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Rating the Divas and Knockouts
As some of you know, I have been an in-ring performer. And I have also worked as a wrestling trainer for female performers. My job was to help them with their wrestling, promos and match making abilities.
So I understand a thing or two about women's wrestling. So I have decided to give my take on the current Divas and Knockouts.
I shall be focusing mainly on the current WWE and TNA performers (including currently injured stars). I shall not be including anyone who doesn't wrestle on regular basis, like Vickie Guerrero, Lilian Garcia, Christy Hemme, SoCal Val and Dixie Carter.
Feel free to give your opinions too.
Part 1 is here. Part 2 will cover Madison Rayne, Maxine, Mickie James, Naomi Knight, Natalya Neidhart, Nikki Bella, ODB, Rosa Mendes, Rosita, Sarita, Tamina Snuka, Tara, Velvet Sky and Winter.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Adrianne</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Adrianne was the first contestant to be eliminated from the most recent series of Tough Enough, and rightly so. When Steve Austin asked her what her favourite match of all time was, she replied “Alicia Fox versus Melinaâ€. Either this was an answer she was told to give, highlighting that Fox is also African American. Or, this highlighted the complete ignorance Adrianne has to the industry. She is a woman who has had very little training and experience. She has been called up to the main roster as one of Brodus Clay’s dancers (and not a particularly good one). She needs much more time in developmental, but I doubt that she will get it.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>AJ Lee</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart:
AJ is not like other Divas, and this should serve as a major advantage to her. Instead of being sexy, she is cute. This alone makes a refreshing change. And she has a natural ability to connect with the audience. And she is a genuine wrestling fan, which inspires her to constantly improve. She is an excellent grappler with great speed and high flying ability.
As far as I can see, AJ has only one flaw: her diminutive stature. And this brings with it a lot of disadvantages. Her small frame means that she could prove to be injury prone if she has to work with strong or clumsy opponents. And considering that she is in the WWE, she WILL be working with a lot of clumsy opponents. Her frame will not allow her to build much strength without increasing weight and body mass. Without the strength, her moves set will remain limited. Any increase in weight or body mass will change her body shape. This does not have to be a bad thing, but the WWE will not be happy with her if it happens. And also, the WWE will always look at her as a little girl who always needs to be protected. Her cuteness means that she will always be in the shadow of “sexier†collegues.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Aksana</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
When she was on NXT, Aksana personified the “sexy foreigner†image. She was a hot blonde with a sexy accent and a certain naivety that made people naturally warm to her. And the more of Goldust’s mannerisms she adopted inside and outside of the ring attracted more fans. But when Maxine left NXT, the brand needed her to become the brand’s main heel. It was a role that she played beautifully, but turning against Goldust killed her momentum.
Aksana returned to SmackDown with a completely new look. It was the only that she could be brought back without a fan backlash for her previous turning against Goldust. But by flirting with Theodore Long for so long, fans are already weary of her. They expect her to take advantage of the beloved GM (every other woman has). So it will be hard for her to move on.
Aksana used to be a talented performer. She used an athletic style, and she also had a surprising amount of strength. And again, by adapting some of Goldust’s mannerisms, she has proven that she can inject a lot of charisma into her style.
But in achieving her new look, she lost a lot of weight that she did not need to lose. And it is not paying off. She has somehow lost strength, speed and stamina. She has had trouble adapting to working matches with her new body shape.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Alicia Fox</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Alicia Fox is on the roster for two reasons; she is African American, and she looks like Rhianna. The WWE always feels like they do not have enough non-Caucasian females on their programming. And Alicia Fox’s sister is on a developmental contract. So we may soon see our first African-American Divas tag team.
But the truth is, she is rubbish. She has trouble performing basic moves, and she has repeatedly hurt opponents with them. She relies on gimmicks (e.g. clothes being ripped, hair being pulled out, etc.) to carry her through matches. And she has a hard time getting the audience interested in her matches. And her promo skills are woeful.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Angelina Love</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
At one point, Angeline Love was the best heel in the industry. When she was leading The Beautiful People, they sometimes overshadowed the Main Event Mafia, a stable of 5 wrestling legends. At that time, no one was so detested by the fans, or as popular as Love was.
