8 Things WWE Must Do To Make Paige A Star

1. Change Takes Time: Don’t Force The Fans

WWE.com

Triple H said something towards the like a few years back during the “Summer of Punk”. He said: “You shouldn’t be bothered what I think, you should be bothered what they [the crowd] thinks because if you get over with them, we wont have to ring 7-Eleven to get your name on their cups, they’ll come and demand it from us”.

The best and most successful promotions in WWE history have been demanded by the fans. Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan, Bret Hart and yes, John Cena were all receiving huge reactions from the fans long before they reached the top. Some of the most successful face/heel turns over the years were telegraphed by the reactions of the fans: Hogan, Rock, Austin and Cena all turned face and/or heel in the fans eyes long before they did in the booking.

Equally, fans have rejected and cancelled various booking decisions with their reactions were the push unwarranted or unwanted. Batista is a recent example of exactly this. The point I’m making is: WWE cannot force the fans to like Paige, they must choose to do so. If they do not, they have the option of turning her heel but it is pointless to try and force fans to like something they obviously don’t want to and vice-versa.

It will take time for the fans to acclimatise to the idea of a serious female competitor; they’re used to Total Divas divas. Whilst the fans must choose to support her (or not!) themselves, WWE must realise that this choice will not come immediately as the fans will want some time to make up their minds.

Paige, for her part, will need to convince fans she is worthy of her new spot. This past Monday on Raw, she took a good step in that direction with her Scorpion Crosslock finish: it is an impressive looking manoeuvre that drew a pop from the mainstream crowd who obviously were still unsure who she really was. If given the chance, I believe she is good enough in the ring to accomplish this.

WWE, for their part, will need to give her that chance. Whilst they will continue to have success with their Total Divas reality show, continuing to develop their in-ring portion of the women’s division and the apparent influence of the WWE Performance Center and the investment in trainers such as Sara Del Rey can do nothing but good for the future. They must be consistent and patient. In this case, the cream will rise to the top.

Finally, as for the fans, they too must be patient, keep an open mind and allow her in-ring work to do the talking. So long as WWE offers her that chance to build a rapport with the fans, I believe she’ll give you everything you’ll need to invest in her as she must in you. For that is the true essence of building a star in professional wrestling: creating a character whom you’ll want to like you as much as they’ll want you to like them (or dislike, in the case of a heel).

Daniel Bryan is a good example of this. For the core audience, John Cena is too. All the best characters in history had that chemistry. Let’s see if Paige can find it too.

“This may be the start of something.”- JBL.