Does the Diva's division need saved?

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Divas of Doom ... or salvation?
By: Katie Raymond September 4, 2011

Stinkfaces. Booty poppin'. If you're a purist about a woman's place inside the WWE ring, you must be wondering what Fabulous Moolah is thinking looking down on the Divas division. Would the iconic figure chalk up the current flux of the division on changing times, or would she say, "Someone needs to save this"?

Beth Phoenix and Natalya, the "Divas of Doom," think so. However, are The Glamazon and third-generation Diva just the two women to call "saviors"?

First, Brie Bella wins the Divas Championship. Diva purists cringed. Then, Kelly Kelly - who has improved markedly inside the ring - netted the butterfly title. Diva purists started pointing fingers and lashing out. This can't be happening. Not in a division that has seen the likes of Moolah, Trish Stratus, Lita and Melina bear the Women's Title. How are these "model" Divas getting their names etched in the history books? Do only "pretty faces" matter?

The WWE Universe took to Twitter to express their dismay and praise the terror-filling twosome, even making The Divas of Doom a worldwide trending topic during SuperSmackDown Tuesday night.

@ButisThisCool: @NatbyNature @TheBethPhoenix-- @RealKellyKelly is the Divas Champion. #ThingsWeNeedToChange #DivasofDoom

@Sparty1181: People need to respect @TheBethPhoenix and @NatbyNature they have earned it. They are the true definition of women's wrestling!#DivasofDoom

@WWENate: #ThingsWeNeedToChange The Divas division in WWE! They need a little more than 2 minutes a night to show what they can do! #GiveDivasAChance
[ Natalya discusses her destructive pairing with Beth Phoenix]
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And so in came these sisters of destruction, carrying holy water and a torch. One was destined to dominate the ring, the other was born to an impressive bloodline. Both have worked tirelessly on their craft. This isn't to say the other Divas haven't, but Beth and Natalya's livelihood isn't on the posters or the calendars. Their livelihood is made from breaking bones and taking names. That doesn't necessarily make them saviors, but it certainly gives them purpose.

It might be easy to constantly search or compare the current crop of Divas to Lita and Trish, though an understanding must be made: There will never be another Trish Stratus or Lita. Any comparisons made to them are unfair. With talented new Divas like A.J. impressing in their squared-circle prowess and not-quite-Divas-yet like Maxine and the exciting Naomi waiting in the wings, the future looks bright for the Divas division.

So does the Divas division need to be saved? Not just yet. But Beth Phoenix and Natalya are certainly doing their share to rejuvenate it.

What do you think? Head over to @WWEUniverse on Twitter and WWE's official Facebook page to let your voice be heard!

http://www.wwe.com/inside/beth-phoenix-natalya-save-divas-division

I think this is a good read. I have said it on here before a couple of times, it isn't fair to compare the current crop of divas to the likes of Trish and Lita. I think the WWE has some good talent, but also has some less than stellar women.

What do you think?

I thought it was refreshing for the WWE to admit things are less than stellar and it's getting a lot of reaction from the fans on Twitter so hopefully the WWE will listen to dome of the feedback especially as they're so into social networking these days.

I agree it's really annoying when people always bring Trish and Lita into any discussion about the divas division. Past is the past and neither of those women were the be all and end all of things.

The overall talent level isn't that bad at the moment as there are some good workers and some with a lot of potential. My advice would be

Have some actual storylines and give the audience a chance to connect with the divas.

Longer matches nuff said.

Use your weaker wrestlers to work with the stronger ones and have some girls in non wrestling roles and involved with the male superstars.

Increase the physicality. The Divas of Doom should go on a rampage against the model divas rather than just watching from the ramp.

When the era of Trish and Lita is referred to, it's the era as a whole. It's just easier and takes less typing to write "Trish and Lita" than "Trish, Lita, Molly, Ivory, Jaqueline, Jazz, Victoria, Gail, Melina, and Mickie."

Where the Trish & Lita Factor specifically comes in is how things got to their current state. I do think it's obvious that Vince lost confidence in Mickie, Melina, and Beth because none of them got the crowd reactions that Trish and Lita got. It's the same reason Victoria's babyface run as the top Diva in 2004 didn't last. But... Vic, Mickie, Melina, and Beth got much stronger crowd reactions than Kelly Kelly vs the Bellas got.

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Increase the physicality

There's only so much physicality the skin and bones girls can manage. They just don't have the size and strength to do, or take, the moves the Ruthless Aggression Era girls did. Kelly is 108 pounds. The reason the similar sized Terri Runnels never held the Women's Championship was she was too tiny to believably take down the women holding it, with Lita, Trish, and Molly all being 135 - 140 pounds, not to mention 155 pound Victoria.

The smallest girls in the Division at the time were 123 pound Melina and 124 pound Mickie James. They were the tiny, petite, ones taking on the big girls. Somehow, we went from that to "Piggy James". I've even seen Kelly Kelly devotees call Trish and Lita "fat" because they looked like they'd eaten a sandwich at some point in their lives. So, there's a larger issue, here (no pun intended).

Johnny Ace defenders bring up that Jim Ross hired models to be turned into wrestlers, too. The difference is that JR drew from the fitness models, women who were bodybuilders and already looked like pro wrestlers. They were already physically imposing, and just needed training. The fitness model world gave them Chyna, Trish, and Victoria. The swimsuit/lingerie model world gave them Kelly and the Bellas. There's a big difference. Literally.

I make Jazz my test of whether a Diva should be holding the Championship. Which girls could hang in the ring with Jazz in her prime? Beth and Nattie would have fit right in with that group.

Beth and Nattie aren't the "saviors" of the Division, but they're a good start at fixing it. Goldust giving the girls better training is also a major step. We also need to see some major improvement on the mic. It's not good when you have several Divas involved in the current storyline, and Beth is having to do all the talking.

Sorry to bring up the three names that set the blood boiling with some folks here, but the three biggest, Lita, Trish, and Mickie, all just happened to be good on the mic. Good mic work does a lot to sell a storyline. So, it's no coincidence that the three most over women happened to be good at talking.

With all the uproar this article has caused, I'm surprised no one's mentioned who got placed in the upper tier, the ones by which all others are judged...

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First, Brie Bella wins the Divas Championship. Diva purists cringed. Then, Kelly Kelly - who has improved markedly inside the ring - netted the butterfly title. Diva purists started pointing fingers and lashing out. This can't be happening. Not in a division that has seen the likes of Moolah, Trish Stratus, Lita and Melina bear the Women's Title.

Quite the company she's been put in.

i did notice that. but LOL

Saved? No. Different point of emphasis? I think so.

There are plenty of beautiful girls out there that can actually wrestle. The cat-fighting that has been going on for the better part of the last decade makes the whoever is champion look like a joke. Let's say Kong defeats Kelly to become champion (barring the pregnancy, obviously). With Gail Kim not even being on tv, and with Beth & Natalya being heel. Who poses a true threat? I don't think anyone would believe Eve or Maryse or Alicia would be a legit threat. When Kong does eventually lose the title, it doesn't seem believable, unless there are better wrestlers on the roster to give the illusion that there's a strong depth of competition.

I think the diva division can get better they just need more tv time,mic segments and promos.

the devision just needs some damn effort
people always are very quick to blame the "models"....when in reality all bar Rosa are improving everytime and given time, better booking and actual storylines they could really thrive

Good article, I say.