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#8 – Summer Rae
Summer Rae is a natural athlete that, although she doesn’t have a ton of experience in professional wrestling, has adapted incredibly fast. It’s actually really hard to believe she’s only been an in-ring competitor for a little over one year. I’m not saying Summer is the next Trish Stratus, but she seems to be a quick learner that is open to doing lots of different roles. That’s landed her gigs like the FCW general manager, an NXT ring announcer, a member of the NXT “Best Friends” group, Fandango’s dance partner, and now… well now she’s a wrestler.
Currently Summer presents a natural challenge to Charlotte and the NXT Women’s Championship. She’s also involved in one of THREE active Diva feuds on the main roster. Making it to PPV is a big deal. Making it to PPV when there’s already a Divas title match booked, and you’re not in it – next to impossible.
#7 – Brie Bella / Nikki Bella
I do realize they are individual people, and not conjoined twins, but there really hasn’t been enough movement out of either of them recently to merit individual placement on the list. I needed the extra space, so they got bundled together; think of it as a 2-for-1 special.
I’m actually a Bella Twin fan, which is funny because I definitely wasn’t during their first run. In dating Bryan and Cena, I believe both have become much more confident, and obviously they’ve each improved in the ring. Nikki has come a long way, but I think Brie just edges her out as a wrestler. I’m not sure one has a promo advantage over the other, but neither are bad, and again they’ve both grown a lot in the year they’ve been back in WWE.
Recently we’ve been reporting that Brie is likely to face Stephanie McMahon at SummerSlam. That match makes a lot of sense – except for Steph not being an in-ring competitor. I have a feeling it ends up mostly like the Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon match, where Brie will get her shots in and the babyfaces will end up with a feel-good moment that the fans can dig into. But still, it’s nice to see a Diva get that kind of spotlight with the company, and at such a high profile PPV. Of course, none of this has actually happened yet, so…
