The Dark Warlords
The Dark Warlords
Disclaimer #1: This thread was a pre written thread that i wrote about two weeks before the recent Paige turn. It would have posted when i joined, but you had to have a ten response deal before you can make a thread. When i got to the ten posts requirement, Paige made her turn. Because of the turn, i am liking more of the booking of Paige. I just hope that WWE books her strong, and towards more of her natural wrestling self from here on out.
Disclaimer #2: Like is said earlier. This was written two weeks ago. I saved it because i wanted to post it here. I respect and love the intelligent discussions that happen here on Wrestlezone site. I tried to make the post as short as i could, but i did not want to short change the views i have on this subject, and subjects like this. The original write up was twice as long as this one. This is the shortened version. All i ask is PLEASE give this a fair and complete read, and give your opinions to this topic. This is my first thread here, and i really would want to know what you think. Now here is the discussion. Thank you.
Wrestlezone, i am a newcomer to the forums and everything even though i have been a fan of this site for quite sometime. Fan of the articles whether i agree with what is said or not. Always wanted to register with the site to make posts and blogs, but never thought of a great topic of discussion to make as my first blog post. Well, after reading a few articles that i have come across on the internet, and other blogs concerning this issue, i thought that i would make a thread myself her at Wrestlezone. I am going to try to not make this a rant piece, but i am not going to limit my commentary to make sure i get my point across
The thread is concerning the newest female call up to WWE Paige. As well all know, she came up the RAW after mania, winning the Divas Championship. She went over in most of her matches, and lost the title back to A.J. Lee just 2 weeks ago i believe. Even though she turned back every challenger, and in my opinion defended the title quite well, you can tell there was something amiss about her run in WWE so far. You can tell that there was something just not clicking with her run so far. You can tell that there was something missing from the run that she has been on so far. And i have been on a few forums reading discussions on this. Some on the posters that i have read i have agreed with, and some i have not. But the ones i have not agreed with, some of the posters on that particular were not only critical, but there were downright cruel with what they were saying in reference to those that were trying to highlight their points as to why they were supporting her. It was comments such as those that made me think of creating a thread here in the issue of Paige, and how it ties into the larger problem concerning the sport of professional wrestling. I will try to keep this straight to the point, and not make this to long. But i will not shortchange my view on this situation on bit because of trying to keep this short. So the points that were brought up in the forum of inspiration that i shall discuss my view on are:
1. Persona Presentation
2. Wrestling Style And Psychology
3. Microphone Skills
4. Booking And Building Up And How It All Ties In With One Another
If i think of others, i will add them to the list as we go
First lets start of with Persona Presentation.
Persona Presentation
We all know that in WWE, they have had a long standing of what they perceive is what represents a WWE Diva should be. You know what it is. Blond, tan, and big boobs. You supposed to have a bubbly personality. Smile all the time, and look like your All American Girl type. Pretty much all of the WWE Divas that have been the most successful have been of that mold to a certain degree. It seems as if that is what WWE loves to promote. But their are your exceptions. You get to have your Litas, A.J. Lees, Laylas, and others like them shine. But those cases are a rarity in the business. Well, the other that can join the list is Paige. She is not a blond tanned barbie. She, by wrestling nature, is not someone that is of a bubbly nature. In some ways she is like Stone Cold Steve Austin. A BMF to the core. So i have a question for you on this topic. Someone that we have seen, if you have looked at their body of work, that has the look and mindset that she should they ever be presented as some bubbly schoolgirl type? I can not and will not speak for any of you, but in my mind when i look at someone like Paige, i am not thinking of bubbly schoolgirl. I am thinking of someone that could be considered the schoolyard bully. The type pf person that always sat in the back of the classroom, wearing a leather jacket, black jeans, black or white t-shirts, leather boots, and sunglasses. i look at her i think of someone that did not care about getting the best of grades. All she cared for was just looking cool and beating people up. Of, if she was not the schoolyard bully, she was the nose to the grindstone bad girl that beat up the bullies, and stood up for those that were getting picked on. The reason why i bring this up is because i personally do not believe that she has been presented to us in the most positive light. Her attitude does not seem to reflect what the look that she has is all about. I firmly believe that WWE is not presenting her in a manner that is beneficial to her, the fans, and the company as a whole. They are presenting her as something that she is not.
