The wrestling community was abuzz weeks ago when Eva Marie made her in-ring return to the WWE against Naomi. As you may know, Marie was replaced in that match by an unnamed monstrous figure that got an easy win over Naomi. From the very beginning, this angle was met with unneeded pushback with the former Piper Niven (later revealed to be Doudrop) being “sacrificed” according to some reviewers. Looking at it rationally an NXT UK talent being promoted and immediately put into an angle with a buzzworthy name like Eva Marie is anything but a sacrifice, especially since she got a strong win off the bat.
The next advancement of the story was Eva Marie herself naming her new muscle Doudrop. Fans immediately voiced their disdain for the name, with many unhappy with how bad the name itself is. Others were upset over the supposed retconning of Doudrop’s past in the Mae Young Classic and NXT UK. The issue here is that this is the entire point of the name, Eva Marie herself gave the name to Doudrop who was visibly unhappy about it, in fact, the name led to the two having issues. It’s ok to not like the Doudrop name but completely missing the point of it being bad to service the angle seems like intentionally missing the point.
Ever since that naming incident the relationship between Eva Marie and Doudrop has been tense, they aren’t your typical cocky bully and stoic muscle who lets them walk all over them, Doudrop is showing contempt for Marie but ultimately knows she has to go along with it. We don’t yet know why Doudrop follows her instructions which is definitely an issue that they should address. The end goal of this pairing is of course to eventually split the two with Doudrop getting her babyface moment, as someone who has seen NXT call-ups moved up with no clear plan it’s great to see WWE have a clear aim for the former Piper Niven.
We’re not trying to convince anyone that this pairing is the greatest thing going in all of professional wrestling, that would simply not be true. But Raw is generally a terrible, repetitive, aimless show and the relationship between Doudrop and Eva Marie has so far been a logical and inoffensive addition to the show that has brought the former Piper Niven to the main roster with ease. It’s ok to believe that Doudrop is too talented for Marie, and even to wish they had picked a better name than Doudrop, but that was no reason to willingly miss the point of this angle the way the wrestling fandom did.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
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