WWE Butchered The Women’s Revolution

WWE Evolution has come and gone, drawing strong praise from fans who weren’t expecting much in the lackluster buildup to the historic event. But as usual, WWE’s women’s division pulled their weight, delivering some tremendous performances and leaving fans hopeful for the future.

Not too hopeful, though, considering five days after WWE’s first all-women’s pay-per-view, the company is holding a show in Saudi Arabia, in which women aren’t allowed to perform, let alone swim in public.

As usual with the company, it’s one step forward, five steps back. WWE’s feminist message over the past couple months has been nothing but hypocritical due to this Saudi Arabia partnership. While the company champions women as talented athletes deserving of equal time and recognition as the men, it immediately spits in their face by acquiescing to the policies of Saudi government. Despite WWE brass claiming to turn a new leaf in regards to how they present female talent, they continue to show their true colors — green.

Of course, that’s not the only misstep in the “women’s revolution.” Here are 10 more examples of Vince McMahon and Co. failing to progress from the dark days of the Divas.

Natalya

Now this may seem harsh, but in reality, this is just the unfortunate truth. In NXT, she was used as a stepping stone get Charlotte over. Since then, it has just been hokey and random booking. There was never a proper blow off to the who attacked Nikki Bella angle at Survivor Series 2016. Then she was randomly selected as Charlotte’s post-WrestleMania 32 opponent, which led to yet another screwjob finish. It’s hard to keep up with all the face and heel turns, especially now that she is Ronda Rousey’s supposed BFF.

Alicia Fox, The Captain

It was silly right from the start. Alicia Fox wore a boat captain’s hat because she was the captain of the Raw women’s Survivor Series team. Ha…ha.

Boss & Hug Connection

Now this long, dreadful storyline may lead to an epic throw down or even the birth of the women’s tag division, but right now, it’s just cringe TV. A love-hate relationship that has no direction is devaluing these two talented performers. Just when you think it couldn’t get worse, Sasha Banks and Bayley go to therapy to see Dr. Shelby.

WrestleMania 33

This may not come to mind right away, but the booking was a clusterfuck. The Raw Women’s Championship match was a fatal four way and the SmackDown Women’s Championship match was a 6-way. The lazy booking was ass backward – Bayley, a perennial underdog, had already won the title by ending Charlotte’s pay-per-view undefeated streak. Charlotte went to SmackDown shortly after this, anyway. Plus, the supposed monster Nia Jax hadn’t built any momentum heading into this affair. It was even worse on the SmackDown side as just about every woman on the roster was thrown into the mix to fill time on an already bloated card.

Lana

It was refreshing to see a heel valet with shades of Sensational Sherri, but it didn’t last long. WWE decided to put Lana in a ridiculous love triangle with Dolph Ziggler and Rusev (and Summer Rae), that killed off the mystique of the Ravishing Russian.

Announcement of Evolution

Since the first all-women’s PPV has been announced, nearly every other word out of the commentators and superstars’ mouths is about WWE Evolution. We get it, you’re finally in touch with modern society. Or are you…

Money in the Bank 2017

The first women’s Money in the Bank ended with James Ellsworth grabbing the briefcase. While some may argue that it’s a great way to draw heat for Carmella, it backfired and put heat on supposedly feminist WWE, which did a re-match with a different ending about a week later.

Bayley

One of the hottest acts in NXT has been buried on the main roster. Bayley’s character has been assassinated, exposed as naïve and immature rather than the resilient underdog role she mastered. The “This Is Your Life” segment is one of the biggest blunders in Raw history.

Total Bellas & Total Divas

This is a combination of the two shows, which are toxic to the women’s division. Scripting reality shows full of manufactured drama is WWE’s way of clinging to the era before competitive matches. Furthermore, Nikki and Brie Bella are just as responsible for the dark ages, yet they’re being put front and center of the revolution. The twins are in danger of being exposed at Evolution as it remains to be seen whether they can hang in the ring with the top talent of today.