WWE Divas Division: Time to Pull the Plug?

Is it time for the WWE to pull the plug on the agonizing WWE Divas Division? They have already done it twice.

Heart and sweat is the journey of female wrestlers: their dreams, struggles, and rivalries to be great in a male dominated industry. 

From 1990 to 1993, the women's division was dead...until the arrival of Alundra Blayze and a new wave of wrestling ladies. When Blayze left in 1995, the division died again only to come back in 1998.

After those issues throughout the early and mid-'90s, the women's division got a fresh new start.

The ensuing era yielded some of the greatest female wrestlers ever to battle in the WWE rings: Trish Stratus, Lita, Chyna, Molly Holly, Victoria, and many others.

But since 2006, after Lita and Stratus left, the WWE has been trying hard to keep the Divas Division alive with the "new generation," led first by Mickie James and later by Beth Phoenix, Melina, Natalya Neidhart, and Michelle McCool.

It seems they are going nowhere with the current Divas. Today is the WWE is filled with sexism. For example, the director of WWE said to the trainers "if the girls aren't hot enough to pose to playboy, then don't hire them at all". Nuff said. After the "Golen Era" ended, guess what happened? WWE pulled in more blondes....less talent. Today the Divas goes out wearing little to no clothing and the matches are less than 5 minutes. Their wrestling skills....thats a whole other story. Their wrestling skills are beat down brutal! My grandma can wrestle better than these girls. Recently I've heard that WWE is looking to hire more female wrestlers but guess what? They even said it loud and clear: slim, model, and great danceing skills. Whatever happened to the ummm.... wrestling skills???  Obiously looks is the only thing that matters in the WWE right now.

Why do you think divas like Maryse get such praise when they're not good wrestlers? It's obviously because of their looks. There's no denying that Maryse is a beautiful woman, but that has overshadowed her actual wrestling ability. Fans have been saying that Maryse is one of the top in ring competitors in the divas division. They put her over the likes of Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, and others. Maryse gets a free pass because of her beauty. She's easily one of the most attractive divas in the eyes of many fans and it is appealing. There's far more fans who compliment Maryse and praise her than criticize her as a mediocre wrestler.

With Mickie James gone and Beth Phoenix away for probably six months, will the women's division survive? 

I can say this because I can and it's true: WWE is blind. They have Divas that can actually know how to wrestler as good as the guys can but aren't getting the spotlight they deserved.  

Let's be honest. Who really cares about the Divas except for their eye candy appeal? The Bella Twins almost look like harlots with the Raw's guest hosts.

Michelle McCool is boring, and the other Divas are rarely seen in action.

Fans tend to cheer and like the more gorgeous divas over the divas with wrestling ability. Divas like Trish Stratus receive an enormous amount of praise because of her looks and her Women's championship reigns. Fans tend to praise more of the attractive divas over the divas with actual wrestling ability. Fans will always side with beauty instead of wrestling ability. Kelly Kelly might job at times, but she sure gets more pushed than divas like Gail Kim or Natalya. Looks will get you more over with the fans than anything else in the WWE. Wrestling ability is and always has been irrelevant in the WWE.

I don't think you always need to have the "look". A lot of wrestlers inside the WWE lack the "look", but you could still be successful if you have the charisma to get over with the fans. The "look" simply helps you get over with the fans, and if you're already over due to your charisma or mic skills, the "look" doesn't matter as much. Batista has neither mic skills or charisma, but he has the "look" that made him over. Same goes for Chris Benoit. Chris Jericho doesn't really have it, but he had the mic skills, character, and charisma that got him over with the fans. Bryan Danielson does have a look of intensity that kind of reminds me of Chris Benoit. I think Danielson could become over with the fans.

The WWE can't get the fans interested by using their ladies the way they do. In addition, with 10 or so Divas split in two brands, how can there be any competition? I'm desperately praying and hoping things'll change for the better. 

