A tribute to WWE Divas division and Natalya

Natalie Neidhart

As a professional writer, it is hard to keep your opinions aside and look at things objectively. You write about things you’re passionate about, things that give your thoughts a meaning, churning emotions into thoughts and thoughts into words. They say we need to look at things from a different perspective, about the various possibilities and meanings of a certain event.

Professional wrestling is one of those rare things that can have non – trivial number of outcomes; just ask a fan who has been following professional wrestling for a number of years, and he/she will tell you that there is nothing wrong or right, but everything in between. Professional wrestling is one of those rare forms of art that can captivate the fans, not by the wins and losses, but by the unbridled joy and passion it brings along with it.

I grew up watching some of the greatest women’s wrestlers on the planet, as I was fortunate enough to witness the likes of Amy Dumas, Gail Kim and Mickie James perform on WWE TV. The greatest thing about women’s wrestling is the passion they show, and more often than not, we connect more with the women than we do with the men. Their emotions are true, their passion is tangible, and their skills sometimes surpass their male counterparts.

A decade ago, I could connect with Lita, more so than half of the guys in the locker room. I’ve always preferred “wrestlers” over “divas” – I’m not insulting the term or what they stand for, but as someone who has always been captivated by good story – telling, in – ring psychology and the technical skills that go into a bout, I’ve always preferred grappling over entertainment.

I might be the only person in a room full of people who’d rather watch Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart at SummerSlam ’94 over The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Love for the sport and the passion these people carry out to the ring is what made me write about professional wrestling over other sports.

Coming down to the divas division, today’s roster has more promise than any other time in the past few years. NXT brought Paige and Emma, two of the most charismatic and talented workers in the industry today, and the main roster too has a couple of good workers.

I remember a time back in ‘07, having a discussion with my friends who share similar interests about professional wrestling, and we talked about a newer version of Hart Foundation – A team making waves in the developmental territories of the WWE, and we talked about how it would be “so cool” to see another version of The Hart Foundation on the main roster. The next year, the new stable debuted on the main roster, and I for one was ecstatic about it. Anyone from the Hart family stepping inside a WWE ring was a big deal at that time, with their fathers and uncles being some of the greatest names in professional wrestling history.

http://youtu.be/STbAF2bsEgU

However, I was even happier that with Natalie on the main roster, the women’s division had the X – factor it direly needed. I remember watching Beth Phoenix and Natalie team up and bulldoze their way through the entire roster, and waiting for the eventual Natalya – Phoenix feud to begin. Sadly, that never happened and Beth left the WWE afterwards.

I’ve heard fans claiming AJ Lee to be the most interesting thing in the Divas division. While I’m a fan of AJ’s as well, there is no doubt in my mind that Natalya is one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world today. Ask anyone who came out of the famous Dungeon, and they’d tell you that people there are crafted for perfection, rather than just entertainment.

Natalya always had that raw talent, something that I had never seen in the rest of the women’s division. Whether it was in Stampede or SHIMMER, Natalya always impressed people with her natural talent, but that didn’t amount to much when it came to the WWE management. Natalya was never given her due credit in the WWE, and slowly, my interest in the divas division faded as the fans didn’t care about the division anymore.

But in the past few months, some of that has changed. Paige and Emma gave me a new hope, a thin rope to hang on to regarding the resurrection of the division. In recent weeks, WWE has been teasing a match involving Natalya for the Divas title. As I had previously stated, opinions vary, and for the wrestling fans, the probability of two people liking the same person can be pretty slim.

I in no way intend to disrespect the other talent in the division, but for me, Natalya is the one person who can rekindle my interest again in the divas division. I for one hope that Natalya will be featured on the WrestleMania 30 card, as a feud between AJ and Natalya for the title can be one of the best divas’ feuds in recent memory. As a fan of hers, I hope she captures the Divas title, and can recreate a program with AJ similar to Lita – Trish during the golden age of women’s wrestling in the WWE.

http://youtu.be/ciuvwGafYvI