7 WWE Angles That Felt Plucked From A Different Time
2. The Divas Crawl To A Slow Death
It seems a bit harsh to dump on the Divas division since nowadays, the Women’s divisions on RAW, SmackDown, and NXT are more-or-less in good places. However, the fact that it took them so long to become what they are now is, frankly, an embarrassment. At a time when Ronda Rousey and the four horsewomen of MMA were tearing it up in UFC, WWE was steadfast in portraying the female portion of their roster in the most condescending light.
Whether it be through short, poorly-built matches, the design of the championship they fought for, or the fact that they were called Divas in general, with every year the division carried on since its revival in 1998, it became more and more of an archaic remnant. While it was true that in the late 90s, WWF audiences weren’t interested in watching eye-candy like Sable or Terri Runnels wrestle, their perceptions of women’s wrestling evolved way before WWE. By the 2010s and the rise of NXT’s women’s division and female mixed martial arts, the Divas division and their status quo looked all the more pitiful.
It’s an era that will look all the more jarring as fans gather around to watch the Mae Young Classic.