10 Post-WrestleMania Feuds To Reignite The Divas Division: Part Two - SmackDown

So, in part one of this article I ran through five feuds that could help breathe life back into the divas division. In this part, there will be five more angles, this time running on SmackDown.

As with the first set, I've come up with a basic story outline, and I'll be offering up a rough timeframe for each rivalry as well.

1. Layla vs. Tamina

Layla makes her return to WWE, attacking Tamina and costing her a match. The last WWE Womens champion then mocks Tamina, telling her to stop trying to be her father because she's nowhere near as good, only for Tamina to beat her in comprehensive fashion the following week. Layla demands a rematch, and gets her revenge when she beats Tamina through questionable methods. The two agree to face each other one more time, and Tamina eventually prevails, hitting the Superfly Splash after a long and closely fought contest.

2. The Rise of the Anti-Divas

Cue some new talent...


The Bella twins compete in a tag team match against a face pair (probably Alicia Fox & Kelly Kelly), who beat them. The face team are heading up the ramp, whilst Nikki & Brie argue in the ring, but then two young women come out of the crowd and attack the Bella's, beating them up before staring down at K2 & Foxy.

The following week, the two women reveal themselves to be Paige & Sofia Cortez. They announce that they are sick of the 'divas', who all prance around like models, giving women like them a bad name and providing a terrible example for young women, and they tell the divas that they plan to eliminate every single one of them, starting with the Bella's.

The two sides square up over the course of a few weeks in various combinations of singles bout, as well as in a tag team match, with the anti-divas coming out victorious every time. They announce that they will remain unbeaten because no diva can compete with a real woman, when two ladies appear, presumably wishing to challenge that fact...

3. The Anti-Divas vs. The Chickbusters

AJ & Kaitlyn come down to the ring and tell Paige & Sofia that, whilst they don't consider themselves 'divas' either, they think that attacking them all for no reason sets just as bad of an example as the one the anti-divas claim the divas set. This doesn't please Paige & Sofia, and they attack the Chickbusters, telling them that, whilst they may not have been divas when they joined WWE, they have been corrupted and so they will also be destroyed.

The rivalry goes on for a few weeks, featuring singles and tag team matches shared between the two sides, but in the end the anti-divas prevail once more. They declare their respect for the Chickbusters, who they see as being above the 'diva' label, but reiterate that the true anti-divas will always come out on top.

4. The Anti-Divas & Maxine vs. Kelly Kelly, Aksana & Alicia Fox

Maxine, now a regular part of the SmackDown roster, begins a rivalry with Alicia Fox, but keeps getting beaten. After yet another victory, Alicia Fox celebrates, but it suddenly ambushed by the anti-divas, and Maxine is revealed to be the newest anti-diva.

The three women embark on a brief series of attacks on Alicia, before she is finally backed up by Kelly Kelly & Aksana. The six women argue their sides of the 'diva' argument, whilst facing off in a variety of combinations over a period of weeks, with the anti-divas picking up a slight edge on the divas. The rivalry is settled in a six woman tag team match, in which the divas control a surprising amount of the match, only to lose in controversial fashion.

The anti-divas try to attack the three divas after the match, but all the divas in the locker room rush out in an overdue show of solidarity, and force Paige, Sofia & Maxine to retreat.

5. Paige vs. Layla

This angle could be used either side of Layla's angles on RAW (mentioned in my last post), and it could play out differently depending on which side it was used. Should it be squeezed in before then it would have to remain a singles feud, but if used after Layla's RAW feuds then it could possibly be turned it an 'Anti-Divas vs. LayCool' feud. Either way, here's how it would go down.

Layla picks up a victory on SmackDown, but the anti-divas ambush tactic comes into play again as Paige attacks Layla from behind. She tells the crowd that, now that the anti-divas have proved themselves to be far superior to the divas, she wants to prove that she is far superior to Layla, as the best English female in the WWE.

