The problem with the "Bella Empire".

[MartialHorror]

In theory, the current Diva storyline is pretty cool. However, like everything else (main roster) Diva related, the writing has just been bad...nonsensically bad...

Paige's belief that the Bella's have held everyone down holds no weight, as Nikki has mostly retained the belt on her own. She'd often play dirty, but the 'Twin Magic' aspect only recently returned in the past few months. Furthermore, Nikki was actually treated like the underdog during her weird, brief face turn...where Stephanie chose to stack the odds against her for some unexplained reason. It makes Paige look somewhat petty.

Paige probably should not be the person driving this storyline and WWE even seems to be acknowledging this. Alicia Fox pointed out that Paige has turned on them in the past and I don't really feel like Paige has changed her ways. Her catchphrase is "This is my house!" and besides being overused, it draws attention to her being self centered. It feels like Paige isn't interested in toppling the Bella Empire as much as she just wants the belt and is using this as an excuse to get someone to help her.

Plus, what is the Bella Empire supposed to be? The term 'Empire' only works if the other Diva's are working under the Bella's. Only the Authority can use that term. But generally, the problem with this storyline is that the Bella's have never been shown to 'hold the diva's down' and Paige just seems too greedy to be playing the heroine. If this is supposed to be a Meta jab, that will only make it worse as nods to real life issues (The Bella's getting the limelight while more talented performers don't- the opinion of the IWC) only reminds me that wrestling is fake. That always takes me out of the story that the writers are trying to tell.

But what do you guys think? On a positive note, the Bella Empire is a catchy name and if they somehow managed to fit that role to where the name made sense, I'd be down with it. Have all the Diva's align under Nikki, only for the NXT women to invade. That would be cool.

 

[kumarjtk]

wwe never cared about divas storyline. when aj became champion and made record reign all matches are bored. they through random opponent for aj and aj wins only ppv. she was been champion for those days bcoz of fans and punk. now both are bailed. if wwe really wants to erase the aj record then Nikki is best choice. Nikki still need 3 months reign and drop to some nxt diva or Eva Marie. even Lana can answer a open challenge.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Thats my whole problem with Divas Division and Bella Twins. Just after Wrestlemania Bellas where turned faces because their opponent(Big Butt AKA Naomi) was heel. Now when they were against Paige they turned heel again. Why turn them face if it was just for one match? Just because their opponent at that times is another aligment and you want to aknowledge that?

But what do you guys think?

If the rumors are truth I like the way they are handling this. Suposedly Paige should bring in some NXT Diva to help her which is nice way to build some story about her and newcomer who would go with her. Though I stand at what I said, its downright stupid to turn Bellas face or heel depending on their opponents aligment.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

The "Bella Empire" is just their brand, they even call their fans the Bella army. Its just something catchy that most wwe wrestlers tend to come up with involving their characters. (Hulkamaniacs, The Roman Empire, The Chain Gang, etc)
I do agree with you about this angle though. Paige is definitely the wrong person to be doing it. First, she's only been on the main roster for a year and a half(if that). And she won her first title reign on her DEBUT! How can that be considered being held back? And for the short amount of time she's been on the roster, Paige hasn't shown to be the most trustworthy of allies.
If anything this angle should've been given to Natayla, Alicia Fox or Layla, divas who have been in wwe almost or as long as the Bellas and haven't been given the chances that they have. Every since Paige came up she's been given shot after shot(heck Naomi was beating the Bella's every week then all of a sudden Wwe gives Paige a title shot only to go off and do a movie?)
As much as I liked Paige I probably would enjoy this angle if it were anyone else. With Paige's annoying "This Is My House" catchphrase, WWE's overuse of her, and the IWC constantly rating of her like she's the Greatest diva in over a decade, I've really lost interest.

 

[JerichoStreet]

I'm glad you like the divas a little, I just fast forward. It puts me to sleep. I don't see any value at all right now in the divas divison.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It feels like Paige isn't interested in toppling the Bella Empire as much as she just wants the belt and is using this as an excuse to get someone to help her.

