At her peak.... Was AJ the Most Over Diva of All Times?

[pepentorresHHH]

I was talking about this with a buddy of mine earlier in the day amd we couldnt agree on this.... He said No I said yes, I think at AJ's peak in popularity last year she was probably the most over diva of all times.... My buddy said trish, and lita and sable and stephanie surpassed her.... And while I respect his opinion, AJ although not neccesarily wrestling in the occasional main event like the 4 mentioned already, she was involved in the main storylines amd IMO she was in the running to be the most over person in the roster..... She was involved with the wwe champion, cm punk. Former world heavyweight champion daniel bryan, kane, john cena, was the Raw GM, and then Dolph Ziggler..... All with her crazy angle......

So what do you think, was AJ the most over Diva in WWE?

 

[KoC417]

Uh no. Plain and simple. AJ barely gets a crowd reaction. You want a legit "over" with the crowd? Lita with Team Xtreme. Hell Lita in GENERAL. Nuff said. Lita has been involved with Edge, Kane, Chris Benoit (when she helped Benoit beat Kane), John Cena, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Big Show (when trying to acquire his services with Edge), The Hardy Boyz, The Undertaker (during his heel phase against Matt/Jeff). She has feuded with Chyna/Eddie when she was with Rios. AJ is so far down on the list of the most over Diva's of all time she keeps Santina company.

 

[Chauncy Talon]

The Diva that got over the most was the first diva, Ms. Elizabeth. She had class and was a favorite by everybody. When Chyna got the inplants people start liking her. Lita was over, but when Trish Status showed up it was over. Before Lita, Medusa was over for a while because no women were wrestling on television when she jumped from WCW to WWF.

Ms. Elizabeth crushes all of them and she never was slammed in her life.

 

[jayb222]

In her first year on the roster AJ was and still is the most over diva. At times during last year, she was the most popular person on the roster. That's all we have to go by because that's her career so far. A damn fine showing and current reigning divas champ. Trish's first year, she was eye candy with test and albert. Lita's first year, she was with essay rios. So based on what you can judge by where they are by this time frame, AJ is a diva to remember. No hate need man!

 

[Olan]

Uh no.
She was the most over Diva in the last few years no doubt but I don't think for second she was more over than: Ms. Elzabeth, Lita, Trish, Sabl, Stephanie or even Mickie James. I think she shines at a time when the diva division is at a low point. AJ does not compare to the divas of the past. JMO

 

[The Champ]

No, she clearly is not. Some of the heat Lita and Stephanie used to get was nuclear, and Sable used to get massive pops, the likes of which AJ has never received.

I think a better topic of discussion would be whether or not AJ at her peak was the most impactful or trendsetting diva of all time, because I think you can make a case for that. She's done things that have never been done before, including being the first wrestling diva to become the General Manager of a major program, closing a Raw by shoving two top male superstars through a table, etc. Even Trish Stratus and Lita were never made to be the central point of a male storyline like AJ was last summer.

You can also definitely argue that she is the best diva actress of all time, and that's something I think I would argue.

 

[#heel420]

Maybe of the last few years. There is no way she was more over than Lita or Trish.

 

[JustB]

I'll never forget when the main event happened on Raw where it was Rock/Lita vs. Triple H/Trish. Rock was in the ring and they were actually CHANTING for him to tag Lita in because they wanted to see her instead.

AJ's by far the best they have right now, but all time she's not even close

 

[KoC417]

Even Trish Stratus and Lita were never made to be the central point of a male storyline like AJ was last summer.

So I guess that whole Matt Hardy vs Kane situation didn't have Lita as the central point of a male storyline?
And Trish wasn't a focal point of Christian turning against Jericho?

 

[JustB]

So I guess that whole Matt Hardy vs Kane situation didn't have Lita as the central point of a male storyline?
And Trish wasn't a focal point of Christian turning against Jericho?

