Have been reading a lot of what I believe to be at worst disrespectful and at best impatient misunderstanding of what they are trying to do with the Divas division. I completely agree with the likes of Paige and the Bellas talking about disrespect but I think people need to reflect on exactly why they are feeling they are justified in saying the matches suck or the angle sucks. First of all, let's think back to a few years ago. I read one comment saying it isn't Kelly Kelly vs Aksana right now. And that's totally right. It isn't. Every single one of the 9 main divas can wrestle, and wrestle well. Particularly a WWE style match. Even Tamina. Even Brie. Even Nikki. A few years ago the Divas would get one 2 minute match and the complaints would be that they don't get enough time to show what they can do, or that the match was simply the cue for a piss break. This is not happening now. They are getting time to have longer matches. And now the complaint is that the crowd were getting restless because they've added 'pointless' rest holds in. Excuse me? Every single match that will go any decent length will have high spots and rest spots. Cena vs Rollins had it. Sasha vs Bayley had it. That is not an excuse to disrespect the women in the ring. The complaint is also that the angle sucks, and no-one knows why they are fighting, and that there should be more singles matches with one competitor going for the title. First of all, the angle has been going about 6 weeks, so give it a chance to develop. Secondly, the characters are developing each week and it's getting pretty clear who each of them are. Fox has joined with the Bellas because she, like them, represents the establishment and they believe they started the change. Paige is joined by Charlotte and Becky because they value technical ability and athleticism above looking like a stereotype. Sasha joined Naomi and Tamina because they are powerful, have more of a mean streak and care less about being liked to get ahead. It's not that difficult to understand. As for why they are fighting - the amount of times I read internet wrestling fans say that sometimes the simplest stories are the best and all you need is to give them time to tell a story in the ring...that's exactly what they have been given. The other thing to say is that if you want to improve the quality of the division quickly by bringing 3 new divas in, it's best to do it in a team format initially. If they were to do it with a more traditional ladder format with Nikki having one or two main challengers, you wouldn't be able to protect the newcomers, because they would have to lose to establish the hierarchy. Therefore you'd have Nikki probably facing Paige, as the face of the revolution. You'd have Paige beating Naomi, beating Charlotte, beating Brie, beating Tamina, beating Becky, beating Fox (for example). And then everyone will be complaining that they brought Becky up way too soon with nothing to do and they should have kept her down in NXT where she won't get lost in the shuffle. The same complaints would resonate for any of the divas when they take their turn to be on the bottom of the pile. It happens to guys like Bo Dallas and Adam Rose, who were much more effective in NXT but have to fill the role of loser because there is a hierarchy in the men's division if you aren't competing as a tag team. The benefit of the 3 divas alignment and the 6 diva tag matches is that you can at a stroke establish someone like Becky as on the level of the Bellas or Paige, and be protected as much as possible when losing because the responsibility is shared. Therefore someone like Becky is not at the bottom of the pile, and when they decide to give Nikki a contender, any one from the opposing teams can step out and be credible. They are actually trying to alleviate the issue of having call ups get lost in the shuffle and at the same time create a way to call up lots of talent to rapidly improve the quality of the matches. Once Divas title matches start, you will then get the interesting dynamics of jealously, competitiveness, pride, team members collaborating or falling out over the championship. But as I said, we are only 6 weeks in, so give everyone a chance to get established and for the story to develop from there first!! As for why NXT divas work, I'm with the majority on this sub in that I loved Sasha vs Bayley. It was a great story, simple in concept but great in execution, and a great match. But let's not pretend that the matches the main roster divas are having are so much worse in quality, because they aren't. The advantage that NXT has and the reason that they seem to get more props for the story telling, is because the whole aura of the show is fundamentally about the NXT talent trying to prove themselves and make a name for themselves. The NXT crowd, to their credit, gives every single one of the talent due respect in reacting to the characters because they know they are part of whether or not these guys will be able to make livelihoods from the business. You've seen these characters develop into what they are from the very beginning, hence the emotional investment. It's the same reason New Day are more effective now with an organic heel turn than they would have been had they suddenly debuted what they are doing now, immediately. The emotional investment in the heel turn is part of the reason the act works. So the NXT crowd helps Bo Dallas create a character. They chant along with Adam Rose's theme song. They'll chant 'Breeze is gorgeous' or 'come on Blakey let's go party' because they are giving every single guy a chance to succeed. The whole show is about emotional investment because their future livelihood is in our hands. But let's not pretend they are counting the seconds down in Baron Corbin's squash match because the squash match is of so much a better quality than any main roster monster would be delivering. No, they are doing it because the investment is there because they see the characters from the beginning. Which brings me back to the main roster Divas. Let's not pretend that the match quality the main roster girls are putting on is that much lower than the NXT divas, because it really isn't. Yes, there's a well crafted story we've seen with Bayley vs Sasha - the culmination of months of losses and wins to get her to the top, with some great promos along the way, but there's no reason why the main roster divas can't do that once the title matches begin. But first, you need to establish the new divas. The new divas need credibility and not to immediately be lost in the shuffle post call up. And they need established characters and motivations to play off, which they are all getting. Take a step back and give it a chance, because that's what the NXT audience does. It starts with deciding to be invested and the buzz and creativity flows from there. The hashtag was #GiveDivasAChance. The WWE did give them a chance. But the crowd last night did not. Chanting for JBL and doing a wave is a fair amount of disrespect. At the end of the day these women are putting their bodies in the line to entertain, and I can see where they are coming from. Do not pretend it is because of a drastically worse match quality or that it is a horrible angle. A bigger roster means they have more considerations, and they also need to please a bigger, and wider cross section of an audience. The aura of the developmental brand is to give characters investment almost as a matter of course. The main roster is different. I can understand people not being enthralled with the angle yet. But these people showing disrespect are not doing it for the right reasons. These ladies have been given time to put on matches of longer time than any previous Divas division. They are talented. But the fans last night did not give them a chance.