Nikki Bella has made AJ's title reign more relevant than AJ ever did.

[AustinHartLesnarHBKTaz80]

AJ Lee was just way more OVER as champ than Nikki.

AJ had the more captivating character, she was more entertaining in the ring, she had that "girl next door" appeal to her that 'supermodel' Nikki just doesnt have. This alone creates a big connection with the fans and that they could relate to her more.

Hell, AJ was even a Raw GM at one point, and she did an excellent job with that. I was well entertained every time i saw her in the ring. For Vince to even give her that position, shows just how talented she was.

In my eyes, AJ will always be > than Nikki

 

[whoopin' ass]

Big problem here is we are arguing over relevancy but how much has it really changed? Are the divas main eventing Raw or Smackdown? Is their divas merch flying off the shelf? Hell, go to wweshop and when you look under divas, Stephanie McMahon is the first name listed, then the other divas - that should tell you something. Total Divas is losing viewers so obviously the made-up lives of the divas are not that interesting either. Is the division really any more relevant than it was 2 years ago? Yeah, on NXT it is a different story - the divas seem to do really good there - but in wwe, it is business as usual. The most over divas there right now is Lana and she doesn't even wrestle. What does that say about the division? Fact is the divas division has no relevancy at all. Sure,we all got excited when AJ or Paige or whoever came in and gave us some good matches but really, wwe books the division as a joke and that is how it is perceived. If it wasn't for Cena and Nikki being a couple, would the divas division even be getting any time on Raw, or even still be around? They dropped the cruiserweight division, why not the divas? The divas division is meaningless in wwe right now - you can't make it relevant when the company doesn't care about it and as long as Steph is top diva on tv, we aren't going to see a Trish Stratus or Victoria ever again.

 

[Slash-LN]

Seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread about what the thread is about.

OP said Nikki has made AJ's reign more relevant. Not the title itself. Thus meaning it has made the number of days she held the title more important now than it was when she was actually holding the title for that number of days.

That's almost always going to happen when someone is close to breaking a record. There's more hype around it and it feels like a bigger deal.

Everything feels bigger in the moment.

Roger Maris 61 home runs was a huge accomplishment but that the feeling of that faded over time. Once the moment had passed and emotion died down. But then when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing that number suddenly that 61 felt like a bigger deal again.

And then the emotion of the home run chase wore off and while the record was still a great feat, we don't feel the same way about it now as we did in 1998.

Because we're seeing AJ's number every week it feels more relevant and feels like a bigger deal.

Nikki could break the record but a year from now both records aren't going to be anywhere near as relevant as they are right now unless we have another women's wrestler going for the record.

 

[Mudlup50]

I think people are taking his point a little wrong, or maybe I am.

Here's how I took it: AJ's record is just a number. Now that Nikki is chasing after that number, it now means more. The home run record is a great comparison here. AJ had a decent title reign with a worthless title, Nikki has had a decent reign with a worthless title. But by comparing her reign to AJ's she is boosting both of their reigns relevance. Who really knew about the record before Nikki won the belt? AJ fans and maybe some fans of the divas division. Now that record is being mentioned every single week, it's a goal! If you think Nikki has held the title for a while, she is giving literal proof that AJ's run was that good!

Let me give you a few comparisons here.

1.Remember a couple years back when Santino won the IC strap and had the HonkyTonkMeter(or whatever it was called)? Each week he'd move 7 days closer, while it made great television, it also helped people realize how great of a reign Honky Tonk had.

2. Every single time Cena is in a world title match, the internet gets up in arms about how Cena shouldn't break Flair's record. Yet there is no reason to care at all! Why do we care about that record of 16 world title wins? It's an inanimate object. We care because we know how much Cena has been world champ and so in comparison Flair's record looks more amazing.


While I think a lot of people are thinking he's comparing the reigns, which he isn't doing. We're not comparing AJ's reign versus Nikki's reign, we're saying Nikki constantly mentioning it, is building up the prestige of AJ's reign. I hope I've made OP's point a little clearer, if not I'll try to explain more if you guys want

 

[jaywalker]

Nikki is neither special in the ring or on the mic, at the very least AJ Lee gimmick wise and on the mic had gravitas. Nikki could defend the title every week, defeat a thousand people and have the longest reign ever, and people still wouldn't back her because she's just not that great and does not inspire most to believe they're watching one of the best in the division.

