[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Ruien They tested it with pictures. On her debut of the gimmick Emma said she would not be doing it anymore.

Nah, they got her to do a promo in the gimmick or something and everyone shuddered and moved on. It was her big chance for a push she couldn't pull it off.

Originally Posted by #BrotherVito DELETED Emmalina's gimmick was little more than "she's really hot" and not much else. That worked for Eva Marie because it provided a workaround for her genuine lack of wrestling ability. The gimmick boiled down to "terrible wrestler getting pushed because she's hot" and she was generating heat. She was the best heel in the company for a time because of that gimmick. Emmalina couldn't have worked because we already saw her as Emma, know she can wrestle, and have seen her put on decent matches. The gimmick was doomed from that respect. It worked with Eva because we'd never seen her be a good in-ring performer previously.

I don't think that was supposed to be the gimmick. I think the idea was more that she was a throwback to the Sunny days, and this would rub the "progressive" women the wrong way. It was a Diva gimmick, but it wasn't supposed to be a non-wrestling one.

Originally Posted by Fignuts She doesn't seem like the type that aspires to be a "solid low tier hand".

Good for her. That's all they had though.

Originally Posted by Anybody Thrilla Asuka really didn't suffer from that match at all. The people that already know her love her, but they really could have given her a more special debut if they REALLY meant it. Vince probably hate Asuka, the more I think about it.

Vince must hate Asuka so much that this was the straw that broke the camel's back and Asuka got a squash the next week. Yep. Vince hates Asuka.

And yes, Asuka did suffer. She went into those matches super-over, she came out with the fans less interested in her act. That is the exact opposite of what pro-wrestling is supposed to achieve.

Originally Posted by Fignuts I guess I just prefer the NJPW method where youhave workers who are definitely booked stronger, but everyone is booked strong enough where there is always an "any given sunday" approach with undercard wrestlers. As a result, the division as a whole is stronger. Squashes should be for local enhancement talent, not someone like Emma. And having watched the match again, I still stand by my claim that Asuka looked stronger. She's never been about squashes in the first place. Everyone gets their shit in when they face her. What makes her dominant is that she always wins regardless, and HER shit looks a lot mor brutal. I thought Emma did a good job selling that. Every shot she took looked like it killed her.

But they did that match and it didn't work. The crowd could give two shits. Maybe that does work in New Japan, but when Emma and Asuka did it, Asuka went under. "This should work, that should work," it didn't. They did it that way and it didn't. It's really that simple.

As far as the booking goes, you could argue that Emma should be booked stronger if they are going to get her to go out there and do that match, but how? Who do you put her over? Bayley? Then people will complain that Bayley isn't booked strong enough. Sasha Banks? Yeah, see how well that sits with people. This a problem with women's wrestling in the WWE.

That being said, it's not impossible for talent to be competitive despite a shitty win-loss record. A good worker can do this. They can put shine on the babyface and actually get a crowd into that shit. If it calls for them to show a lot more ass than Emma did, so be it, but they can also do it by giving a lot less. The truth is that Emma is just not that good at her job. If she were a good worker, then people would have bought the work. They gave her two consecutive chances and she blew both of them.