The two women battle in a series of very physical contests, and the option is there for LayCool to reform and compete against Paige & Sofia (this would be done, unsurprisingly, with a 2v1 attack on Layla, with Michelle McCool running down to save the day) at some point along the line. The final confrontation would either be another singles match, possibly with an added stipulation, or the first tag match between the two sides, depending on whether Michelle & Sofia were added to the feud, but either way Layla's side would win out, finally slowing the charge of the anti-divas and giving (a) Layla the momentum needed to start her work on RAW; or (b) LayCool a glorious reunion.

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So there you have it. Ten angles that could help make the divas division relevant again before the end of the year, and also help introduce some of the young talent that could help spearhead a new wave of womens wrestling in WWE.

We're already seeing a few changes to the division on television, but I hope to see some more big (positive) changes over the next few months, as there is too much talent in the division and in FCW at present for things to carry on the way they have been lately.

We may not get the glory days of Trish, Lita, Molly et al back, but I truly believe we could end up with a product that's pretty close to that level, and that would be no less than we, and the women themselves, deserve.

10 Post-WrestleMania Feuds To Reignite The Divas Division: Part One - RAW

Okay, so in my last post I said that I had come up with ten storylines that could revitalise the divas division - five for RAW, and five for SmackDown. Now is the time to take a look at my plans for RAW.

First of all, I should point out that these aren't rigid plans - I've just come up with an outline for the stories, and a vague timeframe based around PPV's. Anyway, here we go...

 

1. Eve vs. Natalya

Following on from Eve's win at WrestleMania (well, that's what would've happened in my world) she decides to try and take the Divas Championship from her WM28 partner Beth Phoenix. Natalya, however, comes to the same conclusion after some more mistreatment from Pin Up Strong partner Miss Phoenix.

The two women clash over who gets to face Beth, leading to a quick run of matches between the two to decide who the number one contender is. Eve comes out on top in this competition, and faces Beth at the next PPV, Extreme Rules, only to fall short.

 

2. Natalya vs. Beth

With Eve having failed in her quest to take the title from Beth Phoenix, Natalya steps forward to claim her title shot. However, she's told that she must once again prove that she deserves it by winning a number one contendership battle royale, where the winner will get a shot at the title at Over the Limit. In unsurpising fashion, Natalya does eventually prevail, only to be attacked after the match by Beth, breaking up Pin Up Strong once and for all.
 
The two women face off in some non-title singles matches & tag team contests, with both women matching each other throughout. With their rivalry becoming more intense every week, they agree that a clear winner is needed, and so the first ever Divas ladder match is announced. 

At Over the Limit, the two women put on a great show, but Beth eventually managed to retain once more. Clutching her title close to her chest, Beth celebrates in the ring, only for some familiar music to hit... 

 

3. Kharma vs. Beth

With Beth celebrating her win, Kharma makes her return, coming to the ring and staring down Beth, telling her that she's coming for the title.

Kharma destroys half of the roster in the coming weeks, with Beth avoiding any matches with her. During this period Beth throws the Bella's to Kharma, allowing her to get her revenge for their remarks when she announced she was pregnant. Eventually, it is decided that the two women need to face each other, so a title match is booked for No Way Out. Kharma vs Beth, in the first ever divas cage match. At No Way Out the two women finally go head-to-head in a match, and despite Beth's best efforts Kharma comes out on top, winning the title with an Implant Buster from the second rope. 

The rivalry doesn't end there, though. Having lost her precious title, Beth seeks to win it back, and recruits the Bella twins and Layla to help her overcome Kharma. Over the coming weeks, the four women attack Kharma during and after matches, before helping Beth cheat her way to the number one contender spot just in time for Money in the Bank. Kharma says that she'll give Beth her match, but only if it's 'last woman standing'. Beth obviously accepts. 

At MITB, the two women meet again, and Beth's stable interfere to try and help her incapacitate Kharma. In the end, though, she proves too strong, wiping out Beth's helpers before putting Beth through a table with an Implant Buster to retain her title. 

Beth, furious, turns on her allies, but one woman fights back...

 

4. Beth vs. Layla

When Beth lashes out at her former stablemates, Layla defends herself, attacking Beth and hitting her with a LayOut.

