QUESTION OF THE DAY: How do you feel about the Bella Twins and their current role on WWE programming?
Hi kids.
It’s been a while since I wrote a “traditional” column. I have been knee deep in a new role at LOP, but I am excited to be getting back on the horse. The biggest news continues to be Becky Lynch’s ascension to the role of champion on Smackdown. I see major concerns there, and I am here to argue that SOMEONE ELSE deserves a run at the top. Without further ado:
The Eternal Optimist Presents: I’m Already over Becky Lynch, It’s Time to Make Brie Bella Champ.
****Becky Lynch is NOT working as Smackdown Women’s Champ****
Everyone in our community wants to praise Becky Lynch as the second coming of Stone Cold Steve Austin. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Her brief stint as a main event player has uncovered some of her PAINFULLY OBVIOUS shortcomings with making her the heel champion of the brand.
It’s easy to play the role of baby-face. If the fan base likes you, you are going to get cheered. Being a heel is an entirely different ball game. It’s an art-form. In order to be successful as a heel, you need to convince the fan base to boo you even if they wouldn’t otherwise want to do so.
The problem with Becky Lynch is that her personality is fantastic. She’s got this quirkiness to her that makes for someone that you want to follow on social media – someone you’d adore on a personal level.
Becky simply doesn’t have the verbal chops to make that happen. Her promos are EXACTLY what you would expect from her based on her social media interactions. They are witty and sarcastic, but they don’t make you want to boo her.
Not only is she not cutting it as a heel, continuing to push her in such a manner is doing irreparable damage to Charlotte. Charlotte is an incredibly valuable asset, but she is in danger of being given the Roman Reigns treatment simply because the fan base doesn’t want to boo Becky.
The WWE needs to cut bait immediately. There is a great role for Becky as a Mick Foley type – a loveable loser that is always coming up JUST SHORT of the brass ring. I don’t want to focus my entire column on Becky bashing. Truth is, I really root for her. I’d like to see her be successful. This just isn’t going to work.
With that said, it’s time to talk about who SHOULD be Smackdown Women’s Champion.
****Crown Brie Bella Champ****
I’m going to get what should be the obvious out of the way. Brie Bella isn’t the worst human on earth, and she only deserves SOME of the blame for what happened to Liv Morgan on Monday night. Brie should have been more careful, but Liv shouldn’t have had her head as low as she did either. Both wrestlers had their part in the end result, not just one.
Furthermore, those of you who are on your soapboxes about Brie being too dangerous to be in the ring are just being silly. Injuries happen ALL of the time. Seth Rollins has a list of bodies on his resume a mile long. Do you think HE should stop wrestling as well?
I think there’s some latent sexism at play here and some general resentment towards the duo that the IWC has nicknamed “The Entitlement Twins”. People want the Bella twins off their television sets for reasons completely outside of whether they are or aren’t safe workers. Those fans are merely using this injury as an excuse to push an agenda crafted long before any of this came about.
Now, let me tell you something that I have come to realize over the past few days. We have ALL significantly undersold the star power of Brie and Nikki Bella. I listen to “Elvis Duran” every morning on my way into work. It’s the biggest morning talk show in New York. It’s syndicated in approximately 38 states. It’s high energy, trendy and a little on the teeny-bopper side of things. In other words, it’s as mainstream as mainstream gets.
I was FLOORED on Tuesday morning when one of the first stories discussed was the injury that happened on Raw. This is a program that would NEVER talk about wrestling under any other circumstance, yet here they were.
I was even more shocked when I got home from work that night. My wife loves mainstream television programming. She watches “Entertainment Tonight” almost every night without fail. AGAIN, the Liv Morgan injury was a major topic on that show. In fact, they showed the freaking video from the night before!
I couldn’t believe my ears and eyes. These were two huge mainstream media outlets covering Brie roundhouse kicking Liv Morgan in the face. I’ll bring up the “Entitlement Twins” term yet again. We may think that The Bella Twins get their opportunities because Brie is married to Bryan and Nikki was with Cena, but that’s simply not the case.
At no point on either show did they refer to their respective husbands. Brie Bella was unquestionably the star and focus of each story. These major news outlets were talking about Brie in the same manner that they talk about Kim Kardashian or Selena Gomez. The story was important BECAUSE Brie Bella was involved, not because the actual story had value to their audience.
That’s incredible to me, and it made me face an important fact – The Bella Twins are mega-stars.
The diehard wrestling fan hatred be damned, the WWE absolutely needs to capitalize on their star power FAR MORE than they already have. Brie Bella is a lightning rod right now. Becky Lynch lacks the chops to be Women’s champ for any significant period of time. The WWE needs to strike and make Brie the Smackdown Women’s Champ IMMEDIATELY.
In Brie, they have a heel that can carry the brand. You know she’ll get booed at every show. She has a tremendous brand name as indicated by the incredible amount of mainstream coverage given to her this week.
If I were the WWE, I’d PLAY UP to the fact that she’s hurt a couple of people in the ring. Book her as someone dangerous. I’d have her “injure” someone once a week for the next month. I don’t think it’s so unreasonable to think that Brie can be turned into the female Brock Lesnar.
The WWE is looking for a money match for the Women’s Division at Wrestlemania 35. Ronda Rousey v Brie Bella is EXACTLY what they need.
That’s a wrap kids. Thank you for reading. Agree or disagree? Sound off below!
You can follow me on Twitter The_Eternal_Optimist.