Is it too early to call the Diva's Revolution a failure?

[BigBombB]

Look, look, look, I know. I want the women to succeed as much as anyone else does, I was predicting that this would be the greatest women's division in history. Then reality hit. The debut made me skeptical, the past few weeks made me question, but Summerslam has cemented it. The whole diva's revolution has been ruined.

Tonight we had some great match-ups: Cena/Rollins, Taker/Lesnar, and the two greatest wrestlers in the industry today Cesaro/Owens. Each of these matches delivered and showed the high quality athletes that the men's division has. Then there was the 9-Woman Tag, an absolute trainwreck.

Now, I'll offer a bit of a defense AGAINST my own opinion. Sasha Banks is SUPER over but I think she was injured during the NXT special so Team BAD had an early, unceremonious exit. Maybe this match was supposed to highlight Sasha and they had to switch it up.

Ok, now for reality. Outside of the heel heat for Nikki and the big cheers for Sasha, no one else got a reaction. The second that BAD was eliminated the entire arena went dead. It didn't help that a lot of the spots were sloppy and there wasn't a single highlight worth remembering.

Here is the problem. On NXT these ladies mostly faced off in one-on-one matches that were treated seriously and given plenty of time to develop; the exact opposite of a multi-person cluster. They were totally out of their element in their first grand stage match and it showed...ohhhh how it showed. It also doesn't help that fans who don't watch NXT have no idea who these new girls are. In NXT Charlotte was treated like a goddess and a major dynasty player, Becky was the wild Irish child, and Paige was the scary hot goth chick. Since being bumped up to WWE none of them have any distinctive personality at all.

And it seems the women are realizing this too. Charlotte looked completely out of place. Becky looked like she was going through the motions. Paige was working hard but getting nothing for it. Tamina looks awesome but also lacks character and the crowd goes dead every time she is in the ring. Alicia Fox was just there. Brie may be the "better wrestler" of the twins but she wasn't exactly wowing. Naomi is working her gimmick well but still struggling to connect with the crowd.

Add all of this together and this is hardly the change of pace that everyone hoped for. It seems like this entire stunt is only meant to lead to a Sasha Banks/Nikki Bella at the expense of everyone else. Which is great for Sasha, she is amazing and well deserving of her spot, but what happens once she conquers Nikki and has no one else that anyone cares about to feud with?

Yeah, I'm calling it. WWE screwed it up.

 

[L@RISANO]

Quite simply, the storyline about the Teams just sucked and nothing more. Until Nikki gets AJ's record, people like myself who have heard about how great the NXT Divas perform, are merely holding on till then before passing judgement on this "Divas Revolution".

 

[MERPER]

Yeah it's pretty bad because of the 3-woman teams.... especially when you know that at some point you need singles competition to get to Nikki and have the belt change hands...

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

My impression is that it would be better that NXT just run over everyone on Divas Division including Bellas and Paige. And that other then Bellas, Paige and NXT(Banks, Charlotte, Becky) all others are there just because. Coincidently, read some report on site today that first idea was to do just that with Charlotte taking title from Nikki but Cena interfered and they scraped it. Cant believe too much because of Nikkis record breaking was set in stone before that, but still think its better idea then this. Hopefully after record when they acctually feud 1 on 1 for title and where single ladies can get better exposure and they scrap the likes of Alicia and Tamina it could get better.

Wouldnt called it a failure though. They got decent exposure and its way better then those dreadfull 3 minute matches with botched spots everywhere. At least now you can see decent in-ring action and at least some kind of storyline. But it could be a lot better. There is always room for improvements.

Oh, and disagree on this

Brie may be the "better wrestler" of the twins

Nikki has improved, Brie is just horrible lately. That last "Brie mode" before Becky pinned her was horrible.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I wouldn't call the "Diva's Revolution" a failure just yet, but that doesn't matter it has been a success.

Here's what WWE Creative thought: "We're getting some bad rep on Twitter, so let's call 3 divas up, put the whole division in 3 random groups, and place them in random matches to quieten them down a bit."