Sadly, the last two years have devastated her career. Not only has she been involved in a long string of confusing storylines, she is another victim of sudden weight loss. The stamina and strength have disappeared. In fact, some even feel that she has started to lose a lot of her looks too.
Interest in her photo shoots have proven that fans are still into her. She needs to break away from Winter AND The Beautiful People to stand a chance of being a dominant knockout once again. And she has the ability to do it.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Beth Phoenix</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Phoenix used to be one of the most overrated Divas. Announcers used to make such a huge deal over her strength, which was not a huge deal considering most of her opposition weighed far much less than she did. Her long reigns with championships were the direct result of a lack of competition.
But Phoenix’ presence in the WWE has forced opponents to up their game. Phoenix is a woman who can defeat any opponent easily. So every opponent has needed to become much better in the ring just to be able to survive her. And there are women from other companies, eras and mediums that are cueing up to face her.
I don’t know if this is a disadvantage, or an advantage. Opponents usually do beat her in the first try. In fact, they tend to beat her multiple times before Phoenix finally earns a win over them. But once Phoenix gets that first win over somebody, that somebody automatically no longer poses a threat to her. Every challenger looks like they could topple Phoenix, but Phoenix they don’t usually beat her when it matters the most.
Oh, and did I mention that SHE CAN WRESTLE? Her move set is dependent on her having superior strength than her opponent. So a lot of the time, she has no problems here. But she can wrestle just as well as anyone can. A few male opponents have experienced this first hand too. Some could argue that Beth would be better off in the men’s divisions. But this will never happen in the PG-era. But then again, she has more than enough people who want to challenge her to keep her busy.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brie Bella</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart:
Brie Bella may be the most underrated Diva in the WWE right now.
The Bella Twins are incredibly marketable. They are one of the very few sibling teams in professional wrestling that actually look like one another. As well as their incredible sexiness, the duo is also half-Mexican/half-Italian. Their main method of success so far is to have one twin replace her exhausted/hurt sister when the referee or opponents aren’t looking. That tactic has served them both well.
The girls have similar move sets which are dependent on them moving quickly and catching their opponent by surprise. They also have a solid collection of double team moves that usually hit the mark. Most of their main attacks involve wearing down the opponent’s back, and quick roll-up pin attempts. So it is strange that their main finisher is the Bella Bomb, a facebuster that impacts the head, chest and stomach.
Brie, the taller Bella, is a far more accomplished wrestler than her sister. She has a decent amount of technical ability and is quick adaptable in the ring. She also has greater stamina and durability, which is why she does most of the work in matches. However, all her combined skills are average. While she is not one of the worst women in wrestling, she doesn’t really stand out either. The one thing she lacks? Charisma. She has great trouble expressing her personality, making it harder for audiences to get into her matches.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brooke Tessmacher</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
Brooke is one of very many models who was not interested in wrestling, and then blamed the WWE for not using them properly. And considering her lack of prominence in WWE, it was strange that TNA chose hire her at all.
Brooke is an aspiring actress who saw the WWE as a method of breaking into the entertainment industry. Unfortunately for her, she had rubbish acting skills. She would become the silent valet to multiple tag teams because she was so poor with a script. Brooke was hired by the WWE because of her looks, particularly her butt. They paid for her to have dancing lessons. And she joined professional dancer Layla in Extreme Expose, a stable led by Kelly Kelly. She was “the brunette with the buttâ€. Again, she failed as a dancer.
TNA later hired her strictly for her looks, to fulfil an onscreen role that did not need to exist. However, Brooke was smart enough to get a guarantee in her contract that she could act on screen. And she was also smart enough to have acting lessons after leaving WWE.
TNA managed to talk her into having wrestling lessons. She hit a bad start when TNA claimed that Lacey Von Erich was training her (Lacey was so bad in the ring that TNA would not let her compete in singles matches). She made her in-ring debut too soon, and was awful. But her recent tag team with Tara has proven to be highly beneficial. Her time with Tara has taught her how to improve her in-ring ability and how to get fans interested in her for more than her butt.
