Women’s Wrestling; Least Valued Camodity

It has been said a lot in the weeks following the departure of Vince McMahon from the position as the top executive, head of creative, and every other hat worn by the 77-year-old for four decades. That departure has brought a breath of fresh air, a new philosophy to not only WWE’s product but the overall landscape of the wrestling-sphere (or “universe”). For the first time in years, I’ve been watching WWE’s weekly shows not only with interest but with bated breath. Returns, long-term storytelling taking place, and one of the most important parts to me, at least some understanding of the potential that the women’s division contains.

The eminently painful truth is, no matter how mindless and neanderthal-like it is, that sex sells. For a long time, that was true of the WWE women’s division and everything else from beer commercials to deodorant ads, scantily-clad women would and still do grab eyes. It worked, as WWE’s late 90s and mid-00s roster was stocked by models in bikinis fumbling about with the occasional wrestler. Risqué and provocative moments were the staple of WCW and WWE’s (then WWF) business for a long time, and for the most part, the feuds featuring these women were catty and so inconsequential it didn’t matter if they were on shows or not.

As the days of “Piggy James,” the aptly named bra and panties matches, mud-fighting, and Playboy covers have since gone into the cupboard alongside some Black stereotypes and old Terry’s views on his daughter’s partners, the division began anew. We’ve since seen the women of WWE and AEW become embroiled in matches that would be unthinkable in decades prior. Not that there aren’t fantastic wrestlers the world over in promotions across North America, Europe, and Asia showing their… Stardom, if you will. Nonetheless, I am going to focus on the two most notable promotions around right now, as they set a “standard” in the eyes of many.

The titan of Titan Towers may have been toppled by his own ego and ability to bribe, but since the Helmsley-McMahon and Khan era of WWE has taken hold, tongues have gone wagging. In fact, it was back in the days of Black and Gold NXT that whispers began of the eventual Paul Levesque, or Triple H, takeover of Stamford that would take place someday. Like many, I had assumed the day would only come when Vince would make like his T-rex thing in his office, not his impression of Bill Clinton. The shock came, and the Helmsley takeover began after what has been a troublesome couple of years for The Game as he began a new game.

Under the former McMahon era, the women had taken steps to modernize instead of sexualize, but I don’t think anyone could argue it wasn’t without a fight. “#GiveDivasAChance” kicked off a large portion of this change in what is considered mainstream wrestling. Ultimately, taking away the crapshoot of haphazard storylines told in 2-minute Bella-based brawls at the perfect bathroom breaks, replacing them with something palatable and meatier. Since then, we’ve had women to main event WrestleMania, and more importantly from last year, two Black women main eventing WrestleMania, Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa’s unsanctioned match on Dynamite, the women’s Royal Rumble becoming a yearly treat, and the Sasha and Bayley match at Takeover: Respect.

Something that undoubtedly put some fire up the chairman of Titan Tower was the other Khan in his life, that being Tony and not Nick. Not that the AEW women’s division has been nipping at the heels of the established competition, but it is hard enough to beat something that has stalled off the startline, never mind when you’re treated as second best in the first place. I make it no secret that while I do enjoy AEW from time to time, the overwhelming presence of men’s feuds over establishing a decent women’s story bothers me to no end. Especially as Tony’s empire sits on a formidable throne of female talent that primarily goes unnoticed on week-to-week TV.

The uproar that came as WWE made its 10-year deal with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia brought a new light to the apathy within the company on women’s wrestling among many other things. Amid the sportswashing scandal and the trite subsequent shows in the country, WWE would put on an all-women’s PPV in 2018 for the first and only time. In April of 2021, Mickie James would point out a WWE Official stating, “Women’s wrestling doesn’t make money,” and there wouldn’t be another show because Evolution was the lowest-rated PPV in the company’s history. No wonder when given about six weeks of a mediocre build and 20-days prior would make two of the most exciting matches a tag team match to open the show.

Mickie tried to pitch an all female show but.. pic.twitter.com/mLIYs5zipv

— 🌻 (@k2mella) April 28, 2021

Between the two leaders in mainstream wrestling right now, their women’s divisions (while having flourishing moments) are title-centric and cartoonish in comparison to their male counterparts during that time. Within the last year or so, the presence of women’s matches as part of the two companies hasn’t gone without stumbling across some hurdles. AEW’s Britt Baker often took the limelight and left zero space for her opponents to become stars, and the almost year-long run as Becky Lynch became the baddest woman in WWE was the only decent story in a company with four championships for women across three brands.

