It was announced today by the WWE that Nikki Bella is set to face AJ Lee at this months pay per view, Survivor Series. Survivor Series will be held in this writer’s own back yard of St. Louis. This match up looks to spark a new rivalry that this writer feels will be better than the Paige and AJ feud. Honestly, the crowning of Nikki as the Divas champ could do extraordinary things for not only the in ring action but also on the hit reality show Total Divas.
While there is no guarantee that AJ will lose the title to the brash Bella twin, the prospect of what these two ladies could bring to the division could be exactly what we thought Paige and AJ could be. The issue with Paige and AJ’s battles is the familiarity of the BFF’s in NXT started to surface when the girls chose sides. While we have always felt there should be a dominant female faction in the WWE, there still needs to be more women on their main show roster for this to make sense. Nikki is the type of character who could lead that stable but here are some reasons why the time is now for her to be champ.
Total Divas needs a star in the ring too
Yes we all love “all red everything”, “girl bye”, Vinny, John and Trinity and everything that has to do with Total Divas. Let’s just be honest for a spell. They need a star on that show. Not that all the women aren’t but here is what we mean. If you have ever sat through a episode of Total Divas then you will notice that Paige and AJ are never really shown. Now there are rumors that Paige will appear more often when the season starts up again but even still we want to see the belt on the show. Who better to flaunt it around with her 25-dollar cups of latte than Nikki?
Could you imagine the toll she would put on John Cena parading around the house with the title? It’s the one thing that is truly missing from the show. Like her or hate her Nikki and all her assets have the most star potential on the show. In addition to that, she has already established herself as a good heel (villain). Having the actual champ on the show may not be in the WWE plans but still would be good to see the strap every once in awhile.
Crazy doesn’t always out crazy, crazy
This is something that the men are currently dealing with in the Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose angle. One of the reasons crazy on crazy does not seem to be the answer in Diva land is because we already assume most of these women are slightly off the rocker. Plus look at the AJ vs. Paige feud. While clearly these two ladies are some of the most popular Divas in history their respective gimmicks never really took off. Having to incorporate other Divas into the mix is really what ceased that fire. In Nikki’s case after dealing with Brie she is sort of a loner now.
In a sense she is the only woman outside of Stephanie McMahon with some ties to The Authority. Could you imagine if she wins the title and becomes the first Authority aligned Divas champ? The story lines could go on for years! AJ proved she got enough loco in her for the entire divas division and most of the main viewers haven’t even seen Bayley yet. While Nikki may be crazy about shopping and wine she has gotten so much better in the ring. Her finishing move the Argentine backbreaker and it may be the best in the Divas division.
Brie mode vs. Nikki was never going to be good
The WWE tried to make the Bella vs. Bella feud work. We will give the WWE credit for at least trying. The Bella Twins are a hot commodity for the company but the universe had enough of their feud. It started off decent when it was just Nikki fending for herself while Brie was slapping boss lady from the stands but it turned sour fast. One thing we will give Brie credit over Nikki for at this time is her mic skills. AJ isn’t the best on the mic but has found her niche that has allowed her to reign for some time.
We feel the same can be done for Nikki. If you have been paying attention to Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and so on we are now in the age of the fit woman. AJ has never been a slouch in that department and even though Paige is extremely talented her skills have its limitations. With the size and strength of Nikki the universe may finally get a woman with the body of Beth Phoenix and Chyna, but with the beauty of Sable and Michelle McCool. In a sense Nikki has all the tools to be a dominant diva for some time. While it was a good idea to have the Bella’s split it may have been just a tad bit too early. It’s too late for that now so why not give it to Nikki when she is hotter than ever? That time is right now.
Here is the release from WWE on the announcement: Nikki Bella has already proven to be the more cutthroat Bella Twin, but at Survivor Series, she’ll be out to prove she’s the top competitor in the Divas division when she takes on WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee.
Nikki earned the match after winning a No. 1 Contender’s Halloween Costume Battle Royal on the Oct. 31 edition of SmackDown. Dressed as a black cat, Nikki turned out to be bad luck for the other Diva contenders, as well as her own sister. Brie, still acting as Nikki’s personal assistant as a result of her loss at Hell in a Cell, was ordered to leave the building on an errand for her twin, causing her to miss the No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal altogether.
The tense relationship with Brie has even given Nikki — a former Divas Champion in her own right — an advantage when it comes to mind games. After beating Emma on the Nov. 3 Raw, Nikki ordered her assistant to slap AJ in the face. The Divas Champion responded by knocking down Brie, but she was unable to catch Nikki, who was halfway up the aisle by the time AJ got into the ring.
Arguably the most dominant Diva of the modern era, AJ seemed impressed by Nikki’s Battle Royal victory on SmackDown, but she was downright incensed after the blatant act of disrespect on Raw. As she’s demonstrated in the past, The Black Widow often takes an interest in her opposition before trapping her victim in her web. Will she similarly lull Nikki into a state of overconfidence ahead of Survivor Series? Or will a Rack Attack displace the Divas Title from around AJ’s waist?
Look Survivor Series live on WWE Network and pay-per-view Sunday, Nov. 23, starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.