Let's not forget that Nikki Bella is still champion. There's no revolution when the leader of the "empire" is still in power (or in this case, still champion).

 

[MartialHorror]

I consider it to be a failure because it's not a revolution when the Authority figure is the one bringing in the revolutionaries. It's more like a Diva's Civil War, if anything. But has there been any real developments to this storyline? Not really. All three teams are skirting around each-other.

I was really interested in a potential 'Nikki Vs Sasha' storyline but they torpedoed that by having them fight on RAW (or was it Smackdown?). The novelty is gone already. Have the matches improved? Sure. Is it nice seeing new faces? Absolutely. But has it revolutionized women's wrestling? Hell no.

 

[LBGetBack]

Nah. Apparently they wanted to get everyone on the card, but how good could a 9 person, 3 team tag possibly be?

Once they trim the fat(Naomi, Alicia, Tamina, and let Brie just be Nikki's support), things will pick up. Sasha is a flat out STAR. I'm 100% sold, she's one of the best wrestlers in the company male or female. Charlotte, Becky, and Paige can go too, and Nikki has become quite good at what she does.

Let those 5(and eventually Bayley when she comes up), go at it in different combinations, develop some simple stories, and let them tell these stories in the ring. Seems pretty damn simple, and hard to screw up. I think things will pick up now that the extra BS should be out of the way. I say, for starters.....Charlotte and Nikki feud for the title, with Charlotte eventually winning. Sasha and Page feud, with Sasha winning. Leading to Sasha and Charlotte going at it for the title, with Sasha being the eventual winner and long term champ.

 

[xRob13x]

They just need to get out of this whole faction war thing. Give them a #1 contender's tournament, and in the fallout of that they can build a couple of other angles to keep people busy and relevant while at the same time not necessarily focused on the title. In short, book them like the rest of the wrestlers and not lump literally every competing female into the same one story.

If the matches have improved overall and more and more people actually start to care, then the 'revolution' as a whole is not a failure, and it's obvious that both of those things are happening.

Also, I agree that Sasha was probably pretty banged up after last night. Gotta say, though, as far as I'm concerned, that was the actual main event of the show, no offense to Balor and Owens.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Here's what I would do.

1 - Becky got the pin, so make her #1 Contender. Book Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch at Night of Champions.

2 - Meanwhile, the other 7 Divas (plus Natalya, to make it an even number), compete in a #1 Contender tournament over the next two months.

3 - Nikki retains the title against Becky at Night of Champions.

4 - Charlotte beats Natalya in the tournament final at Hell in a Cell to become #1 Contender.

5 - Charlotte beats Nikki Bella for the championship at Survivor Series.

6 - Charlotte retains against Brie Bella at TLC.

7 - Charlotte retains against Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble.

8 - Nikki beats Brie to become #1 Contender at Fast Lane. The same night, Charlotte retains against Becky Lynch.

9 - Nikki beats Charlotte to regain the title at WrestleMania to put a heel back on top of the division and get a heel win on the WrestleMania card.

 

[Rykerzane]

Here's my thoughts.

1. The match was set up as a failure to begin with. Elimination match. Why don't you do survivor series style? This whole pin one and they're all gone made the drama disappear. Think about Charlotte vs The Bellas where she had to overcome the odds in the end bc she was the only one left. Whenever THREE can be eliminated by ONE pin, terrible.

2. Sasha I do believe was banged up and tired after last night. That's why you never saw her even hit the mat.

3. You know how they say 3's a crowd? What the heck is 9 then? I think just like previous posts have said, it's too many people that creates chaos and confusion and sloppy product whenever most of them minus the Bellas haven't worked together in a tag team sense. That's why the only real double team moves were from the Bellas.

I don't blame any of the girls...I think they can do some great things but how about get rid of all the teams and make it everyone clawing and fighting for a chance at Nikki?

And to the person who said Brie's Brie mode drop kick was bad....it was supposed to miss lol. That's the whole point of how Becky got the pin.

