7. #GiveDivasAChance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feKlyND5mJ0 The above match was the 30-second debacle that inspired a worldwide trend in the name of #GiveDivasAChance. Even contracted talent such as The Bella Twins and Renee Young favourited tweets containing the hashtag, while Hall of Fame-er Mick Foley also showed his support for the Divas of the WWE. The saddest thing was that the match was typical for the WWE, as the women of the company had frequently had to put upwith criminally short amounts of time on screen for years. This made it all the more farcical when Stephanie McMahon sent out a tweet celebrating Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette's impassioned speech on women's rights. AJ took objection to that - and rightfully so, given the WWE's treatment of its own women - and sent out the following messages;
@StephMcMahon Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times, A.J. (@WWEAJLee) February 25, 2015
@StephMcMahon And yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster. #UseYourVoice A.J. (@WWEAJLee) February 25, 2015
Her rightful anger at the system even managed to elicit a response from Stephanie, as well her Father, WWE owner Vince McMahon.
Thank you @WWEAJLee, I appreciate your opinion. #UseYourVoice Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) February 25, 2015
We hear you. Keep watching. #GiveDivasAChance Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) February 25, 2015
Maybe they were simply trying to deflect a PR disaster, but with the higher billing and longer match times that the likes of AJ, Paige, and the Bella Twins have received lately, it looks like #GiveDivasAChance is finally starting to work.