Beth responds by ambushing Layla during matches and interviews, causing Layla to respond in kind, triggering a series of brawls that are ended when the two women are booked in a match against each other at SummerSlam. 

PPV time, and the two women prepare to compete in a 'no disqualifications' match. After an evenly contested opening phase, Beth takes control, and looks to be about put Layla away when the Bella's - the other former stablemates of Beth - appear and attack the Glamazon. They, along with Layla, attack Phoenix, and Layla hits a Facelift through a table to end their rivalry.

 

5. Natalya vs. Kharma

After retaining against Beth at MITB, Kharma returned to trampling over the rest of the women on the roster, eventually turning heel when she takes out Kelly Kelly (this would also have the benefit of allowing K2 to be written off screen for a few months, giving her time to actually learn to wrestle). With all the women terrified, Natalya steps forward to challenge Kharma. The two women one up each other over the next few weeks, beating whoever is put in their way, and Natalya continues to stand up to Kharma, protecting a few divas from harm in the process.

Eventually, the two women are booked in a lumberjill match for the Divas Championship at Night of Champions, and the locker room ultimately gets their revenge when they all attack Kharma, allowing Natalya to pick up the victory and win the title. 

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So there you go, that's a rough plan for how I'd book RAW, taking us all the way into September, and there are threads in there that could possibly even be followed up beyond that point, such as Kelly Kelly's return to the roster & feud with the woman who put her out, Kharma. 

Next time I'll reveal my final five angles, which will take place over on SmackDown.

10 Post-WrestleMania Feuds To Reignite The Divas Division: Prelude - Booking WrestleMania

The WWE divas division has been a shadow of its former self for a long time now, but - as outlined in my last article - there is plenty of talent on the roster for the company to utilise. Unfortunately, booking the divas hasn't been a strong point of WWE's for years, so I have come up with ten rivalries (five for RAW, five for SmackDown) which could help the division gain some much needed momentum and legitimise many of the great female workers currently employed by WWE.

First of all, however, I will give you an idea of how I would book the divas match at WrestleMania, in order to help set up these feuds. As we all know, Beth Phoenix & Eve will be taking on Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos in a tag team match, and although Menounos has recently suffered two broken ribs she plans to work through it, for which she deserves a lot of credit, especially as she's not even a professional wrestler. Anyway, as has become traditional in the division, the match will inevitably last no more than five minutes, so here is my idea for how the match should go...

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Starting Off - Kelly Kelly vs. Eve

Kelly & Eve get the match started and go through the traditional opening exchanges - headlock, shoulder block etc - with Kelly quickly gaining the upper hand, dragging Eve to their corner and tagging in Maria. This would probably take 30-45seconds, I'd imagine.

Maria vs. Eve

Maria shows a few moves on Eve, before making the rookie mistake of coming off the ropes right next to Beth, who gets a cheap shot in, kneeing her in the ribs and putting her team in control. Eve gives Maria a couple of kicks and tags in the champion. By now I expect they'd be about 1:30 into the match.

Maria vs. Beth

Beth wears down Maria with a few slams and strikes, accompanied by some trash talk. She whips Maria off the ropes before going for a clothesline, but Maria ducks and dashes to tag Kelly back in. She then sells her rib injury, rolling out of the ring and onto the floor to writhe in pain, and leaving Kelly on her own...Let's say we're roughly around three minutes here.

Kelly vs. Beth

Kelly starts the good ol' momentum shift, probably doing her awful 'bang their head against the mat whilst screaming' thing and her 'do a terrible airplane headscissor takedown whilst screaming' thing before getting flattened by a big clothesline from Beth, who picks her up and delivers a GlamSlam. In an unusual show of respect, she doesn't go for the cover, but instead drags Kelly into position and tags Eve in to deliver the final blow. About four minutes gone by now, I'd say.

Kelly vs. Eve

So we finish where we started as Eve climbs the turnbuckle and delivers an Evesault for the win. Eve gets up and starts to celebrate, but Beth GlamSlam's her before throwing both Eve & Kelly out of 'her' ring. Eve looks back angrily, whilst Kelly goes to comfort Maria.

