Naomi just started the next boom period in WWE

[Francis White]

I have heard it all. Naomi is not in EST league.
Stronger

better finisher

Swag and personality on infinite

This is the future of the division

 

[Novembruh]

Naomi is a better wrestler than Bianca right now

But... she's not though.
Bianca Belair as a complete professional wrestler right now, in the ring, bell-to-bell, is better than Naomi right now, and it wouldn't actually be very close, either.

Naomi could not get put in WarGames randomly at TakeOver Portland and have that shyt lit. She couldn't be asked to go out there and run a 1-on-1 with Shayna and have it be a compelling match; because Naomi's best attribute is her athleticism, and she doesn't actually have a lot of spots in her repertoire that utilize that. And... unfortunately, having your calling-card be 'athletic shyt' in a competition against Bianca is about as useful as having sunglass frames with no lenses; Bianca washes Naomi in athleticism, and the athletic shyt isn't even Bianca's best shyt. It's the strength spots that are Bianca's... well. Strength. Girl legit skrong. Like, did better than a lot of male talent in the NXT Combine skrong.

It's unfortunate. Naomi wasn't afforded the luxury of the developmental system, where they're taught psychology, and timing, and the underlying rhythm of a match and why you should avoid certain things and how to tell a story. And she's done great coming from an untrained cheerleader turned dancer for Brodus c00n to a Smackdown Women's champion... but she's an observably worse wrestler than Bianca is already. Which isn't a slight against her - Bianca's just an abnormality. Girl is way too good for how little training she's had. It's not Angle levels, but it's the next stage down of freakish adaptability.

That being said... yeah, no, cuh. Bianca Belair could be put in a match tomorrow and Naomi put in one tomorrow, no build, but a match built to their strengths and Bianca's is washing Naomi's. That doesn't mean don't cheer for Naomi. nikkas out here cheering for Kairi knowing there's literally zero things on earth that Io doesn't do better - Io's breathing is probably more fukking melodic. Doesn't mean Kairi can't be cool. Cheer for Kairi. But when Io walk in the ring and they opposite sides, it's time to hit that pivot. Same thing with Naomi and Bianca. Trinity excellent. But Bianca nurtured correctly is a generational women's wrestling talent. Like, so good I'm sad she's in the E, because if she went on excursion and learned in Mexico, Japan and Europe and took from those styles? That's GOAT Female Wrestler foundations right there.

I think we can all agree though, Naomi > Lana, Liv, Lacey... damn these blond hos got a lot of L names. And it's a shame that Naomi is better than those three, and still, a substantial portion of WWE's TV time each week has been involving those three women and not because they have the talent to justify it.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

I’m trying to see what the problem is in giving both of them props.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

where these people been though? naomi literally been on TV for a decade.

People had already tuned out from wrestling in droves by then. I have younger cousins that turned away from wrestling in 2006 and they’re really just familiar with people due to Total Divas. They basically know Roman Reigns and the USO’s, cause they like how they look there’s major demographics that aren’t being tended to in wrestling, and Naomi, Sasha, and Bianca make up one of those

 

[Cartier Murphy]

I’m trying to see what the problem is in giving both of them props.

You know how this internet shyt goes breh it’s not possible to big up them both for being good in different ways, one’s gotta be worse than the other

 

[Francis White]

I’m trying to see what the problem is in giving both of them props.

There is no problem. Naomi is a HOF candidate. EST is a game changer.

 

[AStrangeName]

A lot of people on one of those majority white wrestling forums are playing dumb. Saw someone say they don’t see how Naomi or Sasha have crossover appeal.

You’d think they’d want more fans to come in so the industry can thrive.

They don't want those kind of fans
They want fans who think like them, not oppose them

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Why are y'all pitting Naomi vs. Bianca when both are better than every generic blonde on the roster. There's room for both of them to shine.

 

[julesocean]

Why are y'all pitting Naomi vs. Bianca when both are better than every generic blonde on the roster. There's room for both of them to shine.

This is wrestling, we want the best to fight the best.

 

[julesocean]

"I have practically made a team with everyone. My ideal partner would be Bianca Belair, she is really nice and I think it's phenomenal. He is strong, athletic and has all the qualities, and I feel that our characters would fit very well together. Another partner would be Ember Moon, a great athlete who we have not really seen everything she can do. Is incredible. I would love to form a team with someone I can fit in and can relate to, and those two are definitely the right people."

Stable with Ember? She has no swagger though fukk It Team BAD 2.0

 

[Playaz Eyez]

Based on that, it would be an obvious team with Bianca.

So they’ll team her with Nattie just because it Charlotte to siphon Naomi’s cheers

 

[Novembruh]

so like.. fantasy booking warning.

