Total Divas Overlap Is Hurting WWE Divas Division

Total Divas is the anvil tied to the WWE Divas division's ankles. 

The company is ensuring that its Divas division fails so that the reality show may succeed. It's a backward way of thinking, adjusting its primary programming to suit a supplementary offering.

The result is a narrative mess that features some of the least talented wrestlers WWE has ever employed.

WWE and Total Divas bleeding into each other is poisoning the former. The kind of focus that Eva Marie and Rosa Mendes are getting because of their spots on the reality show makes as much sense as pushing Mark Henry because his penguin-centered episode of Slam City is getting great ratings.

Even less logical is how WWE has attempted to have storylines from the reality show lead into angles that play out on Raw and SmackDown.

Impossible Storytelling

Trying to book Raw every week is a tough enough challenge. It doesn't need complications like trying to fuse events that are already over with those that are ongoing.

Working stories from Total Divas (which is taped months in advance) with live programming is the kind of project that belongs in science-fiction. That hasn't stopped WWE from trying.

Tension between Naomi and Cameron that aired on Total Divas spilled over into the ring even though their on-air wrestling feud hadn't been mentioned for months.

Before the two former Funkadactyls battled on Sept. 15, WWE showed a clip of them bickering on the reality show. Then they headed to the ring on a live Raw to settle things.

That kind of booking creates a disconnect. It would be like a talk-show host filling his monologue with jokes about news that happened two months prior.

Continuity is a major issue. Take the latest episode of Total Divas, for example.

It aired on Sept. 28. The show the women are watching from the dressing room (NXT Takeover) aired live on May 29.

Rosa and others mention that Tyson Kidd did a poor job celebrating Natalya's birthday. If WWE wanted to then have Natayla and Kidd argue about that on the Raw following this, it would ask the audience to pretend that the couple hadn't had three months in between to work things out.

It requires excessive suspension of disbelief.

Using Total Divas as a place to start stories is an ill-advised format. Unlike the folks penning what happens between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, the ones in charge of the Divas are too often asked to tie in the reality show to the wrestling program.

This method has yet to work. As fan Chris Sims tweeted, the result has too often been poor:

Vince McMahon seemingly unsure of how much he wants Total Divas and WWE to overlap certainly doesn't help. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required) (h/t Wrestling Inc) WWE Creative is frustrated that McMahon can't seem to make up his mind about whether he wants the stories from Total Divas to sync up with those on WWE TV.

Even if WWE officials managed to weave the two forms of entertainment together effectively, it's not as if Rosa, Eva and company would produce stellar work in the ring anyway.

Showcasing the Wrong Talent

Thanks to Total Divas, some of the worst wrestlers in company history have been given airtime.

Cameron, Rosa and Eva shouldn't be allowed in the ring on TV. They are players struggling at Single-A getting a shot at the big leagues. 

On Monday's Raw, Rosa took on Layla. Watching that bout, it's hard to argue when Jason Solomon of PWMania has this to say:

Rosa is terrible. And she can't blame it on being a rookie like Eva could last year. Rosa has been a part of WWE since 2006.

Watching her flail around against Layla, it's clear that she simply doesn't belong on the main roster.

Every bump she takes looks awkward. Too many of her forearm shots look like her arm fell asleep halfway through them.

Monday's Raw also featured Cameron and Eva in the same bout, daring the Chicago crowd to walk out of the arena. The partners took on Brie Bella in a Handicap match.

When Brie is far and away the best wrestler in a clash involving two other Divas, there's a problem. When the fans start chanting for the announcers, it's hard to blame them.

WWE booked three matches on a single edition of Raw, but Natalya, Emma or Paige didn't wrestle in any of them. Instead, less talented women from the Total Divas cast got the chance to step in the ring. 

This past month has been a prime example of how they are taking away precious spots. Per Cagematch.net, these are how many matches the following Divas competed in on Raw in September:

• Rosa Mendes: 3
• Cameron: 3
• Summer Rae: 3
• AJ Lee: 3
• Paige: 2
• Eva Marie: 2
• Brie Bella: 2
• Nikki Bella: 1
• Alicia Fox: 1
• Emma:0

The wooden Rosa getting that many more opportunities than a talented, potential star like Emma is a baffling move. The last time Emma wrestled on Raw was July 21. In the doghouse or not, that's a waste.

Fox hasn't had much work as of late either, too often getting booted for inferior wrestlers like Cameron.

If the men's division were booked in such upside-down fashion, then The Great Khali would be on Raw more than Cesaro, and David Otunga would be mixing it up while Seth Rollins waited backstage for his name to get called.

Not surprisingly letting low-level wrestlers compete results in cringe-worthy ring action. Matches heavy on Total Divas cast members have been hard to watch. And they have been since the show began.

Last year, the Total Divas influence brought down the quality of matches just as much as it is doing now.

When the Wrestling Observer Newsletter handed out its awards in 2013, eight matches were up for Worst Match of the Year. The women from Total Divas featured prominently in three of them:

• The Bella Twins, JoJo, Natalya, Naomi and Cameron vs. Eva Marie, Alicia Fox, Aksana, AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka-Survivor Series 2003 (No. 1)
• Eva Marie, JoJo and Natalya vs. Aksana, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox-Raw, Oct. 7, 2013 (No. 4)
• Alicia Fox, Aksana, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Tamina Snuka, Rosa Mendes and Summer Rae vs. Natalya, Naomi, Cameron, The Bella Twins, JoJo and Eva Marie-Raw, Nov. 25, 2013 (No. 6)

With performances like we saw on Monday's Raw, history is set to repeat itself.

The Bellas' storyline continues to be prominent. Rosa, Eva and Cameron keep inexplicably appearing on WWE's premier show.

NXT's top female prospects have to be mystified about how opportunities are divvied up. Sasha Banks, a skilled in-ring storyteller and surefire success waiting to happen, is still at WWE developmental. Meanwhile, Cameron is still learning how a pinfall works as part of the main roster.

WWE's commitment to Total Divas assures that those who make the best reality-show subjects will have doors opened for them. It also means that fans can bet on horrid matches and head-scratching plots playing out.

For women like Emma and Banks, it looks as if the best route to success is to see if Total Divas needs a new cast member.