Well, yes. The thing is, we don't really know which direction Paige is headed ....and that's a good thing because when storyline writers are able to keep us guessing as to which way things are going to go, that's a positive. The variable factor is whether or not you find Paige a compelling enough character to head a storyline.

As I see it, the best direction for WWE to take is to bring up a couple of gals from NXT, as has been suggested, to act as minions for Paige. Whether they'll be face or heel will be determined by the direction Paige takes them. But since she was unable to enlist help from the current divas, it seems that leading a faction against the 'Bella Empire' is the only way for Paige to exist in the division.

But this topic is about the Bella Empire and the reason I've spent time talking about Paige is that for Nikki & Brie are to have an empire will depend on Paige. If she could have persuaded the divas backstage on Raw to join her, the battlefield would have been defined then and there. Since she failed to enlist support, she'll have to look elsewhere. We saw what happens when she tries to take on the Bellas' by herself.

Either way, the Bellas' are going to find themselves in trouble. Whether they're able to get support from the divas Paige failed to sway could be a vital part of the storyline.

Yes, if you as a fan are determined to detest everything the divas do, this development won't mean anything to you, but if the company handles it correctly, it could be the most interesting event the division has seen in a long time.

 

[MartialHorror]

On the Diva's, I initially tended to fast forward through all their stuff, but now I do watch it...even if it's just in the background and I'm doing something more important. I think many- maybe even all0 of the ladies are talented, some in multiple capacities. Perhaps the biggest problem with the division is that they usually only get time for 1-2 matches per show- usually only one. I sometimes wonder if it would be more compelling if they got their own show, even if it's treated like "Main Event".

As it is, how can storylines develop with so little time dedicated to them? It probably sucks so badly right now because all of the flaws that plague the male-based storylines are being crammed into one small package.

 

[Messiah]

How do The Bellas hold everybody down?.. This story shouldn't be coming up now when AJ held the entire division down for 3 year's and nobody else mattered. It was so bad i couldn't watch the divas at all.. Maybe if the divas in WWE were great workers more of them would be relevant, most of them are not great, only a few selected are good like The Bellas, Paige and Natalya, and some NXT woman obviously.

The only thing i don't like about the direction of The Bellas is the random heel and face turns without actually turning, WWE just throws them out there and they're a heel or face. They did it 3 or 4 times this pat year and it's annoying.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As far as Paige ultimately seeming as though she just wants help to topple the Bella Twins, I don't think that anyone believes otherwise. Nobody really buys into the notion of someone being a "savior" anymore because we've all been able to peek behind the curtain for far too long and far too often. Just like CM Punk's anti-corporate rebel schtick from the summer of 2011, it's not so much about making a "change", the only difference is putting yourself in the top spot currently occupied by your opponent.

I don't think that Paige wanting to ally herself with someone in order to take down the Bella Twins is illogical, nor do I see it as a particularly bad storyline as a whole. Realistically speaking, the Bella Twins have had a LOT of pull in WWE for quite a long time; they endeared themselves to WWE honchos like Vince and Kevin Dunn, which means their jobs are about as secure as any female wrestler's can be in WWE. Allegedly, they're responsible for convincing WWE not to bring back Maria Kanellis a few years back and other women have made claims of them playing politics over the years. Don't know how much of it's true, but they have a reputation. The fact that Nikki Bella has been banging John Cena for, at the very least, the past 3 years has only strengthened her position. IF Total Divas is any sort of indicator into who these women really are, then Nikki strikes me as more of a political player than Brie; however, Brie being involved with Daniel Bryan, someone that every report I've read on the subject is said to be very well liked by everyone backstage and management, doesn't hurt her position either. At any rate, there's a very strong likelihood that these two have some pretty significant pull in WWE, so using that reputation as part of a storyline feels like it has some weight to it. I think there's more potential here for the Divas Division as a whole than anything else we've seen in quite a while, though the probability of that potential being reached is pretty slim since it's been obvious for years that Vince doesn't really consider women's wrestling to be any real priority.

What bothers me is the spontaneous character turns Vince has decided to subject the Bella Twins to over the course of the past year; it's a perfect example of just how chaotic Vince's mind works sometimes and how he's more than willing to overlook big gaps in logic while expecting everyone watching to be utterly fine with it.