Spoiler

If they have the Sasha/Bayley breakup lead to Sasha basically doing the BAD 2.0 look, shyt would be flames. You can't be the Boss if there's no one working under you, right? What better way to use Sasha, especially if she took the belt off Bayley, than to have her set herself up with some minibosses you gotta get through to get to her? Vince loves hi champions not doing heavy defenses, so... let Sasha link up with Bianca on some 'I saw her talent, her attitude, I respected it' shyt, and set her up where you gotta get through Bianca to get to Sasha. Then bring Naomi into the fold. You got two melaninated women standing between Sasha and whatever bottle-blond trying to get the title off her, and you can build the eventual challenger having people bounce off either Bianca or Naomi, until that one rises through to run that with Sasha.

Have them lose

Then, it being the E... eventually, you have dissension in the ranks, and then they can do their 'everyone colored works together' booking they love so much but have it around the title. Then you have a Friday night show built around a bunch of brown-skinned women lining each other up for fades, and they can capitalize off of this new audience they have here from the viral fro stuff.

It's WWE, so no way they devote TV time to multiple women of color chasing a conceivably top-prize... but I mean. If they ever were, this would be the angle to use, I'd say not to toot my own horn. Plus, having Bianca be the Diesel to Sasha's HBK before turning on her and powering out of the crossface to throw Sasha at the ground a bunch...

Besides, they can use that hotshot publicity shyt they love so much with this. If they can push it to the right media outlets that they're going forward with a black female stable of actually good workers, it won't matter if they're relegated to preshow status, it'll still make the rounds and it'll still be worth it - moreso because they'd get time to work instead of getting 4 minute spots because Lashley/Lana/Rusev gonna go 15.

The fact that this company is incapable of capitalizing on an audience that will fukk with them if they can just allow people with melanin to watch people with melanin win in anything, pre-determined or not, is fukking baffling. nikkas don't care if the fight is rigged or not if they know they can tune in week after week and see someone our color being victorious and treated as important. nikkas know Wakanda isn't a real place. Didn't stop us from loving the shyt because it showed success from someone who looked like us. It is fukking there, all they have to do is get out of their own way. Our folk are the last fukking bastion of audience for this shyt that aren't straight-up analytics-neckbeard types. It just takes making a fukking investment in it. Let us see our own succeed in something with some storyline to it instead of every NFL/NBA game where we out here making up storylines in our heads about how X don't like Y or Z tryna come for the record of W. It's the fukking simple secret. Power is trash now. Empire has been trash since episode 2. Both do/did numbers because it at least showed successful dark-skinned people on television with characters and motivations and at least second-draft-level dialogue attention.

It's a slow pitch for pro-wrestling. Like, NJPW could start their US division and just fill it with ACHs and AR Foxes and just go straight black and I guarantee it'd pull a bigger foothold than their last attempt. It's a gap in the market no one is seeing because we're the negative space. It's evident by how immediately folk got behind Keith Lee and even Dream knowing he's running a not-Harlem-adjacent gimmick.

The thread title was hyperbole, but there really is a boom left for North American pro-wrestling, and that they haven't figured out it's black people is ridiculous. DJ Vlad interviews are the worst version of 1999 WCW freestyle promos, most of rap these days is nikkas running promo-heavy feuds without ever getting to the ring, and what's a title belt but a bussdown chain for the waist instead of the neck? Someone... Cody, Vince, Hunter, shyt... Sinclair. Get out your own way and take the paved road in front of you. Let nikkas see a Lashley, a Swerve, a Willie Mack succeed and cut a victory promo speaking like we really do, and cutting that victory promo from that same mental place every nikka get into when he got his tax refund check and nobody else on the block even filed yet... shyt'll go off. It's battle rap with a choreographed hands-throwing portion. Smack making bank, this should easily clear money. Get out your own way, people.

(PS This hybrid hitting tonight, cuh. 2 blunts in and I'm ready to pull up a word document and start booking an all-black wrestling territory. HWT, Women, Trio and TV divisions; errything. Soundcloud producers would be eating off my Fed, cuh. Mafukkas would have themes that hit different with the sub )

 

[Playaz Eyez]

A good initial discussion with this tweet, then there’s a couple nerds getting their “well actually” on

 

[SpacelySprockets]

A good initial discussion with this tweet, then there’s a couple nerds getting their “well actually” on

100% spot on, I hate to be a nitpicker but I dont like how his follow up tweet he specifically points out how non wrestling fan WOC and queers could have told you naomi was a star as if straight black males couldnt have done the same, nikkas on the coli BEEN begging for naomi/bianca/sasha to get a real chance

but yeah other than that I agree

 

[Flex Luger]

I love both of them