Nikki Bella's Historic Title Reign Represents Masterful Molding of Lead Heel

When Nikki Bella left Monday's Raw with her Divas Championship, she ensured that her title reign would eclipse the historic mark set by AJ Lee just over one year earlier.

While many fans unsatisfied with the development were quick to blame her off-screen relationship with WWE's franchise star John Cena for the outcome, the accomplishment is instead the culmination of the company's masterful molding of the Divas division's top heel.

There were certainly bumpy roads along the way, with heel and babyface turns becoming so frequent that Big Show would be embarrassed.

Thankfully, the arrival of Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks stabilized things and allowed Bella to be the heel that WWE Creative intended her to be the entire time.

The controversial finish of this week's title match between her and Charlotte earned the wrath of fans who saw it as an awful outcome to the most hyped Raw bout of the night. They also recognized it as a transparent attempt to erase the wife of CM Punk from the history books as some sort of taunt to the Chicago native.

Those fans so obsessed with what goes on beyond the cameras missed what was obviously unfolding in front of them, and that was old-school booking designed to firmly establish the Total Divas star as the most despised woman in the company.

There is already something about the way Nikki carries herself that rubs many the wrong way. She is arrogant and oftentimes comes across as entitled.

Add to that the fact that she can now brag about her reign as champion, and you have an easily detestable character whom fans could root against.

Wrestling, at its purest, is a story of good versus evil. Fans pay their hard-earned money to watch the hero vanquish the villain. A hero is only as good as the villain they oppose, though, so it is absolutely imperative that the bad guys and girls be compelling.

That way, when good does triumph, it means more and elicits the desired reaction.

By touting her success as champion and continuing to remind fans and opponents that she is the longest-reigning Divas titleholder in history, she will further enrage the audience with every passing minute. Even her posts on social media will eat away at her critics.

Then, when someone such as Charlotte finally does knock her off the pedestal and take the title away from her, the fans will react with great energy and joy.

It is Storytelling 101, a pattern followed to a tee by everyone from legendary wrestling bookers to writers over at DC Comics.

Best of all is that those fans who believe they have the inside scoop, who think they know everything there is to know about the industry, are buying into WWE's booking strategy. The venomous reactions they give to the champion's segments and matches are exactly what the company wants. They encourage the boos.

After all, she is the heel.

All of that does not even cover the fact that Bella has improved mightily over the last year. Once completely lost when it came to having a competent match, she has incorporated a power-based offense that plays well to her opposition's more frenetic, intense and athletic skill sets.

Every ounce of effort and work she put into her in-ring performance has only helped prepare her for this moment, for her role as the centerpiece of the Divas division and the lead heel in WWE's Divas revolution.

For the true haters, no amount of convincing is going to be good enough to change your mind. There will be something about the way WWE is portraying Nikki that will somehow be attributed to whom she shares her most intimate moments with.

For those objective enough to watch the story unfold and recognize exactly what the writing staff is attempting to accomplish with both the historic title reign and Nikki's character, the eventual payoff will be that much more enjoyable.