But isn't that the problem that faces WWE more than it should. Don't they always seem to have a knack for not really presenting their players properly. I can go back to one wrestler that is a prime example of this. The wrestler is Barry Darsow. Everyone who knows wrestling history knows he was apart of The Russians with Nikita Koloff and Ivan Koloff. He during that time was a NWA Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion and NWA World Tag Team Champion. But that history is not apart of the point that i am going to make. I am referring to when he was apart of WWE. He was a member of one of the greatest wrestling tag teams in wrestling history Demolition. He and his partner held The WWE World Tag Team Championship 3 times. He was being portrayed in a way where he can be dominant. But also the persona that he had at the time was one that he could or maybe anyone get really into. It was one that could be a true money making persona. But he left for a while, then came back under the persona The Repo Man. Funny persona, but one that anyone with a brain can understand is not one that fit him. It did not fit him to make successful. We all know what made him successful in WWE. We all know what fits him as it pertains to who he was in WWE. The same thing can be said about Stone Cold Steve Austin. He started his career as The Ringmaster. Anyone can see that the persona that WWE was trying to present was not going to be a success. But when he became Stone Cold Steve Austin, he was in the correct persona that would make him a star. Also you can tell that it fit for him to portray in the ring and on camera. He was finally being someone that represented him as much as possible.
When Kerry Von Erich was "The Modern Day Warrior" Success
Jerry Lawler as "The King" = Success
Bill Dundee as "Superstar" = Success
Nick Bockwinkel as himself = Success
The Road Warriors as themselves = Success
Ric Flair As "The Nature Boy" = SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You see where i am going with this.
Steve Austin always said that the key to having a successful persona is being yourself with the volume turned up. Obviously when Paige was moved up, someone forgot to get that memo when she came out the RAW after Mania. The thing is she already had a persona that was and still is a money making one. It was one that fits her to a tee. It was The Anti Diva in NXT. She should have been the person that she was in NXT coming out on that RAW. Anyone with common sense would agree that the persona she was, and has been showing is not what fits her, and will bring the company money.
Which brings me to topic 2: Wrestling Style and Psychology
I have seen detractors of hers that says that she does not have a great wrestling style. They say that she is sloppy in the ring, and not a real good wrestler. Well i beg to differ. I feel there is a big difference between the real fans and casuals on this one. Casuals will watch her matches and don't appreciate them. Real fans will appreciate them. But i will try to give the casuals the benefit of the doubt because it is hard to get into a Divas match when they are not given the appropriate amount of time to truly showcase what they can do. I feel that WWE shortchanges the Divas by making them wrestle short matches because there are some that can actually wrestle really good in my mind. Natalya, Paige, A.J., Tamina, and a few others are really talented, and can carry a great match. the thing is they need to be given loner than 5 or 6 minutes to tell a proper story. I think that any match, whether it is a male or female wrestling it, makes a great story when the match is longer. Only people that benefit from a shorter match is Goldberg, and others like him. I am a huge Goldberg fan, but we all know his best work is in short matches. He is one of those wrestlers that is no nonsense and straight to the point. So it does not bother me when his matches are shorter.
I also think that the knocks are coming from those that do not understand different wrestling styles. Clearly when you watch her wrestle, you can tell that she brings a style that is not seen a lot here in The United States. Clearly she does a style that only those who are fans of William Regal, David Taylor, and Fit Finlay (All 3 i am huge fans of) would respect. It is a style based on The European Catch As Catch Can form of wrestling. As well as a UK World Of Sport Style (Johnny Saint and The Late Mick McManus showcase it well). There is a lot of stiffness to what she does. Her style is pretty physical which i like because it is cool to see more of a physical style being placed in the Divas Division. But this also leads to a much bigger and troubling problem that WWE has. I also feel that it needs to be corrected as soon as possible. WWE has always presented itself as the leader of wrestling/sports entertainment. They are supposed to be what wrestling at its highest level should be. Well if that is the case, then why are they not doing more to showcase more diversity in their in ring action? Why are they not wanting to showcase a wide variety of styles to showcase what the total gambit of pro wrestling is? With signings likes Paige from England, and the recent signing of KENTA from Japan, WWE needs to do more to modernize and diversify its in ring style so that it can truly showcase the best wrestling in this business. And i know what yall are going to say: "WWE is about entertainment not wrestling?" I know, but still they can at least show an effort of being more accepting of different styles in the business. If for anything else to endear themselves to those places that those styles are more prevalent, and they can make even more money for the company i believe. I think that at The WWE Performance Center they could do some special 2 week guest seminars to they can teach the rookies, and even long time veterans new techniques on those styles. Styles like: UK World Of Sport, European Catch As Catch Can, Japanese Strong Style, Mexican Lucha Libre, American Ground And Pound of course. Even some Mixed Martial Arts type of training that would translate to WWE Pro Wrestling. It should be open to both men and women to attend these seminars. It would be beneficial for the veterans of WWE to attend and learn new technique so that when WWE brings in these guys that are naturally trained in those styles, they can know how to make adjustments and adaptations in the ring against them while the new people are learning more of the WWE style of wrestling.