Not to mention:

Lita vs. Dean Malenko feud
Trish/Steph/Triple H triangle they had going
Trish and Vince having an affair while Linda was in a coma
Lita/Hardy/Edge triangle based on the real life incident

Plus Lita was involved in every Hardy storyline for like 2 years. Not sure where the idea that the two were never involved with the men came from. They were involved in plenty of big stories

 

[The Champ]

So I guess that whole Matt Hardy vs Kane situation didn't have Lita as the central point of a male storyline?
And Trish wasn't a focal point of Christian turning against Jericho?

Matt Hardy vs. Kane was more about Kane being a disturbed individual than it was about Lita. Lita was just the victim.

Likewish, the Trish thing was as much about Christian being a girlfriend-stealing, friend-betraying scumbag as it was about Trish (and you can say the same about Lita/Edge/Matt).

Also, both Lita and Trish had an ally in those storylines. AJ had no male backing up last summer when she was pushing two males through a table. It was all her, and the storyline was entirely about her being crazy and the guys trying to deal with it.

Keep in mind that when I say "like" I mean "in the same way." Lita and Trish were integral parts of male storylines, but not in the same way.

Plus Lita was involved in every Hardy storyline for like 2 years. Not sure where the idea that the two were never involved with the men came from. They were involved in plenty of big stories

Again, the key words are "central point" and "like AJ was." I was not trying to suggest that they weren't involved in male storylines at all, obviously they were.

 

[minoru808]

I believe AJ is CURRENTLY the most over diva. But in no way is she even close to being all time. She is fairly new still. Trish, Lita, Miss Elizabeth would probably be the top three in any order. AJ could get there, but it will take a while unless she has a very special moment. Unless you are mixing up being over with being hot.

 

[Pepper Lewis]

I think the MOST OVER DIVA EVER IN WWE is CHYNA!

Chyna/ Trish Status/ Lita/ MELINA IS HOTTEST EVER, miss her entrance!

Scary Sherri! lol back in the day!

Elizabeth/ Stephanie Mcmahon is freak'n hot too!

 

[Rayne]

AJ isn't even in the top five.... and she has to fight to be in the top ten. Is she the most over Diva in the WWE currently? Sure, but the WWE is going through a low swing, professional wrestling itself is going through a low swing; AJ is the dim lightbulb in the celler which you only think is bright because everything around it is so dark.

Performers who had a larger 'presence' with the audience include (and I'm only counting the cases I consider clear-cut, not the arguable ones): Lita, Trish, Sunny, Stephanie McMahon, Chyna, Sable, and Ms. Elizabeth. Those are just the ones that blew AJ out of the water; we could then talk about Mickie James, Melina, and Sensational Sherri. I'm sure I've left out a couple of names I should be including.

AJ is probably the best Diva that the WWE has today, but historically? It's not even competitive.

 

[Dirk]

Where would Fabulous Mulah figure in this? I'm too young to have seen her matches, but wasn't she the women's champ for YEARS? Or is she exluded, because she was a "woman" and not a "diva"?

 

[The Phantom Rebel]

trish wasn't all that great she was mediocre at best neither was lita , Beth phonex, mickey james, natalie,Molly, Ivory, Gail kim, Victoria ,Even Katlyn all better then trish and lita now lets step out side the realm of wwe half the woman in the indys are better the trish and lita Cheerleader Mellisa,Jessicka Havock are just a couple of examples . the only reason any one liked trish she because she has a pornstar look about her

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Where would Fabulous Mulah figure in this? I'm too young to have seen her matches, but wasn't she the women's champ for YEARS? Or is she exluded, because she was a "woman" and not a "diva"?

Not even Moolah, Miss Elizabeth was way more over than AJ will ever be. People were talking about Elizabeth on the streets, people talk about AJ on Twitter and message boards so she must have some degree of popularity, but even at the peak of the angle with Punk, Bryan and Kane she was nowhere near Elizabeth, Stephanie McMahon during the McMahon-Helmsley era, Chyna as the eight wonder of the world, Sable during the Attitude Era, Sunny when she was the most downloaded female in the world back when downloading images of scantly clad women was the norm and others.