 

[AustinHartLesnarHBKTaz80]

It was destined to be a failure because the WWE is just hell bent on Nikki Bella breaking AJ Lee's record for longest reigning Divas Champion of all time.

All in the name of erasing AJ from the record books, just like what they did when they hotshotted Randy Orton to become the youngest WWE champion ever in 2004, erasing Brock Lesnar from that recognition.

There is just no way out of this.

How many more days do we have to go until then?

The REAL revolution would have seen the debut of the Four Horsewomen---Charlotte, Lynch, Banks, and Bayley and have one of them defeat Nikki for the championship immediately upon arrival. Then have each of them taking turns getting title matches and feuding for #1 contendership---and every so often, main eventing a Monday Night Raw or a PPV. Now THAT would have been a REVOLUTION.

Not this piece of un-creative, "multiple divas thrown into a random match" crap we're seeing right now

 

[MERPER]

I agree with a prior poster that this should have been a survivor series type match.... unfortunately, i bet it wasn't because they will actually do that match at survivor series...

after Nikki gets done breaking AJ's record, go slight attitude era style in order to get her to defend the belt (which she rarely does) by having the other 2 teams of 3 team up to take out brie and alicia and then have their way with nikki... embarrass her in to giving a title shot.... pour things on her, rip off the shirt that covers her wrestling top, spank her, stuff like that to degrade her until she agrees...

then when she does, have it be a triple threat match... nikki vs. member of team bad (they fight it out for the right to enter) and member of paige's team (who do the same)... winners face nikki for the belt at an upcoming ppv and belt finally changes hands...

with the teams having fought one another and then dissension grows, get rid of these teams... bring Bailey up and reunite the 4 horsewomen of NXT as the actual group to do damage and start a revolution..

 

[nahd2421]

I can't say the revolution is a failure yet, but they all need too split up so it can look like heavy competition again, right now its pretty much 3 on 3 on 3 with Lana & summer rae, once the all split up & bring Cameron & natalya in the mix too it'll at least look like 12 competitors fighting for the divas title

 

[Messiah]

It's not a failure, but it's definitely not a success yet, this storyline seems to be leading somewhere, and it seems like WWE to focusing a lot on Becky and Charlotte, potentially a triple threat match on RAW or Night of Champions.. Not too sure what people are expecting with this Divas Revolution but they're getting multiple matches a show and they're pretty solid matches to.. They weren't going to come in and start headlining PPV's like Sasha predicts will happen in the future, everything that's happened the past few weeks is a step in the right direction, it's going to take time.

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

Yes it is a failure. I called this months ago while the rest of you fan boys were all goo goo gaa gaa ing over the new divas.

I feel bad watching Sasha team with those glorified jobbers Tamina and Namoi. Sasha deserves better. Team Bad always loses, they have been booked horrific.

 

[Rykerzane]

Before I say this, please understand I am in total agreement with being impressed by The Four Horsewomen. But...

1. What good does them being a wrecking force have on the entire division? So you have 4 girls that always win and have matches? That's it?

2. These NXT girls are used to one show a week and the other days in the gym and in the ring while the vets are in airplanes, appearances, live events and a normal gym to stay in shape. Everyone seems to forget that. So put them on a regular travel schedule...will you start to constantly see Sasha up on the second rope knee her opponents as they lay across the ropes? Will you see Charlotte always chest slap and spear? And I say that not to knock them because EVERYONE, male and female, has signature moves that they go to. But when you put them on a full time schedule, they lose the time to work tons of details and new moves out in the ring.

What I'm saying is how does them obliterating everyone else (Bellas, Paige, Natalya, Naomi, Tamina, Alicia) do anything for the division unless you just want your division to be 4 people with them having similar matches on a much more frequent basis then what they did in NXT where it was once a week.

You DO need to give the vets a chance because like it or not, the vets mentioned CAN wrestle, CAN sell their characters well...minus Tamina on that last part about selling. Even on their off days, they apparently find at least a little time to try new stuff, just not as often as NXT women. Remember Nikki not ever doing an Alabama slam, or jumping off the side ropes to do a kick?

