7 Ups & 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE Backstage (Dec 17)
2. State Of Your Women's Division, Mate
WWE
With thanks to OSW Review for that headline (and Backstage's inadvertent nod to it), comments from Paige on Corey Graves' podcast criticising the lack of an Evolution follow-up and general focus on women's wrestling post-WrestleMania triggered a useful last chat between the panel members.
Both Ember Moon and Alexa Bliss agreed with the 'Anti-Diva' regarding the lack of women getting pushes beyond the turn-taking title shot rotation, with Moon in particular noting that a lack of platform was the biggest problem.
This was the most valuable and concerning assessment of things - the cycling in and out of various performers will always be the case as long as the women's division remains a niche concern to the company, but Evolution 2018 really was a transcendent event that deserved its sequel and all the added value that should have spun off from it. The absence of it will make hearts grow fonder in the short-term, but only anger awaits if WWE don't address the wider problem soon.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
