WWE has finally figured out how to utilizie Eva Marie

Credit: WWE.com

Eva Marie was met with universal criticism from wrestling fans when she initially arrived on the WWE scene in the summer of 2013 with little to no experience in the squared circle. It didn't take long for her to rub wrestling fans the wrong way with her infamously cringe-worthy performance on “Miz TV,” and from there she became the most despised woman on the roster.

And no, she was never eliciting the right type of heat, either. It was more along the lines of channel-changing heat due to how awful she was not only in the ring but on the mic as well. But hey, she was extremely attractive and obviously had that going for her, because if she didn't, there's a decent chance she wouldn't have lasted as long as she has.

In 2015, Eva Marie took it upon herself to finally improve her wrestling ability, and even the smallest stride would be a step forward. After a few months of training with former WWE Tag Team champion (The) Brian Kendrick, Mrs. All Red Everything eventually resurfaced on NXT, where she went undefeated in singles competition.

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Was she on the same level as the rest

of the women on the roster at that time? Not even close, but she was infinitely better than she was the last time she competed. Her NXT Women's Championship match against Bayley in December wasn't half-bad, and her alliance with Nia Jax was beneficial to her slow and steady progress as well, but it wasn't until just recently that WWE finally figured out how to properly utilize her on the main roster.

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Eva Marie largely disappeared from TV following her one-off match at WrestleMania 32 where she and the rest of the Total Divas cast won a multi-woman tag team match. But the Brand Extension was the best thing that could have happened to her.

WWE has a rather strong women's division, but it was apparent they needed all the talent they could get when they split the division in half for Raw and SmackDown Live. The fiery redhead was sent packing to the blue brand and wasted no time in making her presence felt on the first episode of the show of the New Era.

Every woman on the SmackDown roster came out to make a statement, yet it was Eva Marie who had everyone buzzing on social media by the end of the evening. The over-the-top narration of her elaborate entrance was so ridiculous that it actually worked wonderfully, and WWE was wise to accentuate her biggest strength: her gorgeous looks.

She once again played that part to perfection the next week when she was about to wrestle her premier match for SmackDown versus Becky Lynch, but cited a feigned knee injury as her reason for having to back out of the bout.

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That caused the hashtag #PrayForEva to gain traction on Twitter, and before she could compete against The Irish Last kicker on this past Tuesday's episode, she suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

If you couldn't already tell, yes, the idea is to delay Eva's debut match for as long as possible, and WWE is going about it brilliantly. You know the common cliché “looks aren't everything”? Well, they are for Eva, because that is really the only thing that allows her to stand out from the rest of the roster.

Additionally, she has seemingly come a long way on the mic in such a short span of time as well. In that aforementioned “Miz TV” segment, she came across as wooden on the stick with zero personality.

Granted, she is nowhere closing to be as great as Paul Heyman on the microphone and likely never will be, but at least check out how convincing she sounds in the above SmackDown Fallout video. If she can keep her lines (as well as her matches) short, sweet and to the point, she will be golden... or red, I suppose.

Credit: WWE.com

Needless to say, Eva is still a less-than-stellar wrestler, and having her do anything but compete is a stroke of genius. It isn't going to last forever, but when she does inevitably wrestle a match (or attempt to), she has an exceptional dance partner in Becky Lynch.

I am sure they won't be contesting classics anytime soon, but there is no one who is more capable of getting a good match out of Eva on SmackDown than the Lass kicker.

I have always argued that Eva's place is not in the ring. It might be harsh, but when your progress isn't coming along as quickly as it should be in three years, there comes a point where you have to cut bait and move on.

Apparently, WWE officials remain high on Marie and are adamant about not giving up on her. Whether that means she will be crowned SmackDown's inaugural women's champion remains to be seen (I'd hope not), but either way, she is just barely scratching the surface of what she can accomplish character-wise.

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Edited by Staff Editor
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