IWC Scum — AJ Lee Glee, Becky Hogan, Charlexapro, Timeless Tiffy & The Saddest Woman on The Planet
Welcome back to the column that puts the incessant whining and complaining in IWC. This infamous day in American history no doubt has some folks bumming harder than P Diddy in a prison cell, but your boy SkitZ is here to distract the masses from that disturbing visual.
The ending to Smackdown last week perfectly illustrated how much of a precious resource pro wrestling has become in today’s social landscape. It’s a rare occurrence when us keyboard warriors let our collective guards down for an evening and simply bask in the feelgood moment of a returning wrestler. Being baited with rumors, hooked on speculation, and caught up in the magical mystery of the scripted sport is what continuously reels us in. Watching the wrestling world rejoice in unison was amazing, so I soaked up as many positive vibes as possible before it inevitably turns to slander and shit talking.
After such a momentous return, the focus of most fans quickly shifts to the follow-up. “What direction are they gonna take with AJ Lee once Wrestlepalooza comes and goes? Will Mr. and Mrs. Brooks remain an onscreen item or eventually branch off into separate storylines? Is AJ taking the Intercontinental Title off of Becky in the near future? If so, who is Lee scheduled to feud with once that happens? Who’s slated to be her WrestleMania opponent? When does her new contract expire?” It’s a neverending pattern of 21 questions and catch 22’ing ourselves into immediately thinking the star in question is being booked right into a no-win situation. Such is the thought process of restless marks who spend too many hours tossing and turning beneath the dirtsheets. I myself have been sleeping wonderfully knowing that AJ Lee’s back on our TV screens where she belongs.
It’ll be interesting to see how much of her psychotic side comes out to play throughout this second run with the company. We witnessed a glimpse of it on SmackDown, and then a more sympathetic version of AJ who spoke from the heart this past Monday on RAW. We’ll know by next weekend whether or not Lee has lost a step in the ring, but thus far, it’s as if she stepped out of a time machine from 2013. Speaking of said year, I put together a column series that summer built around a 128-woman tournament to basically decide the ideal diva. Readers would send in their selections each round, and whoever received the most votes kept advancing. Wanna take a guess as to who won the entire thing? AJ Motherfucking Lee. Yep. She beat out the likes of Lita, Trish Stratus, Maryse, Torrie Wilson, etc; proving how bad we were all crushing on crazy petite alternative chicks at the time.
Now in terms of stature and storytelling, Becky Lynch is the perfect foil for AJ Lee to throw hands with upon her comeback. Beyond just their husbands beefing for two years straight, these ladies became household names prior to forming wrestling power couples. One of them played an instrumental role in cracking the door to the women’s revolution, and the other kicked it in a couple years later. Becky and AJ narrowly missed each other timeline-wise, so they’re able to add a fresh chapter to the endless Seth/Punk saga while also writing some history of their own. I’m here for it.
What I’m not here for is the IWC’s bipolar tendency to rally behind an underdog wrestler who’s been overlooked, the groundswell of support that turns said individual into a superstar, and then the same fan base growing tired of their chosen favorite’s success later on down the road. How quickly the perception shifts from underpushed to overprivileged in the eyes of people who view their years of fandom as some type of master’s degree.
Becky and Rhea are prime examples of this. Both have become all-time greats over the past 8-10 years, and with that comes plenty of accolades and championships. Lynch and Ripley are permanent fixtures in the title picture – take your pick as to which championship – and despite them constantly putting over others, there’s a seemingly endless wave of criticism.
Lynch was receiving Daniel Bryan levels of love heading into 2019. Dudes were creaming over every spicy tweet of hers, fans were rejecting Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey in favor of Becky, and her surge in popularity resulted in the trio headlining WrestleMania 35. Then Vince couldn’t help but destroy what made Lynch and Rollins special to begin with by lumping them together on camera, pitted the tandem against Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans, and the rest is history we’d like to forget. Becky Lynch is far from my favorite women’s wrestler in WWE, but she checks all the boxes. Aside from Rhea, she’s the biggest female star in the company. Becky has crossed over into movies, TV shows, done the job for Asuka, Bianca, Rhea, Liv, Lyra, etc., she’s basically captured every title there is to win, and made each one of them mean something to boot. So let’s stop with the Becky Hogan discourse, because Lynch doesn’t stunt the talent around her. She enhances it.
