"Nikki Cross would have never made it to TV" - Veteran shares honest thoughts on WWE's women's division (Exclusive)
Vince Russo recently stated that, unlike today's roster, WWE had a limited number of female athletes back in the day, with all of them being strong and over.
It's no secret that women's wrestling in WWE has come a long way in the last decade or so, with female performers regularly headlining shows. The division is stacked with uber-talented athletes, with everyone more than capable of stealing the show on any given day.
However, this wasn't the case until late 2000s, when only a handful of female performers were given the spotlight.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, Vince Russo explained back in the day, women had to fight for a spot on the show. He stated that only strong athletes who were "over" with fans like Chyna, Sable, Ivory, and others were able to carve out a space for themselves.
Russo added that someone like RAW Superstar Nikki Cross would have never found a place on the roster.
"Here's why it was different back then. You had so many guys that were over and strong. So there weren't all these spots. Nikki Cross would have never made it to TV. These spots that were left, and you wanted to have women on the show, they had to be strong women. You had to get them over. There were a handful of them, and they all had to be strong, and all had to be over. Chyna, Sable, Jackie, Ivory, and Luna, they all were over," said Vince Russo.
The former WWE writer mentioned that the biggest issue today is that neither the male nor female performers were popular enough with the fans.
"Today the problem is none of the guys are over, so you have as many women as you have guys. And like I said, you keep spreading that spotlight." (1:41 - 2:30)
Check out the full video below:
Vince Russo wants Rhea Ripley to undergo a character change in WWE
One of the biggest stars on WWE's women's roster today is Rhea Ripley, who will challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Title at WrestleMania 39. Though her run as part of the Judgment Day has been a runaway success, Vince Russo wants her to undergo a character transformation.
On a recent episode of Writing with Russo, he stated that Ripley must get rid of the "goth stuff" and turn babyface. Russo feels that if WWE doesn't turn her face, she won't have a lot of worthy opponents to face except for Becky Lynch.
"So now, you're getting into that Roman Reigns area again. I would do it, if the plans were to slowly but surely turn Rhea Ripley babyface. Get rid of all that goth stuff; let's really see what a beautiful woman she is if that were the plan," said Vince on Writing with Russo. "If she is the heel WWE Women's Champion, I mean, what are we going to do, have Becky beat her? Like, how many times are we going to go back to that well? And if it's not Becky, then who is it?"
You want to make a statement at Wrestlemania 39?
You want fans to start seeing Rhea Ripley as a monster champion?
You want to make up for Rhea's horrible booking in 2020?
I dare you to have Rhea Ripley SQUASH Charlotte Flair for that championship.
#Smackdown https://t.co/ZI7IF3er0p
It remains to be seen if WWE continues to have The Eradicator work as a heel despite fans rallying in her support to dethrone The Queen.
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