I've had no Internet for the past few days and I've had to catch up on all of last week's wrestling so this is just going to have to be a quick summary.
This post may seem negative, but this divas match was far from great. The fact that it followed one of the best women's wrestling matches WWE has ever produced, made it worse. It was also in front of many of the same crowd and I can't blame them for not being interested. The match was a mess. It wasn't completely down to the girls, as the match set up was bound to end up like this, but either way, not one of them brought their A game.
I get that Sasha has an excuse, so I'll let her off. Tamina is consistently a botchfest, so there's no point in grilling her. Naomi performed the best out of team Bad, and honestly the whole team didn't get enough time to shine, but still, she underperformed. The Bella's were average, Fox was good, but not great. Paige was okay. Charlotte was okay. Becky was okay. Okay is not good enough. No one had any reason to care about this match. Not one. Not a single ounce of storyline development over the last five weeks. It's infuriating. The end of the match was honestly ridiculous. A suplex? Really? Becky couldn't think of a better move? I honestly have no idea where they plan on going with this, but I'm assuming conflict between Team PCB, maybe a Charlotte heel turn? Who knows honestly.
I'm kinda over it with them thinking a lengthly match can replace any sort of story. These girls need characters and something to work with. Bayley and Sasha was so good, not only because of the in ring work, but the story telling. They had an actual storyline with depth. It's not complicated. It doesn't need to be. But some sort of story needs to be established, and I feel that the whole team thing is just holding it back. But at the same time, loosing the teams, means that certain divas will loose screen time, and we all know it won't be Charlotte, Paige, Sasha or the Bella's. They need to make side feuds and concentrate on creating a character for every single diva.
The most frustrating thing is that this storyline could have been so good. I would have loved this match to be like the Wrestlemania 30 invitational match. And since they're trying to erase anything AJ's done, then I guess it kinda fits. Honestly though, The Bella Twins don't deliver. They don't. I don't care what any fan says, they don't have characters, they are bland and they are boring. I am far from an AJ fan, in fact I very much disliked her, but she had a character, and kept the fans interested. Unfortunately, Nikki Bella will never be a patch on AJ. It's hard to say. I love Nikki. I prefer her to AJ in every way. She's great in the ring and she looks amazing, but she just has absolutely no charisma, and this entire reign has been so forced and inconsistent. Her reign has been one of the worst and how people are saying she's the best divas champion ever is laughable. It really is. I feel bad for trashing Nikki. It's really not all her fault, especially with the random heel and face turns, but she still takes part of the blame. The girl needs to learn how to be a heel. Like seriously. She needs to take a look at Sasha.
As for the match, I was extremely dissappointed. I will have to give it a score of 6/10.
Finally the day came and we all got to watch the match we've been waiting for. Everyone knew it would good, but who expected it to be THAT good? I didn't think anything could top Becky vs Sasha, and I'm not certain if this match did, but it's definitely a close call. Bayley has improved so much throughout her career, and having watched her grow over the past few years, and see her chase the title for so long, it was such a great moment to see her finally win it. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire match, and there were so many close falls, and crazy spots. You couldn't have asked for a better match, and Bayley couldn't have won the belt at a better time.
It's so difficult to compare these takeover matches to any main roster matches but I have to give this match a score of 10/10. How could it have been any better?
Smackdown: Divas promo, Becky Lynch vs Brie Bella vs Sasha Banks
This week on Smackdown we got a segment and a triple threat. Finally the girls got time on the mic, to add some sort of story. The current storyline has definitely been lacking depth, and these sort of segments should not be coming this late. We should have seen a lot more mic time over the past few weeks to hype up the match, but we just got match after match that added nothing to the non existing story.
I personally thought the segment was great. Alicia hasn't got any mic time in years, and I honestly don't know why. Nikki was pretty good on the mic, but she got a bit repetitive, and Brie was okay. A bit bland, but she gave just enough to make it believable. To me, the segment really started getting good when team B.A.D came out. Naomi was amaazing on the mic. I thought she was so funny and I really wish they'd give her more of a chance to shine. Sasha was on the mic next, and she did pretty good. She messed up one of her lines, but it wasn't too noticeable. Becky and Charlotte were out next and Becky was briefly on the mic. It was kept short and sweet but Becky did a good job.
