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WWE: Alexa Bliss Isn’t Just The Mean Girl Playing Dress-Up

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Raw Women’s Division was shaken to its core by the addition of Alexa Bliss during the “Superstar Shakeup”, and the self-proclaimed “Goddess” of the WWE has been the division’s biggest star since. Despite this, some fans still don’t buy into her as an in-ring worker, but do those criticisms actually hold up?

Alexa Bliss has always been held in high regard by the WWE, as she was immediately deemed an important character after being drafted to SmackDown Live in the original brand split. After feuding with Becky Lynch, she quickly won the SmackDown Women’s Championship at TLC. Bliss would have a second, space-holding reign due to Naomi’s injury prior to WrestleMania 33, but it wouldn’t be long before Bliss tasted gold again by defeating Bayley for the Raw Women’s Championship at Payback.

That championship win at Payback made Bliss the first woman to win the main titles on both brands, and it entrenched her as one of the biggest stars in the company. Ever since Bliss made it to the main roster, she captivated audiences with her quick barbs, perfect facial expressions, and over-the-top antics. She once spray-painted Becky Lynch nWo-style, she used her double-jointedness to fool the crowd, and she would do everything possible to manipulate Daniel Bryan so that she wouldn’t have to defend her title.

In every sense, Bliss is the cowardly champion we love to hate. Bliss takes shortcuts, she belittles heels, and she isn’t portrayed as being on the same level as the other wrestlers. Because she isn’t as strong or athletic as Becky Lynch or as good at wrestling as Sasha Banks or Bayley, she has to cut corners (or win by fluke) to achieve glory.

Yet even though the fans are supposed to hate her, they can’t help but feel a great deal of respect for Bliss. Her journey to the WWE has been documented, and it’s an inspiring story. But more importantly, Bliss has earned the respect of the audience by selling her fights through her promo work and by being a unique, compelling character.

Her list of merchandise is extensive, well-liked, and aesthetically pleasing, and the fact that it carries the Harley Quinn theme doesn’t hurt. Using a Hollywood-inspired look can be a bit risky, since it could be seen as unoriginal, but Bliss makes it work by making it her own due to her authenticity as a character. WWE is all about character work (I’m sure you’ve heard that before), and few wrestlers remain as true to their identity as Bliss does. She’s a stuck-up, no-good, cheating brat with a big mouth, but, well, that’s why we love her.

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The issue with playing this particular character so well is that some fans begin to conflate “not portrayed as a good wrestler” to “flat-out terrible wrestler”.

Now, I’ll make it perfectly clear that Bliss is not a standout technical wrestler like Paige, Asuka, or any of the Four Horsewomen, but she doesn’t have to be. More to the point, while she isn’t a brilliant technical wrestler, she is a great worker whose improvements haven’t been highlighted nearly enough.

Bliss herself said this in an excellent interview with Bleacher Report’s Ryan Dilbert:

"“I’m still working on my in-ring ability. I know I’m not the best in [the] ring. I try to get better with every match. I go to the [WWE Performance Center] and try to refresh my skills and learn new ones and bring that into my matches.”"

So Bliss knows that she still has work to do, and that can be said for anyone who has only spent a little over a year on the WWE main roster.

That said, she’s come a long way. Let’s start with her match with Becky Lynch at TLC in 2016, which was a “Tables” match. The most important thing with gimmick matches, such as a “Tables” match or a “Ladders” match, is that the psychology revolves around the stipulation. And this match made sure to put the “Tables” front and center.

There was so much suspense built in this match, and the fans absolutely hated it when Lynch flukily went through the table. When a heel, who is portrayed as the inferior of the two in the ring, wins, you should feel upset at the finish as a fan. Additionally, this TLC match had some great spots, such as Bliss biting Lynch’s hand and hitting a nasty DDT onto the table. This match was low-key brutal, and it was a great first-step for Bliss.

In between that TLC match and Bliss’s move to Raw, most of her matches were ho-hum. She didn’t have the best chemistry with Naomi, and while her matches included moments of brilliants that are typical of an innovative wrestler, they were clunky and ineffective.

But Bliss had perhaps the best match of her career (to that point) at Payback when she won the title from Bayley.

She would top this effort at Great Balls of Fire against Sasha Banks before another unsatisfying finish, as Bliss would get herself counted out to avoid dropping the title.

“Five Feet of Fury” bested this match again at TLC 2017 against Mickie James, working as a more traditional heel by telling the story of working James’s arm. Just a month later, Bliss had a marquee champion vs. champion match against Charlotte at Survivor Series, and she exceeded expectations in every sense. The match was intriguing, layered, and was, in some ways, an “I have arrived” match from her.

Throughout Bliss’s time on Raw in 2017, Bliss has made noticeable progress from month-to-month. Her matches are increasingly crisper, and they still contain her trademark heel tactics and general brattiness. While she could still afford to make strides, there were some clunky spots in her Survivor Series match with Charlotte Flair, the fact that she has been able to hold her own against the best of the best is a telling sign that she is here to stay.

It can be difficult to separate “heat” from legitimate gripes, but it’s clear to me that a lot of the criticisms against Bliss are directed at her style of wrestling. Which is good. Because she’s supposed to be the heel who slows down matches, cheats to win, takes advantage of the turnbuckle to set up the DDT as a finisher, and works limbs.

Bliss occasionally sprinkles her old high-flying move-set, but she doesn’t need to showcase her athleticism to appease the crowd. You know why? She isn’t here to appease the crowd. She ‘s here to get babyfaces over and, in kayfabe, to win. And if you have any doubts about Bliss’s ability to work as a methodical heel, please read this very thorough match-by-match breakdown of her work by Fightful’s Joe Hulbert.

I could sit here and talk about how great Bliss’s promos, facials, and general demeanor are, but I don’t need to gush about details that are obvious. What disheartens me, though, is the fact that fans get worked by the comments babyfaces make, or simply can’t fathom the fact that old-school heel wrestling is effective. 

Charlotte Flair once tweeted that Alexa Bliss is a little girl playing “dress up”. Sasha Banks once called Bliss a “Hollywood act” and fake” on an episode of Raw Talk after Great Balls of Fire.

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Those are both appropriate criticisms of Bliss’s characters, and they are exactly the type of things a babyface should say when going up against Bliss. Because Bliss is such a dominant presence when she speaks and is capable of cutting down any babyface, the faces need all the ammo they can get their hands on. It’s just a shame that some fans (and even more irresponsible writers who should know better) decided to take this as legitimate “heat” on Bliss.

Then again, the fact that Bliss can get fans to think that the “heat” is real is a testament to her ability to be a perfect antagonist. In the era where heels are a little too cool, someone like Bliss who can attract merch sales while still also being a jerk who gets the crowd to hate on her is a rarity. Just don’t let her style of wrestling and the intensity of the back-and-forth exchanges she has with other superstars fool you. Bliss has arrived, and she isn’t a girl playing “dress up”.

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She’s legitimately one of the most talented performers on the roster both on the mic and in the ring, especially if you understand that there’s more to being a great worker than being a great technical wrestler. And once she starts getting even more confident and polishing more of the small details in the Performance Center, maybe more people will appreciate the fact that she’s more than just the cool mean girl who makes funny faces at people.

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