My Angry Letter To Vince McMahon

Dear Mr. McMahon,

I have been a wrestling fan, more specifically a WWE fan, since I was just a pre-teen.  I have been with you guys through the good, bad, and ugly.

Steroid scandals, Monday Night Wars, Benoit Murder-Suicide, WWE PG, Katie Vick, etc.  You name it; I've stood by you no matter what.  That was mostly because when the cameras were on and your programming was on TV, you more often than not put on great wrestling show after great wrestling show. 

So when the 900th episode of RAW came around, naturally I was excited. Now, I know you don't like the IWC, mostly because they sometimes give away information before it airs on TV.  But when I was reading some of my usually reliable sources, they told me there were multiple surprises planned which should make the show even more outstanding.

I never saw these surprises.

In fact, what I saw was the same thing I've seen for the past few months, below-average quality matches mixed in with mildly entertaining (at best) humor segments. A lot of people may have loved the show, but they're ones who probably haven't been watching for very long and haven't seen the best that this organization can bring.  The 900th episode of your "flagship" show deserved much better.  And so did the fans.

Do you expect anyone under the age of 10 to believe that Bret Hart was actually going to wrestle the Undertaker?  We all know about Bret's stroke. We know he can't take any kind of shot to the head.  Don't waste our time by setting up this segment when you can have quality matches instead.

If you want to have Nexus attack Undertaker and look strong that's fine.  I'm fine with the fact that Hart, Undertaker, and Kane were all on the show since they are a huge part of the legacy of the show and the company.  I'm also glad to see that Mark Henry was given a chance to be on the show since he's been with the company for more consecutive years than anyone other than Undertaker and Triple H.

Why make a match to decide number one contenders for the tag titles and then have it end in less than two minutes in a double DQ?  Things like this have been all too common the past year and then some.

I do like the fact that you want to continue to push Nexus.  Having Nexus win the match is fine.  The start and end of the match was ridiculous however.  Having Jericho and Edge walk out would've been much more believable at Summerslam than it was for this match.  Make Nexus look stronger by having them actually defeat all five of these guys.

And are we supposed to believe that Randy Orton, the top guy in most people's eyes, is going to be defeated by Wade Barrett's weak finisher and nothing else?  Orton didn't get into the match until the very end and had nothing done to him other than being knocked off the apron.  Last time I checked, Barrett's finisher isn't Sweet Chin Music. My grandmother could kick out of that move.

I read on the Internet, whether its true or not, that you're planning on ending the Nexus storyline in October.  If that's the case, then why even have them win this match? Have the RAW guys dominate Nexus and slowly disband the group.  If you're not going to disband the group, then why wasn't this the outcome of Summerslam and not RAW?

My last argument has to do with the previously mentioned lack of surprises. Bret Hart and the Undertaker don't count.  Neither does playing Stone Cold's music.  Neither does having Big Show do an imitation of Hulk Hogan.  In fact, most of the flashbacks we saw before and after commercials were from the past 5 years.  There wasn't anything else interesting besides Stone Cold beer baths and "This is Your Life?"

And where were the legends and Hall of Famers?  The Rock made a video appearance on Smackdown's anniversary last year.  He couldn't do one? Stone Cold couldn't make an appearance?  Shawn Michaels has been posting all sorts of things on youtube lately, you couldn't have him send in a message?  

Where was Jim Ross?  He deserved better than a quick mention or two from Lawler and Cole.  Even Triple H could've sent a video message thanking everyone for watching over the years.  No, it wouldn't ruin his 95th comeback from injury if that's what you're thinking.

So these are my complaints with the show.  It may seem like a lot for just one show, but its more than that.  Its an example of what's been wrong with the company for the past year or two now.  A lot of people will blame the PG thing, but other than less crotch chops, less middle fingers, and less blood, the product is still the same.  It's the quality that's the problem.

