WWE: 10 Ways Beth Phoenix and Natayla Are Being Buried

Mickie James is gone, Kharma's on hiatus and Gail Kim decided to quit working for the WWE.

That means that Beth Phoenix and Natalya are the two most talented Divas in the company, hands down.

They both have it all: the look, the charisma and, most importantly, the wrestling ability.

Yet, for some reason unbeknownst to me, both Beth and Natalya have taken a backseat to some of the Divas who they could run circles around in the ring.

Sure, the Divas of Doom are getting some more TV time as of late, but I'll believe that they're going to be at the top of the Divas division when it actually happens...and it lasts for more than a month.

Maybe Beth and Natalya—or the creative team—will prove me wrong, but for now, it still looks they're being buried to me.

Here are 10 reasons why.

10. Neither One Is Holding the Divas Championship

If a male WWE star isn't holding the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship, that doesn't mean he's getting buried.

If a Diva with as much talent as Beth Phoenix or Natalya isn't carrying the Divas title, however, that might be a different story.

This is the same Divas division that has actually had Brie Bella and Eve win the strap recently, and the same Divas division that inexplicably still employs women like Rosa Mendes and Kaitlyn.

The fact that Natalya's only held the Divas Championship once (for a very forgettable two and a half months) and Beth's never held it is nothing short of a booking atrocity.

Until either one of them is given a long run with the belt, then I can't get too excited about them actually getting some TV time for a change. 

9. The Christian Treatment

All due respect to Kelly Kelly, because I appreciate her incredible hotness and how much she's improved in the ring over the last year or so.

But Beth Phoenix and Natalya are both going after Kelly Kelly? And they have to team up to do so?

Storyline-wise, I guess it works. You have the jealous heels trying to win the Divas title from the beautiful baby face, and they do everything in their power to do so.

Yet, the WWE creative team loves to book its face champions to overcome all obstacles, and that's what's been happening with Kelly Kelly so far.

Much like Randy Orton did in his World Heavyweight Championship feud with Christian, Kelly Kelly's gotten the leg up on Beth and Natalya at just about every turn of their rivalry.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Christian was essentially buried in that feud, and if the Divas of Doom don't pick up some Ws along the way, then they'll be six feet under as well.

8. They're Not the Focus of the Divas Division

Look at that picture. That's what we should be seeing all the time: Beth Phoenix and Natalya as the centers of attention in the Divas division.

We don't, though.

As much air time as they've been getting as of late, they're still not the focus of women's wrestling in the WWE. Kelly Kelly is.

I get that K2 is the Divas Champion, but that division should not focus on a woman primarily because of her looks. They should focus on two women because of their in-ring skills.

I'm talking, of course, about Beth and Natalya, who need to oust Kelly Kelly from her position as the top Diva in the WWE.

7. They're Being Used to Help Kelly Kelly

Kelly Kelly can barely put on a watchable match with either one of the Bella twins or someone like Maryse.

I mean, that's OK. I'm not sure Bret Hart or Kurt Angle could do that right now, either.

But the point I'm trying to make is that Kelly Kelly cannot carry a match. Her best matches come against her best opponents, like Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

I'm pretty convinced that putting K2 in a feud with the Divas of Doom isn't meant to get them over as hated heels. It's meant to help Kelly Kelly improve in the ring and look like a formidable champion.

That's all fine and dandy, because Kelly Kelly's matches are much easier to watch when they're against Beth, Natalya or both.

However, I'm not sure that helping Kelly Kelly put on better matches is going to do all that much for the Divas of Doom in the long run. 

6. The Bella Twins Get More Air Time

Maybe the massive push of the Bella twins is finally cooling off a bit. At least I hope so.

But Brie and Nikki are still getting a ton of TV time—too much if you ask me—and they're often involved in matches against the two Divas that Beth Phoenix and Natalya are supposed to be feuding with, Kelly Kelly and Eve.

Let me ask you a question: How many times have we seen some combination of Eve and K2 versus the Bella twins in 2011? 

Has to be at least 15 or 20 matches, even though it feels more like 759. 

I don't get why the creative team would continue to put on Nikki vs. Kelly Kelly instead of a tag team match featuring the Divas of Doom vs. Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox.

