Originally, WWE had the women/Divas purely as eye candy. This is why we had so many bra and panties matches, spanking matches, paddles on the pole, pillow fights, mud wrestling, etc. Clearly, no one was expected to take these women seriously as athletes when they spent half their time taking each other’s clothing off. As a man, I wasn’t complaining, but the facts are the facts.
Then, women like Trish and Lita came along and began to show that they could have serious matches. Both are beautiful women, but both also showed true athletic talent. Others that come to mind in that same group are Mickie James (who was apparently visiting the performance center recently), Victoria/Tara, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, etc.
Somewhere in there, WWE decided to blend in more of the eye candy with Maria, Torrie, Sable, and others posing for Playboy. Of course, nothing says “I am an athlete, take me seriously” more than posing nude for playboy. They even did big in-ring cover reveals and a few storylines where the “real wrestlers” basically demeaned the “eye candy” for having posed.
Today, we still have some confusion. AJ Lee, the current Divas champion, actually has some legitimate wrestling chops. However, they have her playing a moderately disturbed character who is basically a slut who has been making out and sleeping with just about everyone in the main event picture. It is interesting if you listen to some of AJ’s out-of-character interviews and notice she is really nothing like that person in real life.
Nattie Neidhart (a.k.a. Natalya) is the only female graduate of the famous Hart Dungeon. It is hard to imagine anyone having more legitimate wrestling chops than that. So, why hasn’t she ever been given a serious push with any major storylines?
Sure, you can tell me that Natalya held the Divas title at one point, and that is true. However, there was never really anything serious built around her. They took a Hart graduate and had her play valet to her cousin and boyfriend (now husband) and dance around with Khali and Hornswoggle. Seriously? Now she is part of the “Total Divas” cast, which I suppose is better than nothing.
What are your thoughts about the current state of the Divas division? And, what would you prefer? Do you want them to be serious competitors that have real matches and get significant TV time? Or, do you want them to be eye candy that prance around and strip each other’s clothing off?
I would argue that they can’t be both. Certainly, beautiful women can be well respected athletes, but they have to decide what they are going highlight. That also impacts how they recruit. Do they go for the models and cheerleaders or the women who have paid their dues in wrestling gyms and the indy circuit?
