CM Punk vs. Beth Phoenix

[SAIYANS]

Sad but true. The fact is divas have been taken far more seriously from a viewer standpoint in the main stream than female wrestlers. When you look back at wrestling history as good to great as Cheerleader Melissa or Sexy Star are in the ring and their flock of followers, they are far less known and wont ever remembered in the same breath with someone like Maria, let alone Trish in the history book, which is why WWE won't bank roll them longterm. Just how the cookie crumbles.

And as for piss breaks, remember you are talking about the Internet who streams ppvs, downloads or YouTube SDs so they don't have to wait to Friday or see commercials, or can't be seen wearing wrestling memorabilia in public, which is the criticism Punk also used about his own followers in his promos. WWE does cater to them, even screw with them at times, but they aren't the primary target audience though. Casuals, females(moms), kids, network, families, and sponsors are. The thing that keeps them profitable is that they go with what truly works when it comes to getting money and getting viewers, which is why Cena will never fully go over to the dark side just to have some 20-30 year old men chant his name without saying he sucks. The net is why Austin admittedly fought like hell to be turned back face the day after the invasion angle ended, because the same ones wanting him to turn heel and praising him on it weren't actually supporting his career like those casuas by coming out their wallets. Playing to the net or a cult like following is the cool thing, but it ain't the smart thing to do to make money and have longevity at the top if you are a wrestler or company, just ask TNA, ROH, or Heyman.

 

[SAIYANS]

Sorry I clciked post on the iPad too soon to address Kelly being lumped down into being pretty. Yeah you say is true, but we live in a society where we throw the Rimas and Halles of the world on the front of papers and charities for a reason. People like what they can't have. They like the illusion of perfection. They look at Kelly and say if I only had a shot, and she in turn looks back with a smile on her face and gets them to cheer her for her assets while opening their wallets up. It's just life man.

Case and point, you go to a bar and you see two chicks there. Girl A is perfect physically from her head to her toes(Kelly) but is a bit ditzy and high maintenance. Girl b seems really cool and down to earth with the way she talks and acts, but has a manly jaw(Natalya) and is a little muscular(Beth). You have the ability to afford a drink for just one of them. Would you invest your cash on A or B in hopes of getting in their pants?

Kelly is just the chick who gets money out of you and sponsors know they can get a guy to buy that King magazine, hooters calendar, or visit go daddy with her face and body on the cover. WWE is the pimp who rents her out and gets their cut happily. It is just business and how things are

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I find BETH much more desirable than Kelly anyways. Of course I prefer quality.

 

[PHX]

First off pretty good article, should def keep this up.

Punk's current marketability is the fact that he is everything that John Cena is not and goes totally against the status quo. Of course Beth is not gonna touch the level of Punk's situation but they could make this a pretty huge deal in the women's division if they tried. The bigger deal they would have made of what Beth and Natalya are trying to do then the better the division overall would be poster girl Kelly included. For a minute now the division hasn't been used seriously no matter the prospect of how marketable Kelly could be it's not gonna pay off as much as it should. Funny enough the next PPV is gonna be in Beth's hometown (say funny enough like Punk got to get his title shot in his hometown) so maybe they will have her win and start backing up what she said she wanted to do with the division, but it will take effort from WWE to actually make something of what could be a great idea.

 

[Dale]

Great post, like mentioned you should definitley keep posting them.

Anyways, if they carry on with with this Beth/Nattie storyline and actually give them some mic time on a regular interval then it could be a huge boost to the division. The brief Kharma storyline aside, i'd have probably have to go back years to find a women's feud I was generally interested in.

There's plenty of material they could use aswell if they're brave enough to go there. Obviously Johnny Ace is on TV now so he can be incorporated into this storyline with his "talent" hiring. Obviously can talk about Nattie being a Hart and from the dungeon etc.

Onto your part about Beth not being accepted, that's a good point. I honestly believe that it's because she's been literally anonymous for months, wheras Punk is Punk and has always had a sizable fanbase. I think it might be beneficial to the storyline if they actually have Beth/Nattie mention the Punk scenario and how's he changed the landscape of the WWE and how the fans cheer him and that they plan on doing the same with "Divas" division. Hell, even have them pull a face and do the air quotes as they say the word Diva. Beth could probably cut that promo on PPV before the NOC match as it's in her hometown and could get her even bigger face cheers.

 

[SAL]

David Shoemaker (Deadspin and Grantland's "Masked Man") wrote something on this very topic, well, kinda. Summary: you can't have a "Reality Era" if they only play by those rules in the main event.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6871069/back-unreality

Thanks to all for the kind words. I'll try to write longer things like this on a weekly basis if I can.

 

[PHX]

Good point about it not only being in the main event but I think they are gonna slowly work to that. Don't wanna just throw it all out at once. Punk himself said the change wouldn't come overnight but slowly things will start to change and that will be the case with this reality era. Just like the attitude era it started with the main event scene and slowly got to other parts of the card. So I say it will get to that point in due time.