Having to watch RAW during the early hours of the morning is a prospect I seldom look at with enthusiasm.
It is one of the many drawbacks that come with residing on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. Last Monday night, like many before it, I was rendered exhausted by the day’s activities, and so decided to go to sleep instead of watching the show live. I politely request that you do not begrudge me for choosing this option.
The next morning I woke up, apparently unperturbed by my rejection of the live show, and decided to catch up on the evening’s events by means of the internet. As I perused through Google, an article written about a subject I had previously given little thought came crashing to my attention.
The piece itself was short, and shed light on the close proximity between the title reigns of both Nikki Bella and AJ Lee. I knew Nicole was close, but I didn’t realise, until now, that she was within seven days of becoming the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in the company’s proud history.
Forgive me for remaining somewhat unenthused by this fact, but doesn’t this all seem a little forced? The repression of AJ Lee’s record reign (which stretched from June 16th 2013 to April 7th 2014) seems to me to be an act of extraordinary spite, and a deliberate policy carried out in order to overturn the achievements of a performer with whom WWE clearly have little fondness.
I cannot, for a second, profess to know exactly why AJ Lee felt the need to retire, nor why her departure from professional wrestling was so abrupt, but what I’d like to know is why her former employer has tried so diligently to besmirch and stamp out her solid championship reign.
During the course of her meteoric rise to fame, she smashed through her respective glass ceiling, raised the standard of women’s wrestling and became an integral part of WWE’s most entertaining storylines. I still, to this day, wonder what she and Kane could have been…but that’s an article for another day.
I think it wholly irresponsible and disrespectful for WWE to sweep her achievements to one side and have them overwritten by a performer – in Nikki Bella – who, quite frankly, isn’t up to the required standard. AJ Lee’s talents, even in her absence, continue to outshine those of Nikki Bella’s by some distance, and I doubt whether many fans would disagree with me.
What exactly the catalyst is behind the rather noticeable animosity between AJ Brooks and the McMahon juggernaut has remained distorted and unclear, but I suspect it wise to suggest that AJ’s personal involvement with (her now husband) former WWE Champion CM Punk could weigh heavily on WWE’s mind.
Why is that, though? Why should a retirement and some differences in opinion mean that a performer, with whom the divas division significantly improved, has her legacy watered and down and made to look redundant in the eyes of the current audience? All I can say is, thank god CM Punk didn’t end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 29.
Tonight on RAW, the newly-promoted daughter of Ric Flair, Charlotte, will go one on one with the current Divas Champion. In the event of her likely eventual defeat, which I suspect will occur at the hands of an enraged Paige, Nikki Bella will be able to boast the mantle of being the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion of all time. Will fans care about the achievement? My completely honest and gut feeling is no, they will not.
And please don’t get me wrong on this one, either. This piece was not designed to rubbish the efforts of Nikki Bella, nor has it been written to dismiss her abilities and work ethic. I think the girl has passion for her craft, and has improved between the ropes, but when her WWE career is all said and done, I believe many will look back upon her as the woman used to overhaul AJ Lee’s title reign for no reason other than personal malice and company pride.
And so there we have it. I understand WWE’s political intent in suppressing what was actually an entertaining and far more credible championship reign, but I wouldn’t want to endorse it.
WWE may not cherish the success of AJ Lee, but I certainly do.