Women’s wrestling is constantly one of the most hotly debated topics in the professional wrestling fandom. We decided to take a look at the state of women’s wrestling with a series of articles dedicated to analyzing the women’s divisions of each company/brand in the United States currently. In this edition, we will focus on the three American brands of the WWE with women’s divisions Raw, SmackDown, and NXT with contributions from three separate LWOPW contributors.
Monday Night Raw – Provided By Brandon Gordon
The flagship show of World Wrestling Entertainment, Monday Night Raw is at a crossroads in its programming as fans and critics are seeing some of its worst booking decisions in the show’s history. Raw despite its troubles still has a great amount of talent on the roster, especially on the women’s side of the show. With WrestleMania Backlash in the rearview as programming is heading on the road to SummerSlam, here’s the Women’s Division breakdown for the “Red Brand.”
The Good:
A Franchise Cornerstone
In professional sports, having a young, talented cornerstone of your franchise is beneficial to long-term growth and appeal to the overall brand and they have that with current Raw Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley. Ripley is currently the youngest champion on any WWE Roster at age 24 with Dominik Mysterio (Smackdown Tag Team Champion) and Indi Hartwell (NXT Women’s Champion) being slightly older. That’s long-term and years of production still to come for someone who’s not even in her thirties at this point.
Experienced Veterans
Having a division that’s as solid as Raw’s is due to the championship pedigree and level of experience on the brand. Ripley being as young as she is already is highly regarded and has a solid championship pedigree holding three (NXT UK, NXT, & Raw) of the four singles women’s titles in the company already. Charlotte Flair despite fan fatigue is one of the most talented and prestigious athletes on the roster, as well as long-time rival Asuka, who at almost 40 years old has over 15 years of experience under her belt. Former champions Naomi, Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, and Alexa Bliss round up the championship pedigree.
Hungry Challengers
There’s plenty of talents who haven’t been in a championship program or haven’t had much spotlight in a while. Mandy Rose, Nikki Cross, Dana Brooke, and Lana to name a few are some of the hard-working talents on the roster that need some added boost to make them more relevant. They have the talent, and they have the drive, it’s just a matter of how to utilize them moving forward.
The Bad:
Lack of Variety
The issue with Raw is that they constantly back themselves into a corner with their booking in which they don’t know how to properly build up talent outside of the title picture. Without variety on the roster, things get stale, and if things get stale people lose interest. There’s no excuse when there are solid talents like Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose, and Nikki Cross not getting television time.
The “Lily” Problem
The Fiend/Bliss storyline have overstepped their boundaries and overstayed it’s welcome. Now Alexa Bliss’ supernatural storyline is interfering with the rest of the roster and it’s not appealing nor fun. Supernatural storylines CAN work, but without proper build and without the right people, it feels supremely out of place and it comes off as a joke.
What Needs to Be Fixed:
WWE Creative (Specifically Raw Brand)
Raw needs direction. They need to have more compelling television compared to their counterparts. Rhea as champion has been fluctuating between face/heel, Asuka for a good chunk of her reign throughout 2020 was considered an afterthought, Flair’s presence is more so not welcomed because of fan fatigue. Raw’s creative is at an all-time low without a hint of direction and it needs to be addressed.
Utilize Different Talent Effectively
WWE has a massive tendency when a rivalry seems to be concluded to not let it go until it gets tiresome. Granted, WWE has always done that, but with solid depth surrounding them, the issue is more so they aren’t using the talent that they have. Raw’s roster on paper is solid. Shayna Baszler, Naomi, Nia Jax, and Alexa Bliss, all are former champions in some capacity to challenge Rhea Ripley and make interesting storylines, but instead, we have Charlotte and Asuka consistently involved
Make Your Championships Matter
Aside from the WWE Title on Raw, no other title really matters on programming and it’s been like that since Becky Lynch went on maternity leave back in the spring of 2020. Asuka was champion for a good chunk of the PC and Thunderdome eras of Raw and she felt like an afterthought. It makes zero sense when Asuka is single-handedly the most successful Asian-born WWE Superstar of All Time and one of the most accomplished talents male, female, non-binary, or gender-neutral. Rhea Ripley was built up for week post-Royal Rumble 2021 and she was inserted into the Women’s title picture, which was a good start but since winning the championship either Flair overshadows her, or Alexa Bliss’ mind games overshadow the division. Let’s not even get started on the tag team division. The point is, make your championships matter. Make the people invest in the titles and make them worth the effort in storylines. Without that, it’s just a prop.
NXT – Provided By Scott Edwards Jr.
There’s a common theme for the NXT women’s division as of late and that is that pound for pound, it very well may be the best in the entire United States while also one of the best in the world. It seems that no matter if there are injuries, call-ups, or breaks for wrestlers, there is always someone to jump in and take a spot. From top to bottom, it remains the heartbeat of the current NXT landscape and should be staying that way for much longer. To look and get a general grasp of this division, you must start at the top.
Raquel Gonzalez is the reigning NXT Women’s Champion. She’s a case of not being a major name when she signed with WWE but becoming one due to her hard work and dedication to the craft. Gonzalez has become a favorite for many as her powerhouse style and ultimate presence are among the most impressive in all of NXT — male or female. Having that at the top shows that NXT is among the elite.
