Can the Divas Division make money for WWE?

[Mr. Nerfect]

This is a question that I've often thought about. People, in general, don't seem to think that there is money in women wrestling. I've just never seen the logic in that thinking, though. When TNA first brought in the Knockouts Division, they would often get the highest ratings of the show. I'm not suggesting that the storylines should be split 50/50 between male and female competitors, not at all, but I do feel as if the reason females have never really drawn in the WWE is because they just have that revolving door of "this girl is champion, now this girl is champion" with no real characters or stories.

Two of the brightest stars in NXT at the moment are Paige and Emma. The crowd loves them. What really helps them stand out, besides actually being pretty young things that can wrestle, is that they have developed characters. Paige is an anti-Diva who just beats the piss out of everybody. Emma is this bubbly girl who lives in her own world, and what might have been a "she can't dance and is meant to be annoying" gimmick, has quickly become a "god bless her, she's charming" gimmick. There's absolutely no reason these girls can't be used in compelling stories to rile up the crowd, similar to how The Usos are used as a babyface tag team to get crowds hyped.

Aesthetics are important, not only for women, but for men in the WWE. Occasionally you get a male wrestler who breaks the stereotypical mould, but it's quite rare. The WWE, even more so than with its male roster, has a "type" that it looks for in its female performers. In my opinion, this could be standing between the WWE and a compelling Divas Division. I'm not saying that there is no room in the WWE for girls who are just there for eye-candy. I love Rosa Mendes with Epico & Primo, and have absolutely no desire to see her get in the ring. Does every girl need to be "hot," though?

When Paige gets called up to the main roster, I'd love to see her annoy Stephanie McMahon. When Steph goes on one of her little "don't disrespect" tangents in the lockerroom to the Divas, maybe Paige stands up to Stephanie McMahon, something like that. In that moment she gets noticed, but she also makes an enemy she doesn't want to have. After her match the following week, we cut to Steph in the back, shaking her head at Paige. "Can you believe her, Paul? What a disrespectful, ratty, pasty little witch." Triple H then tells Steph "I dunno -- I think she's kinda cute." That seals the deal. Stephanie McMahon has decided that she is going to make Paige's life a living hell.

She books Paige in a Handicap Match against The Bellas, perhaps via Vickie Guerrero, so it doesn't look like she's playing favorites. Paige puts up a hell of a fight, but is eventually overwhelmed and soundly defeated. Stuff like that. Eventually, Paige is attacked by someone who doesn't look like your prototypical Diva. JBL, with his knowledge of Paige's history, realises that is Saraya -- Paige's mother. If the WWE feel the need to change her name, maybe they can call her "Jade" or something like that. Paige is left in the middle of the ring, broken and betrayed by her own mother -- brought in by Stephanie McMahon to test Paige in every way possible.

She's also not your stereotypical model, but perhaps the WWE could look into signing Ayoko Hamada? Just call her Hamada, although you can give her another Japanese name if you need to. She comes in against a plucky little Japanese girl, dressed up like an anime character or something of the sort. Hamada loses to this other girl (let's call her "Ayumi") and Ayumi earns a title shot while Hamada is forced to go to the back. Hamada then costs Ayumi the match against AJ Lee or whoever is champion, and then those two feud.

Try and convince Beth Phoenix to come back. I'm sure all she actually wanted to do was wrestle. Let her and Natalya have the first ever "Divas Best of Seven Series." Beth can win that and then get a title shot of her own. And for fuck's sake, bring back Kharma. I'd have Kharma very quickly go after the Divas Championship, win it, throw down the title and declare herself "WWE Women's Champion." AJ Lee then picks up the discarded Divas Title and keeps acting as if she is the champion.

I guess I just don't think every girl in the division needs to be a model. If the WWE got different characters, women of different backgrounds and with experience, those girls who are there to be models become better quicker, but they also stand out in their own right.

[Bad News Gertner]

I'm too dru k to rad that. I'm gona agree and move on

[Bad News Gertner]

Ringine endorsemant

[Mr. Nerfect]

Fuck yeah, drunk Gertner is always welcome. Rock on.