I'm fine with those 4 being a stable but obliterating and winning all the time isn't a revolution either hate to break it to you. Maybe if we stopped calling it a revolution and just let good matches happen with a hunt for the title, more would get done.

 

[ASKane]

The entire point of the Diva Revolution was to take the power from the Bellas, the Bellas are still champions and haven't defended it since it started and no one has challenged them. They've established that the title is what gives them power but Sasha, Paige, Becky and Charlotte have not yet challenge Nikki to put her title up so they are allowing her to keep and the power and therefore in storyline its a failure, in real life its a success as it has done wonders for the division but as long as Nikki holds the title the storyline revolution is a failure

 

[enviousdominous]

Seriously dude; how many three-team tag matches produce anything beyond the very basics?

Did I love the match? No, but these women had the impossible task of making a three-team tag match note-worthy while (correct me if I'm wrong) having their match sandwiched between an epic world title match and the Cesaro vs Owens grudge match. The only thing at stake in their match was indirect pride.

I really wish they would have let Sasha finish the match, I think the OP would have an entirely different tone if she had. I don't know if she was injured or not, there are ways to keep a performer in the match with minimal physical involvement. Sasha is trying to get over as a heel, so let her do a foot on the ropes pin or something.

Needs improvement? Yes, but not on part of the physical ability of the female wrestlers. Failure? No, fans are still cheering for Sasha and Charlotte.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Maybe I'm a minority but, generally speaking, I don't see what the hell people are complaining about. Nikki Bella is going to break AJ Lee's record, it's time people accepted it and made peace with it; I know a lot of them don't like it but if we can get over Brock Lesnar ending Taker's undefeated streak, we can get over the certainty of AJ Lee will no longer have the longest reign as Divas Champion.

The faction wars thing has produced some great matches involving the ladies, people can piss off if they try to sell me that Sasha vs. Paige or Sasha vs. Nikki in singles matches weren't good. The point of the Divas Revolution as a whole wasn't to get the Bella Twins out of "power", it's to usher in actual relevance and legitimacy to women's wrestling in WWE. Again, I know some people despise the Bella Twins, but it's time to get the fuck over it; both of them have improved immensely since their return to the company. I'm not saying that they're on the same level as Paige, Sasha, Charlotte or Becky, but the notion that they suck is based on personal dislike & bias rather than actuality.

Now that Night of Champions is coming up, the new Divas are getting firmly established and there's some actual meat to this "Divas Revolution", we're probably going to see more emphasis placed on the Divas Championship itself. By the time NOC comes around, Nikki Bella will have broken AJ Lee's record of 295 days as champion and over the course of the next month, we're probably going to see the Divas jockeying for position to become #1 contender as every title is to be defended at NOC. As a result, inner tensions will probably start to rise between the teams, they won't be enough to split everyone up but they'll be more along the lines of friendly competition to see who faces Nikki for the strap.

Calling the Divas Revolution a failure....well, here's the thing: it's only been going on for about 6 weeks or so and consider the state of women's wrestling in WWE prior to July 13, 2015. Between then and now, there are actual storylines & angles involving the women, they're getting time to put on genuinely entertaining wrestling matches on television & ppvs and listen to the reactions the gals are getting from fans. As long as Vince simply doesn't spontaneously lose interest and/or Trips & Stephanie are able to convince him to stay uninvolved, then the "Divas Revolution" will be successful because, as I said, said revolution is about making women's wrestling matter in WWE.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Oh stop it. What were people expecting? Main events, title changes, their own show? Get realistic. The Divas Revolution is about taking the power away from The Bellas in kayfabe and about The Divas having a more significant place in WWE in smarkminds.

There is no arguing that the latter has happened during this time and the former seems to be happening as well. The Bellas have been more than humbled so far and lost a lot of steam last night. Is Nikki losing the title the culmination in all of this? Probably, or maybe she retains for a while to build more heat or make it that much more important when someone does take the title.

But a failure? No. Shitty matches are the fault of the women, not the story and not WWE. And success and failure should not be judged based on a 9 woman tag match.

