In my review of WrestleMania 31 (see here), I was critical of the divas match for a few reasons. I
felt like it was heavy on gymnastics and light on actual fighting. I also criticized their execution of certain
moves. For instance, their clothesline
looks more like a diving hug than a vicious move designed to snap a person’s
head backward hard enough to break their neck.
The thing that bothers me is that WWE has moved beyond the
age of hiring models as eye candy. The
divas are still very attractive women, but many of them (such as Paige, AJ, and
Tamina) have legitimate wrestling chops.
That is what inspired the title of this article.
If you watch “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey fight, you get the clear
sense that this is one dangerous woman.
If you haven’t seen her fight, you should Google her. It is a sight to see. Though I never agree with a man putting his
hands on a woman, I can tell you that even men who do would be unlikely to put
their hands on Ronda for fear that she might remove them.
While I would never do it anyway, however, there is no one
on the Divas roster that I would be scared to fight. None of Divas strike me as being
particularly dangerous. There is very
little in any of the Divas’ move sets that make me think, “OMG, that must
really hurt.” Does anyone really think
Naomi’s “Rear View” would knock you out?
Now, I understand the difference between the legitimate
fighting sport of MMA and sports entertainment.
However, the essence of professional wrestling has always been the
appearance that combatants are doing their level best to kill each other while,
in reality, doing everything safely. When
is the last time you saw a Divas match that made you feel that way?
When I say the Divas’ division needs to get a little more “Rowdy,”
I mean that they need the perception of danger and aggression even in the safer
realm of professional wrestling. As I
suspend my disbelief, I should feel just as intimidated by the WWE Divas as I
do the rowdy one herself.
I honestly hadn’t given the topic much thought until Rousey
appeared at WrestleMania. All Ronda did
was stand there, talk, hip toss HHH, and put Stephanie in an arm lock to throw
her out the ring. The Divas had a full
match. However, I was much more drawn into
Ronda’s presentation than the tag match and there was a much greater perception
of danger. The Divas should be able to
elicit just as dramatic a response.
What are your thoughts?
Please comment below and let me know.
