Hate to say it, but Ronda Rousey is right about WWE women’s division
Ronda Rousey is a controversial WWE champion for more than one reason. But that doesn’t mean she can’t be right when she speaks up about the status of the WWE women’s division. During the latest episode of her vlog, Rousey spoke only about her frustrations with the women’s position on the roster and what she wants to do for them, bringing light to matters that many have pointed out for years.
“I wanted to call out the WWE for only having one women’s match out of six matches at Backlash,” Rousey said during episode 18 of Ronda on the Road. “We are more than one-sixth of the company, and I need to do my part to make sure women are more at the forefront”
Rousey’s concerns echo what many are saying about the WWE product. It isn’t a rare occurrence for editions of SmackDown or Monday Night Raw to pass with only one match or segment dedicated to the women’s division. Even as stars like Bayley, Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and others have participated in opening the show or the main event spot, they are consistently the only women featured. This leaves out multiple individuals on both shows like Dana Brooke for example, who has not appeared on television for weeks.
While some will point to there being a depth problem for the women’s division, which is true, there is also a problem with the amount of time that is dedicated to that group. As Rousey points out, creating storylines for more women will help establish them as attractions that fans become invested in and support each week.
“One thing that’s really missing is that none of the women have storyline aside from the title,” Rousey said. “You watch PPVs and there are several men’s matches that aren’t for the titles. And the women do not get many non-title storylines. It would add to the depth if everyone got to know their characters before they got into the title picture.”
NXT Halloween Havoc features a non-title women’s match between Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez, but when was the last time a main roster PPV or PLE featured two women battling without a championship or champion in play? One would have to go back to Elimination Chamber in February where Belair won the chamber match to become the number one contender for Becky Lynch.
The women need non-title feuds to elevate the roster and the show. Look at what non-title feuds have done for individuals like Seth Rollins, The Judgement Day, Nathan Frazer, and Axiom on NXT. This is an opportunity for fans to not only get behind their favorite competitors, but it makes their moment against champions even more special.
Next. WWE needs to launch a women's mid card championship. dark
Fans have a lot of negative feedback when it comes to Rousey and her run with the WWE. However, it’s still a fact that her presence in mixed martial arts helped grow the sport for women. If she leverages that same drawing power to do the same for women in professional wrestling, her actions may help change her perception with fans when things are said and done.