Optional Extra

Natalya comes down to celebrate with Beth, but the tensions between them (seen at the start of this match, for instance) resurface, and they depart uncomfortably.

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So that's the way I'd go in Miami, but what about after WrestleMania? The next part of this article will feature the five angles I'd run on RAW, starting off with two of the women I've mentioned above going head-to-head.

Fans of Womens Wrestling Can Relax, the Future Lies With the Anti-Divas

As I'm sure everyone who doesn't immediately go for a piss/change the channel when the divas come on can see, the Divas division is in terrible shape at the minute. Far too many of the women fail to display a mastery of the most basic techniques in wrestling (watch Kelly Kelly try and run the ropes, then tell me how and why she recently held the Divas Championship for over a hundred days), and those who do frequently find themselves marginalised in favour of the ex-model types who currently hold the division back. For the record, when I mention the 'divas' I'm talking about the likes of Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, Aksana and the Bella twins, with 'K2' being by far the worst of the bunch in terms of ability to airtime ratio. Many of these women don't even appear to want to improve in the ring, with a perfect example of this coming on Monday's RAW (12th March 2012), when Alicia Fox - one of the worst offenders when it comes to botches, just ask Beth Phoenix - said something that made me want to throw my laptop at the wall:

Maria Menounos: "So what kind of training are you guys doing?

Alicia Fox: "I'm just more trying to get my outfits together."

WHAT. THE. FUCK?! If you don't believe she said it, the whole segment is right here. And also, "outfits". Plural. Is she planning a fucking costume change? Does she think she's going to a fashion show? Jesus.

I know it probably wasn't a line that was meant to be taken literally, and I'm sure she's training very hard to improve, but even so, what kind of image does that portray? Rather than focusing on training and trying to earn a spot at the biggest PPV in the industry in which she works, she's thinking about her outfit. Her number one priority isn't her wrestling, it's how she looks, and that one quote perfectly sums up the whole problem with the 'divas'. So there you have it, not only are they terrible wrestlers, but they're terrible role models, and the sooner WWE decide to get move away from this attitude the better.

WWE has plenty of beautiful women on its roster who also posses some ability in the ring, and it is time they started to give these ladies the platform that they have given the likes of Kelly Kelly and the Bella twins. Aside from the obvious, and most prominent, duo of Beth Phoenix and Natalya, WWE also have capable female wrestlers in the shape of AJ, Eve and Tamina Snuka, all of whom are over with the crowds as much as almost any of the divas, as well as the apparently soon to return Layla. They also have young talent that has shown a willingness to improve, in NXT season 3 winner Kaitlyn and fellow NXT alumni Maxine, who I consider to be the best female character in the company right now. Both of these women have improved in the ring since their infamous match on NXT, and are part of one of the most entertaining angles on WWE television at the minute over on NXT. Lastly, FCW currently has two hugely talented young women on its books, who have already shown their anti-diva credentials - Paige & Sofia Cortez. Both ladies are young and very adept in the ring, as well as having great charisma and strong personalities, and I have no doubt that both will play a huge part in the regeneration of the division in the future. As well as being vastly superioir in the ring, all of these women are better role models than the divas. Well, if you exclude all the manipulating Eve & Maxine have been doing...

These women are proof that you don't have to look like a supermodel to be beautiful (although Eve was a model before entering the 2007 Diva Search - but then she was alligned with the divas before her heel turn), and show that strong, intelligent, determined women can achieve great things, even when the playing field isn't equal.

If WWE ever wants its womens division to be credible it must allow the talented wrestlers the time to create good matches and strong rivalries, whilst keeping the sloppy wrestlers out of the ring as much as possible. They don't necessarily have to get rid of the 'divas', but using them as valets and minimising their ring time whilst training them up would allow them to create a better product whilst still keeping their current stars on screen. I firmly believe that if the anti-divas are given enough time and resources, they have the ability to create one of the best womens wrestling divisions in the industry, and one that will finally be able to draw viewers, rather than being the designated 'piss break' segment of every show.

