Asuka: Where Did It All Go Wrong?
This is the culture WWE attempted to distance themselves from under the guise of the 2015 transposition of the NXT Women’s Revolution which, after a drastically misjudged start—when women aren’t distracted, they cling to one another in cliques even though they don’t really like each other, to quote Jerry Lawler—finally lived up to the screeching, relentless PR bluster. Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks wrestled a high-profile programme in 2016 that ranged from excellent (RAW, 28 November) to very good, if overthought (Roadblock: End Of The Line). Charlotte, Sasha and Becky Lynch stole WrestleMania earlier that year. That was key. That wasn’t Stephanie McMahon telling us how far we’d come; it was the performers showing us.
But this culture is inherent to WWE. They cannot help themselves, much less performers who do not fulfil their desired type.
After the Four Horsewomen became established, the pestilence that was the Divas Era returned to spiritual prominence. Becky Lynch became a perennial loser who doubled as a castaway. Bayley became a pitiable jobber. They were supplanted in key positions by two women who were elevated due to their ability to carry segments, not wrestling matches. That’s not a problem, on the face of it. WWE is sports entertainment. But it was unhelpful, and irritating, that WWE shouted so loudly its contrary position.
While Alexa Bliss is an excellent actress by the standards of pro wrestling, Carmella is to cheap heel heat what Mick Foley was to the cheap pop, only without the winking affection. Bliss earned her prominent role on television. She controls the volume with the panache of a proper worker, even if her matches don’t approach the “classic” stratosphere. Carmella was pure Vince McMahon, right down to the awful “Mellabration” pun.
Never will you see two limited performers reigning with the WWE Heavyweight and Universal Championships in tandem, and that is because the women do not enjoy parity with the men.
Were you to draw the comparison, you’d arrive at Elias and Baron Corbin.
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