Examining Paige's Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

When clamoring for all the new talent taking over the WWE women's division, don't forget about Paige.

The howling, black-clad gladiator is enthralling when she goes on the attack, either with a closed fist or a sharp tongue. And we don't know yet how good she really is. Paige has only been on WWE's main roster for two years. These remain the early chapters of what promises to be a long story.

After breaking away from Charlotte last year and challenging her for the now-defunct Divas Championship, Paige has moved to the fringes of the title picture.

She sits on a tier below the champion and whoever the No. 1 challenger is at the moment. Paige is without her own story, without a real rivalry. As a result, she hasn't made the cut on WWE's biggest shows in months.

Per CageMatch.net, her last two pay-per-view matches were in November and December last year.

Still, WWE hasn't forgotten about her. She recently defeated Charlotte a number of times in non-title action and got a championship match on Raw out of it.

But WWE has Paige spinning her wheels. She just gets pulled in when needed. It doesn't appear that the company has a plan for her at the moment.

She can and should be a cornerstone of a division that is more loaded with talent than it ever has been. WWE, though, has long struggled to book its women well. Paige is one of many female wrestlers waiting for the company to make good on revolutionizing the women's division.

Strengths

Paige is a predator one can't help but watch tear her prey apart. At her best, she's intense and angry, hard-nosed and nasty.

WWE needs to let her showcase those traits more often and have her play a role more akin to who she was during her NXT run. When she is stomping away on a foe or growling as she grapples on the mat, she is simply compelling.

Paige has proved she can deliver in big matches, too. One could argue that her clash with Emma for the NXT Championship win in 2014 was what kick-started the women's division and eventually led to the "Divas Revolution."

The Anti-Diva has also put on strong performances against Natalya, Charlotte and AJ Lee, although she doesn't have any true classics on her resume.

Where the British bruiser really stands out, though, is as a talker. She is of the division's best mic workers, delivering emphatic, memorable promos.

Jim Ross wrote of her seething rant on Charlotte last September on his blog, "Good stuff...organic and real. Show stealer."

Being able to bring that to the table makes her a valuable piece in the booking puzzle. WWE can create a deeper, more well-rounded story with her thanks to her verbal skills. 

Obstacles

With today's audience so quick to move on to the next big thing, it's far tougher to maintain success over a long stretch of time. Fans tire of seeing the same face on their screen and underappreciate great talent as a result. Randy Orton is a perfect example of that.

Too many fans are ready to push Orton aside in favor of new stars despite him being one of best overall performers on the roster today. The same fate could await Paige.

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She is already a two-time Divas champ at 23. Overexposure is certainly a pitfall to watch out for.

WWE may struggle to figure out new stories to tell with her. Fans may start taking her for granted.

And whether it's a product of boredom or something going on behind the scenes, Paige has seemed less engaged in the ring of late. She's a touch sloppier and lacks the same oomph that first catapulted her to stardom.

It's a criticism that Benjamin Tucker of PWTorch issued earlier this year:

Maybe that goes away by simply putting her in a sustained rivalry with another wrestler of her caliber. It is something to keep an eye on. With talent like Sasha Banks, Asuka, Becky Lynch and Bayley all sure to be battling for the top spot in the women's division, it's going to take ample hunger to go along with skill for Paige to push past all of them.

Long-Term Potential

If WWE maximizes Paige's talent and she is continually intent on matching and surpassing women like Banks, she is destined to get a call from the Hall of Fame. She has the tools to be the next Lita, a groundbreaking, highly popular woman who makes an indelible mark on WWE history. 

Women's Championship reigns are in her future. The same goes for feuds with the top names in the women's division for years to come. 

Paige can be a pillar of an era that reshapes the way we think about women's wrestling. The competition will be stiff moving forward, especially when Bayley and Asuka move to the main roster, but don't bet against The Diva of Tomorrow rising to the top.

She is both a veteran and a young star who has yet to come close to her ceiling. Having debuted as a teenager, she's been in the mat game for a long time. But she hasn't even entered her prime.

What that prime looks like will largely depend on WWE's mindset about women's wrestling. If it remains an afterthought as it so often has, we won't get to see what Paige is fully capable of.

Be sure to check out previous editions of this ongoing series:

• Dana Brooke
• Xavier Woods
• Apollo Crews
• Rusev