 

[The Champ]

AJ isn't even in the top five.... and she has to fight to be in the top ten. Is she the most over Diva in the WWE currently? Sure, but the WWE is going through a low swing, professional wrestling itself is going through a low swing; AJ is the dim lightbulb in the celler which you only think is bright because everything around it is so dark.

Performers who had a larger 'presence' with the audience include (and I'm only counting the cases I consider clear-cut, not the arguable ones): Lita, Trish, Sunny, Stephanie McMahon, Chyna, Sable, and Ms. Elizabeth. Those are just the ones that blew AJ out of the water; we could then talk about Mickie James, Melina, and Sensational Sherri. I'm sure I've left out a couple of names I should be including.

AJ is probably the best Diva that the WWE has today, but historically? It's not even competitive.

See, if you want to make the argument that Trish and Lita were more over, that's fine. But this is the type of post that just doesn't want to give AJ her due. I think it's clear that she's an all time great female performer if you watch her work with any sort of objectivity, and referring her as a "dim lightbulb" implies that the work she's done is only good if viewed within the context of her era, which I don't think is true at all.

AJ is absolutely a better performer than Mickie and Melina. Mickie may have been more over at one time during the Trish story, but she wasn't able to maintain that character while working with a multitude of different people like AJ is currently able to. Melina in particular didn't really do anything that hasn't been done before, and her body of work in general is largely overrated by the 'net if you ask me.

Now, I understand that this thread is primarily about overness, but once you start throwing words like "best" in there, and implying that she's only good when compared to the divas around her, you have to take her talent level into account, which again, is much higher than what's being implied by a select few here.

 

[Shotaro]

If we're basing it on crowd reaction then I think the most over Diva ever is Vickie Guerrero, seriously, her reaction has been as big or bigger than guys like Cena. Has the reaction to any other Diva ever derailed promos? Nope, Vickie Guerrero gets so much heat that the crowd cheer for Cena when she's around.

 

[LSN80]

I was talking about this with a buddy of mine earlier in the day amd we couldnt agree on this.... He said No I said yes, I think at AJ's peak in popularity last year she was probably the most over diva of all times.... My buddy said trish, and lita and sable and stephanie surpassed her.... And while I respect his opinion, AJ although not neccesarily wrestling in the occasional main event like the 4 mentioned already, she was involved in the main storylines amd IMO she was in the running to be the most over person in the roster.....

So what do you think, was AJ the most over Diva in WWE?

You said it best. At her peak, she may have been the most over person on the roster. But how long did that last? A month? Two, at best? Now, consider Trish Stratus.

[YOUTUBE]_WbwGuVJZT0[/YOUTUBE]

Watch the reaction to the end of this match, and you tell me if there was a Diva, let alone AJ, who was EVER as over as Trish Stratus. Eruption from the fans, tears from Lilian. Did AJ every generate that?

And heres the thing with Trish: She could flip the switch from heel to face and gain instant heat, or unmitigated love from the fans. Remember the only match of two women to ever truly main event Raw? That was Trish vs. Lita. True, it was in Lita's hometown, but why do you think Lita was able to elicit such a reaction from the fans? Part of it, no doubt, was Lita's return from injury to win the title, but a large part was because Trish was HATED. She had set back Lita's recovery in storyline, and it drew her as massive of heat as her win over Lita in her final match did. Don't believe me?

[YOUTUBE]k6XnpsvigZQ[/YOUTUBE]
If Trish wasn't hated, and it had been, say, Jillian Hall, do you think people would have cared as much? Hell no. Sunny may have been the "first Diva", but Trish was the first true embodiment of a Diva. Looks, mic skills, and tremendous in-ring abilities. While AJ has grown stale with her one-trick pony act at times, Trish refined hers time and again to stay fresh, and it worked.

