A Brief History Of The WWE Women’s Revolution (Part 1)

The Anti Diva

From: WWE.com

Paige might be the most significant figure in the genesis of the Women’s Revolution, and it started with a daring gimmick that dates back to WWE’s developmental territories.

The main in-ring WWE careers of Trish Stratus and Lita ended in 2006, with a handful of nostalgic appearances scattered in the years since.

In the time that had transpired after their initial retirement, the WWE Women’s division had fully devolved into the WWE Diva’s division. Women were not Superstars like the men, they were Divas, and there was not a lot of variety in the type of women on the main RAW and SmackDown brands. Nor was there much variety in how those women were presented.

There was some token representation here and there: the aforementioned Beth Phoenix in many ways followed in the footsteps of Chyna, but was figuratively presented through a softer focus lens with gentler lighting. Her nickname was ‘The Glamazon’, after all.

Kharma (Kia Stevens) was a notable powerhouse who had made a name for herself on the Independent scene as Awesome Kong, but in WWE she was presented more like the monster villains of the past. Kharma was never really given an opportunity to play hero either, possibly due to time off and being granted release for family commitments.

WWE also had hopes for Ashley Massaro to fill the Alternative gap Lita would leave, but her own family commitments meant her WWE career was also short-lived. That on top of being a Diva Search contest winner with no previous Pro Wrestling experience left her with a stigma that proved too difficult to overcome.

Divas were the norm, and that meant a return to hiring models without the necessary know-how for matches that could be as applauded as the men’s. Out of the few Pro Wrestlers left who could really work in the ring like Jazz, Gail Kim and Mickie James, being underutilized or simply misused was all too common.

Training for these Divas was on the job, and it was impacted by WWE’s decision to end their official developmental relationship with Ohio Valley Wrestling – the promotion that with trainers such as Dave ‘Fit’ Finlay and Al Snow, helped forge Trish Stratus and Lita into the legends that they became.

WWE’s affiliation with Deep South Wrestling as a developmental promotion barely lasted a year due in-part to the lack of reach and audience DSW could gain. However a deal with Florida Championship Wrestling was struck to be the official developmental promotion in 2008 after WWE reportedly helped fund and found FCW in 2007.

Notable women’s alumni from FCW have included AJ Lee, Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella, Kaitlyn, Naomi and Natalya (aka Nattie Neidhart, who had considerably more experience Pro Wrestling than the other women outside of WWE, largely thanks to coming from the respected Hart family who have been a part of the industry for several decades).

Another notable alumni and of relevance is of course Paige. Ignoring a non-speaking, relatively insignificant TV segment that involved Seth Rollins and a notebook computer (don’t ask), Paige made her FCW début after Sofia Cortez (aka Ivelisse Vélez of Lucha Underground fame) lost her match with Audrey Marie on an episode broadcast March 11th, 2012.

Accompanying Paige to the ring was FCW Diva’s Champion Raquel Diaz, who defended her title in a triple threat match that included Cortez and Marie in the previous episode. Of note, Raquel Diaz’ real name is Shaul Guerrero; she is the daughter of the late, great Eddie Guerrero.

Both Paige and Diaz assisted Cortez in beating down Marie, until Kaitlyn came out to make the save. FCW‘s commentary team at the time included William Regal and Matt Martlaro, who initially referred to Paige as “… that mystery Diva”, while also noting her raven colored hair.

As you may have noticed, just like the ‘Big Show’ these wrestlers had hopes of graduating to, the women in FCW were known as Divas. This is how WWE wanted their developmental talent to be known likely for the sake of brand synergy.

This is noteworthy because on the episode of FCW TV that followed Paige’s début and the setup for a new women’s rivalry, a tag team match took place pitting Sofia Cortez and Paige against Kaitlyn and Audrey Marie.

During their entrance, commentary again makes note of Paige’s unique look – “… the woman is who is as pale as a full moon…” – and proceeds to drop some back story on the viewer at home.

"“… You ask, ‘what is the reason? what is going on here with Paige and Sofia teaming up?’ There’s been a lot of talk, a lot of grumbling in the locker room there, the Diva’s locker room about Paige and Sofia creating this – well, as they term it – an Anti Diva Army.” – Matt Martlaro, FCW commentary (March 18th, 2012.)"

This new faction did not just have an alternative aesthetic to the other Divas; this new faction positioned itself to be in conflict with the very notion of Divas. These women wanted their wrestling to be the focus in the ring, not their cosmetic appearance, and at least to begin with this was more than just a gimmick.

These women had started training and performing in Pro Wrestling either since their early teenage years (Cortez), because they had the family legacy (Diaz), or in the case of Paige – both. Paige’s mother, legend of British Pro Wrestling Saraya Knight, notoriously wrestled while unaware she was pregnant with Paige. Knight is also married to former Pro Wrestler Ricky Knight, and has two sons who are Pro Wrestlers.

Pro Wrestling is very much the blood of that family – so much so it attracted the attention of a Channel 4 (Britain) documentary in 2012, which forms the basis of an upcoming comedy film “Fighting With My Family” that is being produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, due for release in 2019.

By August of 2012, Florida Championship Wrestling was deactivated by WWE in favor of re-branding to NXT, initially a reality show format that has evolved into the significant developmental promotion that is known today.

All titles and story-lines from FCW were dissolved, and operations were eventually moved from Tampa to Orlando, Florida. What remained for many of the developmental wrestlers were their names and their characters – and that included Paige and her Anti Diva persona, marking herself out as wholly different to her golden tanned peers with an Emo-Goth based look and anti-establishment attitude.