Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (July 2, 2018)

Credit: banksselection.tumblr.com

Hello good wrestling fans. I’m not going to beat around the bush with this post, because we have a lot to get through. I want us all to be caught up and acquainted with where things look to be going now that Money in the Bank is in the rearview. However, we’re still going to discuss MITB here, as well as the fallout from the pay-per-view on RAW and Smackdown Live. For post-PPV discussions, I’ll split up each usual section into two parts for the show and the subsequent TV installments. Let’s jump right in.

The Good
MITB: The women’s MITB ladder match was just fantastic. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The match had intrigue, excitement, plenty of spots, as well as suspense. Each woman had a chance to make her memorable mark on the match, and it didn’t seem that any one of them were dead weight (well, except for one, but we’ll get to that).

Credit: kennyomegasgf.tumblr.com

The crowd in Chicago (my city!) was also hot for this match, which only made it more fun to watch live at home. Special shout out to Sasha Banks, who continues to bump harder and sell more convincingly than her peers, male or female.

In addition to the ladder match, I must say that the Nia/Ronda match was well executed, especially considering how lackluster the build was for it.

RAW and SD Live: There were a few little nuggets of goodness on TV these past couple weeks. First, we’ll talk about The Tale of the Never-Ending Feud between Sasha Banks and Bayley. On the RAW after MITB, we saw multiple backstage segments threading through the show, culminating in a final declaration by Sasha that she was done with Bayley. This was good mostly for the execution; I’d love to see more women’s segments like this that seem to build on one another rather than just being one-offs to fill space on a show. It was nice to see some continuity in a women’s segment in a single episode of RAW, even if the actual content of the scenes left a lot to be desired. We’re going somewhere at least.

And then, we had Bayley beat the life out of Sasha the next week, leading the audience to believe she’s turning heel. Again, I’m unsure if I agree with that move — as Sasha makes a far better heel, especially in this rivalry — but I am captivated at the movement of this feud. I’m seriously hoping this culminates in a match at SummerSlam, especially since WWE has missed so many marquee match opportunities with these two. I’ll keep my reservations on the heel/face dynamic after the two go to counseling on RAW tonight *eye roll*.

In other news, Becky Lynch seems to finally be getting a push! This is sorely needed for her, and with Charlotte out of commission for the next several weeks, this is a golden opportunity for Becky and WWE Creative to assert her as a top woman in the SD Live women’s division. Also, the segment between Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey was very well done. It felt very Attitude Era, with Ronda storming to the ring to whoop ass and take names later. And her backstage interview after it all didn’t mince words — exactly the way that Ronda should be portrayed.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfJuw5EfXAE&w=560&h=315]

The Bad
MITB: I know a lot of fans (*cough* namely male) didn’t really mind the ending to the SD Women’s Title match, but considering the long term booking….this was bad. If it wasn’t bad enough that she lost to someone who likely couldn’t convincingly wrestle a mop, Asuka, at one time seen as one of the most dangerous women on the roster, was made to look like a fool because someone appeared wearing her entrance garb?

Asuka deserved to win that match. She needed that win after losing her streak. WWE is diminishing her to be Just Another Woman on the roster, and that’s one of the biggest mistakes they could make. When you have something special, you need to tout it as such. Carmella cannot hold a candle to Asuka in the ring. She couldn’t even hold Asuka’s robe. There’s no reason she should have won.

RAW and SD Live: Sort of recapping stories already discussed above, the logistics of the biggest women’s feuds right now are lacking. The Sasha/Bayley feud has been so overdone that you can barely manage to digest it now that it finally is happening. For as long as we’ve waited for the trigger to be pulled, it is disappointing that the timing is too little, too late. WWE needs to act quickly to make up for lost time or risk irrevocably tarnishing these women’s gimmicks for years to come.

In more Fierce Women Who Deserve Better news, Asuka continued to be chumped by Carmella, falling down to a single superkick from the champion.

Credit: lastwordonwrestling.com

I can understand to an extent the point that WWE is trying to make, that the Asuka of old is dead, but must they do so at the expense of logic? If you’re going to do this with Asuka, at least make her opponent someone who can match her between the ropes.

One last thing: Why is Mickie James just a sidekick to Alexa Bliss??? Is she not a six-time women’s champion? She deserves so much more than she is being given. I’m not sure if this is ageism, or Mickie wanting to work a more limited schedule (which I doubt, she knew what she was signing up for), or “waiting until the right time” or what, but given that she is older than the other ladies, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to get the best out of her while you have her? For as long as she has been in the busines grinding, she is owed her crowning final run.

The Thorny

Credit: pinterest.com

No need to split this section up, because I’ll be blunt: WWE’s obsession with blonde white women is ruining the women’s division. Period.

This will likely be a recurring critique in this series, but I’m so tired of it and it bears as much repeating as is necessary. The evidence in this instance is that, once again, two blonde white women are champion over much more deserving women of color (with some exceptions).

It was infuriating to see Alexa win the briefcase and even more so when she cashed in to win back the title a mere two months after losing it. Nia was booked horribly during her short run as champion. I don’t care if the feud between Alexa and Ronda makes sense after this shady booking. It still screwed over Nia, who could have been a monster of a champion if she was booked correctly, literally and figuratively.

Consider that Alexa has been on the roster for only two years but is already a five-time champion. Five times! Like Booker T! At least Charlotte has wrestling ability to justify her reign at the top. Alexa doesn’t have that, and she won the briefcase over women that could have used the push from a MITB win. I’m thinking Sasha, Ember, Naomi, and even Becky who, to add insult to worked injury, looked silly when she was at the top of the ladder fake-fumbling with the briefcase because Alexa missed her spot.

Carmella gets the same critique. She rises when her non-white opponent continues to fall from grace, even if the announcers try to sell us otherwise. Good mic skills should not be able to carry in-ring mediocrity this far, at least not in this era of WWE.

Although WWE promotes a “women’s evolution” within its brand, the politics of it all has stayed the same: the most marketable women are those that match the conventionally attractive and desirable template for white male viewers, and that is blonde and white. When will that empire fall?

***

Whew. That was a long one. But I think we’re all ready to look to the next few weeks before Extreme Rules. Now go back to your Netflix account so you can finish binging GLOW.

Stay legit bossy,
AC

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