She still makes a lot of rookie mistakes, including hesitating too long when performing moves and over/under selling opponent’s attacks. Her success is directly proportional to her interest in improving. And now that she is getting acting roles outside of wrestling, her interests may not last long.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Eve Torres</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Eve Torres chose to learn how to wrestle as a matter of safety. She knew that other women would be performing their finishers on her, so she had to learn how to take the physical abuse. But she found that she actually enjoyed performing in the ring.
Eve has become very good very fast. Her only disadvantage is her lack of strength. This gives her difficulty in performing certain moves. But she may be one of the toughest Divas on the roster. She has taken more punishment than most, and has taken harder bumps than many have had to. Her move set is constantly increasing, and she keeps getting better and better.
Sadly, her biggest crutch may be her current storyline. As a general rule, a diva that is unfaithful is branded a “slut†for the remainder of her career. The “Ho-ski†tag that she now carries may prevent her from ever be taken seriously again. Many people who aren’t Beli-EVE-rs have been moaning that Eve needed to turn heel to save her career. I don’t see why it needed “savingâ€. But the Divas division is lacking in heels, so this may be a good thing in that respect.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Gail Kim</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Many people were quick to claim that Gail Kim leaving TNA to return to WWE would be a large step backwards in her career. They were right. Now that she is back in TNA, she is where she belongs; on television. She is currently the centrepiece of the Knockouts Division once more.
So far, Gail Kim has been putting on high-quality matches with the best opposition available to her. The only problem is Gail is going through opponents too quickly. TNA will need to keep renewing their Knockouts division just to keep Gail relevant. And the problem here is that other talented Knockouts (of which there are many) will be swept away without getting proper exposure. They need to slow down her feuds, and make them last longer.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kaitlyn</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart:
Everyone who was aware of NXT knew that Kaitlyn would win season 3 before the first episode aired. Kaitlyn had only just entered the industry and had almost no training. She had almost no in-ring or acting skills at all. Her first ever match was on NXT. They assumed that her outside career as a fitness expert would translate into a natural in-ring ability. Most do not, and Kaitlyn was an example of this.
One of the very first instructions that WWE gave Kaitlyn was to lose weight. While she lost fat (and a little flab), she developed larger muscles and clear muscle tone. The WWE were not happy with her muscular new look, but tried to market her as a powerhouse. With that being said, she struggles to lift lighter opponents.
Expect Kaitlyn to disappear from television for a long time this year. Her acting and wrestling skills need a lot of work. And if Kaitlyn continues to build muscle, the WWE will want to repackage her. If the WWE are willing to invest the time into her, she may prove to be a dominant force in women’s wrestling. But WWE usually do not like long-term projects.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kelly Kelly</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
As the WWE moved into its PG-era, Kelly has had to adapt to a more PC image. She has gone from a stripper who was of borderline age, to a wholesome All-American girl-next-door.
Despite only being 24, she has sustained quite a lot of injuries. When the WWE hired Kelly, they understood that she was into fitness. Again, they assumed that this meant that she could transition into a good in-ring performer easily. Her lack of experience resulted in her tight body getting injured easily. And she is discouraged from doing anything that may change her body shape. If she loses weight, she will become more injury prone. If she gains weight or muscle, she could lose her looks. Again, this means that she is still injury prone. And her light weight makes her an easy victim to a clumsy opponent.
She has been training more over the past two years, and has developed a lot of difficult moves in her move set. But she has a problem with performing moves too slowly. She uses a turn-based style of wrestling, which means that she sometimes allows opponents to perform attacks rather than finding a way to counter them. And she is frequently caught by surprise.
However, with the number of models leaving WWE, particularly Maria and Maryse, Kelly has expressed unhappiness within the WWE as of late. She may choose to leave sooner rather than later.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kharma</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart:
Easily the most anticipated performer in WWE right now. The WWE took a very long time in signing her after she became a free agent. And then they hesitate over bringing her to television. And then she learnt that she was pregnant just before her debut match.
