10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2013
4. Eva Marie Was "Set Up To Fail"...
...according to backstage sources at the time, in news that broke following calamitous Monday Night Raw match featuring the Total Divas star in six women tag team action alongside Natalya and JoJo against Alicia Fox, Aksana and Rosa Mendes.
Reported by the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer after the match - Eva Marie's television debut a - drew universal derision, it was apparently felt by those backstage that Marie's ego needed to be dealt the deathblow of public humiliation.
If that sounds like some sh*tty HR now, consider just how horrifically effective it was in terms of stigmatising Marie for the bulk of her original run and how it nightmarishly followed her entire career.
Despite having obvious crowd manipulation skills, the under-trained 'All Red Everything' faced constant abuse from wrestling fans with long memories of this and other needless television debacles.
It extends to nearly a decade later - rumours of her re-signing in early 2021 drew bizarre panic from those so vehmently opposed to her presence.