Nikki Bella vs. Carmella: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Current WWE Feud

WWE needs to add a few coats of paint to the rivalry between Nikki Bella and Carmella.

The company combined the right elements and did some of the initial work in telling the story of a young lioness looking to oust the alpha from the pack, but Bella vs. Carmella would benefit from added depth. WWE should fully tap into the bad blood between these Superstars. 

Carmella, one of the NXT stars SmackDown drafted in July, made an enemy as she looked to make her name. She blasted the former Divas champ from behind weeks ago and has continued to attack Bella.

They are now set to meet one-on-one for the first time at WWE No Mercy 2016 on Sunday.

This is not a thrown-together match, but the buildup hasn't been quite what it could have been. Filling in the narrative's holes will crank up this feud's power to compel in the chapters ahead.

The Good

Carmella's fierce pursuit of Bella has been a smart way to introduce the newcomer from NXT.

Bella is far more established, a champion two times over. Carmella is the unfamiliar face among casual fans. Pitting them against each other has allowed The Princess of Staten Island to bask in the spotlight pointed at Bella.

The intensity level has been excellent throughout this story.

Carmella's first beatdown of Bella in August, her second attack on that night's Talking Smack and all the brawls that have followed have shown how much the heel dislikes the babyface. There has been no shortage of fiery exchanges, and WWE has not let their feud collect dust at any point.

And the choice to have Carmella embrace her dark side while Bella reverted to fan-favorite status has both women wielding more momentum. Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net tweeted after Carmella's turn, "Both Carmella and Nikki Bella are more compelling after this."

The Bad

The Carmella-Nikki Bella narrative is incomplete at the moment.

The first issue was that WWE didn't make it clear early on why Carmella had such hatred for Bella. There was some vague idea that she felt the former Divas champ stole her spotlight, but the idea wasn't explored enough.

And unlike The Usos, whose heel turn came with an emphatic explanation, Carmella's switch was glossed over.

In result, fans haven't quite bought into her. PWTorch's Greg Parks wrote that WWE is "really trying to establish Carmella by having her go over Nikki multiple times. She just doesn't have a character that's connecting yet."

There are a number of subplots and themes that could be more prominent, too. Bella has dismissed Carmella as a "bootleg Nikki Bella." Carmella has talked of taking out the veteran. 

Those pieces of the feud need to be bigger focuses. We need to see both women sit down with Michael Cole and lay out their stories. The rivalry would benefit from a hype video like the one that preceded Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte on Sept. 3.

WWE needs to provide more lasting images as well. 

As indy wrestler Gran Akuma tweeted, "Carmella should attack Nikki Bella everywhere. At the gym. In the grocery store. Like Kanyon hitting Kanyon Cutters. Everywhere." Creative, outside-the-box moments like that would elevate this rivalry in a major way.

The Ugly

The animosity between Carmella and Nikki Bella begs for them to brawl rather than wrestle, to fight with steel chairs rather than headlocks.

Bella tweeted that she wanted to face Carmella in a No Disqualification match at No Mercy. Daniel Bryan mentioned on this week's Talking Smack that he wanted to book that stipulation for the bout.

As of now, that's not happening. Their bout remains a standard one.

WWE has a chance to make history, to further establish that the New Era will be about venturing down new paths for the women's division. It hasn't done that by pitting Carmella and Bella against each other in a match type generally reserved for the men.

This criticism, however, may prove irrelevant if WWE chooses to have Carmella vs. Bella II be of the No Disqualification variety.

The timing suggests that it may be a while until we see that go down—at least on PPV. The next event after No Mercy is Survivor Series, one where the two women may clash as part of teams, per the PPV's theme. After that, the next SmackDown-exclusive show isn't until December.

Can WWE maintain the heat between these women until then? Or will it have missed a chance at No Mercy that it will regret?

Projections

Carmella vs. Nikki Bella will end up being a showcase for The Princess of Staten Island.

Bella can absorb multiple losses without it affecting her position. Carmella is the one in need of signature wins to kick off her career, and she will get them again and again.

After knocking off her rival at No Mercy, she will do so once more in their eventual rematch. Those victories will launch Carmella into title contention, where she will try to dethrone Becky Lynch after Alexa Bliss fails to do so.

And Carmella vs. Bella promises to be lengthy, although it won't necessarily continually progress.

Expect the feud to remain at its current level of depth. SmackDown will put more effort into other stories and stars. Carmella and Bella will remain midcard fare, not marquee material.