Let me recap who Naomi is. She is a wrestler, actor, dancer, singer and a former women's champion who's been with WWE for 10 years.
In other words, Naomi is a future EGOT winner and you cannot tell me otherwise.
Thanks to her persona that resonated with the audience whether as a heel or a babyface, she has built up a following that is "ride or die" for the former funkadactyl aka stans which I am a part of.
Why? Because if there's one thing I have in common with Stan Twitter is that we love to call white people "ageing at the speed of crack".
She may be throwing glow sticks like an early 2010s Ellie Goulding music video, but she's a capable talent that can hang with the best of the best.
But, you read the title. This ain't about a career retrospect about Naomi (although I don't mind doing so), but rather a retrospect on one fateful moment in a year filled with unfateful moments (unless you're rich to which in that case, f**k you).
That fateful moment is Naomi's return at the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Now, what makes this return really significant compared to, I don't know, Big Show's return at the 2001 Royal Rumble?
Well, there are a few reasons. First of which is that it got the attention from the funny folks over at Black Twitter.
I mean, I would love to embed some of the reactions below but they've mostly been gone so you gotta take my word for it.
And you know a return is so good when Akeelah herself showed some love.
Suffice to say, Naomi got the love from Black Twitter that Terry Crews wished he had.
There was even a cool fanart that was made. Keep in mind, that fanart was made by someone who isn't a wrestling fan.
THIS was the main reason why I wrote this piece besides Naomi's current utilization on television. That main reason being, representation, specifically in pro wrestling.
Representation is more than just showcasing different people from all walks of life.
It's how the audience gravitates towards those performers that look like them and the way performers, especially those who are part of marginalized groups of people, have been highlighted.
This, in return, leads to people inspired to just do some dope sh*t like that fanart.
While the former 2 time women's champion is currently the tag team champion with another GOAT, Sasha Banks, I do believe that her 2020 return and its character arc since, was one of the most missed booking opportunities in recent WWE history based on the fact that Titan Towers failed to capitalize on her popularity.