The triple threat was quite short, but for a Smackdown match, it was good. The segment beforehand gave a lot more to the story than the match, but Brie winning was definitely a positive thing. Although I definitely think Alicia should have been in the match instead of Brie, but they seem to be very reluctant in putting Alicia in these situations. Brie was in the last triple threat, and so was Sasha, so it would have been nice to see Naomi and Alicia added in instead.
Overall, I will give the match a score of 7/10.
There was no divas match on NXT this week but we did get an amazing contract signing. It was probably the best women's contract signing I've seen in a very long time. Sasha is so great on the mic and I didn't realise it until I saw this. Sasha managed to generate so much heat from the crowd and really put Bayley over. It was also really entertaining and Sasha's jabs at Bayley and the crowd were hilarious.
This match is honestly really difficult to predict. The obvious winner is Bayley, because Sasha is on the main roster, but it's also possible that they'll swerve us and make Sasha retain.
I think my overall prediction is that the match will get around 20 minutes and Bayley will win the title.
This week we finally got a divas match on Main Event and it was one I've been hoping would happen for a while now. Alicia and Charlotte are both very athletic and I've always thought a match between them would be amazing, and I was certainly right. This match was definitely better than Nikki vs Sasha on Raw. It's a shame Alicia doesn't get more matches on Raw, because in my opinion she can out-wrestle Nikki Bella any day of the week. I was kinda hoping Alicia would get the win, but it was obvious from the outset that it would go the other way, but I'm fine with that. I understand that the new girls need to start off with a few wins, but I think it's time for them to start getting pinned by the other girls.
Overall I thought this match was very good. I guess it could have gotten more time, but the mix of quickness and athleticism more than makes up for it. I will give this match a score of 9/10.
Raw: Becky Lynch vs Tamina, Sasha Banks vs Nikki Bella
This week on Raw we got two matches. The first was Tamina vs Becky Lynch. These are two of the 9 divas that seem to have been over shadowed over the past few weeks, so it was nice to see them get some time on Raw. The match was pretty short compared to the standard we've been getting lately, but it was still a good match. Tamina actually impressed me in the ring, and she seems to be adding more moves to her offence. Becky of course got the win, but honestly, it would have been nice to see Tamina get a win. The NXT girls seem to win every match, and it's getting very predictable. I would like more of an element of surprise when it comes to who's winning matches.
I liked this match, but it definitely should have gotten more time. I will give it a score of 6/10.
Next came Sasha Banks vs Nikki Bella. This match was highly anticipated and it didn't disappoint. The match got almost double what Tamina and Becky got, and was also in the pre-main event position. Honestly, Nikki needed this win more than Sasha. Nikki's reign has been extremely inconsistent and she's been booked weakly. Unless the Bella's are winning on Sunday then I don't see the point in having her loose this match.
This week on Smackdown we got a rematch from last week. Naomi took an Charlotte in a 6 minute match, which in my opinion, was pretty good. These two have surprising chemistry. The match actually showcased Naomi very well, and even though she lost, she was made to look quite strong.
Even though I liked the match, I really don't like the direction the story has been taken. Everyone was so excited when the NXT debuts happened, but now, even I am bored. It's just match after match with absolutely no development to the story. In fact, there isn't really a story at all.
With the Summerslam match now being announced as one elimination eliminates the whole team, the tag team match could go a lot of ways. To me, it seems like Charlotte will get the win over Nikki Bella. Tamina will be pinned eliminating Team B.A.D first. It sucks. I honestly don't understand why it can't just be single eliminations. The only reason being that it could cause friction between the teams? Either way, I would prefer single eliminations, and I think most people would too.
As for the match, I liked it. It showcased Naomi as a great heel and Charlotte was getting good crowd reactions. I will give this match a score of 8/10.
This week on NXT we got an amazing number one contenders match between Bayley and Becky. This is the NXT that I've missed. Lately, its been squash match, after squash match with nameless jobbers that don't mean anything. Dana Brooke vs Charlotte only got four minutes last week. For me, a divas match being the main event is still a big deal, and it's always amazing to hear. The match was certainly main event worthy and got a very good amount of time.