There shouldn't be title matches on major PPV's and TV shows ending in count-outs and DQs every other week.  Once in a while is okay, but when you do it so often it cheapens the matches.  It also cheapens the titles when you have guys either holding onto the title for a month or two, or you have them constantly retaining due to DQs. Having a respectable champion legitimately retaining the title for many months will help bring prestige back to these once sacred belts.

In closing I have this to say.  The WWE has been a pastime for me and brought me many years of enjoyment.  But its a luxury.  It's entertainment.  

It's not something like family, friends, or a career.  I don't have to have it in order to keep breathing. You and your writers need to come up with better quality programming on a consistent basis or I'm walking away.  That's something I never thought I would say after years of watching.

You don't have to bring back the "Golden Age" or the "Attitude Era", just put on quality wrestling mixed in with good storylines and believable characters who can bring action and humor.

As far as I'm concerned, you need to make up a lot when the 1000th episode comes around in a couple of years.  Because of my loyalty and the ability I know the company has in putting on great entertainment, I'm going to keep watching RAW on a "probation" basis for the next two years.

I haven't missed an episode since its inception.  But if I haven't seen significant improvement, when episode 1001 airs in 2012, I'll be watching something else.  My guess is I won't be the only one to do the same.

Sincerely,

A loyal, but angry fan.

Professional Wrestling

I don't know why I like it so much, I just always have. Summer of '09 is when I first became addicted. I spent countless hours planted in front of the TV mesmerize by images of these strong men and powerful women taking matters to their own hands. Watching. fascinating. Two and a half years later I'm a average ninth grader by day.....same thing by night. I still watch wrestling. "Can you believe the mindless human beings that watches wrestling? Its so fake!" I don't care. I love the athleticism, the storyline, and even the incredibly chessey acting. I mean, what other TV sows has a deadman, rockstar, masked Mexican wrestler, a millionaire who drives different cars each day, frats, some of the world's most beautiful women, a rapper, giants, pop princess, world's top 5 most egotistical people, a superman, a 7 foot Indian giant, and a leprechaun? You cant make these stuffs up, its wrestling anything is possible. I look at wrestling as theater as it's best. And guess what? So does most of the fans. We know what's going on. Is it sports? Is it entertainment? IT’S BOTH!! It’s um..…wrestling!

The men of professional wrestling are easily stenotype as tattooed meat heads fake punching each others and the women are sluts who's always either stripping for the audience or wrestling in their bikinis. However, once you watch a wrestling show, it'll change the way you think of professional wrestling forever.  Now let’s get something straight, I know wrestling is a show. The winners are predetermined and the violent is choreographed. However the result of the violent is very very real. All these years watching wrestling, one thought still bounces in my mind. What sorts of human beings bashes another man’s skull for a living? Who are these guys? So I got off my couch and decided to find out.

Picture yourself as a wrestler. You wake up at 5:00 in the morning. You get to the airport at 6:30. You take a flight across the country and arrive at 10:00. After renting a car and checking in a hotel room, and getting something to eat it’s 1:00. Time to go to a photo shoot. So you arrive to a mall and sign autographs and take pictures with the fans until 3:00. After you that you head for a local news channel and do a short interview and it’s 3:30. It’s time to head over to the arena. Getting through traffic, you might make it by 4:50. After you eat something and do a short workout its 6:00. At that time you head over and talk to one of the bookers and he goes over your match with you and let you know who’ll win and who'll lose. If you cant find time, you and your opponent do quick rundown of what’s going to happen. By then it’s 7:00 and it’s time to go on. As your theme song hits, you crowd goes wild. They’re either cheering or booing you. Either way is good as long as they’re not dead silent. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Going out and talking in front of 40,00 people while being on national live TV. You wrestle a match and leave the arena at 10:00. You get to the hotel by 12:00 and get some sleep before you do it all over again in the morning. Now imagine doing this 300 TIMES A YEAR and imagine doing this while trying to find time to workout and keep a marvelous body a wrestler has. And you want some sort of social life don’t you?

