killeroflegends

I have already explained how the feud between Mickie James and Maryse is more than just a basic title feud. It was always meant to be more than just a race to making history, especially since that race was ran and won rather easily by the other contestant. This Raw diva feud was guided by the idea that Maryse was afraid to defend her title against Mickie James and could not defeat her. Right now, I am going to try to move away from looking at how the feud was structured to why it may have possibly been structured as it was.

Of course, the easy answer is that having the feud like this makes it more entertaining than a basic title feud. Sure, and having Randy Orton be in a feud against the McMahons/Batista/Triple H until the end of time is entertaining everybody, isn’t it? There is more than entertainment going on here. Aside from possibly putting the Diva’s Championship on Mickie James, which still could have been done in a pretty simple title feud, this feud between Maryse and Mickie was executed to try to get Maryse over. To those on the internet already big Maryse fans, you can smile arrogantly constantly like your idol and not let anything get to you, but the lack of response she has been getting on Raw for a long time was definitely noticeable. The WWE does not want that. They rolled the dice when they gave her the Diva’s Championship.

I can hear some people argue that there is a huge flaw in my reasoning. Maryse lost twice to Mickie in a row when this feud started, and had taken a few other losses here and there. If they want to get her over, should not Maryse be the one gaining all the wins in the start of the feud? There are two things about that argument. First, how well did constant wins and strong booking work in getting Beth Phoenix over. She was booked as unstoppable. Some people actually bought it, but not the majority. Her reaction has been just as weak as that of Maryse. Wins alone failed to get her over. Second, even if you constantly have Maryse get wins, will that get her over as a great wrestler? You also have to look at the performance she is giving. If she is putting on a sloppy and weak performance, but still winning, fans will either not care or boo her out of how bad she is. Going back to Beth Phoenix, it was her angle with Santino which gave her the best shot of any she had in the WWE of getting over. An angle. An actual storyline. Promos. Something like that is what helps. That is why I stand by my point that a feud consisting of losses for one individual can still be a way to get that person over.

Those two losses to Mickie were needed to start the whole foundation of the feud. From then on, the ball has really been in Maryse’s court in a sense. Yes, the commentator’s mentioned Mickie possibly having the Champion’s number and all that. But in terms of actual interactions between the two, it all opened the door for Maryse to show some character. It was about letting her heelish character shine. Who really got the most promo time in this feud? Mickie got one night on commentary and the interview segment on Raw this week. Maryse has had time on commentary, just sat there to watch Mickie’s match once to have a little interaction after, had many interactions with The Miz backstage, and played a role in Mickie’s own interview segment this week. In virtually all these instances outside of wrestling action, Maryse was given the chance to show her cuteness, sexiness, arrogance, and whatever else she had. Even if just sitting there watching the match, the camera would pick up on her facial expressions and the commentators would fill in the gap to help portray her character. In instances where Maryse was just backing down from Mickie, she was still often showing some arrogance. How long will it take the fans to warm up to this “fun”character?

For Mickie James, arguably the most over diva on Raw right now, these promos and wins have not really been for her benefit that much. Yes, she pinned the Diva’s Champion twice. However, even before these two first had a singles match, if anyone thought Maryse had more actual wrestling credibility than Mickie James, you are an idiot. No fancy talk. Consider a feud between The Undertaker and CM Punk, the current World’s Heavyweight Champion. Would Taker gaining two straight victories over Punk in non-title scenarios really mean that much in terms of actually building Taker’s credibility, not speaking in terms of creating a feud for the title. It seems more likely that CM Punk pinning Taker twice may give him a bigger rub than the previous scenario. Point is, Mickie James already had a ton of credibility in the ring, so pinning a pretty much rookie like Maryse, even if she is Diva’s Champion, will not do much, beyond starting the feud, as I mentioned. Moreover, building Mickie up a bit helped in making Maryse look a little better when she did get that pinfall victory last week. Not only did she pin the credible Mickie James, but got some payback.

Look at the promos. As I have mentioned before, Mickie James made herself look like the target Maryse had to overcome. She was helping to put that ball in Maryse’s court. That night she was out there on commentary, it was not about being entertaining or getting herself over with the fans that much. It was about making herself seem like the serious threat to Maryse’s arrogant, entertaining character. She was not there to take Maryse’s spotlight. In many of the unspoken interactions between the two, it is basically Mickie trying to give Maryse the space to try to get her, but Maryse smiling and walking away confidently. Mickie did have a few cute moments, but it has mostly been her acting serious. Maryse is left with more space to seem as the entertaining figure in this feud. As I have said before, in pro wrestling, it is a combination of talent and how you must filter that talent for the situation. Maryse is the one that has to get over in this situation. Then there are instances where some may figure that Mickie is really getting buried out there. At this week’s Raw, Miz was pretty much making Mickie James look unattractive and inferior when compared to Maryse. Mickie James had some things to say to put Miz back in his place. Of course, Maryse was left standing at the end of that night. In instances that Maryse has gotten to speak, she once again downplays Mickie’s beauty. Many fans may take it as just a heel talking trash, but Mickie James has not exactly had a chance to defend her looks. The WWE helps Maryse a lot by pushing her sexiness and glamor. Not so much Mickie James. After a while, it does sink into the minds of the fans sitting at home and watching this.

In the end, some may complain that this feud was too much in favor of Mickie James, but it is not entirely true. Look beyond the top layer of competition. Look at the deeper importance of getting someone over. Mickie James has looked weak in this feud, and even before the loss last week. That infamous night Maryse first sprayed Mickie in the eyes, costing her a title shot, made Mickie look weak. It not only slowed down Mickie’s title hunt, it added some character to Maryse. I am not entirely surprised that they repeated the same trick. In terms of spreading character overness, I would say that this feud was about giving Maryse the great advantage. And I did not even focus on how Maryse has really two angles going on. One is her title feud against Mickie James. The other is her romance angle with Miz. Do not forget that something similar was done with Beth Phoenix not too long ago to try to help her get over. She was Women’s Champion, had a romance angle with Santino, and then later had a full entourage when Rosa came aboard. The WWE is really trying to get Maryse over. They are using Mickie James to do it. That is a good thing, but it is influencing her character. She is obviously not acting like a psycho. She is acting serious. Some will call this the infamous “boring face” diva. Whatever the case may be, it is being done to make Maryse look entertaining. Let her character shine out. Have Mickie put her own charisma in check to some degree. Will it get Maryse over in the end? Will the fans grow so in love with her, they turn on “boring” Mickie James? Will this lead to Maryse’s face turn? Once she has that fan support, the WWE will be at a better spot to push her high.

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