The Real Reason WWE Are Sexualising Women Again
Fundamentally, the reason this should be a problem for fans is because it flies in the face of how WWE have so desperately worked to change the perception of how they treat women. Historically, it was bad. There's no getting away from the fact that for decades they were paraded around as pieces of meat, forced to humiliate themselves for a baying crowd and, effectively, work as glamour models masquerading as wrestlers. Jim Ross has famously gone on record as saying that their scouting policy was to find "athletic 10s", with ability not even being a consideration.
The #WomensRevolution is often derided by fans as a bit of a marketing gimmick, but the change it's ushered in is undeniable. We've had women main-evening PPVs, enjoying TV exposure (no pun intended) comparable with their male colleagues, and by and large being booked as actual professional wrestlers. That last part is the absolute minimum WWE should be doing, and neither the Alexa or Mandy segments meet that low criteria.
The company - and they've said this publicly - wants to court a larger, more engaged female audience. They've announced an increased market share in women across all age groups and they produce more content specifically for them. The bottom line is that, by taking them seriously as performers, women have taken WWE seriously as a product. How would that new audience feel watching two 'skin' segments in as many shows? I can't speak for them, but those with a large platform have, almost universally, been critical.
Fundamentally though, WWE aren't doing this because it'll make them significantly more money, or because it'll attract a new audience, they're dong it because they want to. They're doing it because it's how they want their product to be perceived. They want people to know that if they tune in to Raw or SmackDown, regardless of their TV-PG rating, there's a chance you might see an attractive woman in a compromising situation. To them it's a purely cosmetic decision, on a par with what colour the ring ropes are, or where they position the commentary table.
As ever though, you're free to make your own minds up about all of this. Maybe you're a man who think this sort of thing is best left in the past, maybe you're a woman who thinks beautiful women should celebrate their bodies every chance they get, the depth of opinion on this is likely what'll shield WWE from any major criticism.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue though a major chunk of female wrestling fans, who WWE have actively worked to attract over the last 5 years, will see this as a step back. Wrestling training schools across the world are now filled with women who aren't worried about whether or not they have "the right look" for WWE, and instead focus on actually being the best wrestlers they can be. No man has ever worried about whether or not he's attractive enough to make it in that company, and regardless of what you think about the two segments, it raises the question again about whether or not women will have to.
The company can do considerably better than this, and we know that because they've spent the last 5 years doing absolutely everything in their power to prove it. Here's hoping they remember that before they undo a lot of their good work.