The best players should play. It’s a simple mantra we hear a million times in sports from the highest level coaches to our regular selves sitting on our couches. It’s what make a team great, whether it’s sports of a job. We expect the powers-that-be to put us where we can do our jobs the most effectively. So, it’s not a surprise to hear Becky Lynch speak on removing the gender barrier. It’s a legitimate complaint, but it’s one that can be handled wrong.
She’s 100% correct
https://twitter.com/BeckyLynchWWE/status/1220489376821583873
Becky Lynch is only saying what other women have been saying in the wrestling industry, and it’s true.
To be honest, it’s not about changing a division’s name, as that’s an empty gesture in my opinion (and probably done to appease fans after Triple H’s joke backfired. It’s about giving equal opportunity. The problem here is what’s equal and fair to one, isn’t to another.
This is where honest communication comes into it
The higher ups can’t BS their employees to avoid a situation, but the employees can’t be expecting to be on the receiving end of a shaft job either. It’s a delicate balance of trust that takes time to form between different parties. One lie or overreaction can ruin any ground gained.
She’s not alone
As I mentioned earlier, other women have said the same thing. Ember Moon is one of the loudest voices, but Alexa Bliss and others have spoken out just as loudly at times. The fact it’s hard to name them shows how much attention it gets, or how few of them take their concerns outside the company.
Wendi Richter ended her WWE career in 1985 after she was the victim of the Original Screwjob by Vince McMahon and the Fabulous Moolah for wanting equal pay (Reportedly she was paid $5000 for her WrestleMania 1 appearance compared to reports of Pau Orndorff being paid $20,000 and Hulk Hogan between $75,000 and $100,000. At the time, she was the face of the women’s division and was as popular as Hulk Hogan).
The women’s division would probably be a larger part of the WWE had things gone differently, and that’s what these women are fighting for.
The women’s division deserve their own brand
I wrote about this a short while ago and still feel it’s a viable idea.
There will be plenty of naysayers, but given how the WWE can’t find time for their mid-carders in general on their shows — thanks mainly to their over-bloated roster — this is a logical choice.
It’ll give them a place to call home to focus on their own storylines and developing their characters and skills. They could still appear on the other brands, but it’d give them and fans another outlet to see these immensely talented women do their thing.
This would allow them to better develop the women’s tag team division, and unify the championships (Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and NXT UK) and create a mid-card title. The storyline would then have a chance to grow and expand from chasing four championships to two, and it’d give the mid-carders a chance to grow and develop their own storylines.
They even had their own pay-per-view (Evolution) on October 28, 2018 that featured all of the brands, and there was a serious push behind them for the next month or so before things slowly returned to “normal.”
Having their own brand would allow them to have more pay-per-views and reach new fans while giving existing ones something cool to watch.
It’s time for the WWE to stop pandering to their women’s division and work to allow them to become the force they’re capable of becoming.
