Stephanie McMahon's Involvement in NXT Invasion Sets Bar High for Divas Future

For months and months, WWE's Divas division has needed a shot in the arm, and on Raw this past week, it received two major boosts in the same segment.

The headline news, of course, is that Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte are on the main roster and don't look like they're going anywhere for quite some time.

The impact those three women made was substantial enough to ramp up interest in a division that has stuttered and staggered along for at least six months, but WWE fans were given an even bigger indication that business is picking up among the Divas before that.

When Stephanie McMahon made her way down to the ring to address The Bella Twins, you instantly knew things were about to get a whole lot more interesting, even before the arrival of the NXT trio. There were plenty of ways that the NXT invasion could have played out, but having McMahon introduce them one by one was a surefire indication that this is no short-term gimmick.

It also proved that the Divas division will not be an afterthought, as all signs point toward McMahon playing a key role in this as it moves forward.

"

I love the Stephanie McMahon faceturn during the NXT/Divas segment. She is so damn good at what she does. #RAW

— Bill Neville (@BillNevilleNAI) July 14, 2015"

It's raised the bar above any other way of doing the invasion—for example, having an interference from the NXT Divas at Battleground. In creating three separate factions all vying for the same prize, it means big things are now instantly expected from the nine Divas who stood in the ring Monday night.

But back to McMahon for a moment: Any story she gets involved with invariably becomes a huge one, and when she plays a keen and prominent role, you can expect plenty of TV time for those around her in the storyline.

One only has to think back to Daniel Bryan's road to the top. Sure, that was about Bryan defeating The Authority and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but every obstacle that was thrown in front of him was done so by Triple H and McMahon. 

McMahon mocked Bryan, telling him he wasn't championship material. Having such an influential figure put over a young talent like Bryan worked wonders. He became one of the most popular and endearing stars on the entire roster.

Even McMahon's previous flirtation with the Divas division was also a time when things were slightly better for the women at the head of the division: The Bella Twins.

It was a time when Bryan and The Authority's feud was starting to die down in the middle of last year, but it was certainly a storyline that helped give the female division some relevance and prestige. 

Brie Bella would eventually quit WWE, and as punishment, McMahon exploited her vulnerability by putting her in a number of Handicap matches. Brie returned in the crowd in July at a taping of Raw, leading to McMahon's arrest and battery charge and an eventual match between the two.

It may not have been the most blockbuster storyline in the history of women's wrestling, but at that time it was about as good as it got. McMahon's involvement ramped things up a notch, which is exactly what this will do.

The good thing is that it looks like McMahon will continue to play a dominant and commanding role in this invasion storyline, too. Her appearances on WWE's YouTube channel after Raw in which she congratulated the NXT trio not only further pushed them into relevance but hinted that there's more to come from McMahon.

Revisiting her old feud with The Bella Twins would be an interesting angle to take, given how both the twins and The Authority are working as heels, but if McMahon's appearance in the middle of the ring Monday night tells us anything, it's that this angle is going to be a major part of WWE's scheduling over the next few months.