Kharma has always been strong; there is no question of that. But most of her opponents have been much smaller than her. On the one hand, that makes it easier for her to dominate opponents. On the other hand, she may not be as tough as we think. She has never faced anyone her own size, so we do not know how powerful she really is. But then again, who is her size?
Her ring attire hides her physical conditioning. Larger wrestlers, regardless of gender, tend to suffer more problems than average sized wrestlers. We have not seen how much durability or stamina Kharma has yet. And as she has only recently had a child, her physical condition has to be worse.
We do not know what health issues Kharma has. She has never been in a company that has the Wellness Policy that the WWE has. Her biggest challenge is staying healthy under their watch. She needs to do this as an injury or health condition can strike a woman of her size suddenly. If she can stay within their recommendations, she will have a much longer career. And if she does, she will easily live up to the hype around her.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Layla</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
Layla is another diva who was forced to learn how to wrestle out of necessity. Like Alicia Fox, she once had no skills and was very clumsy in the ring. Unlike Fox, Layla steadily improved. Just before her recent injury, she became one of the finest technicians in the Divas division.
Sadly, bad booking may haunt her. She spent much of her time as a lackey for the talentless Michelle McCool. McCool and Layla formed LayCool, a blatant rip-off of TNA’s The Beautiful People. The well-spoken Layla was forced to adopt a fake English accent and talking manner. She played the role of a stereotypical bully, and was heavily involved with the controversial “Piggie James†storyline. She went through a very long period in which most of her matches ended within 2 minutes (mostly by disqualification). LayCool spent several months as the centrepiece of the Divas division on Raw, SmackDown and NXT, even when they weren’t in title contention. All of this horrible booking may hurt Layla when she returns.
But she does have one advantage that should not be underestimated. How many wrestlers have been out of action for an entire year, and saw their fan-base grow like Layla’s has? And Layla may be light, but she had an ideal body shape. She had enough muscle and body mass to reduce injury without limiting her ability.
</div>
As some of you know, I have been an in-ring performer. And I have also worked as a wrestling trainer for female performers. My job was to help them with their wrestling, promos and match making abilities.
So I understand a thing or two about women's wrestling. So I have decided to give my take on the current Divas and Knockouts.
I shall be focusing mainly on the current WWE and TNA performers (including currently injured stars). I shall not be including anyone who doesn't wrestle on regular basis, like Vickie Guerrero, Lilian Garcia, Christy Hemme, SoCal Val and Dixie Carter.
Feel free to give your opinions too.
Part 1 is here. Part 2 will cover Madison Rayne, Maxine, Mickie James, Naomi Knight, Natalya Neidhart, Nikki Bella, ODB, Rosa Mendes, Rosita, Sarita, Tamina Snuka, Tara, Velvet Sky and Winter.
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Adrianne</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Adrianne was the first contestant to be eliminated from the most recent series of Tough Enough, and rightly so. When Steve Austin asked her what her favourite match of all time was, she replied “Alicia Fox versus Melinaâ€. Either this was an answer she was told to give, highlighting that Fox is also African American. Or, this highlighted the complete ignorance Adrianne has to the industry. She is a woman who has had very little training and experience. She has been called up to the main roster as one of Brodus Clay’s dancers (and not a particularly good one). She needs much more time in developmental, but I doubt that she will get it.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>AJ Lee</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart:
AJ is not like other Divas, and this should serve as a major advantage to her. Instead of being sexy, she is cute. This alone makes a refreshing change. And she has a natural ability to connect with the audience. And she is a genuine wrestling fan, which inspires her to constantly improve. She is an excellent grappler with great speed and high flying ability.