Across the three hours of AEW TV (keep your YouTube shows), there may be two women’s matches or three at a push, probably topping out at about 20-minutes on average. Frequently centered around about the same 5-6 women on a roster of about 25 over several months, with three championships between them all. To be clear, I’m not saying any of the women, in particular, are at fault because I’d sooner point to the man running the show and who demands all the credit ought to take his rightful share of that responsibility. This is where we need to talk about NWA EmPowerrr.

While WWE sits on its hands with a wealth of women’s talent that is often underutilized, and subsequently not producing another Evolution-type show making the initial one a performative stunt, others took up the reigns. Billy Corgan, of Smashing Pumpkins fame, is the current owner of the former governing body, the NWA. Announced in June of 2021, the all-women’s PPV EmPowerrr was set for late August and would feature talent from AEW, Impact, AAA, as well as the NWA itself. Mickie James would help produce the show, and while talking about her push for such a show when still hired by WWE, she said she was “cut off at every opportunity.”

Neither Evolution nor EmPowerrr were perfect shows, but unlike the performative stunt that one of those happened to be, the long-lasting effect carries it. What diminishes those shows is WWE’s regression into nonsense and the “[Sasha and Naomi] let us all down,” as well as Tony Khan’s demands for credit when partially funding EmPowerrr. The former is something spoken about to death. Though I’ll say what I thought back when Tony Made his comments: That is the type of story you want others to talk about in an interview several years down the line and say you were a good guy for doing it, not for you to boast and demand credit only two months after.

Historically, both of the prominent North American promotions have the depth of talent, but those women aren’t allowed the time to gain and hone that experience to be comparable to their “work-rate” focused male counterparts. In recent weeks following the placement of Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon as co-CEOs and Levesque as head of creative within WWE, there has been a tectonic shift of the landscape as Levesque reaffirms his vision of Black and Gold NXT with his new playset. While the other Khan has reportedly filed a trademark for “All Elite Women,” there might be a new metaphorical volcano erupting.

The truth is, all that anyone wants out of a good wrestling show is that the most prominent stories (title or not) built over the last several weeks or months take center stage. Sadly, when women’s divisions are booked on a “can they co-exist,” short-term, or even in the case of Britt Baker’s title run, a reign of unrivaled dominance that hardly puts over the challenger to a title, that defeats the purpose out of the gate. Hopefully, in many weeks, months, or even years to come, I am proven wrong with this pessimistic view. In actual fact, I don’t have as much of a pessimistic view as I seem to suggest because, with these possible changes and established shifts already, I’m more hopeful overall.

With the AEW women’s roster that equals that of 1996 RAW at about 30-ish women, and WWE’s total number across RAW, SmackDown, and NXT being that of 50+, each has far more talent than they can put on TV. It is actually a criticism of AEW overall as Tony Khan brings in Impact, NJPW, and free-agent talent on a weekly basis to face off with top former WWE talent. A weekly stand-alone showcase of the women from these companies could go a long way to improving the perceived overall in-ring and on-the-mic quality of the women. As there is a small but vocal contingent online who are quick to criticize the quality of the women, often unfairly.

Hell, speaking of NJPW reminds me that there is an IWGP Women’s title that will go to the winner of the upcoming tournament that will end at Historic X-Over, the first Stardom and NJPW show. Both Japanese gender-exclusive promotions finally come together for the upcoming PPV in November, with the IWGP being NJPW’s so-called governing body. The PPV itself is something I didn’t think would happen, as NJPW has been to my mind a very strict promotion on staying men’s focused. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for this upcoming show and what might come of it; A yearly Historic X-Over or something else.

There is progress being made. Barriers are being broken down as AEW let the women actually bleed as much as the men in the more physical matches and WWE opened up to more “brutal” forms of women’s wrestling. The only thing holding the women back now is the fact they are valued less so than their singles wrestling male counterparts, both from a booking and viewing standpoint. One of which influences the other. It could be argued at any given time that tag team wrestling is equally valued less so than singles, but unlike the Women’s division, you don’t have small kids seeing themselves in a team than particularly in a single character.