WWE Night of Champions 2012 Results: What's Next for Layla After Loss to Eve?

At WWE Night of Champions, long-running Divas champion Layla finally lost her to title to surprise-challenger Eve. Layla had held the title since winning it last April at Extreme Rules.

Layla was, of course, meant to take on fellow babyface Diva Kaitlyn at the show. WWE has spent the last several weeks building up the bout, with Kaitlyn billed as the heavy underdog going after veteran Layla's belt.

However, this all changed when the No. 1 contender was taken out backstage by a mystery assailant early on in the show, and Booker T decided to give the hard-working Eve the nod instead. Assistant GM Teddy Long (probably suspecting Eve had something to do with Kaitlyn's injury) wasn't too pleased but had to go along with it.

Thus, Layla took on Eve and ended up losing her title in a dull and rather heatless bout. Both girls tried—and they both worked well together—but the Boston crowd just didn't seem to care, which served to drag the match down considerably.

So now that she no longer has the title, we have to ask: What's next for Layla?

It should be noted that being relieved of her title by Eve doesn't necessarily have to be a setback. Indeed, if played right, this can be the best thing that happened to her—and WWE's Divas division—in a long time.

The main reason for this is that, at last, Layla will have something to do. She can play the wronged babyface and attempt to get her title back from Eve.

This is welcome news, as poor Layla has struggled greatly to remain in a prominent position in WWE.

While a big deal was made out of her return—and title victory—back in April, she's been relegated to the sidelines and ignored so often in her Divas championship run that one could be forgiven for forgetting she's Divas champion. Considering her looks, talent and charisma, it's been sad to see her WWE career flounder so badly.

It's been suggested the former Miami Heat dancer is simply not a good babyface and works better as a heel.

However, thanks to this new feud with Eve—who is over hugely with the fans as a catty, conniving heel—she'll be in the limelight again. Undoubtedly, the inevitable revelation that Eve was the one who attacked Kaitlyn (come on, who else could it have been? Rikishi?) will also serve as a great heat-bolstering development in the angle, with Layla coming for revenge for her fallen pal.

After several boring, mediocre programs and matches (anyone remember that dismally dull series between Layla and Beth Phoenix? No? Didn't think so), Layla must be relishing the chance to get in there with a massively over heel like Eve.

Despite losing her title, Layla comes out of the Night of Champions pay-per-view in arguably a far better position. At least now she looks to be headed for a meaningful feud in a storyline WWE is spending time on.

This is easily a step up from what she's been doing the last few months.