10 Awful Things Wrestling Needs To LEAVE In 2023

3. Terrible Booking Of Women's Wrestling

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AEW

WWE is marginally less apathetic than AEW.

The Women's World Tag Team titles are closer to the 24/7 title than anything else in terns of prestige. Charlotte Flair's storylines are inherently flawed under WWE's insistence that she is a babyface. Often, despite the discourse, SmackDown promotes one shorter women's match than Dynamite.

Still, WWE has made a concerted effort to portray Rhea Ripley as one of the biggest stars of the show, irrespective of gender, and Becky Lynch's excursion to NXT indicated that WWE is very much focused on building the future of the division with a strong conviction. NXT itself is a growth product swarming with women's wrestling: on night 1 of Halloween Havoc, five of the seven matches were from the women's division.

AEW meanwhile continues to promote just one women's match per show with a palpable lack of passion and forethought. It seems to exist purely because "it bloody has to these days".

The stark and difficult reality is that there are stronger draws and better talent - presently! - in the AEW men's ranks. 98% of the men aren't as good as the AJW crew of the early '90s, and the women will never stand a chance with such minimal chances with which to improve and get over. The cycle is endless, beyond tiresome.

AEW is missing a trick; NXT is actually becoming competition, and look what that brand has done over the last two years...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!