Where WWE went wrong with AJ/Paige feud

Paige VS AJ Lee at hell in a cell

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World. Today I'm taking a look at one of the most anticipated diva's feuds in recent years and analysing where the WWE went wrong with it. I have done a get to know on both of these divas and I will leave links to those post bellow so you can go and check them out and get to know the girls in more detail. As always you can let me know what you think of today's topic by leaving a comment bellow in the comments section or by sending me a tweet at @TezangiVictoria.

When AJ Lee first came on the scene of pro wrestling biggest entertainment company, the WWE universe was stunned and amazed by the different diva they were watching on their TV screen. Kick starting in NXT Season three (after working down in FCW), AJ Lee made her name known when she started competing for a spot on the WWE main roster. On her way she would score several wins over the likes of fellow contestants, Naomi and Aksana, and also gaining her fare share of tag team wins and picking up points in weekly competitions in order to stay in the process. Despite being a popular favourite throughout the show AJ failed to win the competition, coming in at third place with Naomi at second and Kaitlyn in first place. However AJ would soon make her WWE main roster debut on Smackdown and form an alliance with veteran and third generation diva Natalya and close friend Kaitlyn. AJ would be an early success, brining something different and unique to a bland divas division, allowing her to connect with the WWE universe in a way no other diva on the roster could. I think the key thing people loved about AJ was she was just a natural, genuine wrestling fan, witch always great to see when divas now days mostly grew up not being a fan of pro wrestling. The fact that the WWE kept as close to her real personality was what allowed the WWE universe to just gain this huge amount of respect and love for her and we all knew that this little firework from New Jersey was going to be a huge success, but maybe an even bigger success than we originally thought.
 Throughout the year's AJ has gone on to be apart of some of the biggest feuds in recent years and has stood side by side with some of the biggest names in the company, including Daniel Bryan, Kane, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler and even John Cena. In doing so AJ gained a huge following and brought something different to the divas division. Adopting her crazy chick gimmick fans just fell in love with her and couldn't wait to see what the fresh face was going to do next. She was also the RAW general manager witch proved to be an interesting move to make from WWE. Last year AJ was apart of one of the most interesting and entertaining divas feuds when she collided in a huge storyline with fellow best friend Kaitlyn. The two would exchange some harsh words in killer promo's and segments, they would also fight it out backstage, be apart of the first Smackdown Divas contract signing and go on to be in some of the best main roster divas matches in recent years. Their match at Battleground last year is one to seriously go check out. Over the past year AJ has gone on to be the longest reigning diva's champion ad earning the right to be called one of the best divas champions of all time. Throughout her title reign AJ faced every diva in the locker room, defeating them all and everyone who stood in her way and delivered one killer promo to the Total Divas cast. No one was a match for AJ Lee, not even when she was faced with the entire WWE divas roster at this year's Wrestlemania. However the night after Wrestlemania saw one of the most anticipated main roster diva débuts in years, as the anti diva Paige made her way to the ring and did what no other diva could do, pin AJ Lee and become the new WWE Divas champion, making her the youngest divas champion in history at only twenty one.

Paige at NXT

Paige first made her name known in WWE when she signed a contract with WWE's developmental centre FCW. She would fast become a fan favourite and either working under a heel or a baby face, she was a huge hit with the fans and developed a big following very early on in her career. Just like AJ she was different and fans loved that, we wasn't seeing the typical tanned, blonde, model like diva. We were seeing a genuine fan of pro wrestling who not only had an intresting style but her look and attitude about the business was completely different to the rest of the divas. When WWE re-branded FCW into NXT Paige remained a huge hit and had early success, picking up wins against the likes of Natalya, Alicia Fox, Bayley, Tamina and so many more. She would eventually go on to become the first NXT Women's champion defeating Emma in the final round. Holding the championship, she would compete in some of the best divas matches in years! I advice you all to go and check out her matches with Emma and Natalya back in NXT. As time went on the WWE universe began asking questions, everyone was waiting for Paige to make her WWE main roster debut and everyone wanted her to feud with only one diva, face of the divas division, AJ Lee. But the WWE kept us waiting and fans grew impatient. Whenever asked who I was looking forward to seeing coming up to the main roster, I'd say Paige and how much I wanted her to work with AJ. There's something about these two different, amazing female wrestlers that everyone loved and everyone wanted to see collide in the ring. And so the standard was set very high by the WWE universe, and when Paige made her debut the night after Wrestlemania the arena and the internet blew up, as the diva of tomorrow was now the first diva to hold the NXT Women's championship and the divas championship at the same time.