 

[laodaron]

Nikki is neither special in the ring or on the mic, at the very least AJ Lee gimmick wise and on the mic had gravitas. Nikki could defend the title every week, defeat a thousand people and have the longest reign ever, and people still wouldn't back her because she's just not that great and does not inspire most to believe they're watching one of the best in the division.

She's better than AJ Lee was in every possible way. Nikki is more believable, she's more improved, and she has been in the company almost a decade now.

 

[Alex]

She's better than AJ Lee was in every possible way. Nikki is more believable, she's more improved, and she has been in the company almost a decade now.

AJ came to the main roster in 2011 and was more relevant in four years than the Bellas had been until last year. Nikki wasn't worth shit till late last year (and even that's stretching it)

A lot of reaching, completely made up arguments being thrown around in this thread. As has already been brought up, AJ didn't defend her title "every week"... she barely fucking defended the thing at all... 70 days without a title defense is ludicrous. Also, the Bellas have turned face one time I believe, since the title reign started. That's no reason to call this run a failure. How many AJ Lee moments can one really even recall from her time as champ? Personally, I remember her promo burying the division, her loss to a debuting Paige, and her win over Paige after returning... and that's it. I can't even remember what the state of the division was like at this time, but I know it was worse than it currently is today.

AJ didn't make the Divas title mean anything. She didn't make it "relevant". She made herself relevant while the title remained a glorified prop. While AJ broke out into superstardom, the rest of the division wasn't worth shit. Currently we have 5 women who desperately want the belt, and we have real interest in the Diva's division which we haven't had in quite some time. The crowd reacts to Nikki, Brie, Paige, Sasha, etc. they don't just sit on their hands and boo anymore.

By far I'd say the Diva's division is definitely much more relevant today than it was a couple of years ago, as is the title. How much of that relevancy is thanks to Nikki Bella however, is arguable.

I'll agree that AJ didn't make the title mean anything as much as she made herself something. It's similar to how Dean Ambrose had the US title and was seen as awesome and the US title was an afterthought (Or Austin Aries and the X-Division title and the past four years)

But at the same time because AJ was prominent we paid attention to who she faced. When Paige debuted and won we thought it might actually start something, instead they cocked it up and AJ had to come back to help it out again. So far the Diva's Revolution has been similar to that but on a bigger scale. There's tonnes of potential in this new crop of Divas because AJ didn't have much to work with (Kaitlyn and Paige) and there's more Divas who give a shit now. Hopefully whoever dethrones Nikki Bella doesn't get booked poorly after the initial win.

 

[laodaron]

AJ came to the main roster in 2011 and was more relevant in four years than the Bellas had been until last year. Nikki wasn't worth shit till late last year (and even that's stretching it)

Nikki and Brie have been relevant since 2007. AJ still isn't even relevant, it's because of Nikki Bella's reign bringing up AJ's reign that we're even talking about her. If it wasn't for Nikki, almost no other person in the WWE Universe would even remember who AJ was.

 

[Mustang Sally]

AJ didn't make the Divas title mean anything. She didn't make it "relevant". She made herself relevant while the title remained a glorified prop.

That's true. AJ's success came outside the diva division, in programs with the men. Remember, she started out as a wrestler, getting a victory over Tamina in her first match, which was considered an upset due to their disparity in size. After that, all I recall is AJ losing to women.....until someone realized how much fun it would be to see the little lady knocked over by Big Show ....remember?

From there, it was lovesick skits with Daniel Bryan, John Cena, CM Punk etc etc. By the time she got back to the women's division, she was big news because of what she had achieved with the men. The idea of placing her back where she started from was a good one; it brought needed attention to the divas.

Still, I agree that she did more for herself than the division. She and Nikki took totally different paths to the top. Once Nikki passes AJ's title reign length, Mrs. Brooks will no longer have that record.

Big deal.

