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.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
