As of late, we here at Diva Dirt have witnessed a bit of a tide turning against Divas Champion Maryse. That’s not to say fans have become hostile or spiteful, but (with the exception of a well-received turn at the commentary table this week on Raw) fans aren’t loving Maryse as much as they used to.
I feel that with this, like most other investigations, it is best to start from the beginning. While on SmackDown, Maryse went from lowly Diva Search reject to Divas Champ, all the while picking up fans and changing steadfast negative opinions to ones far more in her favor. Wrestling skills and ring presence seemed to spring from nowhere, and she quickly ascended to become one of SmackDown’s top Divas. Her heel character, cocky and arrogant, seemed to capture people’s attention and display plenty of charisma, despite the apparent language barrier. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny that the difference between the beginning and end of her SmackDown tenure is like night and day. Don’t believe me? Check out this clip, back from when Maryse’s top skills including saying “welcome back to SmackDown” and blowing air kisses:
Granted, those vignettes, which aired throughout 2007, didn’t give her much of a chance to show her worth, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t write her off right then and there. I mean, who needs another blonde chick who can’t do more than lie around in skimpy clothing? Which is why, when Maryse started wrestling in early 2008, I was quite shocked to see at what level of skill she was. No, she wasn’t the next Wendi Richter by any means, but in comparison to someone like Maria, who had many more years in the company (and seems to be metaphorically pedaling away on a stationary bike), Maryse was improving at light speed. She showed a comfort level in the ring that you can’t fake. So it came to be, with less than a year of experience of wrestling on television, Maryse won her first WWE title: