Women’s wrestling has made leaps and bounds in the last year
and a half. There certainly has been a resurgence and evolution of the former
Divas division. Women superstars have participated in the first ever Women’s
Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank ladder match, Royal Rumble, and Wrestlemania
Battle Royale. Last summer saw a women’s tournament which led to the addition
of more women competitors to the NXT roster. The women are certainly getting
their due.
I would even argue that the storylines for women have
improved. There is still obviously room to grow, but we are getting better
after the Women’s Revolution storylines that centered around Ric Flair and
other male competitors. Of course, there is still some hold over of previous
issues. Many of the storylines still tend towards the “women all secretly hate
one another” or a Mean Girls style angle,
but we are seeing a wider variety of women in prominent roles. Women like Nia
Jax and Ember Moon show girls and women that all body types can be successful
in the WWE.
I am excited to see where the women’s division goes in terms
of talent and storylines. I, sometimes, wonder if some of the changes that I would
like to see in the division would happen if there were more women on the
creative teams. I honestly don’t know if there are any women who really have
the power to shape the stories that the WWE tells with this division. Surely,
Stephanie McMahon has some influence, but ultimately, the final call lies with
Vince McMahon, a 72 year old man who still relies on old tropes and ideas about
how women interact with one another. It is getting better, but there is still a
long way to go.
As a global entity, the WWE has fans all over the world.
This can require a certain balancing act as not every society is the same in
regards to the rights of women. Yet, WWE had a milestone match when Sasha Banks
and Alexa Bliss competed in United Arab Emirates in a first ever match of its
kind. Now, their usual ring attire was exchanged for full body suits that
covered their arms and legs completely, but this was a step in the right
direction.
This brings me to the current issue of the Greatest Royal
Rumble. The event will take place in Saudi Arabia, a country that has even more
restrictions when it comes to the rights of women. Not only will women superstars
not be allowed to compete at this event, Saudi women cannot even attend unless
they are in the company of a male family member. This is problematic for a
company who is trying to promote the evolution of women’s professional
wrestling as being on par with the men.
WWE has tried to skirt around this issue as much as possible
by hyping up the men’s matches on the card, but it hasn’t escaped the notice of
many fans, particularly female fans. I know that this decision is ultimately
Vince McMahon’s, and he is a businessman. There is a lot of potential money to
be made in Saudi Arabia. It’s the same reason that US government continually
looks the other way when it comes to the rights of women there. The belief that
men and women should have equal rights only go as far as their pocketbook. The WWE certainly had an opportunity to take a stand and practice what they are preaching in terms of female empowerment and failed miserably.
Despite being a fan and wondering if WWE will finally take the
Universal title off of Brock Lesnar (like they should have done forever ago), I
will not be watching the Greatest Royal Rumble event. I feel like it is a slap
in the face to the women’s division. It certainly makes the Women’s Evolution
seem disingenuous and that female fans are not as important to the company as
the almighty dollar. If the powers that be at the WWE truly believe in evolution of women's wrestling, they should have put their money where their mouth is and made the decision not to perform in a country that would not afford their female fans and performers the same rights as their male talent and fans.
