In 1995, World Championship Wrestling launched Monday Nitro, a program largely based around the idea that edgy characters, cruiserweight wrestling and established stars was the way to cut into the stronghold WWF had on the mainstream pro wrestling zeitgeist of the era. WCW was correct in this belief, as a mix of the New World Order and matches involving the likes of Jushin Liger and Rey Mysterio making a huge dent that led to an 83-week undefeated streak in the ratings for Nitro versus Monday Night Raw. In 2015, though times are different, a similar concept may be exactly what the doctor ordered for WWE to again become not wrestling, but media's most dominant combat sports and entertainment brand. In a manner similar to how WCW used cruiserweights to differentiate themselves from WCW, WWE could easily be using women's wrestling (in an era where feminism is growing in importance) as a way to actually differentiate WWE from its former self. In an intriguing twist, WWE no longer has direct competition in terms of pro wrestling, but rather has moved up into the bigger leagues of competing with companies like Vice as an entertainment brand pushing streaming content via numerous entertainment portals. Maybe it's time for WWE to actually become WWE, instead of continuing to push what made the WWF so successful. In embracing women's wrestling as a significant draw, WWE could be on the fast-track to turning similar net profits as a company as they did possibly during the Attitude Era. Here's seven ways WWE can actually #givedivasachance and possibly reinvent and reinvigorate WWE.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