It's undoubtedly going to be a long road, but with careful planning and good utlisation of resources WWE can make its womens division both exciting to watch and positively influential on the attitudes of young women who look up to these ladies - both of which are, at least in my book, good enough reasons to give the anti-divas a chance.

WWE MVP's: The Five Most Important Workers In WWE

WWE has always had massive superstars. From Hogan to the Rock & Stone Cold to Cena, there have always been people around which WWE has centred. But at the same time, there have been people who have been just as important who have not been given the same degree of recognition, and it is with that thought in mind that I have decided to compile a quick list of the five most important on screen characters in WWE today.

5. Michael Cole 

Yeah, I know he's annoying, but he's also the lead commentator, and he can effectively decide whether a guy gets over or not, whether he means to or not, by how badly he crucifies them with his commentary. It wasn't long ago that WWE were citing Cole's commentary as a reason why guys they were trying to push, such as Daniel Bryan, weren't getting over, and that show just how important he is to the company at the minute. Which makes it more mystifying that they continue to use him as a heel, rather than the neutral/face that he was a decade ago, and that most of the great commentators have been (see Jim Ross for the perfect commentator at putting both guys over whilst providing great commentary).

Given the lack of managers in WWE these days, it might even be worth utilising Cole's exceptional ability to get heat in a more logical way by having him step out from behind the commentary box and become a manager for an up-and-coming heel. Which bring us neatly to...

4. Vickie Guerrero 

Vickie is the last great manager in the WWE - she is the biggest heat magnet in the company, with the possible exceptions of John Cena and Michael Cole, and she is an invaluable tool when it comes to helping wrestlers with in ring skills but no charisma get over (hello Jack Swagger). She can also help weaker faces get over by being a target for ridicule, meaning that pretty much every superstar who's being lined up to move up the card works with her in some capacity in the early stages of the push. To illustrate her usefulness to both heels and faces, look at Dolph Ziggler - who has, under her guidance, won the World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the US Championship, and moved within touching distance of being an elite heel performer in the company - and Kaitlyn - NXT season 3 winner despite being a late addition, almost exclusively because of her relationship with her pro, a certain Vickie Guerrero.

If there were more managers like Vickie in WWE she might not be as valuable, but she probably would still be the best. As it is though, she is one of the first people called upon to help bring success to many of WWE's up and coming talents, and as such she fully deserves a spot on this list.

3. William Regal

Another one that may surprise some people, but for me Regal is one of the most versatile character WWE currently have at their disposal - he can be a GM, a commentator, a manager or a wrestler; a face or heel; serious or comedic, and he can do every single one of those things well. At present he's working a double role on NXT as a commentator and match co-ordinator, basically an unofficial GM, as well as commentating on FCW, where he has been teasing a return to the ring in a feud with Dean Ambrose (which I feel deserves to be seen on WWE television). Should Michael Cole turn to management, as I suggested earlier, Regal would be a very strong candidate to replace him at the commentary table.

I genuinely don't think there is a single person on the roster who can offer as much in as many different roles as William Regal, and it's that versatility that's earnt him well deserved a place on this list.

2. CM Punk

Ever since that promo, CM Punk's star has been on the ascent, and right now he's probably the most popular person on the roster (only Santino comes close, and I can't decide whether that's awesome or horrifying). He's a great wrestler and a fantastic mic worker, he can work well as a face or a heel, and he can even put on his camel fur jacket and commentate. He's recently become the first person in years to outsell John Cena in merchandise, and his feud with Chris Jericho could turn out to be the feud of the year, pushing him even further up the ladder.

Punk is, as many people have already suggested, the closest thing we're going to get to Stone Cold in the PG/reality era, and he's well on the way to becoming as much of an icon as the Texas Rattlesnake is. At 33 he still has plenty of years left in him, and if his rise continues at the same rate as over the last nine months he could well be the man to topple Cena as the face of the company in the near future.

