This past Sunday night at Extreme Rules, newcomer Paige defended her Divas Championship against Tamina. The match was a hard-fought one that told a story and showcased the former NXT standouts abilities before pay-per-view and WWE Network audiences. As good as the match may have been, however, the fans failed to react to it and the overall enjoyment of bout suffered as a result. It is not the fault of the women involved. They did an admirable job of delivering a very good match regardless of the lack of response from the fans inside the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this case, fault lies with the WWE creative team, which did a terrible job of building on the hype and excitement surrounding Paige's debut and title win. Rather than playing up the AntiDiva character Paige perfected during her days in Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT, the company has presented her as just another Diva in a locker room full of them. Tamina, on the other hand, won a battle royal to become number one contender but had done nothing to explain where AJ Lee disappeared to. Neither woman interacted with one another until Main Event the Tuesday before Extreme Rules and outside of one being champion and the other the challenger, they really had no reason to be fighting in the first place. It is a formula WWE has used in booking its Divas for years now, one that has demonstrated how little faith and attention WWE has in and pays to its female talent. That has not always been the case, however. The Attitude Era and the years that immediately followed it brought forth a renaissance in women's wrestling in North America. Divas such as Trish Stratus, Lita, Jazz, Molly Holly and Victoria delivered outstanding in-ring performances and WWE backed those matches up with strong stories that highlighted each woman. Whether there was a championship at stake or just good, old-fashioned pride, the Divas were placed in high-profile positions in legitimate storylines, the likes of which today's Divas could only dream of. They were heated, they were intense and they were truly memorable. These are a ten fine examples.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