As far as I can see, AJ has only one flaw: her diminutive stature. And this brings with it a lot of disadvantages. Her small frame means that she could prove to be injury prone if she has to work with strong or clumsy opponents. And considering that she is in the WWE, she WILL be working with a lot of clumsy opponents. Her frame will not allow her to build much strength without increasing weight and body mass. Without the strength, her moves set will remain limited. Any increase in weight or body mass will change her body shape. This does not have to be a bad thing, but the WWE will not be happy with her if it happens. And also, the WWE will always look at her as a little girl who always needs to be protected. Her cuteness means that she will always be in the shadow of “sexier†collegues.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Aksana</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
When she was on NXT, Aksana personified the “sexy foreigner†image. She was a hot blonde with a sexy accent and a certain naivety that made people naturally warm to her. And the more of Goldust’s mannerisms she adopted inside and outside of the ring attracted more fans. But when Maxine left NXT, the brand needed her to become the brand’s main heel. It was a role that she played beautifully, but turning against Goldust killed her momentum.
Aksana returned to SmackDown with a completely new look. It was the only that she could be brought back without a fan backlash for her previous turning against Goldust. But by flirting with Theodore Long for so long, fans are already weary of her. They expect her to take advantage of the beloved GM (every other woman has). So it will be hard for her to move on.
Aksana used to be a talented performer. She used an athletic style, and she also had a surprising amount of strength. And again, by adapting some of Goldust’s mannerisms, she has proven that she can inject a lot of charisma into her style.
But in achieving her new look, she lost a lot of weight that she did not need to lose. And it is not paying off. She has somehow lost strength, speed and stamina. She has had trouble adapting to working matches with her new body shape.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Alicia Fox</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
Alicia Fox is on the roster for two reasons; she is African American, and she looks like Rhianna. The WWE always feels like they do not have enough non-Caucasian females on their programming. And Alicia Fox’s sister is on a developmental contract. So we may soon see our first African-American Divas tag team.
But the truth is, she is rubbish. She has trouble performing basic moves, and she has repeatedly hurt opponents with them. She relies on gimmicks (e.g. clothes being ripped, hair being pulled out, etc.) to carry her through matches. And she has a hard time getting the audience interested in her matches. And her promo skills are woeful.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Angelina Love</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
At one point, Angeline Love was the best heel in the industry. When she was leading The Beautiful People, they sometimes overshadowed the Main Event Mafia, a stable of 5 wrestling legends. At that time, no one was so detested by the fans, or as popular as Love was.
Sadly, the last two years have devastated her career. Not only has she been involved in a long string of confusing storylines, she is another victim of sudden weight loss. The stamina and strength have disappeared. In fact, some even feel that she has started to lose a lot of her looks too.
Interest in her photo shoots have proven that fans are still into her. She needs to break away from Winter AND The Beautiful People to stand a chance of being a dominant knockout once again. And she has the ability to do it.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Beth Phoenix</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Phoenix used to be one of the most overrated Divas. Announcers used to make such a huge deal over her strength, which was not a huge deal considering most of her opposition weighed far much less than she did. Her long reigns with championships were the direct result of a lack of competition.
But Phoenix’ presence in the WWE has forced opponents to up their game. Phoenix is a woman who can defeat any opponent easily. So every opponent has needed to become much better in the ring just to be able to survive her. And there are women from other companies, eras and mediums that are cueing up to face her.
I don’t know if this is a disadvantage, or an advantage. Opponents usually do beat her in the first try. In fact, they tend to beat her multiple times before Phoenix finally earns a win over them. But once Phoenix gets that first win over somebody, that somebody automatically no longer poses a threat to her. Every challenger looks like they could topple Phoenix, but Phoenix they don’t usually beat her when it matters the most.
Oh, and did I mention that SHE CAN WRESTLE? Her move set is dependent on her having superior strength than her opponent. So a lot of the time, she has no problems here. But she can wrestle just as well as anyone can. A few male opponents have experienced this first hand too. Some could argue that Beth would be better off in the men’s divisions. But this will never happen in the PG-era. But then again, she has more than enough people who want to challenge her to keep her busy.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brie Bella</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart:
Brie Bella may be the most underrated Diva in the WWE right now.
The Bella Twins are incredibly marketable. They are one of the very few sibling teams in professional wrestling that actually look like one another. As well as their incredible sexiness, the duo is also half-Mexican/half-Italian. Their main method of success so far is to have one twin replace her exhausted/hurt sister when the referee or opponents aren’t looking. That tactic has served them both well.
