6 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 24)

4. Piling It On

Let’s just state upfront: Monday’s announcement from Stephanie McMahon (and Triple H and Vince McMahon) was a big deal.

But WWE can’t seem to grasp the subtleties of making such an announcement feel big without being condescending to an extent. They brought the entire roster out (all of Raw and 205 Live, and women from all brands) on the ramp, with the three power brokers in the ring. Triple H raved about the dedication of all the superstars, had the women step forward, and then noted that the men behind them truly supported them.

Stephanie then gave her whitewashed history of the women’s (r)evolution, attributing it to the fans before announcing the all-women’s PPV. And then throughout Raw, they showed backstage scenes of men raving about the decision.

It was a big deal, but WWE went with it’s usual sledgehammer of harping on the wrong aspect. They spoon-fed the crowd a bunch of sap before making news.

This isn’t a huge “down” by any stretch (and you’ll see the positives later), but the announcement could have been less saccharine and more focused on the reality: Women have never had an event all to themselves (at least, in WWE). There have been plenty of all-men PPVs in WWE, and women often get 1-2 matches tops. Now, they’ll get an entire PPV. That’s more storylines getting time to shine, more women getting a spotlight, and more attention to women’s wrestling.