1. John Cena 

Yes, him. Still. As much as I wanted to put Punk at number one I just couldn't do it. No matter how much Punk is loved by large portions of the WWE universe, John Cena is still 'The Man' (copyright Ric Flair, 3000BC). Let's take a look at the evidence.

At WrestleMania, CM Punk will be defending the WWE Championship - the most prestigious title in pro wrestling - and he'll (apparently) be opening the show. John Cena, meanwhile, is in a non-title match which will, in all likelihood, be the main event. And before anyone says that's because it's a generation v generation match, I'll remind you that Rock v Hogan was third from last on the WrestleMania XVIII card, BEFORE THE WOMENS' TITLE MATCH, with the match for the equivalent to the WWE Championship headlining. Cena/Rock is also getting the most promo time of any of the WrestleMania matches, whilst Punk/Jericho appears to be an afterthought, picking up a few minutes every week at various points of the show before disappearing for a week, lost amongst the flood of RAW Rewind's about Rock/Cena and even HHH/Undertaker/HBK.

And what about Elimination Chamber? Same story. Punk opened the show in the RAW EC match, whilst Cena headlined with his ambulance match against Kane in what was essentially a filler feud. Cena's also the guy who gets the final spot on the WWE trail that starts every show, as well as being the last person you see on the opening credits of both RAW and Superstars.

Whether we like it or not, Cena is still the biggest star in the company, and it's going to be a while yet before anyone - even CM Punk - can topple him from that spot.

How Should The Kings of Wrestling Be Used in WWE?

As I'm sure you're aware, WWE have recently signed both members of the ROH tag team the Kings of Wrestling. Claudio Castagnoli arrived first, and now competes in FCW under the name Antonio Cesaro, whilst his partner Chris Hero made his FCW debut this week under the name Kassius Ohno. Incidentally, I hated that name at first, but after a day or so it had grown on me, and I think it's quite cool now. Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

WWE's tag team division has long been acknowledge to be in a pretty bad way, so fans of the division were excited to hear the company were going after a team widely considered to be one of the best in the business. However, it has since emerged that WWE is currently planning to use them both as singles wrestlers, and I for one have been left wondering a couple of things. Firstly, is singles competition really the best use for Cesaro & Ohno, especially when the tag division is crying out for a genuine team like the Kings of Wrestling? Secondly, where would the duo fit in to the singles setup, should that turn out to be their destination? These are two important questions that WWE should have asked themselves when they were considering signing Cesaro & Ohno, and ones I shall attempt to provide some answers to over the rest of this article.

Singles or Tag Team?

In order to answer this question, it makes sense to evaluate the strength of Cesaro & Ohno both as a team and as individuals, relative to the rest of the divisions the would be competing in. First off, let's look at how they stack up as a team.


The Kings of Wrestling have a great pedigree as a tag team, having won tag team championships in Ring of Honour, Chikara and Pro Wrestling Guerilla amongst other promotions, as well as winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's 2010 Tag Team of the Yeat award. They have the longest reign as ROH World Tag Team Champions in the history of the company, having held the title just short of a year at one point, and as such have, at the time of writing, held the belts for more than a tenth of all the time the titles have existed. Only the Briscoe Brothers have held the titles for more days than the Kings of Wrestling, although their total of more than 650 days comes from seven reigns as champions.


Unlike most of the tag teams plying their trade currently in the WWE, the Kings have a number of specialist tag team finishers, with their collection including the KRS ONE and KRS TWO, as well as a combination of both members' individual finishers - a European uppercut followed by a rolling elbow. This immediately helps to establish them as a legitimately strong and cohesive team, and would enable them to quickly climb the (admittedly very short) ladder towards a title shot. For an example of their tag team ability, take a look at this match against the Bravado Brothers.


One thing that could be an issue is that the WWE already have more heel teams than faces, and it seems unlikely that the Kings of Wrestling would debut as faces, considering their weaknesses (some of which I will address later). I would see them coming in as a heel team, which could make it difficult to push them to the titles without Primo & Epico turning or dropping the belts to a face team (at present that's most likely to be Kofi Kingston and R-Truth or Evan Bourne). As such, it could well be the case that WWE would benefit from utilising the Kings as individuals until more (face) teams can be established for them to be put up against.


