WWE: How AJ Lee Can Change the Divas Division for the Better
By Sharon Glencross
(Featured Columnist) on July 4, 2012
[SIZE=-0]Over the past few months former NXT star AJ Lee has emerged as the breakout star of WWE’s Divas division. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Indeed, while most of the other women on the roster are continually ignored by WWE’s indifferent booking team—including current Divas Champion Layla El—AJ has managed to secure herself a ton of airtime and attention in her current storyline with WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]This is partly due to great writing.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]The CM Punk/AJ/Daniel Bryan love triangle is one of the most gripping soap-opera-style story lines WWE has ever had. It is also carefully well-paced and has been allowed to develop in its own time—something rather surprising considering the booking team’s propensity to frantically rush through things.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]But the angle is also taking off due to AJ’s terrific, unique character.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]A Diva character like no other, AJ is as cute as a button, wickedly funny and has a hugely endearing personality. She’s also highly unstable and prone to wild, sometimes violent mood swings. Neither Punk nor Daniel seems to know what to make of her—not that they’re not still interested.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Even a WWE commentator took time to praise the Diva in a recent blog post, dubbing her WWE’s breakout star for 2012.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]He wrote:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]However, when it runs its course it is clear that AJ’s next step should be to return to being a full-time wrestler and rejuvenate WWE’s stale and going-nowhere Divas division.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]For one thing, she is hugely over with the fans and would make an ideal babyface female star in the mould of Amy “Lita” Dumas (who was incredibly popular in 2000 and 2001 with her fun tomboy persona.). [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Similar to Dumas, AJ is vastly different from the generic crop of WWE Divas on the roster and stands out for that reason. Rather than being overtly glamorous or portraying a sexy image, AJ comes off as more a girl-next-door type with a nerdy sense of humour—a big part of her allure for many fans. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]With this in mind, it is easy to envisage a Divas Division centred around popular underdog star AJ as she competes for and attempts to win the Divas Championship.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]While fans may not currently care much about women’s wrestling in WWE (the company hasn’t really given them a reason to), they will likely find themselves rooting for AJ—and the division will overall get more over. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]There are also a ton of fresh feuds and story lines for AJ in the division.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]She could battle a returning Kharma. Or feud with veteran diva Beth Phoenix (Phoenix is also desperate for a new challenge having taken on the likes of Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox and Layla El too many times to count). Or even reform The Chickbusters tag team with old friend Kaitlyn.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]There are a great deal of opportunities.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Summarily the charismatic, majorly-over AJ is exactly the star who can turn around WWE’s plodding women’s division and establish it as relevant again. Her promo work in the current love-triangle storyline proves she can carry the division as a personality, and as one of the women to come to WWE with indie experience she certainly can hold her own in the ring, too.
[/SIZE][SIZE=-0]Come on, Vince! Give her a run with the Divas Championship! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]
Credit to Bleacher Report
[/SIZE]
Why AJ Lee Is WWE's Best On-Screen Character
By Chris B
(Correspondent) on July 3, 2012
One of AJ's many unreadable expressions.
The world of professional wrestling hardly ever produces the types of characters that make you think you're genuinely watching a television show.
You never really connect with them on a deeper level beyond '"I love him/her" or "I hate him/her." The reason for this is that they have no character depth.
Wrestling is truly just recycled stories one after the other with different events interchanged over and over again.
That's why I have to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to praise WWE and AJ herself for creating a true character and story in AJ Lee.
I have to stress character because I think the world of professional wrestling has confused viewers on what a character actually is. This is the definition as seen on thefreedictionary.com:
They have no deep-rooted motivating factors that stem from what went on in their past or is going on in their head.
AJ Lee is not just another wrestler who wants the title and in turn hates the title holder—she actually has depth.
AJ Lee puts CM Punk and Daniel Bryan through a table.
Last night, by creating a pseudo-suicide, with a wooden table of all things, AJ became more than "the crazy girl next door."
Every single twitch, pull, and change in her mannerisms revealed a lot about her. Not to mention the epic "save the psycho princess who ends up killing her two loves" moment with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
It developed her backstory to the point where we now know that what AJ really longs for is love and attention. But she also wants to show she's not weak and doesn't need a counterpart to find fulfillment.
She wants to have her cake and eat it too.
And she is.
I could go on for days analyzing the enigma that is AJ Lee.
That in and of itself shows that she truly is WWE's best on-screen character.
Credit to Bleacher Report
I have to agree with these reports. AJ is what the divas division needs right now. She is extremely charismatic, OVER with the crowd and she can wrestle. I am a huge Lita fan and even I can notice the similarities between AJ and Lita. They can both wrestle, the fans LOVE them, they have been involved with significant male wrestlers and they aren't similar to the other divas. Although, I do find AJ a little bit annoying at times, I can't help but enjoy her character. She leaves me wondering what she will do next and it makes me proud to see that the fans are cheering so much for a female wrestler. We haven't seen this since Lita was at her peak back in 2000-2001. If they continue to use her properly, she may be the only person that can save the women's division.
What do you think?
