5 WWE Divas Who Deserve Pushes to Make the Division Less Repetitive

One thing is blindingly clear to any wrestling fan in recent times: WWE's women's division is going through a lull period.

How many times have we seen Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix? Or Eve vs Phoenix? Or Natalya vs. Kelly? While their matches have generally been fine, the once-promising division has become dull, stagnant and repetitive, and it might be time for WWE's booking team to start pushing some newer, fresher stars.

With this in mind, here are some of our choices for the divas who deserve more of a push on Raw and Smackdown...  

Kaitlyn

After winning season 3 of NXT, Kaitlyn (aka Celeste Bonin) moved to the Smackdown brand, where she was lost in the lower mid-card for a period, with the creative team seemingly lacking ideas for the former fitness model.

Eventually, she formed the tag team "The Chickbusters" with fellow NXT contestant AJ Lee, which did garner her a decent amount of airtime and a higher profile as the two battled the "Divas of Doom" in various episodes of WWE's blue brand. 

Interestingly, upon her graduation from developmental, hopes were not high that Bonin could ever be a proficient wrestler, especially after her calamitous, awful match with Maxine on the Oct. 10, 2010 edition of NXT (the bout was so bad, disgusted commentator Michael Cole actually walked out; the match also won "Worst Worked Match of the Year" in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards). While she undoubtedly had the looks, it seemed she was lacking in real athletic ability.

However, in a pleasant surprise, once Kaitlin started teaming with the more experienced Lee, Kaitlyn improved tremendously as in-ring performer. In fact, judging by her performances on recent episodes of Smackdown, Superstars and the little-seen NXT: Redemption, she could be on her way to becoming a very good women's wrestler. 

Certainly, she's improved enough to warrant a run at Beth Phoenix's Divas Championship in the near future.

Maxine

It is truly a shame more people don't watch WWE's Internet only show NXT: Redemption.

Sure, the show is never-ending (the competition has been going on for a whopping 40 weeks and counting) and it features far too much of the achingly unfunny Hornswaggle and his lame attempts at comedy, but the fans who don't watch this show are missing out on one of the best on-screen couples in wrestling in quite some time: Derrick Bateman and Maxine (aka Karlee Perez).  

After a rather unimpressive run as a contestant on NXT Season 3, Maxine reinvented herself, and returned to NXT in August of this year as rookie Bateman's demanding, truculent girlfriend. The two lovebirds recently got engaged after Bateman proposed live on-air ("I may start self-harming," announcer William Regal mused, after Maxine accepted the proposal and proceeded to have a huge, rather gross make-out fest with her future husband).  

The combination of the wonderfully bitchy Maxine and the slightly crazy Bateman (one of the few wrestlers on the roster who can actually pull off comedy)  has been a joy to watch. The two are wholly convincing as a bickering, passionate couple and definitely deserve spots on the main roster.

Certainly, Maxine, who has greatly improved as a wrestler throughout her time on NXT: Redemption, would also be an interesting foil for the babyface divas on Smackdown or Raw.

Layla El

After undergoing surgery in May to repair a torn ACL and MCL, former Laycool member Layla El is almost ready to return to in-ring action, according to recent reports. One of the few WWE women that excels in both the ring and on the microphone, the hugely talented Layla will be a great addition to either brand's roster.

Considering the heel side is already pretty stacked (Phoenix, Natalya), we'd expect her to return as a babyface and work a program with the muscle-bound divas. But you never know what WWE creative has up their sleeves. It's very possible the former dancer could instead align with the dark side and become the newest member of the "Divas of Doom."      

AJ Lee

Far different from the usual silicone-enhanced models signs (notably, she was the only woman on NXT season 3 with any indie experience), former Women's Wrestling Uncensored wrestler AJ Lee has become something of a cult favourite with a certain section fans since debuting for the promotion last year. It seems that after years of generic blonde bikini models, people have been clamouring for a different type of diva, and they may have found that in comic-book fan AJ.

Indeed, with her geeky, endearing personality and down-to-earth manner, Lee could easily get over in a big way and become the next Lita (who was hugely popular with audiences in the period from 2000 to 2005 due to her relatability and girl-next-door looks). Certainly, Lee has more potential than any other woman on the roster to break through and be the first diva in a long time to become hugely over with the fans.

Alicia Fox

Stuck playing second fiddle to Kelly, WWE's most pushed babyface diva, we reckon the hard-working Fox deserves a chance to shine all on her own.

Showing a spirit and feistiness in her various run-ins with the "Divas of Doom" on recent episodes of WWE's Raw, Fox can easily become someone that fans can root for and get behind if the booking team decide to give her nod and make her the next challenger for Phoenix's Divas Championship.