Let's talk Becky Lunch and the "Divas Revolution"

**Mr. Nerfect** · 08-16-2015, 12:59 AM

Where do you go with the girls after SummerSlam? I, like many others, have been hoping to see the ladies in professional wrestling get more of a spotlight. The criticisms of female wrestling is out there: No one takes them seriously, the matches aren't as good, etc. I think there is enough evidence over history to dispel this though.

Women were main event attractions under Mildred Burke -- a woman who should really get a WWE Hall of Fame induction if the company is serious about pushing women's wrestling. The joshi of Japan were featured in their own wrestling promotions, and managed to have some matches that are considered critical classics. Even if the WWF, Wendi Richter was a huge part of the emergence of the Rock 'n' Wrestling era, and a match against The Fabulous Moolah drew the highest ratings MTV had experienced in its history to that point in time. Under the creative direction of Dutch Mantel/Zeb Colter, TNA's Women's Division managed to tell compelling (yet simple) stories, allow the platform for great matches and eventually managed to be the highest rated television segments of a product that included Kurt Angle, Sting and Jeff Hardy.

NXT has gone a long way to highlighting the strengths and full dimensions of its contracted female talent. Perhaps starting with, oddly enough, Summer Rae, there has been a focus on making the women of NXT important stars worthy of fan attention and an integral part of the show. Booming with Paige and Emma -- who managed to have quite a few hard-hitting strong-style matches that placed emphasis on the importance of the NXT Women's Championship -- performers like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch have grown into respectable wrestling personalities in their own right -- with clearly defined motivations and attributes for fans to latch onto.

When Stephanie McMahon announced that Lynch, Charlotte and Banks would be called up to the main roster as part of a Divas Revolution, I, again like many people, got excited. These women are known for having more depth and better matches than the female talent featured on the main roster of WWE. A lot of previously contracted female stars got signed based on their looks under the John Laurinitis era of Talent Relations. Some have grown into competent in-ring performers; some have not. But is this really fault of their own? The paradigm shift being advertised by the WWE is basically against their own hiring and firing policies, and many of the women involved just haven't been given the same attention and focus -- especially when it comes to the development of their individual gimmicks -- as the NXT women.

My interest in this angle is still piqued -- mainly because Becky Lunch is delicious -- but my excitement levels are dwindling. As the weeks go on, the format of each RAW is becoming pretty apparent. There's a singles match between two girls on opposing teams, and then there's a tag match between four girls on opposing teams. The Divas Championship receives the verbal nod from commentary, but none of the new girls have truly made a statement about intending to imminently challenge for it. We're possibly just getting warmed up, but I worry that just getting longer matches with parity shown between the three sides is not truly going to help the girls in the division find a true footing with your average fan.

As predicted by many, at SummerSlam we are going to see a 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 match between the sides -- and it's going to be an Elimination Match to boot. This will be a good chance for the ladies to show off some impressive spots in the ring, and keep things at a fast past to get the fans' adrenaline pumping. But where to after this? Am I the only one worried that this program seems to be on autopilot? You've introduced three new girls, as well as having two of the more established ones having serious intentions to go after Nikki Bella's Divas Championship. How do you filter one girl through the pipeline without leaving the others out in the dark?

I think it's time to see a horse come out strong out of the gate. It's time to see some friction between the egos that have found temporary camaraderie in the Divas Division. Whether it's Sasha Banks and Naomi clashing due to Banks' ego getting too big for Team BAD and Tamina needing to choose a size, or the two girls of second generation fame turning on Lynch when her hard work and experience has taken her to a higher level than they are at. Nikki Bella needs to find herself a challenger too.

Right now, to me anyway, it feels like the WWE is telling and not showing with this "Divas Revolution". Sure, you're having longer matches, but the development is still next-to-none. Nikki and Brie are still playing faces or heels depending on the week; I still feel like I don't really know Becky Lunch; Paige has actually lost sight of her goal to dethrone Nikki. This "revolution" appears to be more tokenistic than symbolic. How do you change that?

08-16-2015, 12:59 AM	#1
Mr. Nerfect Posts: 60,919	Let's talk Becky Lunch and the "Divas Revolution" Where do you go with the girls after SummerSlam? I, like many others, have been hoping to see the ladies in professional wrestling get more of a spotlight. The criticisms of female wrestling is out there: No one takes them seriously, the matches aren't as good, etc. I think there is enough evidence over history to dispel this though. Women were main event attractions under Mildred Burke -- a woman who should really get a WWE Hall of Fame induction if the company is serious about pushing women's wrestling. The joshi of Japan were featured in their own wrestling promotions, and managed to have some matches that are considered critical classics. Even if the WWF, Wendi Richter was a huge part of the emergence of the Rock 'n' Wrestling era, and a match against The Fabulous Moolah drew the highest ratings MTV had experienced in its history to that point in time. Under the creative direction of Dutch Mantel/Zeb Colter, TNA's Women's Division managed to tell compelling (yet simple) stories, allow the platform for great matches and eventually managed to be the highest rated television segments of a product that included Kurt Angle, Sting and Jeff Hardy. NXT has gone a long way to highlighting the strengths and full dimensions of its contracted female talent. Perhaps starting with, oddly enough, Summer Rae, there has been a focus on making the women of NXT important stars worthy of fan attention and an integral part of the show. Booming with Paige and Emma -- who managed to have quite a few hard-hitting strong-style matches that placed emphasis on the importance of the NXT Women's Championship -- performers like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Becky Lynch have grown into respectable wrestling personalities in their own right -- with clearly defined motivations and attributes for fans to latch onto. When Stephanie McMahon announced that Lynch, Charlotte and Banks would be called up to the main roster as part of a Divas Revolution, I, again like many people, got excited. These women are known for having more depth and better matches than the female talent featured on the main roster of WWE. A lot of previously contracted female stars got signed based on their looks under the John Laurinitis era of Talent Relations. Some have grown into competent in-ring performers; some have not. But is this really fault of their own? The paradigm shift being advertised by the WWE is basically against their own hiring and firing policies, and many of the women involved just haven't been given the same attention and focus -- especially when it comes to the development of their individual gimmicks -- as the NXT women. My interest in this angle is still piqued -- mainly because Becky Lunch is delicious -- but my excitement levels are dwindling. As the weeks go on, the format of each RAW is becoming pretty apparent. There's a singles match between two girls on opposing teams, and then there's a tag match between four girls on opposing teams. The Divas Championship receives the verbal nod from commentary, but none of the new girls have truly made a statement about intending to imminently challenge for it. We're possibly just getting warmed up, but I worry that just getting longer matches with parity shown between the three sides is not truly going to help the girls in the division find a true footing with your average fan. As predicted by many, at SummerSlam we are going to see a 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 match between the sides -- and it's going to be an Elimination Match to boot. This will be a good chance for the ladies to show off some impressive spots in the ring, and keep things at a fast past to get the fans' adrenaline pumping. But where to after this? Am I the only one worried that this program seems to be on autopilot? You've introduced three new girls, as well as having two of the more established ones having serious intentions to go after Nikki Bella's Divas Championship. How do you filter one girl through the pipeline without leaving the others out in the dark? I think it's time to see a horse come out strong out of the gate. It's time to see some friction between the egos that have found temporary camaraderie in the Divas Division. Whether it's Sasha Banks and Naomi clashing due to Banks' ego getting too big for Team BAD and Tamina needing to choose a size, or the two girls of second generation fame turning on Lynch when her hard work and experience has taken her to a higher level than they are at. Nikki Bella needs to find herself a challenger too. Right now, to me anyway, it feels like the WWE is telling and not showing with this "Divas Revolution". Sure, you're having longer matches, but the development is still next-to-none. Nikki and Brie are still playing faces or heels depending on the week; I still feel like I don't really know Becky Lunch; Paige has actually lost sight of her goal to dethrone Nikki. This "revolution" appears to be more tokenistic than symbolic. How do you change that?