4 Ways WWE could improve the Women's Division
The WWE has a big problem, and the fans can pick apart the many different things that are not quite right about the product right now. But what we want to discuss today is the Women’s division. Where the fundamental problems with its presentation are and how they can be fixed. Here are four easy fixes that could restore the women's division to its glory.
#4. Focus on the WWE Women's Tag Team division and elevate the titles
Just like the men, it seems that the women’s tag-team division has also been an afterthought for a while. There was great excitement when the WWE brought back the Women’s tag team belts. However, once Bayley and Sasha Banks lost the Championships to the IIconics at WrestleMania, it was as if the people at the top stopped caring.
Despite Peyton Royce and Billie Kay being one of the few established tag teams in the division, they were barely used and ultimately split up before being released from the company earlier this year.
This isn’t even the first established tag-team that has missed out on either holding the tag titles or being used to elevate the titles. The Bella Twins missed out on the tag Championships by six months while the Riott Squad and Absolution never got their hands on the belts despite being ready-made and well-liked. Yet again WWE chose to break up both of these teams before even developing a solid tag division.
The division needs an injection of new life and some exciting match-ups and storylines. WWE need to stop putting their title matches on the pre-show and throwing makeshift tag teams together just so the women have something to do. They need to create legitimate bonds and teams between the women and form factions that can take over every championship on RAW or SmackDown.
Let the women show how great tag team wrestling is and can be. The women just want to be treated equally within WWE so how about you start showing them that they are appreciated.
#3. WWE needs to give the women more TV time
The deterioration of the WWE women’s division has been visible for all to see, but this week it was more painfully obvious than ever before. During the first round of the Queens Crown Tournament on SmackDown, we had two matches and both were not long. While the booking was questionable, what was even more jarring was the length of the bouts.
Toni Storm vs Zelina Vega’s match was a total of 2 minutes and 14 seconds while Carmella vs Liv Morgan was even shorter, coming in at 1 minute and 36 seconds. This is, to put it lightly, an absolute disaster after all the progress the women have made and how hard they have fought. It feels as though WWE is taking the division back to the Divas era.
Yet again, it feels like broken promises with WWE giving the women their own version of King of the Ring, while also not giving them even half of the time that the men's tournament has received. WWE has given us Evolution, which was the best pay-per-view of 2018, and the Mae Young Classic. But we haven’t seen either in years and that is part of the problem.
The Women’s Revolution was a ground-breaking moment for the women’s division. While the roster is full of great characters and many different skill sets, they are underutilized massively in favour of storylines that don’t matter. Unless you're one of the Four Horsewomen, television time is going to be at a premium.
#2. DON’T bring back Ronda Rousey and DON’T put the championship on her
She was terrible for the division. Name one good feud or match from the Raw Women's division during the Ronda era.
The best stuff was coming from the Smackdown women's division. But the women's division wasn't treated well most of 2018. 🤷🏼♀️ twitter.com/AlexM_talkSPOR…
The biggest problem with Ronda Rousey in WWE and as the RAW Women’s Champion is that she did absolutely nothing for the division. Her best matches were against female competitors who were far superior to her in the ring, while everyone else was jobbed out for a woman who constantly insulted the business while wearing Roddy Piper's jacket.
Nothing about her was original or new and nobody looked like a legitimate challenger to Becky Lynch after Rousey ran through the RAW women's division. The WWE has already panicked by bringing Lynch back and putting the Smackdown championship on her as well as putting the RAW Championship on Charlotte Flair.
Knowing WWE, it is likely they will try and convince Rousey to come back for a short run to "pop" the ratings. This would be a mistake on so many levels and leads onto our last point.
#1. WWE needs to desperately build new stars
WWE shouldn't panic by going back to those already established stars who have had a stranglehold on the Championships.
There is nothing wrong with using already established women such as Sasha Banks and Asuka to create new stars. Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley were elevated at this year's WrestleMania, but stick to your guns WWE; you are on the right path.
When new and exciting women from NXT who already have a fan base are promoted to the main roster, they should be presented carefully. Allowing people like Toni Storm, Shotzi Blackheart, and Tegan Nox to get lost in the shuffle isn’t something that should be happening. They should also start listening to their fans. Liv Morgan is highly popular, as are Zelina Vega and the previously mentioned Storm, WWE should capitalize on that.
The biggest problem is that WWE has struggled to create established headline acts or capitalize on the popularity of certain competitors when the crowd is behind them. WWE tries to control the narrative and that is hard to do when wrestling fans are so vocal. Give other women a chance and let them have ample time to tell stories in the ring and don’t panic.
Give the WWE universe what they want and don’t let these talented women be underused because there are honestly other places that would benefit from them.