[Lock Jaw]

When Steph interrupted AJ two weeks ago, I was hoping for a "Steph becomes interested in the Divas division and making it interesting again".

AJ was going on about how she had no competition, and no one could match her. I would have called up every NXT Female that is ready, and had Steph announce a tourney with them and the current roster to find the number one contender.

Would have been a good start.

[Shisen Kopf]

Something about Japs. Bring back DLVH!

[Lock Jaw]

Bring in Gail Kim, and Awesome Kong, and have them start The Movement. Later joined by AJ Lee.

[Theo Dious]

Depends on the definition of "make money." I don't much like what I read above, but if they dedicated consistent time and effort into women actually wrestling, kept on the storylines and didn't treat the Divas segments like total afterthoughts, then yes it could be a viable and worthwhile portion of the show.

[Bad News Gertner]

I think marye should show up on raw dand thn say hey I'm showing my tites. Sheadn then she shoud
Showe her tits

[Mr. Nerfect]

Man, I'm actually getting excited at the idea of some Divas feuds right now:

* Emma vs. Tamina Snuka. Emma comes in as Brad Maddox's assistant and obvious love interest (although she's oblivious). Vickie Guerrero is jealous and puts Emma into matches against Tamina Snuka. Emma finds a way to upset Tamina in their first match, although Tamina can probably get some wins back.

* Emma vs. Summer Rae. Emma botches Fandangoing and Summer takes offense. A simple set-up -- a silly "you can't dance" storyline. That could easily go to a PPV match between the two, since Fandango could be at ringside along with whoever he is feuding against being in Emma's corner. Perhaps that Superstar could even be Brad Maddox? A Fandango vs. Brad Maddox feud could be hilarious.

* Layla vs. Naomi. In a silly little segment with Tons of Funk, Layla turns on Naomi after she gets out-funked. Layla then asks us if we remember who she is. She's the flawless Diva who ran things around here. They used to all be about Layla, but now she can hardly find a spot on the card because Naomi and Cameron are "having fun?" Well, things about to end up being all about her again. Layla can go over both Cameron and Naomi and look like a strong heel as she moves on to face other faces. Perhaps Michelle McCool could even come back for one tag match with Layla against The Funkadactyls?

* Layla vs. Emma. Layla just seems like she would be annoyed at Emma, and that would be priceless. Emma's dancing would be one-upped by Layla seriously shaking her booty, which the crowd boos. They adore Emma and don't respect her. Seriously miss heel Layla.

* Natalya vs. Kaitlyn. Selfishly not seeing past herself and her issues with AJ Lee, Kaitlyn treads on Natalya's toes too many times, and Nattie takes issue with Kaitlyn. While, from a storyline perspective, it would look like Kaitlyn is the selfish bitch, I do think it would be easier to turn Natalya, who could shine as a badass heel. If she weren't a good girl, future matches between Natalya and almost anyone would be awesome.

* The Bella Twins vs. LayCool. If Layla and Michelle McCool got back together as a part-time thing, I could see The Bellas feeling as if LayCool is threatening their standing in the company. The Funkadactyls could get mixed up in here as well. Depending on time-frames, Kaitlyn & Natalya could still be aligned. A loss against LayCool could be what pushes Natalya over the edge with Kaitlyn, leading to their singles feud.

* Kharma versus every single woman in the world. Just throw money at this woman, get her to come back, she beats everybody and is Women's Champion in no time. Kharma powerbombing AJ Lee would be entertaining television.

* Kharma vs. Beth Phoenix. Would Beth be able to topple Kong? Probably not, but it could be a good match. Phoenix could get this shot after defeating her old partner in a Best of Seven Series.