 

[LBGetBack]

Nikki and Brie have been relevant since 2007. AJ still isn't even relevant, it's because of Nikki Bella's reign bringing up AJ's reign that we're even talking about her. If it wasn't for Nikki, almost no other person in the WWE Universe would even remember who AJ was.

Nikki and Brie have been relevant since 2007. - On and off, but yeah.

AJ still isn't even relevant - Well, she's not in the company. But while she was, she was very relevant.

it's because of Nikki Bella's reign bringing up AJ's reign that we're even talking about her. OK?

If it wasn't for Nikki, almost no other person in the WWE Universe would even remember who AJ was. Flat out ridiculous.

Look, I prefer Nikki to AJ. But there's no need to say ridiculous things.

 

[whoopin' ass]

She's better than AJ Lee was in every possible way. Nikki is more believable, she's more improved, and she has been in the company almost a decade now.

Time on the roster doesn't mean anything. If that was the case. Brooklyn Brawler should be a multi-time world champ. And I can't agree that she is more believable - when you are booked to have all the strong moves, you should look better than everything else but watch her be offensive - she literally can not go from one move to another fluidly. You see her have to stop and constantly hit start position every time she wants to do a move. AJ's moves all flow. I get that you are a fan but Nikki is a sports entertainer, AJ was a woman's wrestler.


Earlier there was the comment that we missed the point of the thread and that it meant Nikki's current reign makes AJ last right more important. I admit, I never read it that way so I apologize for that. I can see that point but I don't know if I can totally agree. We are smart enough to see through Nikki's current reign. We know it was only done so AJ wasn't the longest champ anymore. To me, that doesn't make AJ's right more relevant as much as makes Nikki's less important. AJ was made champ as part of a storyline, not to out-do someone who left the company like Nikki was. For me, I don't look at AJ's as more relevant, I look at Nikki's as a joke. Nikki may be the longest reigning champ but when you think top divas for the past 15 years, she isn't in the top 5. People with think of AJ, Tris Stratus and Lita long before her name pops up.

 

[Dagger Dias]

She's better than AJ Lee was in every possible way. Nikki is more believable, she's more improved, and she has been in the company almost a decade now.

You've either lost your mind or you're trolling. Nikki is WORSE than AJ Lee in every possible way. Nikki has improved to the point of being tolerable, but she never deserved the title win let alone such a long reign. AJ was top tier in every category thus she was believable in the role of Divas Champion and her lengthy reign was justified. Nikki's has been the result of WWE wanting to remove the accomplishment of "longest Divas Championship reign" from AJ's list of bragging rights. She's NOT believable and she's NOT Divas Championship material. Starring on that stupid divas show and a relationship with John Cena do not make you Divas Champion material. Being among the very best in the division does. AJ was top tier for her whole career. Nikki has been below average for her entire career and is only just now improving.

As for the thread's intended subject matter.... The threadstarter is incorrect. Nikki and the announcers annoying everyone about how Nikki will break the title reign length record does not make AJ's title reign more relevant. All it does is further show that WWE is forcing Nikki Bella on the fans. AJ made her reign relevant herself by great matches with Kaitlyn and Natalya. Then there was that time where she defeated the entire divas roster at Wrestlemania. Unlike Nikki, AJ Lee DESERVED that accomplishment. All before passing the torch to Paige on the night Paige made her Raw debut. These storylines helped make her long title reign relevant. Nikki's done nothing to make the reign more relevant unless annoying people with promos about accomplishments she never did a single thing to deserve is your definition of making AJ's reign more relevant, because that's all Nikki's done.

 

[laodaron]

You've either lost your mind or you're trolling. Nikki is WORSE than AJ Lee in every possible way. Nikki has improved to the point of being tolerable, but she never deserved the title win let alone such a long reign. AJ was top tier in every category thus she was believable in the role of Divas Champion and her lengthy reign was justified. Nikki's has been the result of WWE wanting to remove the accomplishment of "longest Divas Championship reign" from AJ's list of bragging rights. She's NOT believable and she's NOT Divas Championship material. Starring on that stupid divas show and a relationship with John Cena do not make you Divas Champion material. Being among the very best in the division does. AJ was top tier for her whole career. Nikki has been below average for her entire career and is only just now improving.

