Smark Out Moment

Before I begin, I just want to mention how great NXT ArRival was. This was NXT's first major PPV-style event, and it blew most of WWE's regular pay-per-views out of the water with its three top matches. Cesaro vs Sami Zayn part 4 was an epic clash, proving that both guys are among the world's best today, as if we didn't know already. The man we love to hate—Bo Dallas—finally lost his NXT Championship in a good ladder match to Adrian Neville, who is becoming a more complete package every time he shows up, and has finally ditched his generic jobber entrance music for something a bit Prodigy-esque. His elf ears still remain, though.

But standing with those two high profile mens matches was the NXT Women's Championship match between Paige and Emma—two of the brightest stars in NXT, not just in the women's division, but of the entire show. Both women have carved out an excellent following from the Full Sail Faithful, and their contests have been viewed as equally significant as the men's matches, something that basically never happens on RAW.  Since Emma already got called up at the start of 2014, we're going to focus on Paige in this Scouting Talent, but I will have more to say about Emma later on.

So very, very ugly.

The first thing you notice about Paige is that, much like the current Divas Champion AJ Lee, she is something very different from the women you usually see in a WWE ring. Whereas most of the girls look like they are better prepared for a beauty contest than a wrestling match, Paige looks like someone you do not want to mess with; a quality she inherited from her mother and fellow wrestler; Sweet Saraya. Not to say that Paige is ugly (nor her mother!). But Paige's looks don't define her, like so many of the other Divas. You may find her attractive, but it's Paige's wrestling you want to see, and that's the most important quality for any female wrestler if they have a hope of changing WWE's awful booking of its Women's division.

And Paige's wrestling is definitely worth seeing. She has more talent than all the main roster divas bar AJ and Natalya, and her bouts with Emma and Nattie on NXT have been very good matches, and compared to the tripe that is served up on the main roster, they are exceptional. Paige's repertoire of moves is both viscous and technical; chucking her opponents around by their hair before locking them in a Texas Cloverleaf or a Scorpion Cross Lock—a crazy-looking hold which she used to put away Emma at NXT ArRival (picture below). She's a joy to watch because her rough, tough 'Anti-Diva' character comes across in what she does in the ring. Her promos are decent and back up the character, but it's in the ring where she shines, and that's really all I ever want in a wrestler.

Paige vs Emma at NXT ArRival. Ouch.

Pushing her as 'The Anti-Diva', its clear that WWE, or at the very least NXT, want to use Paige and her great wrestling talent as a push towards a more legitimate women's division. While I don't think they will ever stop using the 'Barbie Dolls', I can see Paige and other wrestling-orientated girls becoming more commonplace on the main roster in the next few years. We already have a nerdy, tomboy Champion in AJ, who is pretty good in the ring and always improving, and who is more over than all the other Divas combined. If AJ's fan support and decently-selling merchandise can sway WWE towards less glamorous women who are actually good wrestlers (and still very attractive), then Paige has a good shot at quite literally being 'The Future' of not only the Divas division, but of women's wrestling as a whole.

But maybe I'm being too positive and getting ahead of myself. This is the WWE we're talking about, and since when have they presented women in a positive, non-objectified role? Emma got called up to the main roster at the beginning of this year, but she was presented as comedy fodder, not a competitor. When the bell rings in NXT, Emma gets somewhat serious. She still does some dancing in her taunts, but she's also very proficient in the ring with some seriously awesome moves, especially her 'Dil-Emma' Tarantula. But on RAW and Smackdown, Emma never goes further than 'dancing goof'. There's still time to turn that around of course, but first impressions mean a lot. Just ask Xavier Woods.

The Future?

So for as badass as Paige is, I am very worried that if she gets called up to the main roster, she will be treated as either a joke, or as 'just another diva' (which is probably even worse than a joke, unfortunately). It's no secret that the WWE sucks at booking its female talent. I could write a whole different piece about the state of the Divas division (and maybe I will one day), but for now I will just say that it is very bad, and getting worse.

I have very little doubt that Paige will get called up to the main roster, although WWE may want to wait until she is a little older. At 21, Paige is seriously good for her age, but you can see why they may want to give her some more experience and maturity before heading out on the road full-time. So for now, enjoy Paige as she is in NXT; an arse-kicker, a fighter, and a champion. And then just cross your fingers and hope that the main roster will treat her right, because Paige has the potential to change the WWE Women's Division for the better.

What do you think the future holds for Paige, and the Divas Division as a whole? Leave your opinion below, because it'd be great to hear your opinions on women's wrestling and its role in WWE.