The girls have similar move sets which are dependent on them moving quickly and catching their opponent by surprise. They also have a solid collection of double team moves that usually hit the mark. Most of their main attacks involve wearing down the opponent’s back, and quick roll-up pin attempts. So it is strange that their main finisher is the Bella Bomb, a facebuster that impacts the head, chest and stomach.
Brie, the taller Bella, is a far more accomplished wrestler than her sister. She has a decent amount of technical ability and is quick adaptable in the ring. She also has greater stamina and durability, which is why she does most of the work in matches. However, all her combined skills are average. While she is not one of the worst women in wrestling, she doesn’t really stand out either. The one thing she lacks? Charisma. She has great trouble expressing her personality, making it harder for audiences to get into her matches.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Brooke Tessmacher</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
Brooke is one of very many models who was not interested in wrestling, and then blamed the WWE for not using them properly. And considering her lack of prominence in WWE, it was strange that TNA chose hire her at all.
Brooke is an aspiring actress who saw the WWE as a method of breaking into the entertainment industry. Unfortunately for her, she had rubbish acting skills. She would become the silent valet to multiple tag teams because she was so poor with a script. Brooke was hired by the WWE because of her looks, particularly her butt. They paid for her to have dancing lessons. And she joined professional dancer Layla in Extreme Expose, a stable led by Kelly Kelly. She was “the brunette with the buttâ€. Again, she failed as a dancer.
TNA later hired her strictly for her looks, to fulfil an onscreen role that did not need to exist. However, Brooke was smart enough to get a guarantee in her contract that she could act on screen. And she was also smart enough to have acting lessons after leaving WWE.
TNA managed to talk her into having wrestling lessons. She hit a bad start when TNA claimed that Lacey Von Erich was training her (Lacey was so bad in the ring that TNA would not let her compete in singles matches). She made her in-ring debut too soon, and was awful. But her recent tag team with Tara has proven to be highly beneficial. Her time with Tara has taught her how to improve her in-ring ability and how to get fans interested in her for more than her butt.
She still makes a lot of rookie mistakes, including hesitating too long when performing moves and over/under selling opponent’s attacks. Her success is directly proportional to her interest in improving. And now that she is getting acting roles outside of wrestling, her interests may not last long.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Eve Torres</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Eve Torres chose to learn how to wrestle as a matter of safety. She knew that other women would be performing their finishers on her, so she had to learn how to take the physical abuse. But she found that she actually enjoyed performing in the ring.
Eve has become very good very fast. Her only disadvantage is her lack of strength. This gives her difficulty in performing certain moves. But she may be one of the toughest Divas on the roster. She has taken more punishment than most, and has taken harder bumps than many have had to. Her move set is constantly increasing, and she keeps getting better and better.
Sadly, her biggest crutch may be her current storyline. As a general rule, a diva that is unfaithful is branded a “slut†for the remainder of her career. The “Ho-ski†tag that she now carries may prevent her from ever be taken seriously again. Many people who aren’t Beli-EVE-rs have been moaning that Eve needed to turn heel to save her career. I don’t see why it needed “savingâ€. But the Divas division is lacking in heels, so this may be a good thing in that respect.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Gail Kim</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
Many people were quick to claim that Gail Kim leaving TNA to return to WWE would be a large step backwards in her career. They were right. Now that she is back in TNA, she is where she belongs; on television. She is currently the centrepiece of the Knockouts Division once more.
So far, Gail Kim has been putting on high-quality matches with the best opposition available to her. The only problem is Gail is going through opponents too quickly. TNA will need to keep renewing their Knockouts division just to keep Gail relevant. And the problem here is that other talented Knockouts (of which there are many) will be swept away without getting proper exposure. They need to slow down her feuds, and make them last longer.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kaitlyn</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart:
Everyone who was aware of NXT knew that Kaitlyn would win season 3 before the first episode aired. Kaitlyn had only just entered the industry and had almost no training. She had almost no in-ring or acting skills at all. Her first ever match was on NXT. They assumed that her outside career as a fitness expert would translate into a natural in-ring ability. Most do not, and Kaitlyn was an example of this.