As you all probably know, Bayley came out on top. It seems to be pretty clear that Bayley has been built as the next top diva of NXT, and it looks as if she'll be winning the title in Brooklyn, which is of course amazing. Although it seems like Bayley got the short end of the stick, a solo debut could do more for her than people think. Bayley would no doubt be overshadowed by Charlotte and Sasha, like Becky has been. It will be more difficult for Bayley to get over, as these gimmicks traditionally fail (look at Emma), but I feel like they're a lot more invested with Bayley than they were with Emma. Bayley needs mic time. She will be resented if she just comes out the way she does. People need to get the under dog vibe from her, and the current main roster feud isn't offering much time for the NXT girls to get a character across, which is where Becky is lacking. Don't get me wrong, Charlotte has no character either, but her last name carries her through with the crowd for the time being. Sasha's character is on point, but at the same time she has an easier character to portray. Becky has been having difficulty defining what her character is, and she lacked charisma on commentary during Raw. This debut hasn't really done much for Becky in the long term. We all know it's going to be Flair or Banks who guns for the title, and Becky is at the back of the pack. This position would have been even more difficult for Bayley. The crowd needs to get to know her before they properly get behind her. Becky is easy to cheer, whilst Bayley could come across as stupid or childish. I am feeling good about Bayley winning the title, but I'm worried about the lack of competition. Not including Emma, there are only four NXT divas. Out of those four it looks like Dana will be Bayley's challenger, but I think it should go to Alexa. Alexa is great in the ring and she's been there longer than Dana. I do really like Dana, but they've pushed her too quickly and I really don't think she's capable of bringing the sort of quality matches that the NXT universe are used to.
This match, to no surprise, was amazing. The technical work at the beginning was flawless. These two women are so talented it's insane. Even though the main roster has had an improvement in match lngth and quality, this is the sort of match that is exclusive to NXT. The main roster girls will never be trusted to have a 20 minute match. I don't believe so anyway.
I will give this match a score of 9.5/10. I don't know how it could have been any better, but I'm reluctant to give a full score to any match yet. I'll wait until Takeover for that.
Raw: Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs Naomi, Tamina and Sasha Banks
On Raw this week we finally got a 6 diva tag team match. I've been waiting for one since the NXT debuts and I don't really get why they waited this long to do it. My only guess being that they want to keep Tamina's in ring work at a minimal, understandably. I am still very much on Team B.A.D at the moment, and it seems to me that most people are. Team B.A.D seem to have clicked so well together, and even Tamina is being brought out of her shell a bit when it comes to talking. Team PCB, or whatever their name is now, seems quite forced to me, but it's clear that this team is 100% not going to be long term, I feel the same way with Foxy and the Bella's, but a part of me really thinks that Team B.A.D as a trio will last longer. I would love to see Naomi take the title from Nikki, leading to a Sasha and Naomi feud in the future, but it looks as if they're going straight in with Charlotte, who I see taking the belt in September. I love Charlotte, don't get me wrong. She is, in my opinion the best worker on the roster, but not only does she lack personality, I'm still not a fan of her relying on her last name. She doesn't need it. She needs to drop that awful theme tune. Quit with the woo's because they seem forced and aren't getting much reaction anyway. Charlotte doesn't need something to get crowd reactions. Let her have a kick ass match and a kick ass character and she would be fine. Fans aren't going to care about her because of who her dad is. Look at Sasha Banks. She is already so much more over than Charlotte. Another problem at th moment, is that I think there are too many divas that are heel who don't need to be. Charlotte needs to be heel in my opinion. The Bella's don't. They suck at being heel. There is no room for a heel Emma.
This would be my perfect division
Heels:
Cameron
Naomi
Eva Marie
Paige
Tamina
Sasha Banks
Charlotte
Rosa Mendes
Faces:
Nikki
Brie
Natalya
Summer Rae
Becky Lynch
Alicia Fox
Emma
This match got a great amount of time, and was very strong and consistent. It's crazy how over these girls are getting. Brie, Nikki and Sasha particularly are crazzyyyy over. It's great. This just proved that all these girls could be getting crowd reactions like this. Naomi is just on the cusp. She is getting pretty good reactions, just below Charlotte, Becky and Paige.
I would like them to possibly invest more time in Alicia. If there's a time to bring back her crazy character, it's now. If Alicia started having her tantrums again, I think she could get one of the biggest pops out of all of them.
Finally, a match for Summerslam has been announced, and I feel like it's going to be great. I expect Charlotte to be the sole survivor, after she makes Nikki tap out. This storyline, in all honesty, hasn't really been much of a storyline. Absolutely no development. They need to give all of the girls mics next week. At this point I would take a 15 minute segment over a match.
Overall, it was another strong divas match. I'll give it a score of 8/10.
