12 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Raw From 2005
1. It Was A Poor Year For Women On Raw
Women's wrestling was in a sorry state in 2005, at least on WWE's watch. The company was still obsessed with Divas over everything, but that was fine if the talent levels were high. Unfortunately for all concerned, linchpin star Trish Stratus was out with injury for 4 months between May-September.
Despite that, WWE kept the belt on her, which meant the brand didn’t really have a Women’s Champ for a third of the year. Further, the ongoing Diva Search stuff was just painful to sit through. Ashley Massaro won the contest to bag a contract, but she was visibly out of her depth and way behind the likes of Trish, Victoria etc.
In hindsight, the whole “Vince’s Devils” idea with Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria was also regrettable and told the tale that the entire women’s division was just an ego trip for McMahon at times. It’s remarkable that Stratus was able to brave face a lot of this era, to be honest. She’s never shied away from her own sex appeal, but the content was poor and the lack of true opportunities to shine must’ve been irritating.
Massaro's story is a tragic, controversial and depressing one, and her on-screen role felt rigged against her achieving longterm success. WWE expected her to run before she could even walk.
What else did you learn from watching every episode of WWE Raw from 2005? For more wrestling, check out 10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2005 and 11 MORE WWE Returns That IMMEDIATELY Backfired!