Stephanie McMahon sent revolutionary shockwaves throughout the WWE Universe on Raw with the introductions of three new Divas from NXT: Becky Lynch, Charlotte and NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. After months of Team Bella dominance, how will these new arrivals affect the landscape of the Divas division?
The members of Team Bella, consisting of Nikki Bella, her sister Brie and Alicia Fox, have taken every advantage available to them in order to maintain Nikki’s dominant run as Divas Champion. One of the principal owners of WWE, Stephanie McMahon appeared fed up with the titleholder’s boasting and introduced a power shift, seemingly creating two opposing Diva alliances in the process: one that looks to feature Paige, Becky and Charlotte, and another evidently consisting of Sasha, Naomi and Tamina. With the numbers much more even, how will Team Bella respond? Can Nikki prove that she is indeed WWE’s premier Diva, or has her tendency to bend the rules finally caught up with her?
Two-time Divas Champion Paige couldn’t stop smiling after Raw, as she stood alongside Charlotte and Becky. The former, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, made waves at the first NXT TakeOver when she defeated Natalya to win the NXT Women’s Championship. The latter, hailing from Dublin, Ireland, came up just short in an impressive bid for the title in May, when she fell to Sasha Banks in a classic at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. If these women are indeed siding with Paige, how will the three Divas’ combined experience factor into a cohesive unit? And will they finally bring about the sort of change that The Diva of Tomorrow has been searching for?
Naomi and Tamina, for their part, had been sitting on the sidelines, insistent on staying neutral in the Bella/Paige clash. That decision may have paid off for them with the apparent addition of Sasha. The current NXT Women’s Champion has not only been at the heart of the NXT women’s movement, but she has carried her own unmistakable swagger, which she now brings to Raw. How will The Boss make her presence felt? Is it only a matter of time before her brash persona nets her another championship?
It seems apparent that the WWE Divas division has changed forever. One way or another, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks will be out to turn things upside down. If their time in NXT is any indication, the WWE Universe is in for a wild ride.