BillThompson Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Of those four in particular, Carmella - Not good, not bad, just kind of there. Don't see much potential, and in completely superficial terms I don't think she can get by on being attractive either. Charlotte - Super athletic, and that's all she has going for her right now. She's shown that she needs to be led by a better worker, because when left to do the leading the match is usually terrible. While her main boon may be her athleticism, it's also what holds her back the most because she's usually very sloppy and doesn't seem to feel the need to improve because the fans pop for her sloppy athleticism. Eva Marie - She's trying, and I give her a ton of credit for that. Unlike a Carmella she could have survived on being just a pretty face. But, she's went and put in the time to try and become an actual pro wrestler. That being said, she's still not good. I'm willing to give her some more time, but I doubt if she'll ever really get being a pro wrestler. It's really all about timing with her and the fact that she has absolutely no idea of how to utilize timing or why it is important. You can see her walking through sequences that are supposed to be faster, etc. Emma - Very talented worker who has had a couple of good gimmicks, hopefully the second one is presented to the audience on the main roster and then built up unlike the first gimmick where they expected all the main roster fans to have watched NXT. Either way, she is quite good in the ring, and capable of being great when with the right opponent. Online she's really been pushing her sex appeal lately, which may speak to her fears of being lost in the shuffle after her first gimmick failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Carmella can't exist in a world with Sasha in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LariatMMBOPPO Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 I just watched this week NXT, and there were two women's match on it. And I ask myself this question, how many of these girls are really that good ? Because honestly, Carmella vs Eva Marie was awful. Eva Marie is drop dead gorgeous, but she's no worker. Carmella, no idea. She wasn't as over as when she comes out alongside Enzo & Cas (is she still with them ?). And then there was a four way match between Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Emma & Dana Brooks. Not impressed by Dana. Charlotte, not a big fan either especially because her entire gimmick nowadays is being Ric's daughter. The Wooo, the strut, the chops, the figure 8 (?), the kneedrop. Way too much referential gimmicky too me, it's not doing her any favour, and doesn't put over her athlecisism. Ok, Becky's good, and I like what I saw of Emma too. The ending was odd though, Emma seemed surprised to have won, and the annoying "for the win" of the announcers, followed by an awkward reaction tells me that there was some screw up there. If not, well, that was pretty odd. Anyway, my question for the regular NXT followers, what is the consensus on all the girls ? Emma allegedly wasn't supposed to win that match. Something knocked Becky a little loopy and she forgot to kick out. Carmella, Dana and Eva are pretty much from the school of Laurinaitis hiring models from catalogues. All have a year or less of actual experience. Becky's great and Emma can be good at times. She's better as a heel than goofy babyface. Charlotte's initial signing was pure nepotism. She had no experience beforehand and is older* than the girls they usually sign. She's certainly decent enough to be carried, but without her name I don't think she'd still be on the roster. She's plateaued as far as getting better and is still fairly sloppy. Meltzer used to be a big fan of hers, but even he's cooled off on the praise. *She's not actually old at all as far as most standards go, but here's an example: Charlotte just debuted on the main roster at the age of 29. Trish and Lita both retired at the age of 31 after having 6 year long careers in the WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Emma seems to wrestle to the level of her opponent. Put her in there with someone who sucks and Emma sucks. Put Emma in there with someone really good and Emma is suddenly really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ready_Willing_Gable Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 There's so much that bothers me about the divas revolution, almost as though I preferred the way it was before - I didn't, that Nikki/Paige/Naomi stuff was shocking. And I thank my lucky stars every day that the women's product isn't the soulless SeXxXy SiDe ShOw of ten years ago, with evening gown matches where Sable deems the gown too restrictive and mud fights and bra n panties and all that other stuff Vince should go to hell for. I think the worst bit is not knowing what they have with Sasha Banks. Charlotte and Becky have actually been in pretty decent positions, just not enough 1-on-1 ring-work, too many promos at this stage. They should only be doing promos that come off as angry or passionate rather than snide jabs which doesn't feel all that different to what the womens div. was like anyway. But back to Banks, there's this Rihanna like star potential there, the sort of stuff that should send big glowing dollar signs in Vince's eyes. But he's obviously always been so blind to the women's product it's not gotten through to him. The tweener thing or whatever the hell they're doing, I don't know what the purpose of Team B.A.D is, my guess is that Team B.A.D.'s legacy is that "Naomi has unfinished business with Paige".. how lame is that? Nobody liked the Paige/Naomi/Nikki stuff anyway, shit promos especially from Paige that didn't get across to anybody, capped off with a 7 minute triple threat for the title. Putting Banks with Naomi and Tamina 1) that team is allergic to crowd reactions 2) it strips away Sasha's established character. Also, I'm not someone who hates on The Bellas for shits & giggles but I can't STAND they're not in a full heel role right now (they seem to be pushed as faces when interacting with Team B.A.D.), whether that's their bad character value or the company's thing, it's so frustrating. I would've either debuted Banks as a face, she has the most range and character value of any of the women that she would adapt quickly I feel. So a team of her, Charlotte, Becky & Bayley as the Four Horsewomen we saw at Takeover would capture so much more attention. Tamina can be Team Bella's hired muscle, Naomi and Paige become just active women's roster members who can go