That match has the potential to be halfway decent. Nikki vs. K2 doesn't.

5. Beth Phoenix Wrestling for the Divas Title Twice

I know what you're thinking: How does giving Beth Phoenix two consecutive pay-per-view matches for the Divas Championship constitute a burial?

Well, keep in mind that Night of Champions is in Beth Phoenix's hometown of Buffalo, New York, and then try to remember how the WWE books its heels when they wrestle in their hometown.

Nine times out of 10, a heel wrestling in his or her hometown loses, especially if a title's at stake.

I guess you could consider CM Punk's win at Money in the Bank an exception to that rule, but I'd say he was at least a tweener if not a full-fledged face by then.

Anyway, if Beth loses to Kelly Kelly again at Night of Champions and then gets another title shot down the road, she's just going to be another wrestler who gets title shot after title shot no matter how many times she loses.

Then, when/if she finally does win the Divas title from K2, it's not going to matter because it took her so many attempts to do so.

4. They Hardly Ever Actually Wrestle

Natalya and Beth Phoenix can really go in the ring, but you wouldn't know that even if you've watched every episode of Raw and Smackdown for the last year or so.

Why? Because they hardly ever wrestle.

Sure, we saw Beth wrestle Eve on last week's Raw and Natalya take on Kelly Kelly on last week's Smackdown. But it's a rare occasion to see both Divas of Doom get TV matches in the same week.

For the most part, Beth and Natalya have either been completely left off TV, joined in on commentary or simply appeared at the top of the ramp to clap for Kelly Kelly.

That's not doing a whole lot of good for these two women, who should be in some sort of match every week on WWE TV. 

3. Kelly Kelly's Commentary

Fast forward to around 2:00, and you'll see what Kelly Kelly's trying to accomplish with her commentary.

Yeah, she's defending herself by saying how hard she works to improve in the ring and put on better matches. Blah, blah, blah.

But she's also taking subtle shots at Natalya with her little "ew" comment and the general belief that the Divas of Doom are the "ugly ducklings" of the WWE so to speak.

I'm not sure why the WWE has to bring looks into this feud, and I think it's a slap in the face of Beth and Natalya.

They're not ugly by any means, and this is just another example of bad writing by a group of guys who love to poke fun at the company's female employees (see: Vickie Guerrero) while also promoting a huge anti-bullying campaign.

Ah, irony.

2. Kelly Kelly Has Beaten Them Both in Singles Action

I get that Kelly Kelly is the Divas Champion, and thus, the WWE wants to book her strongly.

That makes sense if you want to build her up as a credible champion. It's just unfortunate that it's come at the expense of Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

Kelly Kelly has already beaten both Divas in singles action, Beth at SummerSlam and Natalya on Friday's Smackdown. Granted, both victories came by roll-up, but they're wins nonetheless.

So, where's the payoff in this feud now? 

Kelly Kelly's already defeated both Divas of Doom in a one-on-setting, accomplishing what she set out to do when this feud first started. As a result, giving Beth another title shot will only mean something if she beats Kelly Kelly at Night of Champions.

If not, then she's just going to look like a complete loser who can't defeat a Diva who's half her size.  

1. The WWE Doesn’t Think They're Model-Type Divas

The basis of the feud between the Divas of Doom and Kelly Kelly seems to be this: Beth Phoenix and Natalya are tired of the "model-type" Divas getting the big pushes, while Kelly Kelly thinks they're jealous because they're not the standard "Barbie doll" Divas.

I find it rather comical that the WWE creative team is going with this whole "the Divas of Doom don't look good" strategy when I'm pretty sure that 90 percent of the dudes reading this would gladly take them off the hands of CM Punk and Tyson Kidd.

The way this feud is being booked almost reminds me of the feud between Mickie James and LayCool, when Michelle McCool and Layla would refer to Mickie as "Piggy James." It was completely distasteful and actually rather stupid, when you consider that Mickie's pretty smoking hot.

It's not that Kelly Kelly is flat-out calling the Divas of Doom ugly or anything like that. She's not. It's just that I don't understand why the creative team feels the need to bring looks into just about every major Divas feud.

Yeah, Beth and Natalya don't have the standard look. But they're still gorgeous women, and if nothing else, their unique looks boost them up a notch in my book.