WWE News: Tamina Snuka Will Be a Dominant Diva

As most fans know by now, second-generation diva Tamina Snuka came up short in her attempt to win the WWE Divas Championship from Beth Phoenix at Sunday's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

She fought incredibly hard during the seven-minute match, even delivering an awe-inspiring Snuka Splash at one point, but in the end Phoenix's power and experience won out and the champion delivered a brutal GlamSlam for the pinfall. 

However, while the loss was disenchanting, no one should make the mistake of thinking this is the end of Tamina's push in WWE. Indeed, considering the potential and talent she has shown in her relatively short time in the limelight, this match at EC may just have been the beginning of her rise to the top. 

The talented Tamina, who is the daughter of WWE legend Jimmy Snuka, stands out amongst the gaggle of generic divas in WWE for a few reasons.

First of all, unlike Kelly Kelly or any of the other women signed from magazines or Diva Search contests, Snuka has been around the business her entire life. She was also one of the few women signed to FCW to have wrestling experience going in (she had previously worked for indie group WXW).

While some of the women signed to the company feel out of place and flounder on the main stage, Tamina is a natural in the industry she has grown up in. This will surely help her as she attempts to navigate her way through the thorny and toxic political environment that exists backstage in WWE.  

Secondly, possibly due to her experience, in contrast to most of the other botch-prone divas who make up the women's division in WWE,  Tamina is a very smooth, polished and co-ordinated wrestler.

She has a lot of improvement to make, of course, and her in-ring work is still fairly green in places but one look at her in matches tells you she is a notch above your average female wrestler in WWE.  Indeed, her bout with Phoenix at the pay-per-view was a very solid match that kept everyone thoroughly entertained, extremely refreshing for a division often known for its horribly botched spots and miscues. After such an impressive performance, a rematch somewhere down the road would certainly not be out of question.

It also helps that, while Tamina is undoubtedly very pretty and photogenic, she doesn't have your typical diva look or demeanor, either. She stands out partly because she seems different from Kelly or Aksana or Eve. Thankfully, rather than turning their backs on her, fans seem to respond warmly to her in spite of, or probably because of, her differences.

One also calls to mind AJ Lee, an all-natural beauty who has also been greatly aided by not fitting the "WWE mould" and has seen her stock and profile rise on NXT and later Smackdown due to her unconventional looks and quirky personality.

Would AJ have found herself in a high-profile romance storyline with current World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan if she weren't so different from the other woman and had more a generic look about her? Probably not—especially since the storyline hints that Bryan and AJ ended up together mainly because they are both outsiders and slightly geeky. Would we have bought Bryan and Kelly Kelly the same we we buy Bryan and AJ? No way. 

Interestingly, partly why TNA's women's division has been such a resounding success (the women regularly top the ratings on iMPACT)  is because they are allowed to develop their own unique personalities and be themselves (can you imagine a wacky and wild female character like ODB in WWE?).

It seems that after years and years of seeing gorgeous and glamorous (but ultimately boring) models fill their screens, fans are hankering for something new: women with actual personalities and charisma, rather than simply one-dimensional models. With her distinctive looks and feisty personality, Snuka benefits greatly from this.

Summarily, the talented and hard-working Tamina has the potential to go far in WWE. All she needs is co-operative opponents to help her improve and the a good writing team to book her right. 

But while she undoubtedly has the former, thanks to Phoenix, Natalya and others, in today's WWE, we may not be able to count on the latter, sadly.