The WWE Divas Championship will be on the line at WrestleMania 32 this Sunday. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks will look to put on a classic.
The former NXT ladies will look to show why women’s wrestling in WWE is important. While I have no doubt they will have one of the best matches on the card (one that Sasha Banks will hopefully win), it is more than just a title win. It is a chance to bring a change in WWE. These women proved that a few months ago in NXT.
I believe these women also have an opportunity to eliminate the term “diva” from WWE and professional wrestling.
Over the years, the term “diva” to me has sounded derogatory. The show Total Divas has sometimes depicted the women of WWE as catty and it has extremely dense storylines. It destroys the barriers in wrestling, while also showcasing talent for all of the wrong reasons. While they are gaining exposure, Paige and Natalya are being underutilized in the industry they were bred into. I try to avoid using the term “diva” as much as I can when writing about these strong women. In the center of it all, the WWE Divas Championship is a butterfly. Yes, that’s right, a butterfly. While it is great for generating sales, it looks silly on the holder.
While the talent has improved over the years, women in WWE weren’t always known to be equal to the men. They were always the eye candy. The announcers were sometimes forced to say things about the way the women looked or their personal life, instead of calling the actual matches. Triple H has brought prestige back into WWE’s women’s division with the NXT brand. By allowing the women to be themselves and actually wrestle, the women’s division has significantly improved. I’m not saying to bring back the respected Women’s Title (although that would be awesome), a change is definitely needed.
Read the rest of the column here.