8 Ups & 13 Downs For WWE In 2021
10. Eva Marie's Return
Eva Marie's comeback was supposed to be exactly what a sterile women's division desperately needed.
Exactly how much she'd improved since her original run was unknown, but also not the key concern. The division, even in a state of dangerous regression, had evolved exponentially from an in-ring point of view since her last run. At her best, she'd be an interesting ingredient to add to the mix. At her "worst", she'd be an awesome troll in a company far more comfortable with cruelty than kindness. Especially if and when she gained an ill-gotten title shot.
In the end, it was neither of either. A "can they co-exist?" story with fellow new arrival Doudrop kicked off during their second week on Raw in July, with the relationship in tatters by the time she lost to Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam in August. One sh*t angle, seven sh*t matches and not a single sniff of the Raw Women's Championship.
Not that winning the title is a guarantee of avoiding the worst of WWE's excesses.