With the news of a Sasha Banks and Naomi walk out of Monday Night Raw this week, women’s wrestling has been the main topic of discussion.
Honestly, even without this huge breaking story, women’s wrestling and its positioning in each and every company is a weekly hot topic.
Depending on who you talk to you concerning certain companies, women’s wrestling is as strong as ever across the industry, while other’s might think some of the women’s inclusion can seem performative.
Rumor has it that Banks and Naomi were concerned with the creative direction of the women’s division and their tag team titles, which is more than fair as most of the problems fans have is due to creative.
Creatively across the board there seems to be a disconnect between what feels like great representation and what is really actually going on with the divisions.
WWE, AEW, Impact, New Japan, ROH all get flack for the way they present women’s wrestling so its time to examine if women really are getting a fair shake.
A lot has changed since the Women’s Evolution
Women’s wrestling in 2022 has evolved into many different aspects compared to what was presented to on American television 20-25 years ago.
Around the world, women of wrestling are rising to greater heights whether it be the MOTYC enriched cards of Stardom and TJPW in Japan, the tantalizing masked luchadoras of Mexico, or stateside with the endless amount of diverse, extremely talented Independent wrestlers.
On a nightly basis around the world we are getting quality women’s wrestling matches and feuds which seem to have fans invested.
Main events in many markets are praised online throughout the industry yet what is presented on television doesn’t always reflect that.
Wrestling fans are told with accolades and achievements that women’s wrestling in America is just as important as men’s but does that actually translate to more visibility and success for the women’s wrestlers?
It’s not enough
Women’s wrestling needs way more time on television that’s just an actual fact.
Wrestling fans need to be shown consistently the things that you want them to invest in with their time and money.
WWE says they’re the leaders in women’s wrestling yet their last premium live event featured one women’s match
Many fans claim AEW doesn’t feature enough women at all with their packed roster sometimes being negated to one segment on Dynamite and Rampage.
Impact Wrestling does the best job of any American wrestling promotion on television with how they present their women’s division creating accolades that have substance like the forthcoming Queen of The Mountain match for the Knockout title.
Fans want the women in main programs, they look at the YouTube shows differently, which I will say AEW does a great job presenting women’s wrestling on theirs.
Women’s Wrestling 2.0
A big part of the what now is daily discussion on the state of women’s wrestling is what goes on in NXT 2.0.
Recently, 2.0 has been praised for how much time has been given to the women, with a recent episode featuring 24 women and the Women’s Breakout Tournament.
At the same time, some have been critical of how the women have been presenting with WWE putting an extra emphasis on younger, what they consider more attractive women going back to the diva search era style of recruiting.
While on the surface more time seems great, most of the talk is about everything out of the ring when discussion the division like hokey video packages and thoughts on looks.
In ring they feature a lot of brand new to pro wrestling wrestlers so fans are extra critical of what is presented, this problem is more on the fans who need to give wrestlers a chance to develop across the board as there are different levels to this.
2.0 does a lot of good things and a lot of not so good things just wondering if it will truly be beneficial to the women in the end.
Women’s Independence
As previously mentioned, Women’s wrestling in the US independently is at an incredible place in 2022.
Companies like Mission Pro, Women’s Wrestling Revolution Plus, Capital Championship, and Women’s Wrestling Army have emerged and are showcasing some of the best in the world.
PWG just announced their first women’s match in 12 years, with Yuka Sakazaki and Masha Slamovich, after years and years of pressure from fans.
Women like Thunder Rosa, Athena, Deonna Purrazzo, Jordynne Grace, Willow Nightingale and Trish Adora are breaking barriers, winning championships, main eventing shows and wrestling inter gender matches all over the country.
Kacey Kirk and Sawyer Wreck have been involved in Deathmatch wrestling continuing the tradition of bad ass women who are hardcore.
The real women’s evolution has been and always will be on the independent wrestling scene across the world where women are given the chance to compete to their full potential with no limits its a shame its not that way on television.
Increase the support
With all evidence presented, women’s wrestling on American television leaves a lot to be desired.
WWE has so many hiccups when it comes to their women’s divisions that its not hard to understand where Banks and Naomi were coming from.
It looks as if history making things are happening, but when you look at it under a microscope, and the events that came after the accolades, you see that there is much more that needs to be done.
Real time, effort, stories, and follow up stories need to be invested in more women on the roster, as there can be more than just one or two stories happening simultaneously.
Fans in attendance need to support louder whether it be with your voice, signs, tweets during these women’s matches and segments as live reactions play a huge part too.
Support for women’s wrestling needs to increase throughout the entire industry as they shouldn’t have to continue to fight these uphill battles to earn the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
Finally, women in wrestling in ALL aspects need not to be subjected to harassment, with Banks and Naomi and many many many other cases women have to put up with so much ridicule and pressure not comparable to the male wrestlers and its time that ENDS. NOW.
To make sure you stay updated with all the latest wrestling news, add WrestleTalk.com to your Google Discover feed and follow us on Twitter!
Comments.
Loading comments…