6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (11 March - Results & Review)
2. Candice LeRae, Mean Girl
The problems with the women’s tag division have been well documented in this column, but they pale in comparison to what transpired Monday night.
A lack of focus, poor booking, negligible character development and heatless matches can’t hold a candle to Candice LeRae turning the very real, very unfair situation Maxxine Dupri experienced a few weeks back when fans were caught on video not just booing her, but heckling her for her poor in-ring performance.
Monday, the announcers made passing reference to this as Dupri ran through a few spots before attempting her reverse caterpillar, only for Candice to stop Maxxine in her tracks. She preceded to berate the Alpha Academy member, saying she looked stupid, that she didn’t belong in WWE, and that the women in the locker room say much worse things about her than what’s said online.
Then, just to really drive the point home, LeRae referenced Dupri’s “dead brother” not having to see her flail about. Maxxine tried to run off and turned right into an Indi Hartwell boot (that looked terrible too) for the pin.
Just… wow. Take online bullying and turn it into a storyline? Check. Use a dead relative in a heatless feud? Check. Break kayfabe and the fourth wall in a wrestling match? Check.
Worse, fans in the arena didn’t hear any of this, so all they saw was Candice lecturing Maxxine in the corner before she ran off crying into a boot, so they didn’t know how to react to this “mega heel” turn.
What an abysmal segment that accomplished nothing for anyone involved. Worse, WWE booked this off the back of them putting Dupri in a position to fail by sticking her out there on national television without any house show reps. Awful stuff.