But those are just the EASY parts of being a wrestler. The crappy part is when you first start out. In order to become a wrestler you must do is to go to a wrestling school. A good phone book should supply you with information on at least one facility. When you signed up (the average cost for a decent wrestling school is $2000 for two months) you begin to train. 99 percent of people never make it past the school. Imagine high school football, except twicw as hard. The trainer doesn’t care if you quit or not, he’s juts doing his job. On the first day they’re going to let you know you’re going to get hurt, that’s unavoidable. Most people walk away from the school after the first week with bruises galore. If you’re one of the lucky (and I use this word loosely) people make it through. Then it’s time for the independent circuit. What is a independent circuit? It’s like the WHL of the NHL.

You’ll be working once or twice a week, in front of 100-300 people making $25 a night or sometimes nothing at all. This is to work on your ring skills and personality. Some guys find themselves in these small leagues for years, other never make it past them. Now if you’re lucky enough to get yourself booked in a show and a scout happens to be there, you’ll have a slight chance that he might like you. If he does, you’ll be receiving a phone call or letter asking you to wrestle in a dark match, A dark match is a match done on the night of a TV taping, but its not aired. The purpose of a dark match is to pumped up the crowd and get them ready for the real show. So you go to the big company, meet the wrestlers, wrestle your match, and go home. 9 out of 10 times you’ll just have to wait for that to happen again. If you’re a lucky one, you’ll get a phone call asking you to come back and wrestle in more dark matches. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll get signed by the major company know as WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment.

So you can see, being a wrestler is a tough job. Even if you do make it past the school and get hired by a top federation. But before you pursue the dream of becoming a wrestler, ask yourself: will you be able to handle the schedule? Are you willing to be on the road traveling 300 plus days a year? Are you tough enough to handle the surgeries? And do you have the guts to be put down by the fans and everyone around you? Cause I garenteed you, people will critize you especially if you play a villain. In order to survive in this busiesuess, you have to have a thick layer of skin.

But hey, being a wrestler isn't that bad. I mean wrestlers are famous athletes that perform worldwide. They‘re in video games, trading cards, have their own merchandise, millions and million of fans, traveling the world, being on TV and movies, commercials, magazine covers, and they even have their own action figure! Personally,I think the best part of this job is that it requires traveling, and plenty of it too! I'm sure everyone had dreamed of visiting somewhere like Paris, Hawaii, China, Rome, England, and whatever places in the world you could think of. You name it, they'll be there.   And the paycheck is a whole other story.  So basically a wrestler is a combination of a athlete and a movie star. Now who doesn't love that?


For every wrestlers, making it into the WWE is the dream. WWE is the grandest stage of them all, the big dance, the the biggest event in sports entertainment. Some movie stars are born in the WWE. Ever heard of Hulk Hogan or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? WWE created these guys and turned them into stars they are today. The WWE is BIG. How big? It's worth up to 1 billion dollars. Thats more than the New York Knicks, Rangers, and Mets combine. This empire has been ruled by the same family for 4 generations: the McMahon family. It's current leader: Vince McMahon aka who I like to call "Santa Clause" ever since he gave us the most priceless present we could ever imagine: the WWE. When Vince bought the WWE from his father, overnight he changed it from a region business to a global phenomenal. Vince even has own Hollywood walk of fame star! But back to BIG, WWE has Hollywood writers, composers, even wardrobe designers, and they even have their own movie production (WWE Studios). Does NFL, NBA, or NHL have a movie production? Didn't think so. Thats how big the WWE is.

As far as me, I still feel the same way of wrestling that I did when I was 13 years old. Only one thing has changed after Ive turned into a hardcore wrestling fan: I want to be a professional wrestler when I grow up. Why you think I even wrote this in the first place?? Go ahead, say whatever you want, the negativities coming out of  your mouth will just turn into fuel to feed my hunger. And until my next blog, I leave you with a video that defines the PROS of pro wrestling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5quZdqiUTk&feature=related