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Natalya and the curse of talent in a WWE Diva

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For pro wrestling fans, there is a notorious fallacy that Vince McMahon is partial towards "bodybuilders" instead of the leaner, quicker, more athletic wrestler. People seem to forget the consistent time that wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton have spent on top. And rest assured, even if Rey is pushing 200-pounds these days and his knees are pleading for mercy, that extra 50-pounds he is carrying is not Lex Luger's or Davey Boy Smith's 50-pounds.

While fans are quick to contrive theories that often prove untrue like this one, I have made note of a trend that is slowly beginning to infest itself back into the WWE's storylines and onto your television every Monday and Friday night.

The curse of being a legitimate talent in the ring could hurt you if you are a WWE Diva.

Women's wrestling is so often treated as just a novelty anymore, but even the novelty is wearing thin and becoming more of a bore or hassle to watch. One of the more disturbing things I have seen plaguing the Divas is the recent gimmick given to Natalya.

She farts. Seriously.

Natalya is a well-traveled veteran of the squared circle. She has wrestling in her lineage, as her father is Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, who is also brother-in-law to Bret Hart. Needless to say, wrestling in the Hart family is pretty much inherent and through training in the heralded Hart Family "Dungeon" and learning the art of professional wrestling (along with amateur wrestling and MMA) and toiling on the bleak women's independent scene, Natalya made her way to the WWE.

In her time spent with the company, Natalya has been rewarded with the Divas championship once. She is now known as half of "The Divas of Doom" duo with Beth Phoenix. Proven to be a capable in-ring talent, you would think Natalya would be saddled with a powerful gimmick, running amuck over the smaller, less capable Divas.

But no. Natalya recently jobbed to the backstage, comedic persona of Aksana and let out a loud fart earlier in the night when the two Divas confronted each other in Teddy Long's office prior to the match announcement.

WWE Creative is torn on the Divas division. Kelly Kelly went from gaining a modicum of fan support to off our television completely unless she is accompanied by 3 other Divas in an unnecessary 8-woman tag match. Tamina seems to be getting a push, which isn't truly unjust in my book. She is green, but shows some flashes of potential, although living completely off her father's name and gimmick.

The WWE Divas division doesn't bother me when ladies like Beth Phoenix are in the ring. These women have proven capable of working an average match or can at least deliver a nice squash match when called upon. But, is it worth to squander some of your best talents in-ring on gimmicks and having them meander around behind the curtain? Having Natalya fart in an office and Eve play constant implied sexual assault victim to Kane each week?

All of this so Alicia Fox can cut unbearable promos after matches where she legitimately hurts her opponents and Aksana can make jokes about Theodore Long's unmentionables each week.

I pose some questions to you, my fellow Cagesiders. Did this division lose all credibility when the belt changed names and was remade to have your champion adorn a pink butterfly strap? Was the loss of credible talent like Mickie James, Gail Kim, and Trish Stratus the death of this division? Or do you think there is still some talent that could salvaged from this wreck?

Finally, do you think Divas like Beth Phoenix, Natalya, or Eve should be painted into a corner with minimal exposure or tasteless gimmicks while Alicia Fox or Kelly Kelly are wasting your time trying to get "foxy" and doing stinkfaces?

Oh, by the way, did you know Layla still is on the roster? Yeah, me neither.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.

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