WWE Needs To Get Serious About Rebuilding The Women’s Division Instead Of Showcasing The Few

The WWE has a wealth of talented women on the roster, but continue to struggle in featuring them the way that they should be presented.

This past week has been interesting for WWE content. Extreme Rules was on Sunday and it capped off a recent trend of mundane shows that didn’t please the fans in attendance or those watching around the world. One particular instance of disdain was the booking of the two women’s matches on the card. Carmella and Alexa Bliss walked out of the PPV as champions, but their recent title reigns raise a larger question as to whether or not the women’s revolution has stalled. As Daniel Bryan would say, the answer is a clear “Yes.”

Extreme Rules featured 12 matches from the preshow through the finale. In that time, only 12:55 seconds were dedicated to the two women’s title matches. Carmella would defeat Asuka, while Bliss defeated Nia Jax. Both matches left a lot to be desired.

‘Mella spent most of the match outside the ring while James Ellsworth was once again the central figure in the main women’s feud on SmackDown. As for Bliss, she wasn’t much of a factor in a match in which Jax, Mickie James, Ronda Rousey and Natalya were the main competitors taking bumps from pillar to post.

While both Carmella and Bliss are heel characters, their portrayal in these matches and the weeks leading up to the event create a cause for concern surrounding the current direction of the women’s division on the main roster.

One thing is clear; it would be hard to find a time in which the WWE featured a deeper pool of talented women on the roster. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ruby Riot, Becky, Charlotte, Natalya, Ember Moon – the list of athletes available on both brands shows that these competitors have come a long way from when they were just branded as Divas.

Other than Charlotte, WWE Creative has yet to show any true confidence to build intriguing storylines and feuds with these women. Even when the group is given the opportunity to shine in historical matches like the Elimination Chamber or Money in the Bank; the final success has gone to Bliss and Carmella – two of the least in-ring talented of the group.

The consistent need to feature Carmella and Bliss is stifling the overall growth of the women’s division. Bayley versus Banks was one of the most coveted feuds that the main roster could have presented; but they’ve been relegated to comical backstage skits, instead of letting them flourish in the ring like they’ve done in the past.

The mystique surrounding Asuka has all but been killed off and Jax’s character as a monster heel has been squashed in the same way she should be squashing her opponents. There’s a multitude of examples of talented women on this roster that are being held back by the need for WWE Creative to continue to give the fans more of the same; week in and week out.

Ronda Rousey’s fame has given her the opportunity to rise about this problem as she’s a captivating persona in her own right. But WWE isn’t doing themselves any favors in building up viable opponents for her in the future. Every great star has had a great foil to help them get over with the fans. The WWE hasn’t done a good job developing the rest of the women’s division into characters that can seem as viable threats to either title at any moment.

Next: Booking Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey

The good thing is there’s an easy solution to this problem. Making a concerted effort to rebuild many of these women in the same way they did a few short years ago will help reset the direction of the women’s division.

This doesn’t mean that characters like Bliss and Carmella do not have a place; but they shouldn’t be the central characters month after month, year after year. As we are headed for another edition of the Mae Young Classic and the rumors surround a women’s tag team division; there’s work to be done to ensure that these strides forward are not simply met by more backward steps immediately after.