What We Miss About The Show (& Things We’re Glad Are Gone)

Total Divas became one of WWE’s most unexpected success stores to receive an astonishing nine seasons on the E! Network. Fans got a new look into the backstage elements of professional wrestling. The names from the women’s division to get spots on the cast had cameras following them on off days.

Many new fans were made since the show appealed to a different audience than WWE wrestling shows did. Names like Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Paige, Naomi, Natalya, and others became bigger stars by proxy. The following aspects of Total Divas are the positive things fans miss most and negative things that fans are glad are gone.

Miss: Bella Twins Entertainment

Nikki & Brie Led The Show To Major Success

• Returned To WWE After Release To Lead Total Divas Cast
• Became Faces Of The Series To Gain Many New Fans
• Received Their Own Spinoff Series About Their Family

WWE brought the Bella Twins back to the company to be part of the original cast of Total Divas to lead the show. Nikki dating John Cena, and Brie dating Daniel Bryan made it a more appealing sell to have two power couples leading the show bringing in viewers.

The show’s popularity led to the Bellas becoming the biggest stars on the show and even getting their own spinoff reality series. Any fans of Total Divas likely miss Nikki and Brie most since they were the MVPs of the show.

Don’t Miss: Fake Hatred Between Members

Scripting Reality Shows Create Awkward Moments

• Reality Shows Often Script Drama For Entertainment
• Total Divas Had Friends Pretending To Be Enemies
• Became Too Silly Creating Over The Top Issues

The evolution of reality television has led to fans knowing a large percentage of shows have scripted elements to make it more entertaining. Total Divas clearly did that by creating fake hatred between cast members to sell the drama.

One of the tackiest ideas featured Summer Rae flirting with Daniel Bryan to become hated by Brie. Natalya having issues with Summer, Lana, and a few other women also felt forced since she was known for getting along with everyone and providing help in real life.

Miss: Learning About Wrestlers’ Days Off

Provided Some Real Moments Off Screen

• Fans Got To Learn About Life For Wrestlers Outside Ring
• Cameras Filming Real Dates Provided Cute Moments
• Relatives Were Introduced If Cast Spent Time With Them

The WWE schedule is less intense today, but it used to require at least four days most weeks of traveling and competing in different cities. Total Divas showed the days off for women in WWE and how they spent it.

Many episodes featured the ladies having time at home with their families or going on adventures to make the most out of it. Renee Young and Jon Moxley going on dates or Natalya having dinner with Bret Hart were some fun scenes on off days.

Don’t Miss: Intentionally Cringe Storylines

Made Some Of Their Talents Look Bad

• Embracing Cringe Storylines Fell A Bit Too Outlandish
• Made Tyson Kidd Look Like Horrible Partner To Natalya
• Cameron’s Rapping Made Daniel Bryan Cringe With Fans

There were some rare moments of Total Divas trying to create the classic cringe reality television moments. Summer Rae randomly showing up to Natalya’s actual home to slap her in the face still stands out as one of those moments.

Cameron’s rap career failed to get going after some terrible scenes of her trying to perform and leaving talents like Daniel Bryan speechless in the wrong context. Tyson Kidd being an emotionally abusive partner and not respecting Natalya was another cringy scenario that backfired.

Miss: Natalya’s Mentorship Moments

Showed The Real Side Of Natalya As A Leader

• Natalya Got To Share Her Real Mentorship Helping Others
• Most WWE Women Have Great Relationship With Natalya
• Became Respected Leader In WWE For Good Reason

Natalya is already one of the longest-tenured on-screen performers in WWE today and that is likely to continue going for many years. No other woman has had the reputation of Natalya for being selfless and offering help to every new talent.

Total Divas gave us a glimpse into that when Natalya helped train Lana on their off days when she made a move from managing to the ring. A lot of the group trips or episodes with everyone together often featured the other ladies celebrating Nattie most.

Don’t Miss: Seeing Unlikable Non-Wrestlers

Not Everyone Clicked As A Side Character

• Non-Wrestler Partners Of Cast Members Didn’t Always Work
• Some Side Characters Hurt The Overall Series By Not Fitting In
• Bella Twins’ Brother Became Among Most Hated Side Characters

Total Divas filming the talents in real life meant that people outside of wrestling became part of the show. Unfortunately, not everyone provided the same entertainment as Natalya’s parents or a few other positive additions.

More names became negative parts of the show lacking entertainment or likability. Eva Marie, Paige, and Cameron all had partners that made the show less appealing. The Bella Twins’ brother JJ is another one that annoyed fans of the show to not fit in ideally.

Miss: Real-Life Relationships Detailed

The Reality Was The Best Part

• Fans Enjoyed Seeing Genuine Moments Of Love For Couples
• Naomi Becoming A Stepmother Provided Real Touching Story
• Total Divas Benefited More From True Unscripted Moments

The best Total Divas moments were genuine and heartfelt memories from the real-life relationships. Fans got to see small snippets of the actual proposal and wedding of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella to become more invested in their journey.

Naomi’s real-life battle of becoming a stepmother to Jimmy Uso’s kid provided a glimpse into a real situation many enter in real life. Even though a lot of episodes featured scripted moments, the series had enough heart from the real moments to capture fans’ hearts.

Don’t Miss: Editing Out Talents That Were Not Part Of The Cast

Rewriting History By Not Mentioning Certain Names

• Ignored Talents Not On Cast To Change History
• Tried To Hide Four Horsewomen’s Impact On Division
• Blurred Out Faces In Scenes If They Didn’t Sign Contract

WWE witnessed drastic changes coming with the women’s evolution changing the division forever. None of the four horsewomen from NXT to get called up and play the biggest role were on Total Divas, so the show often pretended the cast members led that movement.

Fans often clashed over this online since the Total Divas cast and NXT call-ups became viewed as polar opposites. Other negatives to involve non-cast members featured backstage scenes with faces blurred out if the wrestlers didn’t sign the paperwork.

Fans Got To See Backstage Life In WWE

• Series Provided Rare Camera Moments Filming Backstage
• Fans Got Access Like Never Before For Interesting Moments
• A New Series Detailing Backstage Moments Could Thrive

Curiosity was the biggest selling point of Total Divas since they had the ability to show things never before seen in WWE. Backstage cameras showed the area and what wrestlers do before, during and after shows with many cool little Easter eggs.

The brand split draft was covered in an episode that provided real scenes of talents seated together finding out their futures for the first time. WWE fans got to see many layers of wrestlers’ lives during a live television event.

Don’t Miss: Pushing Bad Wrestlers For The Show

The Eva Marie Push Never Worked Out

• Names Not Ready Got Pushes For Involvement On Show
• Eva Marie Had Multiple Failed Pushes Tied To Her Role
• Women’s Division Improving Made It Harder For New Talents

WWE tried to use Total Divas as a tool to push certain new talents that didn’t have the experience or fan support to warrant it. Cameron received a push with Naomi, but she clearly wasn’t ready to have live matches at the time.

Eva Marie was the worst instance to have multiple pushes coming due to her involvement on the show and WWE viewing her as a future top star. Lana’s move to the in-ring performer side was another failed project that received extra chances due to the reality series involvement.