 

[mral82]

For 1 in the whole Paige/AJLee/Bellas thing was that Paige and AJ Lee have been the Heels while The Bellas have been the Face since. So The Bellas are The FACES who use the Eddie Method of winning. Paige since her WWE Main Roster has been more HEEL than Face as the only time she was FACE was in her mini FEUD w. Naomi. Plus imo Paige has brought all this on her own. Plus The Bellas came in as Non Wrestlers and became awesome in the ring. This FEud reminds me of a John Cena-Randy Orton'esque Style as The bellas have earned by Clawing their way too the top but Paige has been giving her spot cause of Family. So I don't know if any Diva would help Paige as I can see Naomi/Tamina forming a stable as well.
The Bella Empire: Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae,
The Anoa'i Clan: Naomi, Tamina, Emma,
The Paige Turners: Paige, Maybe Natayla, Layla, Eva Marie
The NXT Dvas: Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Bayley

 

[LBGetBack]

So the Bellas basically worked face tonight against Naomi and Tamina. No cheating(despite having Alicia Fox in their corner who just joined them on Thursday by.....cheating to help them win), no insulting the fans....in fact, they were playing to the crowd.

I don't get it. They were just heeling it up bigtime last Monday, teaming up on Paige 2 on 1, they cheated to beat her at MITB and Nikki was taunting the crowd by fake crying into the tissues and then telling them to bow down.

I don't get it. Work super heel one week and then face the next.

 

[Messiah]

So the Bellas basically worked face tonight against Naomi and Tamina. No cheating(despite having Alicia Fox in their corner who just joined them on Thursday by.....cheating to help them win), no insulting the fans....in fact, they were playing to the crowd.

I don't get it. They were just heeling it up bigtime last Monday, teaming up on Paige 2 on 1, they cheated to beat her at MITB and Nikki was taunting the crowd by fake crying into the tissues and then telling them to bow down.

I don't get it. Work super heel one week and then face the next.

That's how good The Bellas are. They can go from heel and face on a weekly basis.. The Bellas have ran the divas division for the past 5 year's and will continue to run it going forward.

 

[LBGetBack]

That's how good The Bellas are. They can go from heel and face on a weekly basis.. The Bellas have ran the divas division for the past 5 year's and will continue to run it going forward.

I've honestly got no problem with Nikki running the division, with Brie helping out. Nikki's done a great job with whatever they've thrown at her in this run. And I don't care if it's heel or face(though I prefer heel), but the lack of direction is insane.

 

[Messiah]

I've honestly got no problem with Nikki running the division, with Brie helping out. Nikki's done a great job with whatever they've thrown at her in this run. And I don't care if it's heel or face(though I prefer heel), but the lack of direction is insane.

Yeah i agree with that, they tend to change their mind too often, especially with the divas.

 

[Eddie]

The problem with the Bella empire is that, despite some improvement in the ring, the 'Divas' division will always be about them based on who they are married to/going out with. It makes me fear for the NXT women who are, you know, genuine wrestlers. I think I'd riot if I saw one of them pin Lynch, Banks, Charlotte, etc.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I've honestly got no problem with Nikki running the division, with Brie helping out.

Still, as part of the fictional aspect of their program, I feel almost sorry for Brie. When the twins originally had their split, it was apparently intended that Brie play second-fiddle to Nikki.....but that was based on their being apart; now that they (inexplicably) reunited, I don't see the logic of depicting Nikki as superior in every way with Brie functioning essentially as her assistant. I've been waiting for the first storyline to play out but it appears more and more that it's not going to happen.

And I don't care if it's heel or face(though I prefer heel), but the lack of direction is insane.

And if WWE plans to bounce the Bellas' back and forth between good & bad on a weekly basis, there will continue to be a lack of direction. Someone in this topic said it's a good thing the twins are adept at playing faces or heels......but hell, any wrestler can do that. How many performers have been one or the other their whole careers? Not many, that's for sure.

Seems to me the division champion and her lady-in-waiting should have one established identity.