>>16838705Toni's performance throughout the entire angle has been great. She commits to the character, and cuts passionate unique promos.
It's different. In this "reality" era it's nice to have an angle that isn't just two guys "shooting" on each other or using insider references every week.
Mariah is hot. Toni is hot. There's lesbian undertones. That's fun.
It's been a good story with intrigue and twists. Even if you see them coming a mile away, they pull everything off better than expected. For example, everyone knew Mariah was going to turn on Toni, but no one expected it to be as brutal and bloody as it was. Everyone knew Toni was going to ditch the roomie gimmick, but I wasn't expecting her to cut such a good promo. HHH has been doing the same thing and it works. Give the audience what they want, but do it in a way that's still surprising.
I'm convinced Toni is one of the best promos of this generation. She does it all in character, doesn't need to relie on insider terms or real life events to get the fans to care. Just old school character work done properly.
There are still flaws. Mariah's title reign has been booked horribly. She hasn't had any feud, just heatless random defenses. And her character work is not nearly as strong as Toni's. That's a little unfair because I think Toni is doing some of the best in the industry. But Mariah is being carried through this the same way Rhea was with Liv.
I wouldn't say it's the best angle of all time, but it's refreshing.