Another thing i feel WWE could do in this department is for them to do a better job in educating their fans about these styles of wrestling. I remember with WCW was around, despite things they did that was not the best, this is something they excelled at. They did a great job in informing their audience about all these various forms of the business. This is something that WWE could learn from. As far as Psychology goes, i think that the more WWE trains its wrestlers on the different styles of wrestling, as well as them educating their fans on these styles, then fans will be better able to understand and comprehend the psychology and the match structure in what they are watching.
Next Topic: Microphone Skills
I have seen on this particular forum that i was on reading the posters comments and stuff. The one thing that i read that made me think is their knocking of her mic skills. Now i do agree that she needs to improve in that area, and i feel that she will in every sense of the word. I think that anyone can see if they have eyes that she was trying to promo with a persona that you now does not fit her wrestling nature Going back to the first topic of Persona Presentation, She has not been doing what fits her wrestling nature. She is not a bubbly face schoolgirl. She is not Prom or Homecoming Queen type. She is being portrayed as those things that we all know is not who she is. I believe that her microphone should be based on the BMF that she has shown she can be. The person she was in NXT. No nonsense, so thrills, Punisher. Someone that is there to beat someone down and will not take names in the process. What she has been made to show in WWE so far is a joke if you ask me.
Question: Would you believe a promo would be successful if Ronald McDonald did a Darth Vader type of promo?
Personally i do not think so. If you want someone to succeed on the mic, they must feel that was is about to come out of their mouths is something they can believe. Her look is something that will make me never believe she can be soft and cuddly. Also another problem with her mic skills is not being allowed the needed on air time to continue to improvement of her skills. I have seen some old promos of hers, and i believed they were good. Reason, is because she was not being this soft teddy bear type. She was being a raw bone tough girl. Something i can feel more in my heart and soul than the bubbly stuff. Think about some of the greatest talkers in wrestling: Steve Austin, John Cena, Gino Hernandez, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, "The Universal Hearthrob" Austin Idol, The Rock, HHH, and others like them. If they was not given the much needed amount of on air time to improve in front of the world, they would have never been as great as they have become. That would have been a shame if that were to have happened. People need that on air time to improve and make the adjustments needed to adapt to the changing crowd from city to city.
Next Item that will tie it all in together: Booking and Build Up:
To me, it does not matter how great your persona presentation is, or everyone understands your style of wrestling, or great your mic skills are. If you are not properly built up to debut either from another wrestling company or coming up from developmental, you are not going to be starting out in the proper light. Now, even though i marked out when she debuted and became the champion, the purist in me will say that she should have been given a better build up than that. There should have been some video packages of her being on NXT or even the independent scene. There should have been at least some sort of showing of a match of hers from either NXT or the indies showing what she can do in the ring. A great one would have been her matches against her mother in England and Shimmer. It could have been similar to what WCW did when they brought in Jushin "thunder" Liger. They did both video packages and showed a match of his to build him coming to WCW to face off against The Late Brian Pillman for The WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship. They did that to get their audience familiar with Liger, and how he worked in the ring. Also to build the match between them to be something very special and delightful. But since they went the direction they did, they could have at least had her come out, cut a BMF style promo calling her out for a title match, they have a great 10 minute deal with Paige walking out as champion. That would have been better than what we got on that RAW. I also believe that you should always look at someone's total body of book to gauge on how the truly book them. Which leads me to the next part of this topic.