and wrestle singles matches, which is vital to avoid these women becoming boring to the average viewer. Or I'd have bought in Becky & Charlotte to debut and announce they wanna go for the title, but then with Sasha coming out on her own. Because she's the boss. And Stephanie pairing her up with Naomi and Tamina contradicts that. You don't have Vince going "hey Stone Cold why don't you start a faction with The Undertaker and Bull Buchanan" Not one diva other than the selected 9 has wrestled since the new debuts. Where is Natalya? If they really knew what cards they had in their hand with the women, we'd be seeing it already. We shouldn't be surprised that they're been doing way more saying than doing as far as the mains go. It was so exciting at first to see these women break through and felt so promising but just because it's got all your fav ingredients in don't make it a satisfying meal. MAYBE once Nikki breaks that damn record already, which they might as well now they've gotten this far and are obviously petty enough to care, we might start getting somewhere in terms of title matches, 1-on-1, getting our teeth into a story and a match but this overcomplication is a huge setback. Sorry for the long thoughts -- HHH's run on the main books can't come soon enough. If I was HHH I'd just make Vince keep watching Bayley v Sasha, over and over, until he gets a fucking clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ready_Willing_Gable Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 As for the NXT women, Carmella I see just in a Lana sort of role for Enzo & Cass. Though their act doesn't particularly need it of course, but it doesn't hurt to have her. She has her catchphrases and that, doesn't get anywhere near the title, probably only wrestles when storyline calls for it. Eva is bad but credit to her for training with Brian Kendrick and going out to perform infront of difficult crowds. From the little I've seen, her in-ring has started to improve already, although it's fine margins. All the credit to her for that though when there's people like Cameron and Rosa Mendes quietly collecting paychecks. Not many people seem a big fan of Dana but I see a fair bit of potential there. She is obviously quite the athlete and I like her as a heel. Not a dazzling worker at the moment but plenty there. Emma I don't know about, she got promoted as a face, it didn't work. Now she's heel. Below average promo and servicable in the ring, I can't see her as a Womens Champion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ready_Willing_Gable Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Stop calling them divas. This too. Whenever we finally get our title change, I hope for that name and that horrible belt that looks like its made of feathers, felt, glitter and plastic painted silver to be thrown in the trash in a pipebomb moment, bringing back the old gold belt. Would be such an easy promo to write, putting over how 'diva' is a character trait that not every woman should be expected to live up to, nor should it be an appropriate term for role models. It seems about as likely as Mojo Rawley main eventing Wrestlemania though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJayTabb Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Carmella is totally miscast as a face. Not only have the fans not fully taken to her (despite being aligned with one of the most inexplicably popular acts on NXT), she has a natural air of the heel. When she first debuted, snapping at Enzo, tapping out local talent with her headscissors/crossface-type move, she was quite heelish and far more entertaining than the bouncing face we saw at Takeover. Has anyone seen Nia Jax at all? I know she's part of the extended Rock/Regins family lineage, so there's a good chance she's going to get decent, but what's she like at the moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 I didn't realize Charlotte was that "old". So yeah, seems like pure nepotism indeed. She's not that good of a worker. She doesn't have much charisma (as a babyface at least, from what I've seen), she's doesn't seem to cut strong promos. Her act has gotten way more Ricflairish that it was before, if I judge by what I've seen. And let's be honest, since it does play a role no matter how you twist it, she's not that attractive either (looks like David). The whole Sasha Banks / Rihanna deal is exactly what it should be. Then again, when was the last time a black woman has been pushed as a star ? The very fact they put three "ethnic" (stupid word) girls together for no reason other than skin color tells you as much as you need to know, sadly. Vince is supposedly stuck into the Floridian-aryan stereotype of what a hot woman is supposed to be (that being said, seems like Lana is in the doghouse now). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJayTabb Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 The whole Sasha Banks / Rihanna deal is exactly what it should be. Then again, when was the last time a black woman has been pushed as a star ? The very fact they put three "ethnic" (stupid word) girls together for no reason other than skin color tells you as much as you need to know, sadly. Vince is supposedly stuck into the Floridian-aryan stereotype of what a hot woman is supposed to be (that being said, seems like Lana is in the doghouse now). While I have no doubts that's true, it should be mentioned that for the last three years the Divas title has been exclusively held by a lady of Puerto Rican descent, a lady of Mexican descent and a pale faux-goth Brit, so they're getting a bit more diversity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 I didn't realize Charlotte was that "old". So yeah, seems like pure nepotism indeed. She's not that good of a worker. She doesn't have much charisma (as a babyface at least, from what I've seen), she's doesn't seem to cut strong promos. Her act has gotten way more Ricflairish that it was before, if I judge by what I've seen. And let's be honest, since it does play a role no matter how you twist it, she's not that attractive either (looks like David). Charlotte is a great athlete who is still new to the business. She has shown great potential to be carried and is more natural as a heel. Her working like Ric Flair has been a problem, but to say it's pure nepotism is bollocks. Too many good matches. She should still be in NXT working things out, but she could be really great in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Until you mentionned it, I never even thought about Aj or the Bellas as being "latinos". They look like "white" girls to me. Diversity in looks ? Probably. But hell, you had Gail Kim a few years ago. But I don't remember any black girl being pushed as a legit superstar (and who wouldn't be referred as "the first black woman superstar" of course, which would be patronizing as all hell). But that's beside the point. Sasha should be pushed because she simply as *it*. Not even coming to her own music on RAW makes her "just another girl" from the get go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Jacqueline, Jazz, Alicia Fox and Layla have all had title runs. In terms of women of colour. Melina is Latina and she was on top for years. But "legit superstar" is a hard bar to clear since only a handful of women altogether have been pushed like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 You had Awesome Kong but that didn't end so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LariatMMBOPPO Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Charlotte is a great athlete who is still new to the business. She has shown great potential to be carried and is more natural as a heel. Her working like Ric Flair has been a problem, but to say it's pure nepotism is bollocks. Too many good matches. She should still be in NXT working things out, but she could be really great in time. The only match you hear extensively praised is that Natalya match. Not much after that. And LOL at "but to say it's pure nepotism is bollocks." Being signed at 27 with absolutely no wrestling background aside from her family name, pushed to the top of their development program not a year after debuting and debuting on the main roster after two years. She doesn't suck, but anyone else would be stuck in developmental for 2 more years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ready_Willing_Gable Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 You had Awesome Kong but that didn't end so well. what happened with her? One way the division could get shaken up even with the severe limitations of McMahon booking is by having Kong or another complete bruiser of a woman. I hope they find one soon. We desperately need a Beast in the division. Everyone's so skinny except Charlotte and Dana with their defined muscles and Tamina being a bit bulkier but with no presence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 She got pregnant, lost the baby and later got released because I don't think she was in the mental state to perform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotJayTabb Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 You had Awesome Kong but that didn't end so well. what happened with her? One way the division could get shaken up even with the severe limitations of McMahon booking is by having Kong or another complete bruiser of a woman. I hope they find one soon. We desperately need a Beast in the division. Everyone's so skinny except Charlotte and Dana with their defined muscles and Tamina being a bit bulkier but with no presence. Based on photos of Nia Jax, you'll soon have your wish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LariatMMBOPPO Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 They could always bring in Jessicka Havok as a heel to feud with the black divas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmmnx Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 I don't know that they can keep Sasha heel much longer with no likeable faces opposite her. The fans have already picked up on the fact that she's head and shoulders above the other women as an all around performer. I'd turn Charlotte have her join the Authority as women's(not fucking divas) champ, and have babyface Sasha chase it. You do the spoiled rich girl that thinks she's genetically superior vs the hard working woman who had to fight to make her own breaks, and you've got a great feud with defined characters that can work their asses off. After Sasha wins the belt success starts to go to her head, and she has to cheat to keep the belt from Becky in what should be the best in ring rivalry they've ever had in the women's division. After Sasha has been reestablished as a heel it'll be Bayley time. So yeah build around Sasha, and keep at least 3 or 4 women credible for title challengers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillThompson Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 They could always bring in Jessicka Havok as a heel to feud with the black divas. Already have Rollins' mistress/girlfriend in developmental to represent the racist female quota. Of course she's a neo-Nazi and not whatever the hell Havok is, maybe that makes a world of difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexstar Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 I'd take Tamina out of the ring and make her a bodyguard for Bo Dallas. This would be aweeeeesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Sorry for the long thoughts -- HHH's run on the main books can't come soon enough. If I was HHH I'd just make Vince keep watching Bayley v Sasha, over and over, until he gets a fucking clue. Why? Vince might have final say over the product but I am willing to bet Triple H has a ton of input over tbe main shows and it's...not that good? Stephanie also isn't going to let her husband turn it into 1980s NWA if that is what you're thinking. She is just as big a part of the problem as Vince is. It is easy to do an one hour show weekly with little to no interference from networks. I wouldn't be quick to anoint him the savior of WWE just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donsem43 Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 About the only thing you can realistically expect from Triple H is a smoother transition for talent from NXT to the main roster. Anything other than that is expecting too much. Wasn't Stephanie the one who pushed to get TV writers in the first place. Anyway, after listening Paige on Austin's podcast I went and watch some of her NXT matches again. Holy crap, what the hell happen to her? In NXT she looked like the strong face that they need going forward. She wasn't a potential best in the world like Sasha but still looked really good in ring while playing up her character, which for anyone in the WWE, is going to make you stand out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 She said on Jericho that they told her to work completely differently, to basically do the opposite of everything she did in NXT when she came in and be a vulnerable young babyface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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