“Man. This has been a great show tonight.
The opener really got me pumped. Definitely five stars on the Meltzer Scale.
The Intercontinental match could easily be M.O.T.Y. candidate.
I’ll never forget that Street Fight. I can’t believe that dude went through a flamimg table!
The World Championship match is going to be crazy tonight! I wonder what’s next on the card…
Chick match?! BATHROOM BREAK!”
That’s how it’s been for a long time. You or someone you know is watching a wrestling show. Everything is hunky dory until the girls come out to wrestle. Sure, they’re great to look at! We all know they can’t wrestle, though!
Back in the day, there were exceptions for most fans that dismissed Womens Wrestling. We stared in awe the first time we locked eyes on The Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna. The ongoing rivalry between Lita and Trish Stratus drew our attention, not just because of their beauty, but because their athletic ability. The feud between Trish and Mickie James captured our imaginations— in more ways than one. Victoria, Molly Holly, Ivory, among others, were names that the most die hard of wrestling fans could look at and see credibility in. Beyond that, dudes universally dubbed the Divas match on a wrestling show as “The Bathroom Break.”
Are things finally changing?
Last week, #GiveDivasAChance began trending on social media during Raw, after a mere thirty second contest between The Bella Twins, Emma and Paige ended with one singular sit out face buster. Apparently, after years of looking at women’s bouts as nothing more than a reason to go drain the main vein, it seems as though the wrestling community wants to see chicks get their opportunity to steal the show.
In the last decade, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing swimsuit models get employed to be professional wrestlers. 9 times out of 10, this hasn’t panned out into creating a credible pro. But a few bad eggs shouldn’t have spoiled the whole bunch. While it didn’t help the perception of it, there were still the likes of Lita, Trish, Molly, Victoria, Ivory. In present years, we’ve seen other women prove their worth. Beth Phoenix. Melina. Awesome Kong. Layla. Michelle McCool. Nattie. AJ. Paige. Hell, in TNA, The Knockouts have gone out to the ring and outperformed many of the guys.
So why now? Why is it that all of a sudden, fans want to be so social about the limited use of Divas on wrestling programming? I think the answer lies in NXT. Since becoming available for viewing on the WWE Network in 2014, the women of WWE’s developmental system have gotten ample time on the weekly program to consistently go out and deliver performances that make the guys that have to follow them have to step up their game that much more.
Rather than trickling down, the outstanding matches put on by girls like Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Alexis Bliss have flowed upstream, right up towards the women on the main roster. Girls like Nattie, Paige, Naomi and Emma have the skills to create memorable in ring action. Now, they want the time to do it.
The girls deserve the chance, quite frankly. Not just in WWE, but on the independent scene. There are girls that perform just as good, if not better than most of the boys. Candice LaRae. Kimber Lee. Cherry Bomb. Mia Yim. Heidi Lovelace. Allisyn Kay. Jasmin. Yes… even Veda Scott. I’ve seen them dive through the air. I’ve watched them get hit with the same chairs that the guys do. Hell, some of the indy gals are in better shape than most dudes! I’ve wittnessed them thrown into barbwire and ripped to shreds. I’ve seen their foreheads split wide open, up close and personal.
They can talk the talk and walk the walk. This is 2015, not 1915. Not all girls can go. But many of them can. I really hope we find a new reason to take a leak by the end of 2015.
#GiveDivasAChance
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-Greg
