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How to start…I am concerned. I’m concerned that the women’s division in WWE has hit a wall that they cannot overcome without at least 10 more years of “changes”. Now, don’t get me wrong, the WWE has done a lot for women wrestlers. From changing the way they are portrayed (no longer utilized for their sexual appeal alone) to the matches they compete in. But, has it been taking a step backwards in an effort to make it more “PG”?
The question posed has some truth if you think about it. For one, high-flying, aerial moves are a staple of performers like Jeff Hardy, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, and Charlotte Flair. That’s right. When you think of the in-ring ability of most of the women on the roster, through no fault of theirs, the only one who actually excites you with the moves that are performed is Charlotte.
Historically
If we look back to the early and mid-2000’s, plenty of female superstars would perform these high risk maneuvers, changing what people felt women could do in the ring. But now, like we saw last night on Raw, WWE feels the need to give women the main event spot, yet make the match a whopping 3 minutes and 40 seconds long! And it goes well beyond the time given to women’s matches compared to men’s.
The storylines given to the women are redundant and unrealistic. It seems that WWE creative feels that all women just hate each other and want to stab each other in the back for the championship. There are no real friendships and the women end up doing things that make them comic-book characters and not “real people”.
As a role-model for young girls, this portrayal of women and women’s relationships with each other fails. First, it is a poor representation. Second, it does not provide a proper understanding of how to deal with our adversaries. Now, I know, it seems naive to try to read more into kayfabe than face value, but honestly, isn’t that what WWE is intending to do?
If they want to portray these feuds in this way, then it cannot always be the women being for themselves and no one else. AND, if you are going to keep with this story, then you cannot, I repeat CANNOT, have the women all standing on stage hugging and cheering when a pay-per-view for them only is announced! Rather than writing proper stories and complete characters, the women are reduced to remaining sexualized eye candy (i.e., Mandy Rose), “bad girls” (i.e., The Riott Squad), or watered-down baby-faces who may get a heel-turn at any moment.
Same Heel, Different Day
And for those who are your true heels, they are all written the exact same! Alexa Bliss, the classic heel, is the same character as Carmella, Alexa just executes it better. Lastly, if we built the women’s division properly with well-developed stories, strong characters with true purposes, and actual alliances, fans would be prepared and even more excited for an all-women’s pay-per-view event.
The women’s division has come so far, but it still has a way to go. The women should not be thrown into “first” matches. Though they are long overdue, they are in no way a substitute for weak performances. The McMahon’s need to commit to the women’s division. If this happens, Becky will get the push she has worked so hard for. Asuka will no longer fall into obscurity. The women’s division can rival the men’s.
Final thought: women referees and sideline announcers. Michael Cole gets everyone’s names wrong.
[…] In some recent Twitter Q&A with Maria Kanellis, she gave some pretty bold answers on the state of the WWE women’s division. I’d like to point back to a previous post where I discussed similar items here and here. […]