Shining a Spotlight 9.25.08: Women in Wrestling '08

Posted by Michael Weyer on 09.25.2008

My annual look at the female side of the business with how WWE is improving women's wrestling while TNA is starting to stumble.

It's never been my intention but I've noticed over the last couple of years that an almost annual thing for me is to look at women in wrestling. It's not something I really plan to do but circumstances sometimes make it flow as it is interesting to see that in the time since my last examination, women grappling has seen a bit of a shift with both WWE and TNA, which merits a new look. It was inspired in part by the latest Pro Wrestling Illustrated which has a list of the 50 top women wrestlers. Sure, you have to take what PWI says with more than a grain of salt but the rundown of the grapplers is still good but only touches on part of how women in the business have seen their roles shift a bit over the last year.

It's no secret that as brutal as the industry can be on men, it can be even more so for women. Almost from the start, female wrestlers in the US have been featured more for their looks than actual in-ring talent. True, back in the 1950's and ‘60's, you saw serious grappling from those women but they were still featured more for their beauty. That really changed in the ‘80's with women featured in more valet roles that enhanced their sex appeal for the masses. So, really, those complaining about the "Diva" era are ignoring how it's just a culmination of the way women have been presented over the years.

I've covered that before in previous columns on women grappling, how things really shifted with the "Attitude" era leading to more T&A from both WWE and WCW and how WWE has focused more on how hot their women look than whether they can even handle the most basic wrestling moves. True, we have seen some great women wrestlers like Trish Stratus, Molly Holly and others but we all seem resigned to more costume matches than straight-up wrestling.

But that seems to have changed over the last few months as WWE has really seemed to emphasize actual in-ring action for their women. Sure, the matches are short but it's more than we've gotten before. I know the Smackdown Divas title is ugly as hell but the fact that they're giving both brands their own belt means they want to keep women wrestling going for both programs. That's important for Smackdown which has ignored women wrestling longer without a title but with a new network, they need to hook some new audiences and that's one way to help it out.

It's also important to note how the actual women wrestlers seemed to be stepping up their game a bit as well. I wasn't happy with Michelle McCool at first but she really has some skills (not to mention a finisher so cool I'm surprised some male wrestler didn't try to steal it first) and making her the first champ is helping the belt with some credibility. It also helps that Smackdown has a good set of challengers, led by Natalya. It's been long coming for her to get a push given her experience and training and she's got a good powerful style. She also seems to have embraced the "hot girl" aspect of WWE, dying her hair red and hyping her body a bit while still staying healthy. I know Maryse isn't everyone's favorite in the ring but her arrogant attitude makes her a nice heel and Victoria's always around for some nice matches.

Over on RAW, Beth Phoenix has more than proven herself in the ring as a terrific grappler and makes the perfect champion. Her feud with Mickie was quite good as both women know how to go but the return of Candice Michelle is a boost to the women's division. She really has come a long way from the "Go Daddy Girl", showing some nice moves and worked as champion better than I expected. Her injury came at a bad time but her return sets up a good feud with Phoenix that can hopefully lead to more excitement. I'm sure RAW bookers are waiting the return of Melina, another hot body who improved in the ring nicely and even as a face comes off so wicked and intense that you can't help but like watching her. Throw in Katie Lea, whose got both attitude and talent to spare and the actual in-ring talent of RAW ladies is higher than it's been in years.

I will acknowledge that there's still plenty of women who are better as crowd-pleasers than grapplers. Maria fits that category well as the woman just has crowds eating out of her hand with her personality and amazing sex appeal. She has some good mannerisms in the ring and is a fair wrestler but it's clear she knows her strengths are in getting heat and plays up to them. Jillian fits that category as well, a fair grappler but really gets into her role as a delusional would-be singer who has no idea she's utterly horrible. As for Lillian Garcia, she's proven herself as a loyal commodity with her own fanbase even if she is just the announcer.

I know some will complain WWE still focuses more on the Diva stuff with more searches and things. But I think it's important to point out the fact that when she started out, Trish Stratus was little more than eye candy herself. But with a bit of training, she blossomed into one of the finest female wrestlers of all time. I've already mentioned how some women like Candice have improved greatly in the ring so there's always the chance for some of these seeming "no-talent surgical wonders" to unlock hidden potential in themselves. Some will point out that so many ladies were great in the farm leagues like OVW but "dumbed down" for the big shows but then, you can say that about a lot of male wrestlers as well. It may not always work but WWE is trying in their own way which I think is quite important as it shows there's still a future for women in wrestling.

It's pretty obvious the reason WWE has put more emphasis on actual female wrestling is because of TNA (not that anyone at WWE will admit that of course). From the start, the Knockouts division has been arguably one of the best booked parts of the entire company. There were times, in fact, that it seemed like the women were working for an entirely different company as their stuff was expertly planned even while the male programs were rather haphazard. Having Gail Kim as their first champion was a smart move and her feud with Amazing Kong was well done too. But lately, I've begun to have some doubts in the Knockouts.

I'm not running it down completely as they still know how to book things. Taylor Wilde is a great example as rather than just have her come out and beat Kong straight off in her first appearance, they built it up with Wilde losing a hard-fought match, attacking Kong the next week, beating Saheed to earn a shot, then getting the upset win for the title and money. She's been presented well in various bouts with a nice style and is clicking with fans. However, the loss of Gail Kim is a blow to the division as they'd been building up to a Kong-Kim rematch which is now off the cards.

