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

[Rykerzane]

But here's the thing WWE needs to realize and some of yall need to as well.

Some people blaming Total Divas or WWE at one point a while back trying to take story lines from Total Divas which was pre recorded into live story lines was just dumb. You can have a reality show and not let it affect the current product and WWE or anyone else that thinks you can't or blames a TV show is dumb.

And those calling Nikki "plastic" aren't helping anything or always saying well it's the Bellas that's why we're having to slow things down. Come on now. It couldn't have anything to do with as stated earlier, the bad rules that eliminates a whole team with one pin? Nothing to do with the fact that Sasha was banged up and couldn't do much which again, when one team member is down the whole team is eliminated.

It's hard to make 9 people gel together. I think the teams need to be broken apart and have the next few weeks be about the number one contender for the title. Then you get to see matches with energy and passion just one on one wrestling. Screw the team stuff and get down to these girls having something to fight for and a built up storyline.

 

[BigBombB]

My worry right now is that when Paige was brought up she was stripped of any character and, quite frankly, she still doesn't have any. When you're supposed to be a badass goth chick and you're debuted as a brain dead shell of a female in a role that literally anyone could do then that mystique wears off quickly. I fear the same has already happened with Charlotte and Becky.

Based on how they are presented on WWE tv, what are the differences between Paige, Charlotte, and Becky? Hair color. I think this is literally the only way that any person who is unfamiliar with their NXT work has to distinguish them from one another. There is no quicker death sentence in wrestling than being perceived as generic, like anyone could be filling your role, and all three of these women are facing that problem.

In NXT it was different. Charlotte was slow built as a dynasty player, a spectacle unto herself, and it was more the way people reacted to her than her own character that got her over. Becky had a heavy Irish influence to her in-ring style that has since completely disappeared. Paige was the one who was meant to completely reshape the women's division but instead she was the one who became molded into the pre-established boundaries.

I realize there is always time for a slow build but this "revolution" needed to get off to a hot start on the backs of these new women from NXT. Instead of being given the ball, these new women are being treated as if they are "trying to become somebody" instead of "already being somebody". I understand you have to earn your spot when you're entering a division with proven draws but the women's division doesn't have any draws, the NXT women were the ones with drawing potential, but instead of giving them the shot to make a dominant statement they are blending into the background.

Yes, Sasha has been an exception but she will only be new and shiny for so long. When she has no one to work with because the WWE hotshotted the angle without properly planning it out beforehand, suddenly even her star will die out. WWE Summerslam was merely the icing on the crap cake where everyone looked terrible to the point that the PCB win was met with silence.

 

[hatehabsforever]

No, I don't think it is too soon to classify the Diva's Revolution as a failure. In fact, I think it's time to reference it as an abysmal failure of epic proportions. I mean after all, it's been six whole weeks, and the three young ladies who have been called up from the NXT roster to the main shows haven't even become WWE Diva's Champion yet (all three of them). They haven't revolutionized the entire professional wrestling business yet. Hell, they haven't even managed to cure cancer in their tenure on the main roster! It's been a failure for sure, time to wish them all the best in their future endeavors, and off to Destination America for the whole lot of them.

Whatever happened to patience from the pro wrestling fan? What even happened to slow builds, to paying your dues, to earning your place on the card? Christ, they they have only been on RAW and Smackdown for a month and a half, now can they be classified as a success or a failure yet? In their very short stint on the main shows, they have had consistently strong showings, and fan response has been positive. They have definitely proven beyond a doubt that they deserve their spots on the big stage, and from where I'm sitting, the future has been brighter for the divas division than at any time since the post Lita/Trish days. Perhaps WWE is focused on having Nikki Bella defeat AJ Lee's record as longest divas title reign (which I have no problem with either as she has earned that too, despite what her naysayers will suggest), but the time will come for Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky (and eventually Bayley as well). I am quite certain of that.

No, the Divas Revolution has not been a failure. No, Kevin Owens has not been a failure either, sabotaged by the WWE who have doomed him to failure for some inexplicable reason (I guess because he's not chiseled in granite). And no, Samoa Joe will not be a failure if he isn't holding some hardware on the main roster next week. For Christ's sake, be patient and let things develop. You may actually enjoy the show for a change.

