Carmella will do for now

There are two concurrent stories running through Raw’s women’s division. On one hand, we have Becky Lynch’s rendition of “Redemption Song.” Bob Marley might protest a bit to some of the notes but we’ll see how that plays out for the Big Time.

The other story, obviously, is Bianca Belair’s reign as the champ. These two stories are obviously on a collision course for the biggest party of the summer. Or whatever they’re calling SummerSlam this year. Although, I wouldn’t mind deviating from conventional wisdom and giving us a surprise. That’s no diss to Becky or Bianca because they tore the house down at WrestleMania with one of the best matches of 2022. I’m just saying a surprise or three might be nice.

But I digress. Until we reach SummerSlam, WWE gave Bianca a formidable foe in Carmella. Mella’s good in the ring but her strength is character. Everything she does or says has a purpose and it all informs everything about her. There’s a great contrast between Mella, who prides herself on being the prettiest, and Bianca, who prides herself on being the best. It goes back to the old discussion rap fans often have: Is it better to be the most skilled or be the most paid? Do you want to be the person with the most hits to their name or the person ranked in everyone’s top 5 list? That’s an interesting contrast and one we rarely see in WWE. Yes, Mella is a former champ, but that was like two or three iterations ago. That was Jordan rocking, moonwalking Princess of Staten Island Carmella with a chip on her shoulder This version of her character wears a mask during matches so not to rough up her looks. She’s not worried about impressing anyone or proving anything; she’s content with setting thirst traps on IG and starring in YouTube reality tv with her husband.

Obviously, Bianca is not concerned with any of that. Gorgeous as she is, she’s more concerned with championships. Along with being the “strongest,” “best,” “quickest,” “toughest,” and all the other one’s she says on the regular. These two people are diametrically opposed to how they view wrestling and what they want from their profession.

And if they had enough time to truly dig into this, that’s a story worth all of your time and energy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of that until the most recent episode if Monday Night Raw. Giving the angle, and the match, the short end of the stick means it’s on the ladies to truly carry it without any added drama. But it also means we’re not getting something truly compelling. In short, Carmella is a placeholder for a much bigger fish down the line.

And that’s a shame because this opposites attract story, along with the skills both women possess, has the makings of a really dope feud. Alas, it wasn’t mean to be.