How WWE Women Can Ensure Success in a Post-Divas World

With the term “Diva” being retired, women competitors in WWE are now Superstars. Can the company avoid mishandling the change?

At WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, several major changes took place in the WWE Women’s Division. Most notably, the Divas Championship was retired, and a new WWE Women’s Championship was introduced. I think it’s safe to say the response has been overwhelmingly positive, and the new belt is absolutely gorgeous.

The second change was a little more under the radar, and not really known by many until Monday. A press release was handed out at WrestleMania regarding the new championship belt, but the same info at the end of that release gained traction when an article written by Stephanie McMahon appeared in The Players Tribune late Sunday. For simplicity, the press release is below, but take the time to read the whole Tribune piece.

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After several years, it’s official: the term “Diva” is being retired.

While obviously great news for nearly all wrestling fans – especially those who want to see talented women competitors like Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and others get equal treatment – this switch is potentially troubling simply based on a few incongruous events that also took place at WrestleMania.

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Immediately prior to the unveiling of the new Women’s Championship, a ten-Diva tag match (Diva still applied then) took place featuring teams broken down by whether or not a participant was currently on “Total Divas” or not. And the match was won by – you guessed it – the Total Divas team!

Second – and more troubling to me, at least – is how the championship match ended. Charlotte was victorious, basically just swapping one belt for another, but she needed the assistance of interference from her father, Ric Flair, to retain. All the talk about “male and female competitors being equal” goes out the window when literally the first match ever for the new Women’s Championship ends with a man ensuring a woman gets the job done, because it makes it seem like she can’t do it herself.

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Now, there’s obviously easy ways to explain both of these things away – Brie Bella, de facto captain of the Total Divas team is retiring and was getting her moment in the sun; Charlotte is a heel, and heels do heel things, and Ric Flair is The Dirtiest Player In The Game – but it’s a symptom of a bigger problem. It’s the same problem that plagued much of the so-called “Divas Revolution,” as well: Much of WWE’s actions are made from a public relations standpoint, rather than a creative/booking standpoint.

The fix to this is easier than one might think in one regard, as all that really needs to be done is to do what’s been done with Banks, Lynch, and Charlotte – let the feuds be about the competition. Sasha Banks is not wasting her time talking about things like Becky’s clothes or hair, and Charlotte isn’t concerned with who’s hooking up with who backstage – those three just literally want to fight each other forever, and that’s a good thing. The division needs more of that, and less reality television-forced stories. A new championship is an excellent start.

More wwe: WWE WrestleMania 32 Results: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch Video Highlights

If WWE can make good on this change away from Divas, it’ll ultimately be seen as a monumental shift. But there’s enough cause for apprehension at the moment that fans should be cautious to see if anything really changes before lauding the company too vigorously.