User blog:CEDJunior/Tamina Deserves Better

Words cannot express how angry I am that WWE has yet to give Tamina the proper push that she so rightfully deserves, but being one who loves to talk about women's wrestling and the talent involved, I'll certainly try. As bonafide proof that time certainly flies, Tamina has actually been part of WWE's main roster for nearly four years now! FOUR YEARS! It seems like yesterday that she first popped up onto the scene, but it really has been four years. Let's take a look at how her WWE career has gone so far.

It was on the day after Over The Limit in May of 2010 that Tamina debuted with The Usos and suddenly ambushed The Hart Dynasty (then-WWE Tag Team Champions Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith and Natalya), establishing themselves as a villainous trio. I recall being enamored by Tamina from the first time I saw her. Here was a woman with pure exotic beauty and absolute strength in a WWE ring, and even better, she was a villainess! Tamina made her PPV in-ring debut at Fatal 4-Way, when she and The Usos were defeated by The Hart Dynasty. From that point on, Tamina continued serving as a heel valet for the twins, at least until the end of the year. By November/December of 2010, WWE decided to turn Tamina face and portray her as the love interest to Santino Marella.

When Tamina was moved to SmackDown in the 2011 Supplemental Draft, her heel side returned and she was aligned with former Divas Champion Alicia Fox and Rosa Mendes in a feud with Natalya and The Chickbusters (Kaitlyn and AJ) for a number of months on SmackDown and Superstars. Tamina's second heel role came to an end on the final SmackDown of that year, when she turned against Natalya after the duo lost to Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox. After her second face turn, Tamina defeated the evil Natalya in several matches before she was finally pushed to become a contender for the Divas Championship, which was held by Beth Phoenix. The title match took place at the Elimination Chamber PPV, and despite a game effort, Tamina was defeated by the Glamazon. After being in the championship spotlight, however, Tamina was relegated to appearances on Superstars and NXT (both the old and new versions) before suffering an injury that summer.

Tamina returned at Survivor Series and became a villainess once again when she attacked AJ Lee in the ring and became a bodyguard of sorts to Vickie Guererro. From what I recall, Tamina and AJ were supposed to feud for a good while, but that was kiboshed due to Eve Torres leaving WWE. However, the evil Tamina was put back in the title picture, and like the previous year, her shot came at the Elimination Chamber PPV, where she was defeated by Kaitlyn.

Now, before I continue, I have to state that this, in my view, is where Tamina's stock took a hit. I couldn't help but notice one glaring difference between her title matches in the previous two Elimination Chamber PPV, and that difference is how the matches were promoted. Her match against Beth in 2012 was announced on TV and was given a lot of pomp and circumstance. Her match against Kaitlyn in 2013, however, was announced on the WWE App and was passed off as a match made at random for no reason, mainly because it was.

And just when you think it can't get worse for Tamina, it does. It was in October of 2013 that she began her stint as the bodyguard/protector to current Divas Champion AJ Lee. Many compared this to the classic pairing of Shawn Michaels and Diesel, but let's face it, the only thing remotely similar to that pairing is how Tamina dresses. In the case of stock, it's not even close. Not many people know this, but Diesel, the bodyguard, the sidekick, won a world title a full year before HBK did, and had one of the longest world title reigns in the last 25 years. If anything, the AJ/Tamina pairing is more like the one between Roddy Piper and "Cowboy" Bob Orton, with Tamina suffering the losses and AJ getting the big wins. Now, I'm not one to stick the proverbial fork in anyone in wrestling; male or female. But I have seen Tamina get pinned by not one, but BOTH of the Total Divas newbies, Eva Marie and Jo-Jo. That, to me, says Tamina's stock is basically dead.

People keep telling me, "Well, just wait, Tamina's going to turn against AJ, and they'll feud over the title." One person told me that Tamina will get a title push because her movie's coming out this year; the Hercules film with The Rock. I'll believe either scenario when I see it, and to be honest, I don't see it happening. Bottom line, they've had nearly four years to push Tamina and make her the Divas Champion, and they've screwed it up. She has underwent four character turns in her brief career, which is troubling. And even then, they've given her only two title matches. That's not right. As the title states, Tamina deserves better. She is far too talented to be depushed and devalued like this.

I've often said that if I'm Tamina, I would get the hell out of WWE and head to TNA. Can you picture her and Lei'D Tapa together?! That would be so epic! But only time will tell what will happen with Tamina in the near future. The age factor worries me a bit as well. At 36 years of age, Tamina is the second-oldest in-ring Diva in WWE; only 6 1/2 months younger than Layla. But all of that aside, what they're doing to Tamina is a crime. She should be the Divas Champion, not the Divas Champion's plus one.