The mistakes that can spoil the women's Royal Rumble
Stephanie McMahon (and WWE in general) may go around announcing the 'Women's revolution' as a moment to reckon with, but the fact remains that WWE has an age-old tradition of treating women (or the erstwhile 'divas') as second-class wrestlers.
Nothing can serve as better proof than the fact that we are having the first-ever women's Royal Rumble in 2018, 30 years after its inception in 1998.
Despite all the talent in the world to carry it out, the female wrestlers had to wait till 2016 for the first-ever women's Hell in a Cell match and the first PPV to be capped off by the opposite sex.
The first thing that came to my mind when Stephanie announced the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match was the doomed 'Miss Wrestlemania' battle royal at Wrestlemania XXV. The idea of having a diva be referred to as 'Miss Wrestlemania' seemed to be a prestigious honour. However, the match turned out to be a mess.
The match offered the suspense of divas from the past making a comeback (Victoria and Torrie Wilson were welcome surprise entrants), but they all came out to a Kid Rock song instead of making individual entrances.
The action was chaotic and boiled down to three divas out of which one, and unfortunately, the winner was Santino Marella. Yes, a man won the honour of being the first and so far the only 'Miss Wrestlemania'. It was a slap in the face of the entire female roster.
A very recent incidence when WWE tried making history with women's wrestling but failed miserably was the first ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match (again, it's a shame that it took WWE so long to have that bout). A match where the women were to showcase their mettle, they were again left bitter.
Although not a part of the competition, James Ellsworth climbed the ladder and literally threw the Money in the Bank briefcase in Carmella's hands. Ellsworth wasn't declared the 'Miss Money in the Bank' but Carmella (and the whole women's division for that matter) lost their pride. WWE robbed us of a historical moment when a woman would have climbed, entangled and clinched the briefcase to become the first ever 'Miss Money in the Bank'. Though we got to see this happen the next night, the previous shenanigans had sicked the joy out of it.
Now we find ourselves at the helm of another historic event, the Women's Royal Rumble and we want no shenanigans this time. The fans are expecting end-to-end action and the return of some of the divas of the yesteryear. The WWE really needs to avoid belittling its female roster this time. The better thing is that the rules for the match will be similar to that of men's and we are guaranteed that the match will not be a hurriedly carried out spotfest.
They should take care that fans are treated with the returns of the more famous divas like Trish, Sable and Lita. It would be superb if one of them could hang around for long and have a showdown with some younger female talent. The prospect of having the four 'horsewomen' as the last four is already giving goosebumps to the fans and the WWE must book it. Last, but not the least, is the X-factor that has been teased for long, Ronda Rousey.
The Rowdy One is rumoured to make a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble and fans are already expecting her to lock horns with Charlotte or Becky Lynch.
The first women's Royal Rumble has created a lot of hype and got the fans buzzing. WWE has really done a commendable job and they have a chance to amend all the wrongs they have done with the women's division. Let's keep our fingers crossed!