Sorry for the melodramatic title.

It's been a couple of days since the Diva Draft that reorganized the women's division in all three brands.  I wanted to toss out my thoughts on the Draft.

It seems to me Mickie James is the reason all of this even happened.  Without speculating too much on developments going on backstage between Mickie and her WWE superiors, enough rumors, stories and evidence on television exist that Mickie and WWE weren't seeing eye to eye.  The factors, rumors say, involve her performance in the ring, her supposed weight gain, both or perhaps neither. 

Regardless, prevailing wisdom at the moment indicates that Mickie James was stripped of the Divas Title, jobbed out unceremoniously to an unranked contender (no offense Jillian, but you haven't won a match in maybe years) like she was Barry Horowitz, and then literally replaced with Melina on RAW.

Melina came in like Hulk Hogan and claimed the Divas Title the way Hogan took the WWF title from Yokozuna after Bret Hart lost it at WrestleMania IX.  It's a great attagirl for Melina, who becomes the third Diva to win both the Women's and Divas Championships, and is instantly re-established as the queen bee on RAW.

As for Mickie, she was then drafted (banished?) to Smackdown to, again rumors say, "send her a message".  (Never mind my personal umbrage at using a draft to Smackdown as a "punishment" instead of being seen as a lateral move.  Smackdown is only the best wrestling program WWE has.  But that's another gripe for another time.)

If the Diva trade between Smackdown and RAW were limited to Mickie James for Melina, or Mickie James and Beth Phoenix for Melina, that would have been enough.  Instead, seven Divas were traded between the brands, shaking up the entire women's division. 

On one hand, it's been such a long time since anything interesting was done with the Divas of WWE that this seems like a blockbuster move for the women's division. (Although The Fink claimed it's "not a blockbuster in any sense of the word" on his blog. I took him to task for that in the comments. This perhaps underscores WWE management's general feeling about the Divas, that they're a second rate sideshow and not a serious component of the company.  Although promoted and supported properly, they'd be as viable, if not moreso, than the TNA Knockouts.  But that's yet another gripe for another time.)

The interesting elements of having so many Divas on new brands aside - and there definitely are compelling aspects to the trades - looking over the new rosters, one can't help but wonder how the trade would benefit certain Divas.

Mainly, I wonder about Eve Torres.  Eve is the Maryse of 2009 - a Smackdown Diva who was given time and opportunity to develop as a wrestler and made some noticable gains in a few short months.  Eve grew as an in-ring performer quickly by getting to work with Natalya and Michelle McCool.  She added impressive moves to her arsenal like a flipping senton and a moonsault.  But even with her rapid improvement, there is still a long, long way to go.  

Now Eve finds herself on RAW prematurely, in an environment where the evidence shows the Divas wrestling and becoming the best workers they can be is not the priority. 

Maryse is a good example.  On Smackdown, Maryse was a fighter, someone who instigated confrontations, went toe to toe with Beth Phoenix, and nearly upset her as the sole remaining member of her team at Survivor Series 2008.  Moved to RAW as Divas Champion, RAW Creative booked Maryse as a perpetually posing, preening, ineffectual coward who couldn't back up what she said.  RAW Creative didn't understand, or worse care, what Maryse's character was, as long as she looked hot.  The fear is the same lack of interest might happen to Eve.

If Eve had remained on Smackdown as a babyface, she would have had the chance to face and further learn from Natalya, McCool, and would have benefitted greatly from getting in the ring against Mickie James and Beth Phoenix.  Instead, on RAW, she finds herself as a babyface on a roster that also has Melina, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, and the Bellas as faces.  Who does Eve get to wrestle on the heel side?  Currently, Alicia Fox, Jillian, and Maryse when she returns from the DL, two of whom are still novices who have as much to learn as Eve, and one who's mainly a comedy act. 

Still, WWE sees Eve on RAW as a promotion for her.  And it one sense it is: RAW is the flagship of WWE, the most important and prestigious TV element, and would increase Eve's star in the company.  But if she wants to be a real wrestler, and Eve has indicated she does, RAW isn't really the place for her to learn, grow, and better herself as a worker in the ring.  Nor is RAW Creative likely to give her the support she needs on the booking side.  But we'll see, I suppose.

Bottom line, and this is likely WWE's thinking, RAW just enchanced their Diva eye candy to the Nth degree by adding Eve and the Bellas to a roster lead by Melina on the babyface side and Maryse on the heel side, with K2 and A. Fox in supporting roles. 

The Bellas are back on RAW, too.  They mainly exist in WWE because they're hot and there's two of them.  If WWE wanted to, they could pair the Bellas with their good friend in real life, Maryse, to be a heel faction (sort of like a female Legacy with the Bellas as Maryse's lackeys and cannon fodder).  But they likely won't as the Bellas are too valuable as spokesmodel sex bombs for the RAW guest host du jour.  Wrestling is not the priority on RAW, especially not where Divas are concerned.

Smackdown scored big time by drafting Beth Phoenix, whose star was dimmed in the last year after being built as the most indomitable Diva monster ever, and Mickie James, who remains as talented and popular as she ever was.  Phoenix and McCool have been kept apart for years, outside of the rare champion vs. champion match, and there is potential here for Beth to become a monster babyface on Smackdown.  Audiences are more likely to embrace Beth as a hero than rally behind McCool, who they've been generally indifferent to at best whether as a face or a heel.

Where this leaves Mickie James isn't clear, but Mickie and McCool is also something new and interesting.  As is Natalya vs. Beth or Natalya vs. Mickie.  Even the quickly improving Layla would be interesting against the newest Smackdown Divas.  Either way, the best Diva matches WWE will present for the forseeable future will continue to be on Smackdown. 

Where all of this leaves poor Maria, single again after getting Dolphed by Ziggler, or poor Katie Lea Burchill, perpetually lost and forgotten in the weeds of ECW, is anyone's guess.