5 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 16)

3. Not So Fabulous Booking

Kota Ibushi Kenny Omega
WWE

More SJW whining from a snowflake c*nt!

The thing is, WWE knew d*mn well that the Fabulous Moolah holds a not-so-fabulous reputation. That's why the decision was made to name last year's all-women tournament the Mae Young Classic, despite Moolah's bigger name recognition. It's cynical, but WWE seemed to have painted itself into a corner with their handling of Moolah's legacy. If WWE didn't name the all-women Battle Royal after Moolah, the erasure of her legacy would be questioned. The hope, seemingly, was that a tributary nod would draw the expected criticisms before the news cycle simply began anew. Or, worryingly, Vince McMahon did not care less about Moolah's reputation and instead opted to celebrate his old friend, irrespective of everything.

Regardless of the motivation, it's shocking - disgraceful - that WWE would both attempt to celebrate Moolah's career on such an exposed platform and, with no shame whatsoever, run a fawning revisionist history video on RAW. Moolah's multi-decade reign with the Women's title was marketed as some achievement, as if she was such a star no promotor ever felt they could end it. She owned the bloody thing like she owned a farm of lady wrestlers, many underage, who she "allegedly" drugged and pimped out for promotors and their acts to rape in return for their services as talents. Moolah was a vile pimp who demanded her piece of the cut, which was so disproportionate as to resemble a genuine slave racket. Poor Charlotte Flair, in a grotesque slice of irony, was even told, you'd presume or hope, that Moolah "empowered" women. WWE's strange and risky approach might have been understandable, if Moolah was some great worker. She wasn't. Marketed as an innovator, her work and training was so basic that, if anything, she held back, with her monopolised grip on the scene, the progression of women's wrestling in North America as an art form.

This is all by the by following last night's announcement that our voice actually matters, in a rare but no welcome admission of a grim mistake. Or the voice of Snickers, anyway. The match will henceforth be known as the "WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal". They should have just spared themselves the criticism in the first instance, and named it after Stephanie. Everything else is.

Less facetiously, Chyna actually won a battle royal of some modern significance.

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!