I half way understand that Divas have only 3 to 5 minute matches, but at least they did not have to make it so one sided as who was getting most of the offense in. I mean most of the time she was in matches with the other Divas, she was the one getting beatdown in the match. Not much in the offense department. It was not until the match against Naomi at Money In The Bank that she actually started to be allowed to have decent matches. Only to have another dumb short one the following night on RAW. How can you be viewed as a strong champion when you are the one not being placed in the role of controller in that match? I for the life of can't understand what would possess WWE to do something like that. Hold Up, i think i have an idea, but i will save that for another blog. For talent in my mind to be viewed as great or future greats, you have to invest your time in how to book these people in more of a dominating way. If you are not booked properly, then you will not have a very successful career. It does not matter how great you are, booking matters in the success or failure of a wrestler. Especially in this day and age.
When it comes to Paige, i am trying to think big picture and tell myself that all of this was designed so that the REAL SUCCESSFUL BOOKING OF PAIGE WILL START TO HAPPEN. Either at Battleground or Summerslam. But if not then i will just pray to GOD that someone smartens up, and understands that she can be a big deal and huge money maker for WWE.
I believe that if Paige and the rest of The WWE Divas are not booked in more of a respectful nature, then i truly think that the only savior of that Division and of WWE as a whole other than when HHH takes over, and that is not coming soon enough is none other than.............. DANA WHITE! Reason is due to the fact that if you believe what Bret Hart and Jim Cornette has said about Mixed Martial Arts and specifically The UFC, that is being what pro wrestling should be, then he would be the one that can get wrestling back to its original glory and prominence. Dana White and The UFC knows how to promote ring sports effectively. And they could be the ones that whips pro wrestling into shape. They would get it back to basics, showcase the stars in the proper light, showcase them as themselves, and build true successful divisions in his sport. I believe that he could turn The WWE Divas Division around by making it an actual division instead of eye candy. He would allow them to be who they truly are and want them to actually go out there and WRESTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once again this is my first blog post. It may be round around the edges for it being my first one, but i will try and get better at these in future ones. Once again thank you for your time. Please read it all, and give me your honest take on what i have just posted.
Once again, give a complete read, and thank you.
Disclaimer #2: Like is said earlier. This was written two weeks ago. I saved it because i wanted to post it here. I respect and love the intelligent discussions that happen here on Wrestlezone site. I tried to make the post as short as i could, but i did not want to short change the views i have on this subject, and subjects like this. The original write up was twice as long as this one. This is the shortened version. All i ask is PLEASE give this a fair and complete read, and give your opinions to this topic. This is my first thread here, and i really would want to know what you think. Now here is the discussion. Thank you.
Wrestlezone, i am a newcomer to the forums and everything even though i have been a fan of this site for quite sometime. Fan of the articles whether i agree with what is said or not. Always wanted to register with the site to make posts and blogs, but never thought of a great topic of discussion to make as my first blog post. Well, after reading a few articles that i have come across on the internet, and other blogs concerning this issue, i thought that i would make a thread myself her at Wrestlezone. I am going to try to not make this a rant piece, but i am not going to limit my commentary to make sure i get my point across
The thread is concerning the newest female call up to WWE Paige. As well all know, she came up the RAW after mania, winning the Divas Championship. She went over in most of her matches, and lost the title back to A.J. Lee just 2 weeks ago i believe. Even though she turned back every challenger, and in my opinion defended the title quite well, you can tell there was something amiss about her run in WWE so far. You can tell that there was something just not clicking with her run so far. You can tell that there was something missing from the run that she has been on so far. And i have been on a few forums reading discussions on this. Some on the posters that i have read i have agreed with, and some i have not. But the ones i have not agreed with, some of the posters on that particular were not only critical, but there were downright cruel with what they were saying in reference to those that were trying to highlight their points as to why they were supporting her. It was comments such as those that made me think of creating a thread here in the issue of Paige, and how it ties into the larger problem concerning the sport of professional wrestling. I will try to keep this straight to the point, and not make this to long. But i will not shortchange my view on this situation on bit because of trying to keep this short. So the points that were brought up in the forum of inspiration that i shall discuss my view on are:
1. Persona Presentation
2. Wrestling Style And Psychology
3. Microphone Skills
4. Booking And Building Up And How It All Ties In With One Another
If i think of others, i will add them to the list as we go
First lets start of with Persona Presentation.
