With the evolution of the revolution of women’s wrestling, women are breaking ground in this male dominated vocation, especially in WWE. The Mae Young Classic, an all women’s tournament under the auspices of WWE, was another step. With a successful Classic completed, now what.
Women are not the filler matches for WWE anymore. No more bathroom breaks or snack grabbing time. Some are still eye candy, but they can wrestle, and fans remain in their seats, wanting to see them compete more and more.
In WWE, women are now main eventing Raw, SmackDown, NXT and pay-per-views. They even had their own tournament recently – the Mae Young Classic.
WWE chose 32 women from WWE developmental and the indies (national and international) for the four-round tourney on WWE Network. It was a smashing success.
Is the company capitalizing on that success?
I think it’s time for a women’s faction — an Evolution, nWo, Bullet Club, Four Horsemen. The components are in place for the Four Horsewomen of WWE; it’s just staging the right angle at the right time. With the development of Mae Young Classic finalist Shayna Baszler and the prospects of signing UFC main eventer Ronda Rousey, that would lead nicely into it.
At the Mae Young Classic, you had a stare down between three of The Four Horsewomen of MMA (Marina Shafir, Rousey, Jessamyn Duke) and three of The Four Horsewomen of WWE (Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bayley).
Looking at the alternates and line-up from the Mae Young Classic, you had others with some MMA influence, like Germany’s Jazzy Gabert, Brazil’s Taynara Conti and Tonga’s Lei’D Tapa. You have Sonya Deville (Daria Berenato from Tough Enough 2015) with an MMA background on the NXT roster.
I interviewed WWE’s Charlotte Flair 1-on-1 via phone and Paul Triple H Levesque via media conference call. It’s very interesting to hear what each (talent and executive) had to say about the state of women’s wrestling and the benefits from/of The Mae Young Classic.
Charlotte Flair, 31, an incredible athlete who co-authored “Second Nature,” is helping lead the evolution of the revolution of women’s wrestling in WWE. One of her main goals is to headline WrestleMania, the biggest stage in professional wrestling. That is doable, considering who is making that claim — someone who’s helped bring women’s wrestling to new heights in WWE.
About the state of women’s wrestling today…
Charlotte said: “I think it’s only getting bigger and better. I think with the Mae Young Classic, bringing in [32] women from all over the world shows what an impact women have in the company, and with that being said, on the main roster to having bigger storylines and main eventing Raw, SmackDown and Hell in a Cell, that WrestleMania is in our foreseeable future.”
Could there be a women’s faction at some point like an nWo, Four Horsemen, Evolution?
She answered: “I say, ‘Why not?’ I say anything is possible.”
At the Mae Young Classic, you had that stare down between members of The Four Horsewomen of MMA and members of The Four Horsewomen of WWE. If something does come of that, what will it mean for the business?
Charlotte noted: “I think it’s exciting. I think it puts more eyes on the women’s division, and it just goes to show that the women of WWE are a major attraction. Other sports stars outside of WWE want to be a part of it. That’s how much buzz we have created, and anytime there are more eyeballs on us as women to be part of major storylines, it’s huge for everyone involved.”
Baszler, who reached the finals of the Mae Young Classic, has an extensive MMA background and also has experience in professional wrestling, competing in successful women’s wrestling groups Shimmer and Japan’s Stardom. One of her trainers was Josh Barnett, who is also a two-sport athlete (MMA and pro wrestling).
Now 37, Baszler transitioned from the Mae Young Classic to NXT as did Conti, 22, a black belt in judo and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Deville has been there, NXT, too. Something is brewing.
Just not a women’s wrestling TV show on WWE Network.
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul Triple H Levesque, 48, discussed the WWE Mae Young Classic — prior to it broadcasting on WWE Network — during a media conference call in August.
Levesque said: “I think we’re experimenting with a lot of different things as far as programming and the way things work — as the world changes and as the viewing habits of the world shift and move. Everybody’s trying to figure that all out of how those shows look and operate.
“I feel like the opportunity with women is a bit different. While cruiserweights, it was easy to separate them out and make their own show [205 Live on WWE Network].
“With the women, you have, hopefully, a lot of opportunity for a lot of these women on Raw and SmackDown to beef up those rosters, on NXT to beef up that roster. As we continue to move down the road, hopefully, it’s still the work and the intent and progress. Just unfortunately in the real world of television at the level that we’re at, things take time to come to be. In the UK, as well, the intent there would be — as we do localized content — to put women there and have them everywhere. That’s the same opportunity as the men to be everywhere.
“So I don’t know if they need their own specific show to say, ‘Hey, here’s where the women are cultivated.’ I think as long as those opportunities are everywhere, then I don’t know if they need their own separate thing. I almost feel like that makes it less than for them.”
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True. They don’t need their own show. A faction can take over the show, dominating all the talent (women and men). And then, with that success, comes equal pay.
Just follow the money.