As for the thread's intended subject matter.... The threadstarter is incorrect. Nikki and the announcers annoying everyone about how Nikki will break the title reign length record does not make AJ's title reign more relevant. All it does is further show that WWE is forcing Nikki Bella on the fans. AJ made her reign relevant herself by great matches with Kaitlyn and Natalya. Then there was that time where she defeated the entire divas roster at Wrestlemania. Unlike Nikki, AJ Lee DESERVED that accomplishment. All before passing the torch to Paige on the night Paige made her Raw debut. These storylines helped make her long title reign relevant. Nikki's done nothing to make the reign more relevant unless annoying people with promos about accomplishments she never did a single thing to deserve is your definition of making AJ's reign more relevant, because that's all Nikki's done.

That might be your opinion, but I think that you suffer from Cena Derangement Syndrome, in which you refuse to accept the positives that Nikki Bella provides the main roster.

Whether you like it or not, Nikki has defended her title more, she's a better wrestler, and she's at least equal on the microphone to AJ. Truthfully, AJ just wasn't very good in the ring, she was just spastic, which is fine, because at the time she was the Divas' champ, most of the talent had seeped out of the division. You can hate Nikki for other reasons, like she reminds you of an ex-girlfriend or something, but don't be dishonest. Especially when we're talking about the importance Nikki brings to the table.

AJ wasn't bad, or anything, but much like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and others like them, her work and ability is massively overrated on internet sites. She cut one decent promo (much like her husband) and everyone acted like she was the greatest woman wrestler of all time. However, she did nothing to deserve anything more than Nikki or Brie deserve.

 

[Dagger Dias]

That might be your opinion, but I think that you suffer from Cena Derangement Syndrome, in which you refuse to accept the positives that Nikki Bella provides the main roster.

Wrong. I do accept the attention she gets through starring in Total Divas. That has nothing to do with her in-ring ability or lack thereof though.

Whether you like it or not, Nikki has defended her title more, she's a better wrestler, and she's at least equal on the microphone to AJ.

Alright, now I'm convinced you're trolling. AJ was the best on the mic during her career. So what if Nikki has defended the belt more? She never deserved it to begin with, and for you to say she is a better wrestler is laughable. AJ was top tier. Nikki is average, at best, while up until this year she was in the bottom tier with Cameron and her sister Brie.

Truthfully, AJ just wasn't very good in the ring, she was just spastic, which is fine, because at the time she was the Divas' champ, most of the talent had seeped out of the division.

You do make a valid point in that there was a lack of talented divas at the time. Natalya and Kaitlyn were the only others who were good in the ring while AJ was the top diva. She didn't have Charlotte, Sasha, or Becky Lynch to wrestle against so how she'd do against them may never be known.... but she had a great string of matches with Paige in the end, so I'd predict those matches with other girls from NXT would have been good matches had they happened. The fact is, AJ was the best at the time.

You can hate Nikki for other reasons, like she reminds you of an ex-girlfriend or something, but don't be dishonest. Especially when we're talking about the importance Nikki brings to the table.

I'm not being dishonest. She brings zero importance other than generating interest in Total Divas. She brings nothing to the table onscreen. There's literally nothing she does that another heel such as Sasha could not do better. I dislike her because she was handed everything on a silver platter due to being a twin and who she is dating. Neither one of The Bellas would have lasted long without Total Divas or their significant others. Girls like AJ, Sasha, and the three from PCB all earned their spots through legitimate talent.

AJ wasn't bad, or anything, but much like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and others like them, her work and ability is massively overrated on internet sites. She cut one decent promo (much like her husband) and everyone acted like she was the greatest woman wrestler of all time. However, she did nothing to deserve anything more than Nikki or Brie deserve.

AJ wasn't overrated. She was the best they had during a time when there were very few divas who were gifted in the ring. I never said she was as good as Trish and Lita, but she was the closest any diva has come until Paige showed up. AJ's Divas Championship reign remains the best in the title's history and AJ herself made it relevant with her promos (ALL of which were good) and her matches. She earned it and deserved it more than Nikki or Brie because she did not get handed anything the way Nikki has.