 

[Messiah]

God damn i can't wait for Nikki to break that record then you losers won't ever bring up AJ and her stupid little title reign ever again.. You guys talk about the record like it means something, it means nothing and neither does AJ.. AJ is dead to the wrestling business and the entertainment business in general. She hasn't been seen since leaving WWE, and i doubt we'll ever see her again.. and Nikki is going to break that record and who will care? Nobody will care because they realize the divas title is not prestigious enough to care.. People care now because Nikki has had the title for so damn long, just wait a few more weeks until she breaks that irrelevant record and you'll have a new champion, and we'll never hear about that record again.

 

[whoopin' ass]

It was a lost cause the moment Stephanie brought in the new talent. Had they just appeared to help Paige, it would have had an exciting dynamic - young, fresh talent going where the action is. Instead it was Stephanie bringing in new talent. If she wants things to be fair and different, why not just strip Nikki of the title for all the cheating? Or ban her sister from ringside during matches? Nope, it was an ego stroke - Stephanie is still the most dominant diva and Nikki gets new divas to beat. The whole execution was bad - you can't start a revolution if you keep letting the same people come out on top. Look back at the Nexus and Cena and it is the same thing - it is a new and dangerous force of young hungry wrestlers who constantly lose to Cena even when it makes no sense. It isn't surprising Cena talked Vince out of the original idea for the divas - you can see his fingerprints all over it because the same crap that went on thee is going on now with his girlfriend playing that top role. Hate to say it but anyone who thought things would chance wsas kidding themselves - in today's wwe, this is what women's wrestling is.

 

[LuckyLouie]

The problem is that they have two styles that dont mix. The main even girls are less of wrestlers, and they entertained more. Its a more feminine style.
The nXt girls have a very fast paced, aggressive style. They wrestle on par if not better then some male wrestlers.
Its a case of styles not mixing well. When the Bellas are done and its the nXt girls on the main roster, people will pay it sooo much more respect.

Plus it just started, it takes time for people to get into something thats new to them.
So lets give it a year, after that if it doesnt work....Then the Hammer was right lol.

 

[BigBombB]

No, the Divas Revolution has not been a failure. No, Kevin Owens has not been a failure either, sabotaged by the WWE who have doomed him to failure for some inexplicable reason (I guess because he's not chiseled in granite). And no, Samoa Joe will not be a failure if he isn't holding some hardware on the main roster next week. For Christ's sake, be patient and let things develop. You may actually enjoy the show for a change.

The difference is that there is more than a glimmer of hope for one of the guys you mentioned. Owens, regardless of his losses to Cena, has looked incredible. He stays in character, even in the ring, and has an unbelievable upside. His match with Cesaro at Summerslam was exceptional, both men were elevated by that one. He may not be a highlight right now but he is still busting his ass.

As for Samoa Joe, I'm already worried about him. His match at the NXT event was good but it seemed his knees were giving out on him. Joe can cut a decent promo but without the exceptional in-ring work to go with it then he isn't going to cut it on the main roster. It is an unfair and harsh reality.

My issue isn't that the women aren't all top draws already, it is that they haven't brought the "wow" factor, establishing that things have changed. They went from having some of the best matches of the night in NXT to mostly forgettable and entirely meaningless matches on Raw. Revolutions throughout history haven't been "slow builds", they have been immediate and impactful, quite the opposite of this "revolution".

 

[Nada]

They are telling us this is a revolution rather than showing us. NXT women did not get the reputation because Stephanie McMahon went into the ring and ran her mouth, instead the girls wrestled and wrestled well. The fans noticed and it became a thing.

This "revolution" resulted in a multi woman tag team match where the women fought for....for what? Tell me what they fought for on the second or third biggest PPV of the year? How the F does that get on Summerslam, yet Bayley and Sasha is on NXT?


Ziggler is not a "show off", because he never shows off anything but his ass during his entrance, one would think his gimmick was that of a stripper, a gay pornstar, Mr Ass Part II or whatever else. Mr Perfect was a show off, he actually had skits where his gimmick was pushed. Randy Orton is not the "apex predator" because he does nothing out of the ordinary to make us think he is some "predator" in the world of pro wrestling. Stone Cold was the Rattlesnake because he was hyper aggressive against everyone and anyone.


This is a case of cart coming before the horse, they want to have their cute marketing brands, but fail to actually establish what they are branding. Its a diva's revolution, because we say so, damnit!

