Welcome to this week’s Main Event Redux! I’m stepping in for Eleri this week as we take in a tag match: Payback victors Naomi and Tamina Snuka take on the “tossed darts at a list of Divas” pairing of Emma and Layla.
Naomi’s husband Jimmy Uso is on commentary, possibly sharing his insight on his wife’s new persona. Interesting! Let’s watch:
We join Emma and Layla mid-entrance, coming face to face with Naomi and Tamina, who are already in the ring. Emma and Naomi start things off as Jimmy talks about supporting his wife in anything and everything. Naomi sends Emma across the ring.
Both Divas square off again, Emma taking control with a side headlock. Naomi takes back control by grabbing a fistful of Emma’s hair and pulling her into a side headlock of her own. Emma shoves Naomi off into the ropes, but is knocked straight down by Naomi on the return. Naomi does a little celebratory dance before running the ropes. She tries to leap over Emma, but is tripped up.
Emma takes down Naomi with a few clotheslines before tossing her into the corner and locking in the DilEmma. When she’s forced to break the hold, she shoves Naomi away and plants her with a dropkick to the chest. She tries to go for a pin, but Naomi rolls away and out of the ring.
Tamina goes to check on Naomi as Emma tags in Layla. The referee, distracted by Naomi and Tamina, doesn’t see this, so the babyface duo then takes out the heels with tandem baseball slides. With the referee again paying attention, Emma tags in Layla.
Layla patiently waits for Naomi to reenter the ring, getting the fans started with a clap chant. Naomi climbs back in and immediately takes control, kicking Layla in the midsection and delivering some rough forearms. She tosses Layla into the corner, kicks her a few times and tags in Tamina.
Tamina whips Layla into the ropes, but her subsequent arm drag is reversed into a pin by Layla. Tamina kicks out and is quick to get back on her feet, but Layla keeps her at bay with a series of kicks. Tamina stops the onslaught with a punch to the stomach and whips Layla into the corner. Layla catches herself and stops Tamina’s charge with a kick, leaping onto the second rope and catapulting herself backwards with a crossbody. She goes for the pin, but Tamina kicks out after the one-count.
Layla tries to whip Tamina into the ropes, but Tamina merely pulls back, hoisting her up onto her shoulders. She takes down Layla with a Samoan drop. Layla rolls – unwisely – right to Naomi’s feet. Tamina pulls her up and sends her into the corner before tagging Naomi back in. Naomi runs the ropes and charges towards the seated Layla, blasting her backwards with a low clothesline. She covers Layla, who kicks out at two.
Naomi captures Layla in a front facelock as the crowd starts to get behind her. Layla, determined to get to her corner, starts to battle back, but when she frees herself and tries to run the ropes, Naomi stops her with a blow to the chest. Naomi catches Layla in a full nelson and plants her down, right on her tailbone. She goes for another pin, this time by simply stepping on Layla. Layla kicks out, but Naomi’s not too concerned. She tags in Tamina.
Tamina hits a body slam on Layla and, satisfied with the damage it did, goes for another. However, Layla slips out of her grip and dives through her legs, valiantly trying to make it to her corner to tag in Emma. Tamina stops her, though, hitting a double axehandle on her back. She drags Layla towards the center of the ring, but Layla kicks her away and tries to regain the ground she lost. Tamina’s back on her, though, and drags her towards her corner, tagging on Naomi.
Layla starts to crawl towards her corner, so Naomi simply takes out her destination, knocking Emma off the ring apron. Naomi grabs hold of Layla as Emma enters the ring, drawing the referee’s attention. Tamina slips into the ring and clocks Layla with a superkick. Naomi claims the spoils, covering Layla just as the referee turns back around. He counts the pin, awarding the victory to Naomi and Tamina.
Naomi and Tamina celebrate their win as Emma checks on Layla. Naomi concurs with her theme music, saying “I’m amazing!”
Thoughts: Some may look at this bout as a simple squash match for Naomi and Tamina, but I took it as a chance to see more of heel Naomi. She’s been pushed out of the Divas Title picture (for now), but what she displayed here tells me that she more than deserves to be there. We saw more of Naomi’s mean streak here, with added roughness and new touches she’s added to her repertoire. She’s only been out of the spotlight for two weeks, but it looks as though she’s really committed to fleshing out her heel persona while on the sidelines. I wish she was one of the Divas wrestling at Money in the Bank on Sunday – at least we’d have a shot at seeing something fresh in the match.
There was also some nice tag team psychology from Naomi and Tamina, taking advantage of Emma and Layla’s lack of familiarity with quick tags and manipulation of the referee. They feel so much more organic than the AJ Lee/Tamina pairing did, though that duo didn’t have as many chances to team up. If they have to be relegated to matches on Main Event, at least they’re looking dominant while doing so.
The pairing of Layla and Emma is odd, even odder when both of these Divas are supposed to be heels. Sure, Emma’s NXT heel turn hasn’t really translated to the main roster, but it’s strange to see her in all her heel glory on Wednesday, only to play perfectly nice in this match. Layla’s heel/face status is less of a concern, since this is only her second match back, but it speaks to the lack of effort being put into the Divas division as a whole: when the heel/face roles are so fluid, the division doesn’t feel real. It makes it seem as though the Divas are character-less wrestlers you can toss into any situation to fill a one-off role. It doesn’t lend any suspense or excitement. It smacks of short-term thinking, which itself is somewhere at the top of the list of the division’s problems.
Sure, I’m probably overthinking the booking of a match on Main Event, but when the only look we have at Divas outside the Divas Title picture is in situations like these, I can’t help but look deeply at it. If NXT can have four Diva segments in an hour, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the main roster to have some character depth beyond two or three Divas. Is it?
