Let’s talk about the WWE Draft, shall we? More specifically, let’s talk an ill-perceived NXT call-up.
That’s right, no rambling intro, I’m going right into the nitty gritty with addressing the post-Smackdown drafting of enemy #1 to the women’s roster: Eva Marie. The Red Queen. All Red Everything, baby! Surprisingly, I’m gonna make a case for her.
Now, back up and don’t eat me alive yet, Smarkasaurus Rex. Hear me out.
First off, let’s address her “call-up” as a whole. For those of you who clearly have not understood this yet, we need to be clear: she was not an NXT draft. I repeat: she was not an NXT draft. She did not cost anyone a spot. This is simply a return to the main roster.
Fans appear to be up in arms because she was drafted to Smackdown and are perceiving it as a jump to the main roster, simply because she’s been in NXT for the past year. If you want to be angry over her getting “called up” instead of say…our beloved Bayley (since according to fans, Eva stole her spot!), then you should probably get pissed over Ryder being drafted and costing another NXT guy a spot on the main roster. Like The Ultimate Broski, Eva is considered main roster. Her debut was on the main roster in 2013 and she competed on it for roughly a year and a half before requesting to be sent to NXT to work on her technique and character. (Isn’t that what fans wanted in the first place?)
This is not the first time main roster talent has gone down to the developmental brand for a refresher course. Ryder, Tyson Kidd and Cameron all did the same thing. Eva was never meant to stay down in NXT, it was only a matter of time before she came back up.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s address why a move to Smackdown is a good thing for her and for the Smackdown women’s roster.
First off, look at both Raw and Smackdown. They’re pretty much evenly matched in terms of the number of women on the roster and the ratio of face to heels, and also the quality of the characters. Sasha is the top face for Raw, Charlotte the top heel because she’s a heat magnet. For Smackdown, Becky is their clear cut top face, true face through and through, and it appears that Natalya is the top heel. Frankly, I’m of the opinion that Nattie does not make a great heel. She’s not convincing. Naomi is a good heel, but not top. She’s been gone so long that she’s gonna have to work her way back up. Alexa? Fierce heel, amazing work down in NXT. But she’s now a new addition to the main roster. They’d be foolhardy to rush her to the top already, she needs an adjustment period.
Enter the most hated woman in WWE (outside of Stephanie McMahon). She is a total heat magnet, and she adores it. She’s learned how to revel in it, work with it, use it to her advantage, like any good heel character should. Honestly, Nikki Bella could probably learn from that, rather than trying to play both sides so her brand and merch sales aren’t hit.
Is it genuine heel heat? No, not by a long shot. In fact, the majority of it is still X-Pac heat, which is still considered to be the wrong sort of heat. But as the saying goes, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Because of her reputation, she can be cast as a top heel – though probably not immediately, and I’ll get to that in a bit.
Plus, as much as a lot of fans would love to see Sasha Banks as the Women’s champion, they’d also love to see Becky as the champ as well. They’re neck and neck at this point. Can you imagine the nuclear heat Eva would get if she cost Becky (or literally any face) the belt or better yet, became the Women’s champion down the line? Now a move like that could get two reactions: The Roman Reigns or the Randy Orton.
What’s the difference? Well, I’ll tell you.
When Reigns finally became champ this year, fans who swore that they’d stop watching until he dropped the belt actually made good on their word. Despite the storylines seeming to get progressively better, ratings kept dropping. When he dropped to Ambrose and was subsequently suspended for a Wellness Policy violation, ratings shot up and have pretty much continued to hold steady. Those fans came back. Despite Google Shopping trends showing that Roman is indeed a moneymaker for the company, at least via merch sales, he was not “best for business”, and I hate saying that because I am a fan of his.
Forbes.com published an article 2014, asking if Cena was truly a finanical draw as champ. With their findings, they illustrated that between 2009 and 2012 that it was not Cena who caused increases in revenue, nor CM Punk, but rather Randy Orton, and my guess is that people were tuning in and paying to see Orton lose that belt. When you’ve got a good heel champ, you itch and yearn to see him or her lose that title and get their just desserts. Play Eva’s character right and if she were to become champ (which is a certainty, given her prominence on Total Divas), we could very much see a replication of that.
So, given all that, why Smackdown? Simple: it’s a good transitional show. Think about it: Raw typically focuses more on angle progression and is creatively driven. Smackdown (outside of being Raw recap central) is more action oriented, they typically keep the focus on what’s going on inside the ring, as opposed to what’s leading to the action in the ring. It’s two hours long, and doesn’t have the same amount of exposure that Raw does, so it can serve as a good in-between as she adjusts from working in front of small crowds and less TV time to working in front of large crowds and significantly more *live* TV time. (The same can also be said for Alexa and Carmella).
On top of that, she’ll be working with Becky and Natalya, both of whom are ring vets. Yes, she’ll be carried, there’s no denying that. However, she’ll also be able to learn from two of the very best the WWE has to offer for female talent so when she’s eventually traded to Raw, she’ll actually be prepared this time. Let her work with Natalya before they throw her into the top heel position. As I mentioned earlier, Nattie’s not the most convincing heel, and in that respect, I’m sure Eva won’t need too much assistance – again, she’s a heat magnet. But her in-ring technique, while leaps and bounds better than it was this time about two years ago, is still in desperate need of work and Nattie can provide that tutelage.
Now, I don’t expect #AllRedEverything is going to take over the crowds. I expect most people probably tuned out at least 1/4th of the way through this piece. There are those who will always hate Eva, no matter what she does, no matter how many people argue on her behalf and that’s fine. She still has her fanbase, and she also needs your hate to be successful. She’s not stupid, and if you think that, she has you snowed. The woman knows how to keep the hate flowing without it affecting her brand.
As for me, she’s earned my respect. I’ll gladly bow to The Red Queen.