* Paige vs. Sara Del Rey. Obviously the WWE would probably give Sara a different name. She'd attack Paige at some crucial point in Paige's life, probably after her feud with her own mother has concluded. They bring up that Del Rey is the head trainer for the girls down in NXT, and that she has been instrumental in Paige's life. They bring up her training under Daniel Bryan. She gets brought up by Stephanie McMahon for the sole purpose of stretching out Paige. They have a series of matches, Del Rey winning most (all?) of them. Stephanie seems to want Del Rey to hurt Paige more and more, however. Del Rey seems troubled by that. It comes out that Stephanie McMahon has threatened to remove Del Rey has head trainer if she doesn't do exactly what Stephanie says. It kind of adds a layer of depth to Del Rey, and gives her a potential excuse for a face turn down the line. Del Rey finally snapping and even attacking Stephanie McMahon could be a huge moment. Maybe Del Rey even challenges Saraya to a match, talking about how disgusting it is what she did to her daughter. Saraya & Stephanie vs. Sara Del Rey & Paige?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Depends on the definition of "make money." I don't much like what I read above, but if they dedicated consistent time and effort into women actually wrestling, kept on the storylines and didn't treat the Divas segments like total afterthoughts, then yes it could be a viable and worthwhile portion of the show.

I meant essentially what you said. It'd just be giving the division proper thought, focus, direction and depth. The WWE apparently wants to target more female viewers, but the two-dimensional quality of everyone in that division is not going to get that job done.

The AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn feud is a good start for now. How many times can they really fight, however? Eventually, Kaitlyn is going to need to either win the title back or lose and move on to something else to stay relevant, and then we're right back at square one.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think marye should show up on raw dand thn say hey I'm showing my tites. Sheadn then she shoud
Showe her tits

All for Maryse coming back (and her tits). She had her character down.

[Mr. Nerfect]

When Steph interrupted AJ two weeks ago, I was hoping for a "Steph becomes interested in the Divas division and making it interesting again".

AJ was going on about how she had no competition, and no one could match her. I would have called up every NXT Female that is ready, and had Steph announce a tourney with them and the current roster to find the number one contender.

Would have been a good start.

They're doing a tournament down in NXT at the moment to crown an NXT Women's Champion. It's almost as interesting as the main roster stuff. As far as NXT ready girls go, I'd bring up Emma almost instantly. Paige I'd bring in maybe after SummerSlam? Night of Champions would be the PPV, and I think it would be kind of cool to have the NXT Women's Champion challenge for the WWE Divas Championship at that show. AJ Lee would beat Paige, but it would be a pretty great match and nice showing for the "new girl."

You've got a pretty healthy "next generation" of girls waiting in NXT. They've signed that huge Sarah Backman girl; they've got Charlotte Flair; Rebecca Knox; Sasha Banks; a few models. I think you can safely bring up Paige, Emma & Bayley (although Bayley spending more time in NXT might be for the best).

[Shisen Kopf]

You know what no-one has said in a while?

NOID POST!

[Mr. Nerfect]

Actually, fuck that NXT Women's Champion challenging for the Divas Title at Night of Champions shit. Bring up Paige tomorrow. AJ Lee vs. Kharma for the Divas Title at Night of Champions! WOOOOO!

[Mr. Nerfect]

Gertner, I am actually curious as to what you think of Kharma. Do women like her have a place in your view of wrestling?

[XL]

I like the idea of giving the division some focus with deeper characters/story lines, etc.

Can it make money? Not in the sense that you could sell a PPV with a Divas match but it'd be nice for the match to be something other than Flavour of the Month Champion vs. Flavour of the Month Number One contender.

[seapig4]

I honestly think that any kind of wrestling can sell ppv's if given the proper time and decent booking/storyline. For example if they took the time to build up enough decent chicks who could go in the ring and had a good central storyline I don't see why not a queen of the ring ppv couldn't sell reasonably well

[XL]

Cos it doesn't rhyme?

[Ruien]

If Trish and Lita were unable to make money I doubt anyone from this generation can.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

They would make more money by announcing one of them will flash their tits on Raw, than if they booked it solidly for any lengthy period of time. Women's wrestling for the most part is a non-entity.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I honestly think that any kind of wrestling can sell ppv's if given the proper time and decent booking/storyline. For example if they took the time to build up enough decent chicks who could go in the ring and had a good central storyline I don't see why not a queen of the ring ppv couldn't sell reasonably well

This is sort of what I'm thinking. I think it just depends on what you mean by "money," but a solid storyline could go a long way to making a PPV feel more "robust" and worthy of a spender's cash.