When Paige made her debut everyone was over the moon, finally the anti diva was here and finally we we're going to get the feud we has all been waiting for for so long. The reaction she got from the crowd was one of the strongest reactions a diva has gotten in years and that included a "this is awesome" chant. But the WWE persevered Paige to be a shy little rookie "not ready" to face AJ, witch didn't go down to well with a lot fans. However when she picked up the win that night the crowd went crazy and so did twitter. There we're quit a thew people didn't like this move and this came from a lot of people who didn't even know who she was. Personally I loved this decision. It put the spotlight right on her and gave her a memorable debut. AJ would then be out of action for a couple of months witch at first I didn't like for the simple fact I just wanted these two to feud already. But after a while I grew to like the idea, it allowed Paige to build her popularity and really make her mark on the main roster. What I hated however was the return of AJ Lee, I honestly think the WWE went the wrong way about it. Having her come back and win her championship back the same night was just a bad move. The poetic justice thing, flat out didn't work for me. Paige had such a weak title reign and she needed to hold the championship longer, and instead of throwing the championship back and fourth, witch they have done throughout this feud, they could of gone a complete different way about it witch would of kept the fans more interested. For example, on the night Paige could of had a successful title defence against someone like Natalya, a top veteran to make her look strong, and then while she was celebrating AJ's music could of hit and she could of attacked her. Or she could of attacked Paige after a promo she delivered like the one she actually did. Handing AJ the championship back was a bad decision and that's coming from a strong AJ fan. I also really think AJ is best suited as a heel. Her baby face work is a lot weaker than her heel work, and she's clearly in her element with this gimmick as a heel than a face.

Thought the feud between these two amazing divas, the WWE has teased fans with sexual tension between the two and a battle of the crazy, witch I and many others hated! The thing is, everyone is so used to Paige and her anti- diva gimmick and since coming up to the main roster the WWE have almost completely changed what she is all about. All the fan's wanted was for two of the most popular divas to go at it in one heck of a feud and we didn't get that. What we got was to girls trying to act crazy and tease sexual tension. If the WWE had listened to the fans they could of had one of the biggest divas feuds in years. We could of had killer promos and segments, amazing, lengthy  one on one matches, and deep story development. But instead we got stupid alliances, weak segments, and short boring matches.

AJ Lee as the divas champion

I think the problem was, was that the expectations of the WWE universe was so high and the WWE simply failed to live up to those expectations.What they had to do was simple. But what they bombarded us with the usual pathetic divas storyline's, let's be honest would we ever see Seth Rollins kiss the hand of Dean Ambrose and give him a heart shaped box of chocolates? Absolutely  not! So why is it acceptable to do so in a divas feud? It's just as pathetic and stupid. What we all also hated
was the fact that they have thrown the divas championship back and fourth throughout the past several months. One thing the WWE need to focus on all round is the importance of championships not just the divas championship. After AJ held the title most of the past year giving it to her another two more times this year just hasn't worked and has been a bad bad move on behalf of the WWE.


To be honest the Paige/AJ feud has reached it's ending in my opinion. It's clear they are trying to make it continue and stay intresting but the interest faded out a long time ago and for now at least this feud must come to an end, for the sake of both divas.