Once upon a time, there was a beautiful thing called kayfabe. It was a magical instrument that was used by the WWE to form storylines, rivalries and make their show what it is today. However, the internet came and ruined WWE like it ruins a lot of stuff that should be great, by letting sources behind the scenes leak information about what is going on in real life.
With the revelations of Rusev and Lana’s engagement last month (congrats by the way from everyone at TWM), WWE mixed that into the show to effectively destroy what was one of the longest running, albeit fairly terrible, storylines – one that had Dolph Ziggler stealing Lana from Rusev, and Rusev then retorting that Lana was a cold fish by bringing a cold fish to the ring. Good one Alexander.
But with this news story, it brings questions upon the product that WWE are producing. In the glory days, there were no dirt sheets, there were no backstage reports and people involved in relationships with co-workers were easily able to keep things under wraps. These aren’t the glory days however, and we are fully in the midst of the “Reality Era” of WWE, an era that probably focuses a little too much on the likes of Total Divas. The main issue that fans will have with this break of kayfabe is that it is not entirely consistent with the rest of the couples within what is becoming an increasingly incestuous work environment.
The fact of the matter is; the fans know a large amount of what goes on behind the scenes. That is the bottom line. So while the fans know all the power couples, they are either sparingly referenced or do not fit in on screen with how they are perceived off it. For example, why would perennial faces John Cena and Daniel Bryan be with such vindictive mean girls like the Bella Twins? Despite these two couples being referenced heavily on Total Divas, where the Bella Twins are two of the main cast members, they are hardly talked about as being together on WWE TV, apart from when Paige and AJ come over and drop pipe bombs everywhere. That being said, Brie Bella was heavily involved in Daniel Bryan’s storylines before he suffered his injury that cost him the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Meanwhile, couples like Dean Ambrose and Renee Young and Cody Rhodes and Eden Stiles don’t get mentioned on TV, but still can be found on YouTube and social media. Of course, why would they be referenced when not vital to the program, but the inconsistencies still lie deep.
Going back to the original point of the story – Lana and Rusev’s engagement. If WWE was set on continuing their storyline, like it seemed they were when Summer Rae proposed to Rusev, why not continue like Lana and Rusev were not about to tie the matrimonial knot? Don’t forget that this story started all the way back in mid-May, lasting almost five months before rapidly being shut down. In fact, revealing this and backtracking on everything is detrimental to everybody involved in the former storyline.
The couple themselves have both seen better days on television than the time after they split up. Rusev became a stalker who once watched Dolph Ziggler pee and then modelled his new love interest in the shape of his ex-girlfriend, while Lana became an extra in a Motley Crue video. What the WWE creative department were thinking when they started this awful tandem, nobody really knows. Since losing his United States Championship to John Cena, Rusev’s stock has plummeted, being beaten by the likes of Ryback, Cesaro and Ziggler, all former talents that the ‘Super Athlete’ would have crushed. Both Rusev and Lana have suffered injuries and with Lana currently off-screen, what WWE have planned for Rusev is currently unknown.
With Total Divas being a mentionable part of the WWE Universe, why are so many of the storylines on there nixed for the main show. The inconsistency, as mentioned before, is too much for fans to cope with. Brie Bella has been involved in Daniel Bryan’s storylines, but why hasn’t Nikki been involved in any of John Cena’s? Is Vince hoping that by keeping this off RAW that women won’t notice and think Cena is single, therefore viable to cheer for? Speculation is what it is and unfortunately nothing can be confirmed nor denied, but it is clearly one rule for some, one rule for another. On a TV show, that rarely works. We also know from Total Divas that Naomi and Jimmy Uso are married. They had a program for a little while and that eventually faded away too.
Total Divas could have been a fantastic way to combat the dirt sheets, but only if their characters off screen were consistent with their ones on screen. Cameron, Eva Marie and Summer Rae as the ultimate heels, with everybody else being faces and the Bella Twins being the moody mean girls who pick and choose which way they go. Putting pen to paper, that doesn’t sound like such a great idea, especially with how Eva Marie is struggling to make an unbreakable winning streak work in NXT.
Ultimately though, Total Divas, while some form of ratings for WWE, needs to be scrapped. The product contradicts the show and means fans never really know how to feel about any of the women on TV, apart from those who do not feature on the reality show for whatever reason.
On top of that, WWE needs to focus on what to do with relationships. Sure, the current COO and boss’ daughter are involved in a relationship, but one that has been acknowledged for a number of years. However, on screen, they need to decide whether to acknowledge the real life relationships in storylines, or disregard them completely. It seems like it’s one rule for some, another rule for everybody else.
Kayfabe is dead, long live reality, I guess.