And for anyone who thinks WWE is trying to wipe out AJ Lee, why would Cole mention her recently on Raw with Vince in his ear if they wanted to wipe her out? The Divas record title reign is meaningless in Vince's eyes.

 

[ajdb]

Yup, the divas revolution has failed. Then again, it never stood a chance once Cena put a stop to it. We gotta get moving in some direction soon.

I don't think they were going through the motions last night. I think it was more that Team PCB had to slow down to about half speed to keep Team Bella in the match.

We'll all have to wait until that magic day when Nikki moves ahead of AJ Lee then I'll completely give up on the divas if this continues.

 

[Reflection]

I won't call it a total failure, because they can have one of the NXT divas kick the gold digger champion's plastic a** anytime in the coming months and claim that the revolution has finally been a success- because dethroning Nikki seems to be the only objective, at the end of the day, for the Bellas are not going to be taken out of action or anything.

However... as far as "revolutionizing the divas division" is concerned, I'd say that their arrival hasn't revolutionized anything, and won't revolutionize anything in the future. They were just three employees given a promotion at the same time, and that's it... which is a shame, because they could have done a lot more, like kayfabe taking out Natalya, Cameron, Layla etc. in order to send a message that this is what they are capable of and reminding everyone from time to time that they are serious about taking out the trash.

They shouldn't be content with just winning 2-way and 3-way tag team matches, because that's not what they came here for. I just hope that in the coming months, they won't be reduced to the level of a typical cowardly heel team that can't do much unless they have a numbers advantage... and have the Bellas play the faces trying to defend the integrity of the institution from the invaders. Now that would be a massive slap to the face, maybe even bigger than the Nexus angle.

 

[kadroan]

Look, look, look, I know. I want the women to succeed as much as anyone else does, I was predicting that this would be the greatest women's division in history. Then reality hit. The debut made me skeptical, the past few weeks made me question, but Summerslam has cemented it. The whole diva's revolution has been ruined.

Tonight we had some great match-ups: Cena/Rollins, Taker/Lesnar, and the two greatest wrestlers in the industry today Cesaro/Owens. Each of these matches delivered and showed the high quality athletes that the men's division has. Then there was the 9-Woman Tag, an absolute trainwreck.

Now, I'll offer a bit of a defense AGAINST my own opinion. Sasha Banks is SUPER over but I think she was injured during the NXT special so Team BAD had an early, unceremonious exit. Maybe this match was supposed to highlight Sasha and they had to switch it up.

Ok, now for reality. Outside of the heel heat for Nikki and the big cheers for Sasha, no one else got a reaction. The second that BAD was eliminated the entire arena went dead. It didn't help that a lot of the spots were sloppy and there wasn't a single highlight worth remembering.

Here is the problem. On NXT these ladies mostly faced off in one-on-one matches that were treated seriously and given plenty of time to develop; the exact opposite of a multi-person cluster. They were totally out of their element in their first grand stage match and it showed...ohhhh how it showed. It also doesn't help that fans who don't watch NXT have no idea who these new girls are. In NXT Charlotte was treated like a goddess and a major dynasty player, Becky was the wild Irish child, and Paige was the scary hot goth chick. Since being bumped up to WWE none of them have any distinctive personality at all.

And it seems the women are realizing this too. Charlotte looked completely out of place. Becky looked like she was going through the motions. Paige was working hard but getting nothing for it. Tamina looks awesome but also lacks character and the crowd goes dead every time she is in the ring. Alicia Fox was just there. Brie may be the "better wrestler" of the twins but she wasn't exactly wowing. Naomi is working her gimmick well but still struggling to connect with the crowd.

Add all of this together and this is hardly the change of pace that everyone hoped for. It seems like this entire stunt is only meant to lead to a Sasha Banks/Nikki Bella at the expense of everyone else. Which is great for Sasha, she is amazing and well deserving of her spot, but what happens once she conquers Nikki and has no one else that anyone cares about to feud with?

Yeah, I'm calling it. WWE screwed it up.