[Bad News Gertner]

Gertner, I am actually curious as to what you think of Kharma. Do women like her have a place in your view of wrestling?

Love fat wrestlers

[The Condor]

The Divas will make as much $$ as the IC or "cruiser weight" divisions do. People like Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel but they aren't draws or even interesting. It's all individual stories/angles and quality and not divisions or even gender

[Emperor Smeat]

I'd say yes but they'd need to do a lot of work building up the division to be something besides a "piss break" spot or just being there because the WWE needs to pad some time into their shows.

Probably would only work as a short term thing but if TNA was able to make the Knockouts Division one of their best divisions for a while, no reason why the WWE with their marketing muscle couldn't do the same with the Divas.

[dronepool]

Not really in the PG era. Except AJ. She's cool.


With that being said- the typical model diva gimmicks are eroded. If they make them have something interesting, it might. Maybe.

[Dukelorange]

The Divas can make money easily and within a few weeks at the earliest. They need to allow the divas to perform in longer matches in Raw and Smackdown. Have the matches unfold and tell a story. Most of these girls I have seen in development and they can wrestle if given the chance. The next thing that they can do is create multiple on going storylines. They are divas. Let the faces be nice and the heels backstab. If you have enough storylines you might be able to bring back the Women's Championship or something. Either way the divas can make money just treat them like regular wrestlers.

[Bad News Gertner]

Nobody has ever bought a ppv for the women's match.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Nobody has ever bought a ppv for the women's match.

Not exclusively for it, no. But could a great supporting storyline with the promise to blow-off a rivalry built over several months add supporting interest to an intriguing main event?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

I think Trish and Lita could draw money if they came back for a one-off match against each other.

No other way woman's wrestling can draw anything.

[Hanso Amore]

Not exclusively for it, no. But could a great supporting storyline with the promise to blow-off a rivalry built over several months add supporting interest to an intriguing main event?

Not even close.

[DAMN iNATOR]

I’d just like to anecdotally add here that the last WWE Women's Division storyline I have enjoyed as much as the A.J./Kaitlyn one going on now would have to have been the final Trish vs. Lita match before Lita's retirement immediately at the conclusion of the match. If only they hadn't done the bit with Cryme Tyme supposedly selling her goods. Not even remotely funny to me. It's like if you were with your loved one in the hospital for their dying moment and then right after the person died, the doctor comes in and decimates everything by yelling "HEY! WHO WANTS TO SEE A DEAD BODY!" in a jovial voice. Completely disrespectful.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w901GqDoDxM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


After that, #3 would have to be the Trish/Mickie obsession angle in late 2005-~WM 22.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I would have dirty, dirty sex with Mickie James.

[dingdongyo]

i really want to see a fun, entertaining female division. everyone is sick of the same three personalities.

they don't even have to get that creative. just start taking a few of these glorified dancers/fitness models and instead have them develop personalities that parallel the most interesting male wrestlers today. i'd like to see more creativity than that eventually, but at least that should draw interest and significantly deepen the storyline potential.

kharma was exciting. i seriously thought it was the start of a revolution. it still could be.

i still think revealing a secret badass female leader of the shield has potential.

there is a moneymaking spot for a female role model who isn't built/painted like a bratz doll.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>"Can the Divas Division make money for WWE?"</font>

http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/532fc3213b9806e85a94d3c6c083792d/http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r185/psychofish77/No.jpg

[DAMN iNATOR]

I would have dirty, dirty sex with Mickie James.

Anybody who says otherwise, male female, robot, martian, whatever, is a filthy rotten liar.

[DAMN iNATOR]

"Can the Divas Division make money for WWE?"

http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/532fc3213b9806e85a94d3c6c083792d/http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r185/psychofish77/No.jpg

Oh, so close! The correct answer was
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j_xjBAd5G84" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


The real question isn't can it make money, it's really “Will the Women’s Division ever make money for WWE?”

[Mr. Nerfect]

Didn't realise this, but apparently Zeb Colter was the major driving force behind the TNA getting the Knockouts Division.

[Curd]

Yes, if WWE releases a line of Diva Bratz dolls. Also, anything which brings Hamada on camera is good.