They still have some good stars like ODB whose really taken off with her unorthodox style. However, lately, those in charge have been making some rather questionable moves. My first concern came with that crazy ladder match a while back that ended with Roxxi getting her head shaved. I admit some bias as I've always liked Roxxi with her unique style and great finisher and it made no sense to get rid of such a unique hairstyle. I'm also not pleased with their sudden change of her into this "hardcore Knockout." Sure, it sounds cool to have a woman who can blade for TV but she's got too much talent to be saddled with violent squashes against Kong.

More troubling are the Beautiful People. Don't get me wrong, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky do have great charisma as an arrogant heel team. The problem is that they're just pulling out all the "Diva" attitude stuff the Knockouts have avoided for a while. Just witness the time-wasting "beauty pageant" on Impact which is exactly the sort of stuff fans hated with the Diva Search. The whole point when the Knockouts started was to present real women's wrestling minus the antics of WWE but now it seems those in charge are embracing that style more which is not a good move. We all know how TNA can be rough doing "skits over wrestling" on their shows (although that has improved a bit over the last few months) so letting the Knockouts sink down to evening gown matches weakens the whole division.

The wrestlers aren't the only ones facing some trouble in TNA. Christy Hemme has gone on record wanting to do more in-ring stuff but now she's been stuck with a rip-off of Jillian Hall's act as a bad singer and valet. Salinas is reportedly gone due to money issues, robbing LAX of a nice bonus. Then you've got Karen Angle. Yes, we were all sick to death of her soap opera with Kurt taking center stage but she did seem to find a niche with her interview segment. However, her divorce with Kurt does seem to hint she may be gone as I don't see them able to work together in the middle of the proceedings, in plain view of everyone. And Val, a woman never that hugely over, has been put in the middle of a feud that basically has her playing one of the most beloved women wrestling has ever known.

The biggest problem the Knockouts division has is that it's so small. Taylor, ODB, Kong, the Beautiful People, Roxxi….and really, that's pretty much it. They need to put out some calls to get some more fresh faces in there and help build it up more if they want to be serious about it. They've been booked so well and it'd be a damn shame to have the Division sink into gimmick bouts with the same half-dozen women around. TNA should emphasize how it's a bit easier to get ahead with them than in WWE where there are already plenty of hot ladies about in a bigger pool. There are lots of grapplers in the independent circles who'd like the exposure, not to mention SHIMMER has plenty of candidates as well. Indeed, Roxxi and Kong cut their teeth in SHIMMER and TNA can offer more immediate impact than WWE could, not to mention emphasize the in-ring skills without dumbing them down. It's what made the division work well when it started and it's what can allow them to continue to excel.

It's also worth noting the two biggest behind-the-scenes woman in the business: Dixie Carter and Linda McMahon. The fact is, Carter has been a key to TNA's success so far, willing to take chances on funding them and extending to big time stars. I don't blame her for some bad creative moves as she's letting men who should know how to run things handle that end. She's a tough cookie in negotiations and without her backing, TNA might have folded a long time ago so no matter how bad it gets, never take away from her contribution.

Then there's Linda McMahon. One of the biggest mysteries among fans is exactly how she and Vince have stayed married for so many decades given her temperament, harshness and rumored affairs. I think it's partly because she truly does love him and maybe it's also because she recognizes a winning ticket when she sees it and obviously enjoys the lifestyle. But I think the reason it's worked is because Linda can be just as hard-assed and brutal in business as Vince is. She's the one who handles a lot of network negotiations and was notorious handling the move from USA to Spike and vice versa, methodical about how much money WWE would make and ignoring any "breach of contract" issues. More importantly, she has the same gift Vince does of being able to seem reasonable no matter what and quite persuasive as well. She comes off stilted on TV a lot but watch her in a DVD interview and she's actually engaging, warm and even funny but beneath it all is a steely resolve that makes her a perfect fit for Vince. Her contributions haven't been as acknowledged but I do believe she has played a huge part in WWE's success and often the balance Vince needs to keep from going too over the top.

So as noted, women wrestling seems to have seen some improvement over the last year, particularly with WWE. That's great news for the entire industry as it shows a commitment to real action over T&A and such. Oh, they'll go for that still, they know it gets fans going. We'll still see Divas doing Playboy and skimpy costume bouts. But now, WWE really seems to be giving actual wrestling more of a chance with women capable of really doing it. Having both shows with their own titles enhances the action and makes the women step up their game a bit. They do still need to spread out the training but the fact they're even doing this emphasis on actual wrestling is a major change from business over the last few years. TNA's Knockouts still remain top as well but they need to attract more grapplers to build the division up and more importantly, make sure they don't sink into "Diva-like" antics that can weaken the entire division for fans. SHIMMER continues to put out the best women's wrestling around and one would hope the big two could follow their strict training schedules to make sure they get the best out of their grapplers.

As I said at the start, the business can be harder on women then on men and with a shorter shelf life as well. But there are women out there who want to make it in wrestling and for both companies to give a fair shake is good for the industry on the whole. If nothing else, it's a great opportunity to show how tough the "fairer sex" can truly be, both taking it and dishing it out.