I like AJ, I really do. Her mannerisms are awesome and she plays crazy better then anyone this side of Mickie James in 2006. She's a good wrestler, but she's not the total package. Trish Stratus was, and as a result, is far superior to what AJ is.

She was involved with the wwe champion, cm punk. Former world heavyweight champion daniel bryan, kane, john cena, was the Raw GM, and then Dolph Ziggler..... All with her crazy angle......

She's been involved in some major storylines, and played her role well. But in the end, it's come down to the wrestlers in the ring. AJ's role with any of them, other then Bryan and Ziggler, lasted only a short time. And her time in the ring? Until last night, it's been minimal. The girl can wrestle, and deserves the Divas Championship. She has an actual character the division can build around.

But she's not the total package Trish Stratus was. Not even close.

 

[justtxyank]

Forget crowd pops, the most over diva ever was Sable and it isn't close. She made the WWF a fortune (was even referred to as a meal ticket on the air) and moved merchandise at a big time rate. Her 1 or 2 year stretch was unmatched. I always personally preferred Sunny and Trish is definitely better looking, but Sable had something about her (ultra ****tiness?) that made her a mega star.

 

[The Champ]

You said it best. At her peak, she may have been the most over person on the roster. But how long did that last? A month? Two, at best? Now, consider Trish Stratus.

[YOUTUBE]_WbwGuVJZT0[/YOUTUBE]

Watch the reaction to the end of this match, and you tell me if there was a Diva, let alone AJ, who was EVER as over as Trish Stratus. Eruption from the fans, tears from Lilian. Did AJ every generate that?

You're out of your mind if you think that is a remotely fair comparison. You're talking about Trish Stratus' retirement in her hometown and saying that that's the type of reaction AJ should be getting every week. Trish Stratus did not get that reaction every week. She was over, but she was not THAT over consistently.

Don't get me wrong, I love Trish. She had a great career and is one of the best of all time without question, but AJ is absolutely on her level talent wise. The crazy character is not the only thing she can do, either; at the beginning of last year, she sold being Daniel Bryan's submissive girlfriend brilliantly. Before that, and I know no one watched the divas season, but she was a relatively popular face on NXT when she was doing the geek thing.

They're running as far as they can with the crazy thing now because it's gotten extremely over and she's extremely good at it, but that does not make her one dimensional. If anything, the way she's been able to maintain her character as both a face and a heel should be applauded. Trish's character changes were more drastic, in that she became a bitch overnight when she turned heel and then suddenly became a heroine again when she turned back, but they were also far less seamless and sensible (what reason did she have to save Ashley in 2005, after going so hard after Christy when she won the same contest the year before?).

 

[Rayne]

See, if you want to make the argument that Trish and Lita were more over, that's fine. But this is the type of post that just doesn't want to give AJ her due. I think it's clear that she's an all time great female performer if you watch her work with any sort of objectivity, and referring her as a "dim lightbulb" implies that the work she's done is only good if viewed within the context of her era, which I don't think is true at all.

Well, the question got asked if AJ was the most over Diva of all time. I answered the question. If we were going to have a discussion about the most talented, my answers would change, although probably not in ways you'd like.

Fortunately, we were discussing who was more over, not who was more talented.

 

[Kidpolean]

Come on people can we be real for a second...AJ isnt even top 5 over or top five in the ring either. She is good right now and will no doubt be in the hall of fame one day but most over diva of all time HELL NO. Sable, Trish, Lita, Chyna, Miss Elizabeth, Sunny, Alundra Blayze, Stephanie, and Vickie were all more over than AJ. I love AJ but she is not on their level in any way. Neither is she the most talented diva of all time.

 

[Ellye]

For more recent competition, there were also LayCool - they were quite "over" (as heels, i.e., getting heavy boos and such), and their matches and storylines actually kept the Divas division interesting for a while.

But I do enjoy AJ, and her match at Payback gave me hope in the Divas division.