Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
We’re taking off the Nylons today, friends. I have much to say about the journey we’ve mapped for women’s wrestling in the past three years that Nylons and Midriffs has existed, but I want to take one last review at this unforgettable year first. So much happened in America in the midst of great trauma, … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Being Seen (Year in Review, 2020)
Wow wow wow. The past two weeks have produced some of the best women’s wrestling I can remember seeing in the last 12 months. For both WWE and AEW, my critiques are mostly nitpicky details from a critic invested in keeping this momentum going. It can’t be denied that the women have been an integral … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: In Sasha We Trust (July 8, 2020)
Sometimes, I think WWE and AEW read Nylons, because no sooner do I critique something about their women’s divisions do they correct themselves on the following episode of TV. As many of you witnessed, women returned to TV on AEW two weeks ago. Hooray! And as such, there were some good things, and there were … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The (Secret) Fear (May 20, 2020)
I find myself despondent writing Nylons this week. As most of us likely know by now, WWE administered mass layoffs, furloughs, and releases of their staff last week — inclusive of producers, writers, trainers, on- and off-air talent. I followed the news as it broke on YouTube with my preferred wrestling content creators. I texted … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: A Reckoning (April 22, 2020)
The oddest WrestleMania in history has come and gone, folks. And well, with all due respect to AEW, I think the historic nature of WrestleMania this year requires me to focus on it exclusively this week. Still, I will give some general thoughts on AEW at the end of this post. All in all, I … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The Business of Wrestling (WrestleMania Review, 2020)
In the words of the great feminist writer Roxane Gay, every day is a month in this new world of social distancing. As a fan of wrestling, I am glad to still have this form of entertainment during this tumultuous time. However, it comes with a twinge of concern for the people I see on … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Near? Far? Wherever You Are… (March 25, 2020)
If you’re a long time wrestling fan like me, you know how this time of year feels when it comes around. While it infamously has no off-season, wrestling — when viewed as a cyclical sport — is now entering playoff season. We’re rounding third base into home, and the payoff for months of rivalry and … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The Syndrome (March 11, 2020)
Happy 2020 wrestling fans! It’s good to be back here with you all, hashing out what we love (and hate) about women’s wrestling in WWE and AEW. We have a lot of ground to cover so far this year, starting with the Royal Rumble and its aftermath. Because I see the new year as a … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Go Fix Your Braid (February 12, 2020)
As we close out 2019 (and more generally, the decade), it is time now to look back and consider the short- and long-term implications of the year’s events on women’s wrestling as an entity. Did it evolve? Did it shake the proverbial table of the wrestling world? I’m not so sure. As with any roller-coaster, … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Slow Burn (Year in Review, 2019)
Ho Ho Ho and so forth! We are a fortnight away from a new decade and closing yet another chapter to women’s wrestling history. But before we look back fondly (or otherwise) on the year that was, let’s take one more dive into the weekly happenings of WWE, NXT, and AEW for the women. Because … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Guns and Glitter (December 19, 2019)