What the Collapse of the Diva Revolution Says About WWE

There is no secret that boatloads of fans have jeered the Diva Revolution angle. And while there known causes for it’s collapse have been brought up, Stephanie McMahon proclaiming herself the savior of the division, the constant reminders that women can actually compete in sports where gravy and gelatin are not part of the playing field, and the promo where Nikki Bella admitted the wins and losses don’t matter, are all factors in why things like #ThingsBetterThanNikkisReign become a trend on Twitter. What hasn’t been talked about is how this angle has come to symbolize all the things that are wrong with the booking in WWE.

 

Right from jumpstreet, this angle presents evidence that WWE no longer is proactive in seeing what fans want. Fans are tired of WWE ramrodding their usual booking until fans violently reject it. Then make a quick fix without looking to what else may be a problem coming up, or even if there might be a problem with their fix. Fans hated seeing 1-2 minute matches with Wrestler X vs. Bella Y, so WWE has more wrestlers in longer matches. All they changed was the initial problem with the roster and the time they get. The new blood being brought in was not brought in in a way that illustrates who they are.  Fans were not told to be invested in Charlotte, Becky Lynch, or Sasha Banks as individuals with the goal of wrestling the coveted, but condescending belt from Nikki. Rather, they were just part of the same 9 women fighting with no ultimate goal while fans begin raging against a reign possibly in place to spite wrestler turned mixed martial artist CM Punk. We have not seen a group this unstructured since Dixie tried to get Octomom to appear on Impact.

 

Another problem is how WWE yearns to have mainstream acceptance. Every time Steph said her same “This is me and Ronda Rousey, but mostly me” speech, you almost hear Vince wanting to get on ESPN that night. The repeated ass-kissing makes WWE look less like innovators, and more like imitators.  Other promotions, as well as NXT, don’t go on for 15 minutes about how great their women’s divisions are, they have matches and angles that are often what one would expect for men’s matches.

 

WWE also seems to prove that only fools rush in. Whether it is giving a group the name Submission Sorority before even thinking it could be used for pornography, or placing images of the women that completed Army Ranger training in a package for women in sports. While the allies are back-to-back World War winners, forgetting to be professional is about the same as forgetting proper use of upper and lower casing. Right now WWE is certainly not helping their Uncle Jack off a horse.

 

The problems that plague the Diva Revolution are unfortunate, but given the recent track record, they are not surprising. All fans are able to do are shame WWE, and hope Triple-H gets more reign over the show, and soon.