Mami hasn’t generated that level of pushback yet, but you can already feel her following in The Man’s footsteps. Give it another 6-12 months, and they’ll be referring to Ripley as Diarrhea or some other God awful shit. Despite the fact that Rhea’s been losing big match after big match since March, and now it appears she’s moving away from the Women’s World Title scene for a while. Teaming with Iyo to battle Sky’s old stable mates has tons of potential (yes, I’m prematurely assuming Stephanie Vaquer will win at Wrestlepalooza). It might even set the stage for Stone Cold Steve Ripley and the Genius of the Sky to eventually challenge Charlexa for the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
This is by far the most likeable and relatable Flair has been throughout her WWE career. Based on the shaky booking and crowd backlash Charlotte faced upon her return, it was obvious something had to change. The thought of Alexa sitting on the sidelines twiddling her thumbs following that epic return at the Royal Rumble had me borderline depressed. Then just when it appeared that the absence of the Wyatt Sicks was gonna keep her out indefinitely, a lifeline came flying in from the most unlikely of places. Flair and Bliss being thrown together after WrestleMania because creative had nothing for them was one of those happy accidents that exploded into an overnight sensation. We could be in for a lengthy title reign, although I have a feeling the company will be tempted to pit Alexa and Charlotte against one another come Mania season. That’s if Hunter’s able to keep his hard-on for the Flair/Jade showdown in check for another year.
I honestly thought Miss Cargill was on the verge of becoming the next WWE Women’s Champion at SummerSlam. Whether she avenges that loss this Friday remains to be seen, but Jade seems like the endgame for Tiffany’s 8-month reign. No matter how much the genetic marvel can bench or squat, she needs more reps before carrying an entire division on her back. That much is clear, even though Jade isn’t far off the mark. She’s made solid strides as a solo performer since the stable with Bianca and Naomi imploded.
Should Cargill lose on SmackDown however, where does she go from there? She’s been stuck in a vortex with Nia and Tiffany for the last several months that’s produced very little development. How many times are we gonna run this back? Stratton is the anointed female star of the blue brand, yet when was the last time we even saw her in a wrestling ring? Aside from Tiffany’s title defense at SummerSlam, the reigning champ has done nothing but appear briefly in backstage segments for the past two months. The same inexcusable nonsense that’s been happening to Giulia ever since she won the United States Title. I get that WWE’s cashing in on Tiffy’s popularity, but what’s the grander payoff? Does Jade eventually turn heel and wipe the floor with Stratton? Are we waiting for Bianca’s hand to fully heal before time runs out on Tiffy’s reign? Or should Giulia just say “fuck it” and vacate her belt since she clearly has no credible challengers? I’d MUCH rather watch Stratton versus Giulia than whatever’s planned next for the latter. Probably B-Fab. Whoopee! Meanwhile, Kiana James is over here killing Giulia’s whole aura. She looks like a sorority girl who tore her ACL attempting to jump off a roof into a pool.
Comical and ridiculous all at once, much like Ronda Rousey’s recent comments on The Lapsed Fan podcast. If history has taught us anything, it’s that these crossover UFC stars have a habit of taking themselves far too seriously in WWE. Going from the ultra competitive world of UFC to pro wrestling is a major transition I’m sure. It’s much more collaborative on this side of sports entertainment, but MMA athletes are so concerned with their tough guy personas that they aren’t willing to do business as freely as most. We’ve heard various stories over the years of dudes like Ken Shamrock and Matt Riddle being difficult to work with backstage, and apparently Ronda was no different during her run.
Kudos to Rousey for helping elevate the ladies to the main event of WrestleMania, but let’s be real – she couldn’t even shoulder that responsibility without botching the finish. A blemish on the match that could’ve been completely avoided had Ronda not suffered an ego trip and refused to tap out to Becky’s armbar. I know there aren’t any scripts in UFC, but it’s a team effort in WWE when you sign on the dotted line. So you’ll happily lose to your MMA pals who nobody gives a fuck about in pro wrestling, but sharing a ring with Alexa Bliss is beneath you? That’s laughable considering she’s leagues above Rousey as a performer. It seems like the plot was lost on Ronda at some point, and she started believing her own hype again.
Perhaps concussions are to blame for Rousey forgetting that she scurried off to WWE with way less mystique after Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes scrambled her brains in consecutive knockouts. I’ll admit Ronda’s first run with the company ran pretty smoothly, but that’s because she was heavily protected. Vince didn’t ask Rousey to do too much character wise, and he had her working with nothing but the best women on the roster. When Ronda returned in 2022 however and didn’t receive the same type of favorable booking, the fucking wheels fell off. Rousey’s segments were cringeworthy, her matches a mess, and she reeked of a washed-up star begrudgingly going through the motions. I can only imagine how much she bitched and moaned about losing repeatedly to Liv Morgan.
Hearing Ronda shit on her WWE experience is kinda sad, but not surprising in the least bit. Good riddance, you headcase. She never bothered to improve on her promos or matches or stupid ass facial expressions, and it showed. Boy did it ever. I’d argue Shayna Baszler had a far better handle on pro wrestling than her best friend. If the company failed one of them as far as potential goes, it was The Queen of Spades before she got perpetually lost in the shuffle.