WWE: Natalya is the perfect post-WrestleMania feud for Ronda Rousey

With the spectacle of her WrestleMania tag team match now a memory, the still green Rousey gets to work opposite one of the best wrestlers in the company.

Going into WrestleMania 34, nobody knew what to expect from Ronda Rousey in the ring. Sure she was a great athlete, but that doesn’t always translate to competence in the squared circle. Rousey quickly assuaged those concerns, as she proved to be a natural in the ring. The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion looked surprisingly smooth in her debut match at WrestleMania, as she resembled the woman that dominated the UFC not that long ago. Now that the pageantry of that bout has come and gone, it’s time for Rousey to prove herself again in a full-fledged feud. The newly minted RAW Superstar Natalya might just the person to help her.

When “The Queen of Hearts” moved over to RAW dung the Superstar Shakeup last Monday, WWE wasted no time establishing her relationship with Rousey (Natalya helped train Rousey earlier this year). The bookers further cemented their ties later in the evening when Rousey fended off Absolution (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville), who attacked Natalya after she forced Rose to submit to the Sharpshooter.  Natalya appears to be a babyface for now, but I expect her to turn on Rousey sooner rather than later to spark a rivalry. If the writers book it right, it may be the best thing for Rousey’s in-ring development.

Rousey is in good hands.

The most obvious benefit to this feud would be Natalya’s exceptional skills between the ropes. As far as wrestling goes, Natalya is one of the best workers in the company. There are few people on the WWE roster–men or women–who are as technically proficient as Natalya. Even though she rarely gets a chance to display her abilities, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion is almost incapable of having bad matches with anyone. Considering the varying skill levels of some of the female wrestlers that have passed through WWE over the years, that’s saying something. WWE couldn’t have picked a better wrestler to guide Rousey through her first singles matches.

Nattie just makes everyone she works with better. She played a big role in Charlotte Flair’s maturation as a wrestler (go back and watch their match at the first NXT Takeover for proof). She’s had countless matches with subpar wrestler after subpar wrestler back when the women were still branded as “Divas”, and most of those contests were at least watchable. I have no doubt that Natalya can do the same for Rousey.

And that’s exactly what Rousey needs. Despite her impressive showing at WrestleMania, Rousey is still a little rough around the edges when the bell rings. She isn’t always going to have the benefit of working with seasoned veterans like Triple H and Kurt Angle or opposite the stellar old-school heel work of Stephanie McMahon to mask her in-ring deficiencies. She will need someone she trusts to help her through the intricacies of working a singles match. Who better than her sparring partner Natalya?

Will the promo work hold up?

Putting aside the potential match quality, the real question mark for this feud lies in the mic work. Rousey has shown suspect promo skills from the moment she first picked up a WWE microphone. She’s gotten a little more comfortable talking in front of a crowd since Elimination Chamber last February, but she still doesn’t seem ready to carry a program on the stick.

And if Rousey probably isn’t ready to support to feud on the mic, then I know that Natalya isn’t either. As outstanding as she is in the ring, Natalya just isn’t good at acting or cutting promos. Her babyface run was littered with cringe-worthy sayings like “settle your tea kettle” and most of her heel promos consist of her gushing about her cats before co-opting a Hart family catchphrase. Some of the blame falls at the feet of the creative team for their wordy scripts, but Natalya has never delivered the lines well.

This has the potential to be a good feud, but nothing will kill interest for this faster than a 15-minute verbal spat filled with unrealistic dialogue and flimsy insults. The RAW creative team better do their jobs and get creative when they begin building this story.

Don’t overthink this, WWE!

The best way to protect talent (their characters anyway) is to accentuate their strengths and hide their weaknesses. While WWE doesn’t do this often enough, they usually pull out this strategy for a top star that the company has invested a lot of time and money into. I think this feud should be one of those occasions.

It’s simple enough. If Rousey and Natalya aren’t good at talking in front of the crowd, then give this feud the Brock Lesnar treatment. Pre-tape some sitdown interviews and allow each woman to talk somewhat candidly about the other. It was effective when they used it for the Rousey/Angle/Helmsley/McMahon storyline and it could be very useful here. I wish WWE would use this tool more, as it gives feuds more of a sports-like feel and it allows the talent to express themselves without spewing out buzzword-filled lines.

Basic is the best way to go. If WWE keeps the feud simple and lets these two talented ladies scribe most of their tale in the ring, it could mean great things for both of them. Rousey gets to improve while working with a seasoned vet. Natalya will also boost her stock wrestling opposite arguably the biggest star in the company (provided the matches are competitive). If booked properly, this is a win-win for Rousey and Natalya.

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Ultimately, the goal is to build Rousey up for future big matches with Flair and Asuka sometime in the near future. This impending program with Natalya isn’t as high-profile as those matchups, but it’s just as important. Rousey has to show that she can hang in one-on-one matches. She couldn’t have asked for anyone better to prepare her than the niece of “The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be”.