Meanwhile fans are being held hostage, they want to support some of the talented women on that roster. Yet have to endure a Alicia Fox "promo", a Brie "promo" and a Nikki "promo", while Stephanie (a heel) is telling them how this is all happening right now.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

It's technicly a failure in the big market like new York or Minneapolis because these crowd are smart crowd and won't react like normal crowd but from what I saw before the last 2 weeks, it seem like the revolution is pretty much accepted in smaller market so it will ne a failure when the smaller market that have mostly made of casual fan turn on them.

 

[BigGreen73]

Right now the so called divas revolution is a bust. Summerslam should have been a 1x1 title defense for Nikki and there could have been a 2nd match. A triple threat taking 1 girl from each team to determine #1 contender for Night of Champions. It should not have been another team match. No one is standing out and all these team matches are doing absolutely no good for the division.

Until they start having some of the divas stand out it will go no where, and based on prior and current wwe booking, I am not getting my hopes up.

Why aren't any of the divas trying to get title shots? When was the last time Nikki defended? I know that WWE is petty and keeping the title on Nikki to break AJs record and because of total divas, but enough is enough.

 

[Navi]

Right now the so called divas revolution is a bust. Summerslam should have been a 1x1 title defense for Nikki and there could have been a 2nd match. A triple threat taking 1 girl from each team to determine #1 contender for Night of Champions. It should not have been another team match. No one is standing out and all these team matches are doing absolutely no good for the division.

Until they start having some of the divas stand out it will go no where, and based on prior and current wwe booking, I am not getting my hopes up.

Why aren't any of the divas trying to get title shots? When was the last time Nikki defended? I know that WWE is petty and keeping the title on Nikki to break AJs record and because of total divas, but enough is enough.

Of course it should have been a title defense, as with a lot of other lost opportunities they've let slide by. It's one thing for Nikki Bella to say "I'm the best. I'm the longest reigning Diva's champion" and another for the WWE to make her look like one. Just because she's carrying a belt around literally, means shit. Anyone and their brother could carry a title belt in their hands for the better part of a year, defending said title though is a completely different story.

I understand that she didn't have a lot of Diva's to compete against, Paige and Naomi being probably the only two. but honestly Nikki should have dropped the title to Naomi at least for a few months, just to freshen it up a little.

The last time she defended the title was I believe the Beast in the East event from Toyko in July, and I can't remember the time before that. You really have to shake your head at the antics of the WWE at times. Here they are trying to elevate the US title by having Cena defend it on a weekly basis, and yet the Diva's title is used primarily as a prop.

If I were Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks, I'd be asking for a ticket back to Florida and NXT. While they are getting highlighted on the main roster in a way, it's been kind of a waste. Isn't a Revolution to overthrow and win against all odds. They haven't even been given a chance.

 

[Reflection]

It seems that by "revolution," they didn't mean overthrowing the present leader, but instead revolving around her with tag team matches. I get it now, they've been using the pun to fool us all along!

But seriously though, I was holding back the smarky urge to declare it a failure... But after watching the way the 3 bastards blamed the fans for disrespecting their shit show (while continuing to declare that a revolution is taking place), it is clear to me that they mean it only in speech and hashtags, not in action. They are perfectly fine with the three new divas not getting any major momentum over the oldies, or bringing any major change like replacing the focus on good looks with wrestling skills...

And it makes sense too, because if they do, these three (Nikki, Brie and Paige) will suffer the most as they will be dethroned from their 1-2-3 position in the divas division, and will drop even further when Bailey, Blue Pants etc. get promoted up in the future.
P.S. Fuck the revolution, everyone loves themselves first.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

And it makes sense too, because if they do, these three (Nikki, Brie and Paige) will suffer the most as they will be dethroned from their 1-2-3 position in the divas division, and will drop even further when Bailey, Blue Pants etc. get promoted up in the future.
P.S. Fuck the revolution, everyone loves themselves first.

after reading your whole post, i actually disagree with you on that segment since for one reason and one reason only, the fact that you group paige with the bella's. Let's face it paige was chosen last year to be the one to replace aj lee when she finally decided to step down and the company is behind her 100%, so are the fans so i don't think that paige will get detrone anytime soon. Secondly out of the three diva's the called up from nxt, the only one with true star power is sasha banks, becky lynch is really good but will get stuck in a comedy role after this, and charlotte, while really athletics, she need a charisma transplant because her promo and presence in general suck. She also need to stop talking about how she the daughter of ric flair all the time, that'S going to hurt her in the long run.