Then there’s the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. This combo has worked wonders together since becoming partners, as the leadership and veteran capabilities of LeRae mixed with the raw talent and budding star power of Hartwell make for an awesome team. LeRae has worked her hardest to get to the top of NXT after being a part of the brand for years and always being one of, if not the most consistent workers on the roster. Hartwell has instantly supplanted herself as one of the roster’s best up and comers with the potential for multiple singles championships in her future.
Considering we have only talked about three of NXT’s best so far, it would be wrong if we didn’t power through what many would say is their absolute best wrestler. Io Shirai remains a member of NXT and in doing so, she has been nothing short of the one who has carried the brand over the past year. Whether it’s the “Joshi Judas” soaring through the air or cutting a promo that is straight to the point, Shirai remains the best overall competitor in NXT even without the gold around her waist. Dakota Kai is another name in the division that has been a mainstay for the past number of years and has helped guide Gonzalez to gold as a cohesive unit. She still has the potential to be NXT Women’s Champion whenever her time does come.
When you go through the remainder of the division Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Mercedes Martinez, and Toni Storm are all incredible in their own right and could be the top champion tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself. Tegan Nox is someone who is still injured, but the moment she comes back, she will be a star many know that she can be in the long term. Tian Sha’s Xia Li is also a name that not only has all the potential in the world but very well could be one of the more underrated competitors in wrestling.
To finish off, NXT has recently added Sarray, Franky Monet, Zoey Stark, and Zayda Ramier to their ranks. As we have seen already, Sarray is the future of NXT and every showing pushes that point a little bit more. Monet is a big-money player considering her past (fka Taya Valkyrie) and is likely being skyrocketed to the gold. Stark and Ramier have the potential that is necessary long-term and could be massive names in two to three years in all of WWE.
Overall, it doesn’t get much better than the NXT women’s division. It is stacked and only seems to get better as the days go on.
SmackDown – Provided By Niklas George
The SmackDown women’s division is one that is small, though effective. The WWE is notorious for having small women’s divisions; usually spearheaded by two or three top stars who share the titles between them, whilst much of the rest are glorified enhancement talent. Regardless of the standing of these women, they are all talented. Let us now look at some of the top names within the division.
Bianca Belair: SmackDown Women’s Champion
Bianca Belair is the current SmackDown Women’s Champion. Though 32 years old, she is a relative newcomer to the world of professional wrestling – and one of WWE’s homegrown talents. She signed with the WWE in 2016 following a “premature end” to her CrossFit career and has been fast-tracked to her current position within the company. She is widely regarded as someone with bags of untapped potential; one of the most naturally gifted stars within the company. The sky is the limit and with her recent capture of the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37, she is going to continue to rise.
Sasha Banks
What more can be said about Sasha Banks? She is one of the most recognizable talents in the WWE today. In addition to this fact, she just so happens to be arguably the greatest women’s wrestler of all-time – and one of the best of any gender. Her NXT matches with Bayley are considered some of the finest examples of women’s wrestling ever seen in the United States. Her main roster matches are similarly stellar; whether with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley or Bianca Belair. She is currently on hiatus following her WrestleMania 37 defeat to Bianca Belair – where she lost the SmackDown Women’s Championship. She has recently branched out into the small screen, with a prominent role in the Disney+ hit, The Mandalorian.
Bayley
The current rival of Bianca Belair is also one of the biggest names within the WWE today. Much like Sasha Banks, Bayley is one of the best to ever do it – and keeps getting better. For years, she was considered by many as being the best babyface in the business. The “Hugger”, as she was then known, has since evolved into the current, heelish incarnation. Shorter hair, darker clothes and a cocky persona that’s a complete u-turn from her former humble, “girl next door” attitude, Bayley continues to reinvent herself within the division. Though she was left off the WrestleMania 37 card, she played a role in hosting the event with Titus O’Neil and Hulk Hogan – signifying the company’s trust in her. Since then, she has been feuding with Bianca Belair.
Honorable Mentions and Ones to Watch Out For
Carmella, though not currently at the level of the aforementioned stars, is a big name within the WWE. A second-generation competitor, she continues to improve. Sonya Deville is a name to watch out for. Though Deville is not currently an active competitor, she is in a prominent role as an on-screen authority figure and continues to develop. Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan are two competitors who deserve better booking within the division. The current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Natalya and Tamina, are prominently featured veterans with name value owing to their famous fathers – as well as their own undisputed talent.
Problems With the Division
There are plenty of problems with the SmackDown women’s division. Though it is arguably booked better than the Raw counterpart, it is far from a perfect division. There is plenty of talent within the division who are, quite simply, not booked to showcase their talent and there are even more who aren’t booked to their potential. As mentioned previously, Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan are two such names who tend to flounder in the division, despite their ability and potential to be top-level performers. Additionally, the division is usually confined to just one or two segments/matches per week – it needs more time to shine. Whereas Sasha Banks and Bayley are already established superstars, many of the others are not. They need TV time to become worthy of Banks and Bayley.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the WWE Network and Peacock.
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