Persona Presentation
We all know that in WWE, they have had a long standing of what they perceive is what represents a WWE Diva should be. You know what it is. Blond, tan, and big boobs. You supposed to have a bubbly personality. Smile all the time, and look like your All American Girl type. Pretty much all of the WWE Divas that have been the most successful have been of that mold to a certain degree. It seems as if that is what WWE loves to promote. But their are your exceptions. You get to have your Litas, A.J. Lees, Laylas, and others like them shine. But those cases are a rarity in the business. Well, the other that can join the list is Paige. She is not a blond tanned barbie. She, by wrestling nature, is not someone that is of a bubbly nature. In some ways she is like Stone Cold Steve Austin. A BMF to the core. So i have a question for you on this topic. Someone that we have seen, if you have looked at their body of work, that has the look and mindset that she should they ever be presented as some bubbly schoolgirl type? I can not and will not speak for any of you, but in my mind when i look at someone like Paige, i am not thinking of bubbly schoolgirl. I am thinking of someone that could be considered the schoolyard bully. The type pf person that always sat in the back of the classroom, wearing a leather jacket, black jeans, black or white t-shirts, leather boots, and sunglasses. i look at her i think of someone that did not care about getting the best of grades. All she cared for was just looking cool and beating people up. Of, if she was not the schoolyard bully, she was the nose to the grindstone bad girl that beat up the bullies, and stood up for those that were getting picked on. The reason why i bring this up is because i personally do not believe that she has been presented to us in the most positive light. Her attitude does not seem to reflect what the look that she has is all about. I firmly believe that WWE is not presenting her in a manner that is beneficial to her, the fans, and the company as a whole. They are presenting her as something that she is not.
But isn't that the problem that faces WWE more than it should. Don't they always seem to have a knack for not really presenting their players properly. I can go back to one wrestler that is a prime example of this. The wrestler is Barry Darsow. Everyone who knows wrestling history knows he was apart of The Russians with Nikita Koloff and Ivan Koloff. He during that time was a NWA Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion and NWA World Tag Team Champion. But that history is not apart of the point that i am going to make. I am referring to when he was apart of WWE. He was a member of one of the greatest wrestling tag teams in wrestling history Demolition. He and his partner held The WWE World Tag Team Championship 3 times. He was being portrayed in a way where he can be dominant. But also the persona that he had at the time was one that he could or maybe anyone get really into. It was one that could be a true money making persona. But he left for a while, then came back under the persona The Repo Man. Funny persona, but one that anyone with a brain can understand is not one that fit him. It did not fit him to make successful. We all know what made him successful in WWE. We all know what fits him as it pertains to who he was in WWE. The same thing can be said about Stone Cold Steve Austin. He started his career as The Ringmaster. Anyone can see that the persona that WWE was trying to present was not going to be a success. But when he became Stone Cold Steve Austin, he was in the correct persona that would make him a star. Also you can tell that it fit for him to portray in the ring and on camera. He was finally being someone that represented him as much as possible.
When Kerry Von Erich was "The Modern Day Warrior" Success
Jerry Lawler as "The King" = Success
Bill Dundee as "Superstar" = Success
Nick Bockwinkel as himself = Success
The Road Warriors as themselves = Success
Ric Flair As "The Nature Boy" = SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You see where i am going with this.
Steve Austin always said that the key to having a successful persona is being yourself with the volume turned up. Obviously when Paige was moved up, someone forgot to get that memo when she came out the RAW after Mania. The thing is she already had a persona that was and still is a money making one. It was one that fits her to a tee. It was The Anti Diva in NXT. She should have been the person that she was in NXT coming out on that RAW. Anyone with common sense would agree that the persona she was, and has been showing is not what fits her, and will bring the company money.