It's still early. WWE just need to continue building on it. They really need to make the Divas division, a true alternative to the men's division. Like there needs to be a tag title because all these women can't just be off the card on PPVs if there's only one, one on one match up on a PPV card. Or atleast have an additional feud between another set of Divas like for example, Becky Lynch and Nikki could be feuding over the Divas title going into NoC. Meanwhile, Paige and Sasha could also be building towards a match on the card because they got some unsettled business between the two as they both want to get back in the Divas title picture.

I'd love to see a MITB briefcase next year for the Divas Championship. The Divas are athletic enough to pull off a ladder match.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

It's far too early to call the revolution a failure. It's painfully obvious that the entire division is in something of a holding pattern until Nikki surpasses the longest reign record, then we might acctually start to see a revolution.

I believe that the faction war has been a hold over so that people turn a blind eye to Nikki's continued dominance and so as not to damage the babyfaces. Paige and Naomi both lost a lot of their lustre in the spring and early summer when they failed to capture the title. Doing the same to them again or any of the NXT upstarts would be a poor choice.

The teams have overstayed their welcome. They were fresh at first, but never should have lasted. Summerslam should have been the blowoff, but no descent in the ranks was teased. Team Bella should go on, as should Naomi and Tamina, but PCB and BAD need to implode sooner than later.

Night of Champions is upon us, and the title needs a number one contender. Hopefully on Raw tonight we'll begin to see things fall apart. The worst would be if NOC turned into a battle royal or some other match type. The most I would want to see is a triple threat, but I have a feeling a four way is also possible.

Paige will likely be the safe answer for dethroning Nikki. I also think a case could be made for Charlotte or Sasha. Sasha is easily the most over, so a face chasing her title would make for the best television.

I would deem the revolution a failure if a return to the previous status quo occurs. Examples being a Brie face turn and Nikki vs Brie becoming a long term program, a return to one divas match a night, or Charlotte vs Sasha in a bra and panties match.

This is WWE, baby steps are expected. I think last night will mark the end of phase one of the divas revolution. PCB has one, they're the dominant faction. Now the factions must evolve or die. The prospect of becoming Divas champ will tear apart BAD and PCB, ending the faction wars. Charlotte and Sasha surely go their own way. Paige and Becky, Naomi and Tamina, and team Bella could stick together allowing for a small divas tag division.

We're getting two divas matches a night on Raw, but it's all the same storyline. Now is the time for more than one feud to take place. The challenger, or challengers to Nikki must break off, while personal feuds between the others must begin to take shape.

This angle is what, two months old? People are already calling it a failure? Sheesh. I'm holding on to hope that the curtain has been called on the faction wars and that the championship becomes the new focal point. We need clear feuds between fewer competitors.

Tonight is certainly a big turning point, so let's let NOC determine if this extremely young angle is a failure or not. I think we're a bit overly critical considering how early into the angle this is, but a that same time years of a crap womens division has left us demanding more. Banks is the real deal, so is Charlotte, Lynch is incredible but is muddled in the mixture of trying to push nine women at once. Patience my friends, let's decide whether or not the angle is a failure when the angle has acctually ended.

Afterthought: don't read the dirt sheets saying Cena put a stop to this or is the main factor in a Nikki push. The rumour is unsourced and on a dirt sheet. It's not gospel, Cena isn't a moron. If there's any truth to it, it's something in between.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

It's far from a failure yet but I am expecting it to fail. The way I see it the upper office has their eye on Eva Marie to be the next face of the Diva's division and not the NXT Diva's like everyone is hoping for. Eva Marie is exactly what a Diva's revolution SHOULDN'T be but in all honesty that's probably where the division is headed and it's gonna skip over the likes of Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch even though they are much more talented.

WWE is going to do what they always do, pander to the fans just long enough that they think a change is happening only to find some lame excuse why it's not working which will all end with the Diva's essentially going back to what they were doing in previous years because that's what WWE thinks will work best. There will never be a Diva's revolution while Total Divas exist, since that show started the Diva's division has completely revolved around that show and that's just not going to change anytime soon.