One of the very first instructions that WWE gave Kaitlyn was to lose weight. While she lost fat (and a little flab), she developed larger muscles and clear muscle tone. The WWE were not happy with her muscular new look, but tried to market her as a powerhouse. With that being said, she struggles to lift lighter opponents.
Expect Kaitlyn to disappear from television for a long time this year. Her acting and wrestling skills need a lot of work. And if Kaitlyn continues to build muscle, the WWE will want to repackage her. If the WWE are willing to invest the time into her, she may prove to be a dominant force in women’s wrestling. But WWE usually do not like long-term projects.
</div>
<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kelly Kelly</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
:heart: :heart:
As the WWE moved into its PG-era, Kelly has had to adapt to a more PC image. She has gone from a stripper who was of borderline age, to a wholesome All-American girl-next-door.
Despite only being 24, she has sustained quite a lot of injuries. When the WWE hired Kelly, they understood that she was into fitness. Again, they assumed that this meant that she could transition into a good in-ring performer easily. Her lack of experience resulted in her tight body getting injured easily. And she is discouraged from doing anything that may change her body shape. If she loses weight, she will become more injury prone. If she gains weight or muscle, she could lose her looks. Again, this means that she is still injury prone. And her light weight makes her an easy victim to a clumsy opponent.
She has been training more over the past two years, and has developed a lot of difficult moves in her move set. But she has a problem with performing moves too slowly. She uses a turn-based style of wrestling, which means that she sometimes allows opponents to perform attacks rather than finding a way to counter them. And she is frequently caught by surprise.
However, with the number of models leaving WWE, particularly Maria and Maryse, Kelly has expressed unhappiness within the WWE as of late. She may choose to leave sooner rather than later.
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<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Kharma</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
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Easily the most anticipated performer in WWE right now. The WWE took a very long time in signing her after she became a free agent. And then they hesitate over bringing her to television. And then she learnt that she was pregnant just before her debut match.
Kharma has always been strong; there is no question of that. But most of her opponents have been much smaller than her. On the one hand, that makes it easier for her to dominate opponents. On the other hand, she may not be as tough as we think. She has never faced anyone her own size, so we do not know how powerful she really is. But then again, who is her size?
Her ring attire hides her physical conditioning. Larger wrestlers, regardless of gender, tend to suffer more problems than average sized wrestlers. We have not seen how much durability or stamina Kharma has yet. And as she has only recently had a child, her physical condition has to be worse.
We do not know what health issues Kharma has. She has never been in a company that has the Wellness Policy that the WWE has. Her biggest challenge is staying healthy under their watch. She needs to do this as an injury or health condition can strike a woman of her size suddenly. If she can stay within their recommendations, she will have a much longer career. And if she does, she will easily live up to the hype around her.
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<div class='spoiler_toggle'>Layla</div><div class="spoiler" style="display:none;">
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Layla is another diva who was forced to learn how to wrestle out of necessity. Like Alicia Fox, she once had no skills and was very clumsy in the ring. Unlike Fox, Layla steadily improved. Just before her recent injury, she became one of the finest technicians in the Divas division.
Sadly, bad booking may haunt her. She spent much of her time as a lackey for the talentless Michelle McCool. McCool and Layla formed LayCool, a blatant rip-off of TNA’s The Beautiful People. The well-spoken Layla was forced to adopt a fake English accent and talking manner. She played the role of a stereotypical bully, and was heavily involved with the controversial “Piggie James†storyline. She went through a very long period in which most of her matches ended within 2 minutes (mostly by disqualification). LayCool spent several months as the centrepiece of the Divas division on Raw, SmackDown and NXT, even when they weren’t in title contention. All of this horrible booking may hurt Layla when she returns.
But she does have one advantage that should not be underestimated. How many wrestlers have been out of action for an entire year, and saw their fan-base grow like Layla’s has? And Layla may be light, but she had an ideal body shape. She had enough muscle and body mass to reduce injury without limiting her ability.
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