Examining Eva Marie's Direction, Upside and Long-Term Potential

With Eva Marie, WWE is stubbornly trying to turn a show pony into a war horse.

Long before Marie had any business being in the ring, she debuted on Raw in 2013. She was atrocious. She was a little leaguer who was flailing at major league fastballs.

She has since refined her mat game at the WWE Performance Center, rehabbed her career at NXT and worked privately with former tag team champ Brian Kendrick. Marie, though, isn't ready to compete in the ring.

At NXT, she looked like a student in the early stages of learning the craft. Even so, WWE drafted her to the SmackDown brand. 

The company has done well to craft a unique entrance for her. She strolls to the ring, as an announcer lists off her accomplishments in an irritating tone. It's heel artistry. 

On Tuesday's SmackDown, she faked an injury to avoid facing Becky Lynch. This was meant to rile up fans by way of her cowardice.

It was a smart move. WWE creatively side-stepped Marie's weakness while adding to her character.

That's just a short-term fix, though. How long can this go on? How does the company plan to have her compete with the rest of the division if she's miles below them talent-wise?

WWE needs to find another role for her altogether, one that better highlights her skills.

Strengths

People hate Marie. 

Last June, when she appeared on NXT, chants of "You can't wrestle!" drowned her out. In an interview with Ted Gruber of Fansided, she noted that she once saw a sign at an event that read, "If Eva Marie is Here, We Riot." Such passionate reactions are commonplace for her.

In today's era, it's hard to generate that kind of heat.

As DC Matthews of the New Age Insiders podcast pointed out, all the negative fan response is exactly what WWE is trying to elicit:

WWE has always valued female wrestlers who can double as models, and Marie fits the bill. She landed on Maxim's Hot 100 list in 2014 and has been on several magazine covers despite accomplishing little in the ring.

Marie exudes star power too. 

She has a presence that forces one to pay attention to her. She stands out in a crowd. All of that is hard to find, and those traits have kept her employed, despite her being so ineffective between the ropes.

Obstacles

Marie is wooden, both on the mic and in the ring. Years into her development, she's still a novice, a painting student who is still figuring out how to hold the brush.

Her ring work today is far better than it was in 2013, but that's not saying a lot. Every woman in the division ranks above her as a performer.

Last year, she took on Liv Morgan at NXT in a match marked by awkwardness. Marie didn't look comfortable when she had to fall or attack. After she missed with an ugly kick, fans began to chant, "What was that?"

She has not progressed at a rate that WWE can be happy with. 

Nia Jax has picked up wrestling's nuances quickly. Charlotte improved each time she went to battle. Alexa Bliss has continued to hone her craft.

Marie, meanwhile, inches along. 

While those women seem born to do this, she has always looked out of place.

In a different era, she could have gotten away with this. The late '90s saw a slew of women with little talent scrap in the ring in order to tantalize the audience. In a period so stacked with skilled in-ring artists, though, Marie doesn't belong.

WWE will have a hard time figuring how to book her because of how limited she is as a wrestler.

Long-Term Potential

Marie's intangibles can allow her to make a major impact on WWE, but only if the company points her career in the right direction. 

Should it continue to present her as a wrestler, she will struggle. As improved as she is, in-ring performance is not her strength. Her ceiling in this role is to be a poor man's Kelly Kelly.

She's likely to become the SmackDown women's champion at least once but will be seen as one of the blights on the division, someone who is holding her peers back. Model-turned-wrestler Kelly Kelly will move down a slot in the rankings for worst female champs of all time.

But perhaps WWE will come to its senses.

Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats wrote that he hopes her current interactions with Lynch lead "Eva to transition into a manager/heater role for someone else." That's the only logical move.

She can utilize all her skills in a wrestler's corner. And her weaknesses won't be an issue because WWE won't call on her to compete.

As a manager, Marie will have a longer career. She'll be a key figure in a number of top storylines. She will be remembered as an effective heel. 

If Marie's path remains as is, however, her career will be a historical footnote. Fans will look back at her run and wonder why WWE dedicated so much time to a failed experiment.

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

• Nia Jax
• Mojo Rawley
• Paige
• Dana Brooke