Which brings me to topic 2: Wrestling Style and Psychology
I have seen detractors of hers that says that she does not have a great wrestling style. They say that she is sloppy in the ring, and not a real good wrestler. Well i beg to differ. I feel there is a big difference between the real fans and casuals on this one. Casuals will watch her matches and don't appreciate them. Real fans will appreciate them. But i will try to give the casuals the benefit of the doubt because it is hard to get into a Divas match when they are not given the appropriate amount of time to truly showcase what they can do. I feel that WWE shortchanges the Divas by making them wrestle short matches because there are some that can actually wrestle really good in my mind. Natalya, Paige, A.J., Tamina, and a few others are really talented, and can carry a great match. the thing is they need to be given loner than 5 or 6 minutes to tell a proper story. I think that any match, whether it is a male or female wrestling it, makes a great story when the match is longer. Only people that benefit from a shorter match is Goldberg, and others like him. I am a huge Goldberg fan, but we all know his best work is in short matches. He is one of those wrestlers that is no nonsense and straight to the point. So it does not bother me when his matches are shorter.
I also think that the knocks are coming from those that do not understand different wrestling styles. Clearly when you watch her wrestle, you can tell that she brings a style that is not seen a lot here in The United States. Clearly she does a style that only those who are fans of William Regal, David Taylor, and Fit Finlay (All 3 i am huge fans of) would respect. It is a style based on The European Catch As Catch Can form of wrestling. As well as a UK World Of Sport Style (Johnny Saint and The Late Mick McManus showcase it well). There is a lot of stiffness to what she does. Her style is pretty physical which i like because it is cool to see more of a physical style being placed in the Divas Division. But this also leads to a much bigger and troubling problem that WWE has. I also feel that it needs to be corrected as soon as possible. WWE has always presented itself as the leader of wrestling/sports entertainment. They are supposed to be what wrestling at its highest level should be. Well if that is the case, then why are they not doing more to showcase more diversity in their in ring action? Why are they not wanting to showcase a wide variety of styles to showcase what the total gambit of pro wrestling is? With signings likes Paige from England, and the recent signing of KENTA from Japan, WWE needs to do more to modernize and diversify its in ring style so that it can truly showcase the best wrestling in this business. And i know what yall are going to say: "WWE is about entertainment not wrestling?" I know, but still they can at least show an effort of being more accepting of different styles in the business. If for anything else to endear themselves to those places that those styles are more prevalent, and they can make even more money for the company i believe. I think that at The WWE Performance Center they could do some special 2 week guest seminars to they can teach the rookies, and even long time veterans new techniques on those styles. Styles like: UK World Of Sport, European Catch As Catch Can, Japanese Strong Style, Mexican Lucha Libre, American Ground And Pound of course. Even some Mixed Martial Arts type of training that would translate to WWE Pro Wrestling. It should be open to both men and women to attend these seminars. It would be beneficial for the veterans of WWE to attend and learn new technique so that when WWE brings in these guys that are naturally trained in those styles, they can know how to make adjustments and adaptations in the ring against them while the new people are learning more of the WWE style of wrestling.
Another thing i feel WWE could do in this department is for them to do a better job in educating their fans about these styles of wrestling. I remember with WCW was around, despite things they did that was not the best, this is something they excelled at. They did a great job in informing their audience about all these various forms of the business. This is something that WWE could learn from. As far as Psychology goes, i think that the more WWE trains its wrestlers on the different styles of wrestling, as well as them educating their fans on these styles, then fans will be better able to understand and comprehend the psychology and the match structure in what they are watching.
Next Topic: Microphone Skills
I have seen on this particular forum that i was on reading the posters comments and stuff. The one thing that i read that made me think is their knocking of her mic skills. Now i do agree that she needs to improve in that area, and i feel that she will in every sense of the word. I think that anyone can see if they have eyes that she was trying to promo with a persona that you now does not fit her wrestling nature Going back to the first topic of Persona Presentation, She has not been doing what fits her wrestling nature. She is not a bubbly face schoolgirl. She is not Prom or Homecoming Queen type. She is being portrayed as those things that we all know is not who she is. I believe that her microphone should be based on the BMF that she has shown she can be. The person she was in NXT. No nonsense, so thrills, Punisher. Someone that is there to beat someone down and will not take names in the process. What she has been made to show in WWE so far is a joke if you ask me.
Question: Would you believe a promo would be successful if Ronald McDonald did a Darth Vader type of promo?