I certainly believe there is a strong case to be made for the introduction of the Kings of Wrestling to WWE television, but at the same time it is important that a team of their calibre is not wasted in a weak division. If they do not have many real challengers, they could end up in the same situation as Divas champ Beth Phoenix - holding gold but being overlooked for television time, losing all momentum and becoming somewhat irrelevant. So, there appears to be a fine line which WWE need to walk with the Kings as a pairing, but would they really fare any better as singles competitors?


In terms of wrestling ability, both guys stack up well. They're technically very good, and both have strong physical styles based around hard arm and elbow strikes which would separate them from most of the guys currently on the roster. For an example of how both guys operate, here's a triple threat match they worked at an FCW house show alongside Bo Rotundo. As you can see, lots of strikes, but not too much else. From the singles matches I've seen of both guys this is pretty typical, and whilst it makes them different, their relative one-dimensionality could also be seen as a weakness, particularly in a company that loves a flashy finisher.


One of the main problems I can see with both Cesaro and Ohno is their lack of charisma. For me, neither guy cuts a great promo, though both are competent and Hero is probably the better mic worker, and neither of them comes off as someone that most fans could easily get behind as a face or hate as a heel. And by "most fans" I of course mean "the non-IWC/pure wrestling fans". If I were to compare the two, I would say Ohno was the better face & Cesaro the better heel, but really both sit in the 'heel' box in my head.

Whilst they would certainly be better off starting as heels, I do think they could struggle to generate exceptional heat on the mic, which could cause them a few problems when it comes to climbing the ladder. If they were to operate as a tag team, this could be easily solved by putting them alongside a manager like Vickie Guerrero, who could quickly get them lots of heat, but as singles wrestlers the problem is harder to solve - especially considering Vickie is the only great manager in the company at present.

There are undoubtedly positives and negatives to both options, but if we assume that WWE will stick to its plans and use Ohno & Cesaro as singles superstars, there is still one very important question that needs to be asked...

A Brief Assessment of the Benefits of Reintroducing the Cruiserweight Division to WWE

Since the Cruiserweight Championship was retired back in 2007, many talented wrestlers have been left to rot on the minor shows, or even released, because their comparatively small size meant that the decision maker(s) in the company couldn't imagine them matching up physically to the likes of Kane or The Big Show, and subsequently sent them to purgatory - better known as Superstars.

The solution to this problem has been staring WWE in the face the whole time, and it now seems like they may be realising this, as there is speculation that a new all-cruiserweight show will be featuring on the WWE Network (if/when it ever gets off the ground). It appears WWE are looking to bring in some extra talent to use on the show, but they should not miss the opportunity to give some of the talented cruiserweights already on their books a chance to get involved in something meaningful again.

With the likes of Tyson Kidd, Trent Barreta, Yoshi Tatsu, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater all sitting around without a proper feud at the minute, WWE already have a strong group of wrestlers at their disposal, particularly if they were to also utilise guys like Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Evan Bourne (assuming he survives that long), even occasionally.

Not only would the introduction of a cruiserweight division give some of the less prominent talent a chance to shine, it might also help improve the overall product.

With the cruiserweights recieving their own show, more airtime can be given to the divas and tag team divisions. Both are currently in need of some TLC (tender loving care, not tables, ladders & chairs, though that might also work), and if the extra time this move would free up was spent on developing more feuds and allowing competitors sufficient time to have a proper match WWE may find that interest in these divisions also goes up.

This is not to say that the cruiserweights should be taken off the main roster altogether. The cruiserweight show can be used as a stepping stone to the secondary titles, and there is still a place on television for a good cruiserweight title match here and there. They can also still make a strong contribution to the tag team division - a decision that makes extra sense considering the dearth of teams at present.

The reintroduction of the cruiserweight division is a move that, if handled correctly, could benefit WWE across the board, and it's one that I would fully support. Well, so long as they don't get Hornswoggle involved again...