The Women’s Wrestling Renaissance is (Nearly) Upon Us

Introduction: I’ve tried to cover a lot of ground as far as the actual topics of my columns go, but one area where I think I’ve been lacking is in looking at the state of women’s wrestling in the mainstream promotions today. I did write a column about the Bella feud, but in looking back on it, that doesn’t accurately reflect my feelings towards women’s wrestling in the WWE and TNA as a whole, so I figured I’d revisit that topic.

Honestly, if I were a betting man, I would be willing to wager that we’re a few years removed from women’s wrestling enjoying a major renaissance here in the United States, and while I am confident that it will never reach the heights that joshi has attained in Japan, it would not surprise me to see women’s wrestling become significantly more popular in the next four or five years.

This sort of storytelling (or at least this poor a level of acting) doesn’t really help move women’s wrestling forward.

As a disclaimer, I think the biggest thing standing in the way of that at present is actually a person, that being Vincent Kennedy McMahon. For proof, I’d simply point you in the direction of the women who built the foundation for the NXT Women’s division, Paige and Emma. Since being called up to the main roster, Emma became a one-note comedy character, was promptly forgotten (or punished), and has now apparently forgotten how to wrestle. And while Paige has fared significantly better than her NXT rival, she was still relegated to a background player (and sometime prop) in the Bellas breakup, her excellent feud with AJ bumped to nothing more than a secondary concern to the greater drama of Growing Up Bella.

Even TNA’s once-lauded Knockouts division hasn’t been the same in recent years, with many of their biggest stars leaving the company in 2009 and 2010. The talent shake-ups continued, as nearly every major Knockout of note from the division’s inception in 2007 either left the company, returned to it, or both. Gail Kim’s return in 2011 added a measure of stability to the division that it had been lacking, but until recently, the cupboards had been nearly bare. Fortunately, the addition of Havok, along with the returns of Angelina Love and Taryn Terrell, have significantly bolstered the potential for the division to return to its former glory.

And that is why I think that women’s wrestling is poised for a significant upswing in popularity in the near future, because the Divas/Knockouts divisions are filled with potential. If NXT’s Women’s division is any indication, once Triple H finally wrests full creative control of the WWE from his father-in-law, the Divas division should see a marked increase in both match quality and storylines, while their Knockouts counterparts could realistically be the division that carries TNA through what could be a lengthy transitional period as they adjust to a smaller television deal.

I think the most heartening decision the WWE has made was opting not to put the Divas championship belt around the waist of one of Bellas to “add prestige” to their poorly-acted feud. The fact that it looks like Nikki Bella might finally be figuring out an actual in-ring style and character has been a pleasant surprise, though it only makes me wish that this Bella split had happened years ago. Still, though, keeping the championship hot-shotting back and forth between a pair of Divas that can actually wrestle, and giving them a storyline that is more than just “Diva A is a mean girl and Diva B is jealous/angry/wronged” is a huge step forward. It has actually drastically decreased the dread that I feel when I think about Bayley and Sasha Banks and Charlotte eventually getting the call up to the main roster. And while I do not know for sure that we will ever see a Divas match headline a RAW or Smackdown, much less a Live Special (that isn’t put on by NXT, anyway), the recent report that the WWE is changing their booking philosophy regarding what has to happen on a PPV/Live Special could actually hugely benefit the Divas division. If the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is really not going to be defended on every Live Special, that certainly increases the chances that matches for the Divas Championship will be treated as more than just an excuse to let the fans either cool down their emotions or visit the restroom prior to the main event.

This is an excellent start to rebuilding the Knockouts division.

And while the Knockouts have main evented IMPACT as recently as last week, I think they are only going to get more important as TNA makes the jump to a new, smaller network in January. With less money coming in via television rights, if TNA hopes to maintain a similar roster size to the one they have now, they are going to need to look for wrestlers who will work for less money. As unfortunate as it is, from what I have been able to research, most contracts for female wrestlers tend to be less than for male counterparts who enjoy a similar level of experience or reputation. And while that is certainly unfair, it mirrors the gender-based pay scale disparity that is still prevalent in the United States. As TNA looks to scale back their budget, they could certainly stand to increase focus on the Knockouts division, which was once popular enough that there was serious discussion about TNA getting a second television slot for a weekly Knockouts-only television show. To this day, the Knockouts are popular enough that TNA holds a ‘One Night Only’ PPV centered around them, so perhaps it’s time for Dixie to lean more heavily on what was once arguably their feature division. Bring back the names that they can, hire new talent that the WWE won’t (Havok is a perfect example of this), and use the Knockouts division to truly differentiate Impact from the WWE’s output on network television. (To be clear, I’m not suggesting that they go full SHIMMER, but TNA definitely needs to find a better balance that doesn’t leave some of the best wrestlers on their roster stuck in four minute matches.)

I’ve talked a lot in the past about how both the WWE and TNA need to change their respective approaches to how they book their weekly television, and the effects that that could have on their viewership and overall fanbase. Certainly, portraying women as more than just eye candy and as legitimate equals to the men would alienate some of the “less enlightened” wrestling fans in the world, but a strong commitment to improving the overall state of women’s wrestling would, in theory, not only improve the general public’s overall opinion of professional wrestling (as gender inequality is still one of the easiest, and sadly most accurate, criticisms that the non-fan can level at our beloved medium), but also draw in larger numbers of female fans and their disposable income. I’ve said it before, but if wrestling wants to get out of its current slump and get back into a boom cycle, promoters are going to need to be more inclusive to draw in new fans, and gender equality is a huge part of that.

As good as the angle has been, who are young girls supposed to cheer for if the announce team can’t stop talking about how AJ is crazy?

As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, I’ve watched wrestling with my teenage daughter since she was small, and if you look at the current landscape of women’s wrestling that airs on network television, who can I really single out to my daughter a strong positive role model? Little boys have John Cena (even though he’s actually a giant baby and a jerk) and Daniel Bryan, but girls have…who? AJ, who the announcers still call crazy at every opportunity? Paige, who was an awesome role model in NXT but has now become “Generic Jealous Heel #7”? Gail Kim, who gets about two minutes’ worth of promo time a month? Honestly, with my daughter struggling with self-image issues like so many other girls her age, I pointed her immediately in Havok’s direction, singling her out as a strong, confident woman who doesn’t fit the model body type that’s so widespread in both TNA and WWE. The problem with that is that Havok is clearly being booked as a heel, just like Awesome Kong was before her. And that is actually fine, as Havok has been a heel for much of her career and seems more comfortable playing that role; however, it should not be too much to ask for at least one of the major wrestling promotions to actually feature a woman with a realistic body type as a positive role model for younger female viewers. Bayley is probably the best role model that they have now, as she actually has curves and is booked as a genuinely decent human being, but I still cringe whenever I think about how she is going to be booked when she does eventually get called up to the main roster. (The common belief seems to be that she will be a female version of Eugene, and while I personally do not think it will be quite that bad, I still have no faith in the main roster writing staff to translate the qualities that we love so much onto the bigger stage of RAW or Smackdown.)

Both companies have shown that they can book compelling programming centered on their women’s divisions, and now is the time to make a commitment to doing so consistently.

Wyatt Beougher is a lifelong fan of professional wrestling who has been writing for 411 for over three years and currently hosts MMA Fact or Fiction and reviews Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.