HAs for the your comments about the bella'S and paige dropping even further when bailey, blue pants, etc. gets called up. I wouldn'T beat on it again for one reason, Bailey just like becky lynch will be in the comedy spot just like emma was before she got send back to nxt, blue pants is still not under contract with them so she won'T get called up anytime soon and for the rest of the nxt woman's division, sadly the only one that could be a real threat to the bella's is the one that's the worst wrestler in the company right now and that'S eva marie because everybody else aren't that great.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It failed, not because of Vince but cos of John... The moment he intervened, it was dead. Not out of support for his girl though...oh no, for the FIRST time, he was legit concerned that he and the guys could be properly upstaged on shows.

It was his John Stewart moment, "not on his watch..." hell, it probably fed into his own angle "Hey, I got a great idea to help Seth..."

Charlotte winning the title was a no-brainer, the Ronda Rousey comparisons were strong, the Flair connection stronger... but let's look at it this way... John playing that card and Seth's wonderfully timed knee saved us a 16 time JAHHHN CEEEENA as champ... The Diva's Revolution is a worth sacrifice if that holds...

 

[Psykohurricane55]

It failed, not because of Vince but cos of John... The moment he intervened, it was dead. Not out of support for his girl though...oh no, for the FIRST time, he was legit concerned that he and the guys could be properly upstaged on shows.

It was his John Stewart moment, "not on his watch..." hell, it probably fed into his own angle "Hey, I got a great idea to help Seth..."

Charlotte winning the title was a no-brainer, the Ronda Rousey comparisons were strong, the Flair connection stronger... but let's look at it this way... John playing that card and Seth's wonderfully timed knee saved us a 16 time JAHHHN CEEEENA as champ... The Diva's Revolution is a worth sacrifice if that holds...

I agree that Charlotte winning the title is a no braimer. But not know, in a year or two maybe when she able to get some more experience especially on the mic since as good as she's been in the ring, out of the three nxt girls that got called up, she's the most boring out of the three. Her promos are horrible and should really stop using Ric flair as a crotch because it doesn't help her at all since everybody will compare her to Ric.

As for john get involve in this, let's face it, it not the first time that a wrestlers intervened into his girlfriend storyline, let's face it, do you really thing that if it wasn't for cm punk, am Lee would have had that record breaking reign as the divas champion. If it wasn't for the undertaker, Michelle McCool wouldn't I have the career she had so when a main event wrestlers got power within the company, their a good chance they will use it to help their girlfriend.

 

[Dagger Dias]

How exactly is it a failure? It got us three excellent new divas. Sure we may still be stuck with Nikki Bella as Divas Champion.... but the Divas Revolution led to the simultaneous promotions of Becky, Charlotte, and Sasha. The match quality for the divas division has skyrocketed since the revolution began. Before that, everyone saw the divas matches as breaks. Not anymore. Not now when you have girls other than Paige who can work matches. Just because we do not have Becky, Charlotte, Sasha, or even Paige as Divas Champion right now does not make the Divas Revolution a failure. If all the new girls were to get jobbed out to The Bellas instantly, that would be a failure. Give it time, the division is improving.

 

[Xemmy]

Really?

Just because we didn't get everything we wanted from it, doesn't mean it failed. Fact is the Divas are getting more attention and T.V. time than they have in years without the assistance of male talent. The factions make it interesting. The matches are actually enjoyable to watch. I don't like the characters. The promos could use work. But one step at a time okay? The Bellas being in tyrannical power actually adds to some story. Revolutions end when the monarchy is toppled after all. They SHOULD be drawing it out. Something for the other ladies to fight for. Give it time.

 

[MERPER]

Last night's RAW was a great example of this failure...

Nikki doesn't even wrestle, her belt is, once again, not on the line...

and just now, after a couple months of the Divas Revolution we're doing something to determine a No. 1 contender... and, of all things, it's a "beat the clock" contest??? So, 3 divas matches and combined they last all of like 8 minutes...

the first 2 extremely short matches surely don't do alicia fox or brie any favors of being decent wrestlers... and then the best potential match (paige vs sasha) lasts all of 1 minute, 40 seconds and then just ends without a winner...

just awful writing and a terrible showcase of the women's talent... the idea for this revolution was a decent one on the surface but it has been terribly handled

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Of course it is? Why?