[SIZE=-0]
[/SIZE]
By Sharon Glencross
(Featured Columnist) on July 4, 2012
[SIZE=-0]Over the past few months former NXT star AJ Lee has emerged as the breakout star of WWE’s Divas division. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Indeed, while most of the other women on the roster are continually ignored by WWE’s indifferent booking team—including current Divas Champion Layla El—AJ has managed to secure herself a ton of airtime and attention in her current storyline with WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]This is partly due to great writing.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]The CM Punk/AJ/Daniel Bryan love triangle is one of the most gripping soap-opera-style story lines WWE has ever had. It is also carefully well-paced and has been allowed to develop in its own time—something rather surprising considering the booking team’s propensity to frantically rush through things.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]But the angle is also taking off due to AJ’s terrific, unique character.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]A Diva character like no other, AJ is as cute as a button, wickedly funny and has a hugely endearing personality. She’s also highly unstable and prone to wild, sometimes violent mood swings. Neither Punk nor Daniel seems to know what to make of her—not that they’re not still interested.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Even a WWE commentator took time to praise the Diva in a recent blog post, dubbing her WWE’s breakout star for 2012.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]He wrote:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]"Is there really any debate? It has to be AJ who has taken the opportunities provided her, the creative input she's received and has made her role bigger than I'm sure many perceived that it would ever become. Obviously, AJ waited for her opportunity and maximized her minutes no matter how few or how insignificant that they may have seemed at the time."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]As the storyline unfolds, the enigmatic Diva has kept everyone guessing as to her true intentions and, with the Punk/Bryan championship match coming up at Money in the Bank, this storyline looks set to continue even longer. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]However, when it runs its course it is clear that AJ’s next step should be to return to being a full-time wrestler and rejuvenate WWE’s stale and going-nowhere Divas division.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]For one thing, she is hugely over with the fans and would make an ideal babyface female star in the mould of Amy “Lita” Dumas (who was incredibly popular in 2000 and 2001 with her fun tomboy persona.). [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Similar to Dumas, AJ is vastly different from the generic crop of WWE Divas on the roster and stands out for that reason. Rather than being overtly glamorous or portraying a sexy image, AJ comes off as more a girl-next-door type with a nerdy sense of humour—a big part of her allure for many fans. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]With this in mind, it is easy to envisage a Divas Division centred around popular underdog star AJ as she competes for and attempts to win the Divas Championship.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]While fans may not currently care much about women’s wrestling in WWE (the company hasn’t really given them a reason to), they will likely find themselves rooting for AJ—and the division will overall get more over. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]There are also a ton of fresh feuds and story lines for AJ in the division.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]She could battle a returning Kharma. Or feud with veteran diva Beth Phoenix (Phoenix is also desperate for a new challenge having taken on the likes of Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox and Layla El too many times to count). Or even reform The Chickbusters tag team with old friend Kaitlyn.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]There are a great deal of opportunities.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Summarily the charismatic, majorly-over AJ is exactly the star who can turn around WWE’s plodding women’s division and establish it as relevant again. Her promo work in the current love-triangle storyline proves she can carry the division as a personality, and as one of the women to come to WWE with indie experience she certainly can hold her own in the ring, too.
[/SIZE][SIZE=-0]Come on, Vince! Give her a run with the Divas Championship! [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]
Credit to Bleacher Report
[/SIZE]
Why AJ Lee Is WWE's Best On-Screen Character
By Chris B
(Correspondent) on July 3, 2012
The world of professional wrestling hardly ever produces the types of characters that make you think you're genuinely watching a television show.
You never really connect with them on a deeper level beyond '"I love him/her" or "I hate him/her." The reason for this is that they have no character depth.
Wrestling is truly just recycled stories one after the other with different events interchanged over and over again.
That's why I have to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to praise WWE and AJ herself for creating a true character and story in AJ Lee.
I have to stress character because I think the world of professional wrestling has confused viewers on what a character actually is. This is the definition as seen on thefreedictionary.com:
The combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another.
While on the surface it seems there are a lot of characters in wrestling, based off of this description of the word, people more often than not look past the fact that those characters have no depth.
They have no deep-rooted motivating factors that stem from what went on in their past or is going on in their head.
AJ Lee is not just another wrestler who wants the title and in turn hates the title holder—she actually has depth.
AJ Lee puts CM Punk and Daniel Bryan through a table.
Last night, by creating a pseudo-suicide, with a wooden table of all things, AJ became more than "the crazy girl next door."
Every single twitch, pull, and change in her mannerisms revealed a lot about her. Not to mention the epic "save the psycho princess who ends up killing her two loves" moment with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
It developed her backstory to the point where we now know that what AJ really longs for is love and attention. But she also wants to show she's not weak and doesn't need a counterpart to find fulfillment.
She wants to have her cake and eat it too.
And she is.
I could go on for days analyzing the enigma that is AJ Lee.
That in and of itself shows that she truly is WWE's best on-screen character.
Credit to Bleacher Report
I have to agree with these reports. AJ is what the divas division needs right now. She is extremely charismatic, OVER with the crowd and she can wrestle. I am a huge Lita fan and even I can notice the similarities between AJ and Lita. They can both wrestle, the fans LOVE them, they have been involved with significant male wrestlers and they aren't similar to the other divas. Although, I do find AJ a little bit annoying at times, I can't help but enjoy her character. She leaves me wondering what she will do next and it makes me proud to see that the fans are cheering so much for a female wrestler. We haven't seen this since Lita was at her peak back in 2000-2001. If they continue to use her properly, she may be the only person that can save the women's division.
What do you think?
[SIZE=-0]
[/SIZE]
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