Personally i do not think so. If you want someone to succeed on the mic, they must feel that was is about to come out of their mouths is something they can believe. Her look is something that will make me never believe she can be soft and cuddly. Also another problem with her mic skills is not being allowed the needed on air time to continue to improvement of her skills. I have seen some old promos of hers, and i believed they were good. Reason, is because she was not being this soft teddy bear type. She was being a raw bone tough girl. Something i can feel more in my heart and soul than the bubbly stuff. Think about some of the greatest talkers in wrestling: Steve Austin, John Cena, Gino Hernandez, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, "The Universal Hearthrob" Austin Idol, The Rock, HHH, and others like them. If they was not given the much needed amount of on air time to improve in front of the world, they would have never been as great as they have become. That would have been a shame if that were to have happened. People need that on air time to improve and make the adjustments needed to adapt to the changing crowd from city to city.
Next Item that will tie it all in together: Booking and Build Up:
To me, it does not matter how great your persona presentation is, or everyone understands your style of wrestling, or great your mic skills are. If you are not properly built up to debut either from another wrestling company or coming up from developmental, you are not going to be starting out in the proper light. Now, even though i marked out when she debuted and became the champion, the purist in me will say that she should have been given a better build up than that. There should have been some video packages of her being on NXT or even the independent scene. There should have been at least some sort of showing of a match of hers from either NXT or the indies showing what she can do in the ring. A great one would have been her matches against her mother in England and Shimmer. It could have been similar to what WCW did when they brought in Jushin "thunder" Liger. They did both video packages and showed a match of his to build him coming to WCW to face off against The Late Brian Pillman for The WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship. They did that to get their audience familiar with Liger, and how he worked in the ring. Also to build the match between them to be something very special and delightful. But since they went the direction they did, they could have at least had her come out, cut a BMF style promo calling her out for a title match, they have a great 10 minute deal with Paige walking out as champion. That would have been better than what we got on that RAW. I also believe that you should always look at someone's total body of book to gauge on how the truly book them. Which leads me to the next part of this topic.
I half way understand that Divas have only 3 to 5 minute matches, but at least they did not have to make it so one sided as who was getting most of the offense in. I mean most of the time she was in matches with the other Divas, she was the one getting beatdown in the match. Not much in the offense department. It was not until the match against Naomi at Money In The Bank that she actually started to be allowed to have decent matches. Only to have another dumb short one the following night on RAW. How can you be viewed as a strong champion when you are the one not being placed in the role of controller in that match? I for the life of can't understand what would possess WWE to do something like that. Hold Up, i think i have an idea, but i will save that for another blog. For talent in my mind to be viewed as great or future greats, you have to invest your time in how to book these people in more of a dominating way. If you are not booked properly, then you will not have a very successful career. It does not matter how great you are, booking matters in the success or failure of a wrestler. Especially in this day and age.
When it comes to Paige, i am trying to think big picture and tell myself that all of this was designed so that the REAL SUCCESSFUL BOOKING OF PAIGE WILL START TO HAPPEN. Either at Battleground or Summerslam. But if not then i will just pray to GOD that someone smartens up, and understands that she can be a big deal and huge money maker for WWE.
I believe that if Paige and the rest of The WWE Divas are not booked in more of a respectful nature, then i truly think that the only savior of that Division and of WWE as a whole other than when HHH takes over, and that is not coming soon enough is none other than.............. DANA WHITE! Reason is due to the fact that if you believe what Bret Hart and Jim Cornette has said about Mixed Martial Arts and specifically The UFC, that is being what pro wrestling should be, then he would be the one that can get wrestling back to its original glory and prominence. Dana White and The UFC knows how to promote ring sports effectively. And they could be the ones that whips pro wrestling into shape. They would get it back to basics, showcase the stars in the proper light, showcase them as themselves, and build true successful divisions in his sport. I believe that he could turn The WWE Divas Division around by making it an actual division instead of eye candy. He would allow them to be who they truly are and want them to actually go out there and WRESTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once again this is my first blog post. It may be round around the edges for it being my first one, but i will try and get better at these in future ones. Once again thank you for your time. Please read it all, and give me your honest take on what i have just posted.
Once again, give a complete read, and thank you.