For one, Nikki still has the bloody title and two... the REAL star is still to come up... Bayley is probably the one who, if anyone can take the women to proper main events. She might be facing Sasha and Charlotte, but popularity wise she is what they've looked for since Wendi Richter. Becky and Paige will be good allies for Bayley but the blood feuds will be Charlotte and Sasha...

Also, WWE is in the worst transition period of it's history and it's only getting worse with today's Snuka news, cos Vince WILL be gone very soon indeed from the company. That probably means no "sudden moves" as that alone will derail the share price for a spell, they'll have to play ULTRA-SAFE... back to Cena on top just to steer the choppy waters Snuka's trial is going to bring them... and there'll be no more intergender stuff... so one weapon the Revolution had is now gone...

 

[GeneralKarim]

I always hate when they announce stuff like this. "OH HEY GUYS WE HAVE A REVOLUTION, LET ME PRESENT TO YOU, CONTESTANT NUMBER 1" etc...

It makes everything just plain dumb. There is no storyline and we just have random tag matches. WWE still dont get it. Just cause you give them more match time doesnt mean people will find them more important. You need to establish characters.

If I'm a casual fan, what do I know about Sasha ? She's ...the boss. What does that mean? That...she's the boss ? Ok. Becky Lynch, who is she ? Some irish chick with goggles? Ok, nice character you have there. Even Paige is just...anything but an anti-diva. She's just a chick who screams "This is my house" and wears mostly black to distinguish herself, appearance wise.

Until they INVEST into storylines and make these girls work and let them FAIL, let them have storylines where they have to act, and fail, and let them improve from that. If you just have them do matches, this will go nowhere. They need to fail, improve, get better, and have the next storylines get better.

Those girls need to be given mic time and see who's the next AJ in terms of mic skills and acting. Just having matches, is fine for the beginning, maybe. There's some buzz now so people might react better to their matches. But give it a few months when they will have had the chance to settle in the roster and you will see that without proper storylines, no matter how good Sasha and Charlotte are or how crazily over Bailey is, nobody will give two shits.

 

[LBGetBack]

It's certainly off to an underwhelming start.

I suspect it won't truly take off until they push Sasha Banks heavily.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

In my eyes, yes. It's not been a revolution. The three groups of three doesn't really work. No title defence mostly. They more less put sashes, Naomi, tamina, foxy, Brie, and somewhat even Becky Lynch. They all three need split up and really good feuds. I could off the bat see
Charlotte vs. Nikkei
Paige vs. Nattie
Sashes go after the belt after nikki looses.
Becky Lynch go after Naomi
Tamina take a shot after Brie. .

They need a QUEEN OF THE RING TOURNY!!!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think people are focusing on the wrong things, at least from my perspective.

When I think of a "Divas Revolution", I think of something happening in the long term in which women become as relevant, or somewhere close to being as relevant, as the male counterparts. It's more than just the faction wars that I think people are putting too much of a focus on without bothering to read between the lines. Now, I don't think we'll ever see a women's match main event WrestleMania, despite the hype we've heard about that, but that doesn't mean that the Divas can't be significant parts of the product.

For the better part of 20 years, WWE's women's division, as a whole, has never really been relevant; there've been a small handful of women scattered over that time period who've become liked by fans and who rose above the general irrelevance of the Divas as a whole. When I think of the "Divas Revolution", I think of it as a politically correct way of management saying something like "okay, the girls aren't just gonna be titillating filler used to take up airtime anymore."

I don't see it as some sort of revolutionary force that'll change women's wrestling forever, the ladies in NXT could lay more of a claim to that as it's gotten people genuinely interested in women's wrestling on a level we haven't seen in...well...possibly ever. The "Divas Revolution" is simply having women wrestlers involved in actual storylines, having actual personalities & personas and having actual wrestling matches; as I said, it's a movement from being more than airtime filler and it seems to be working when you consider the reactions of the fans as a whole week in and week out.

Some can take or leave women's wrestling, which is understandable. I'm of the opinion that if WWE is gonna have women's wrestling, then make it as good as they can rather than using the ladies as cheap, *********ory fodder who's job is to fill up a couple minutes of airtime; that's what the Divas Division as a whole has been since its inception and the "Revolution" is moving them away from that since the Divas Division has been one of the biggest jokes in wrestling for the better part of 20 years.

Generally speaking, what we see week after week is slow & steady progress; I'll gladly take that any ol' time in place of the uselessness that used to define women's wrestling in WWE.