10 Signs WWE’s Women’s Revolution Is Dead
2. So Many Releases
In January 2020, 18 women competed in a number one contenders Battle Royal on NXT. At the height of the Wednesday Night Wars, it felt like a knowing but earned flex. Thanks to its carefully curated lineage and lengthy dominant reigns, the NXT Women’s title felt like the most prestigious in the company and the brand’s women’s roster felt both deep and rich in quality.
If the NXT women’s division was something they could legitimately lord over AEW. It also suggested a bright future for the women’s ranks on Raw and SmackDown, with the likes of Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim and Shayna Baszler surely set to soar on the main roster? Late September the same year, a similar bout featured just 11 competitors. It was a sign of things to come.
WWE has decimated its own ranks over the past couple of years. Of course, they’ve not only been releasing women but the women’s roster has been disproportionately affected. Once a real asset, the women’s roster looks threadbare.
It was great to see the likes of Lita and Mickie James returning for this year’s Royal Rumble, but it didn’t really hide that WWE would have struggled to fill the women’s Rumble from the full time ranks. It’s difficult to understand why WWE would give up something that was one of the company’s marketable strengths.