, all we know is that her title defenses are seemingly less important. There are other ways to accomplish what they did without making the title seem like a prop. Even her letting them both choose amongst themselves who fought for the title was a good way to go, but then they just...mutually agreed upon a contender without a hint of controversy.

I'm not one to defend WWE's divas division and I agree that there is much more WWE could have done here. There is a year's worth of storylines between these four; making it for the title would have been much a smoother choice.

With that said, I have a very different view than you.

- The title seems more important than it has been since AJ lost it the first time. It's the first thing that comes up in the Smackdown segment. It is referenced repeatedly. It is exactly the reason why Paige, AJ, Brie and Nikki feuded to begin with. The title is important now. At least right now. That's why the matches have gone early in the night and went for two segments and had the announcers put on their serious voices and had a hot crowd. All of that makes a title seem important. Paige attacking AJ for costing her a title match makes it seem important. If Nikki's reign was forgotten, like Ambrose's US title stint, that would be one thing but it's a constant, active presence and motivator.

- AJ gave Paige the title opportunity as a way of telling FAN: 'I'm a face now. Look at my character growth. Are you happy now?' Seriously, the amount of threads about how awful AJ's character was - that was nearly a weekly thing. I thought it was a good sign that she'd give #GivePaigeAChance. The face thing to do.

Yes, they could have done a better job. They could have milked the history more. They should have made it a title match. But given it's not, outside of the Bellas reunion, the story has been fairly clear to me. Enemies have united to take on bigger foes. It's novel albeit it works.

However if we don't get a fatal four way soon I'll riot.

Well I can't say you're wrong on any of these points. For me it just comes down to "why a tag team match?" If it's a matter of just hating each other and wanting to kick each others' asses, the entire build to this match has been a series of opportunities to kick each others' asses, you'd hardly even be able to tell any other women are employed in WWE the past month but these four, the the match itself holds no weight for me. I'm admittedly approaching this much more cynically than you and can't help but feel that all the effort put into this build is gonna quietly dissipate as soon as it seems the coast is clear and the "#GiveDivasAChance" crowd aren't paying attention anymore.

[Abdullah]

Mar 27, 2015 10:18:50 GMT -5 @nichotine said:

Mar 27, 2015 9:40:50 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

I'm not one to defend WWE's divas division and I agree that there is much more WWE could have done here. There is a year's worth of storylines between these four; making it for the title would have been much a smoother choice.

With that said, I have a very different view than you.

- The title seems more important than it has been since AJ lost it the first time. It's the first thing that comes up in the Smackdown segment. It is referenced repeatedly. It is exactly the reason why Paige, AJ, Brie and Nikki feuded to begin with. The title is important now. At least right now. That's why the matches have gone early in the night and went for two segments and had the announcers put on their serious voices and had a hot crowd. All of that makes a title seem important. Paige attacking AJ for costing her a title match makes it seem important. If Nikki's reign was forgotten, like Ambrose's US title stint, that would be one thing but it's a constant, active presence and motivator.

- AJ gave Paige the title opportunity as a way of telling FAN: 'I'm a face now. Look at my character growth. Are you happy now?' Seriously, the amount of threads about how awful AJ's character was - that was nearly a weekly thing. I thought it was a good sign that she'd give #GivePaigeAChance. The face thing to do.

Yes, they could have done a better job. They could have milked the history more. They should have made it a title match. But given it's not, outside of the Bellas reunion, the story has been fairly clear to me. Enemies have united to take on bigger foes. It's novel albeit it works.

However if we don't get a fatal four way soon I'll riot.

Well I can't say you're wrong on any of these points. For me it just comes down to "why a tag team match?" If it's a matter of just hating each other and wanting to kick each others' asses, the entire build to this match has been a series of opportunities to kick each others' asses, you'd hardly even be able to tell any other women are employed in WWE the past month but these four, the the match itself holds no weight for me. I'm admittedly approaching this much more cynically than you and can't help but feel that all the effort put into this build is gonna quietly dissipate as soon as it seems the coast is clear and the "#GiveDivasAChance" crowd aren't paying attention anymore.

That's more than likely. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, more attention seems to be given to the divas around summer time or a little before. We get a few months of decent booking then it rapidly slides back to business as usual. It's as though they're looking for just enough material to justify a highlight reel.

I absolutely have that thought in my head. I wonder if the division getting focus now means it won't in the summer months. But I hope that we get a fatal four way and that Naomi gets the title shot she's owed (she's pinned Nikki clean) before WWE gets bored again. If nothing else, I hope the match times stay reasonable since the women have shown that they can be trusted to work the 'WWE style' and kill time on a three hour RAW as good as any mid-carder.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

It's hard for me to swallow that, because the backstory of this feud is that both teams spent the last year feuding with each other, in what were easily the two worst feuds of last year.

[bigjohnsons]

I had no idea they had a storyline