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| Saying they want to change is one thing, acting is another Photo Credit: WWE.com |
However, the current story they're in is not so great at all. To be fair, it's not because of anything they're doing. Okay, Phoenix has felt a bit uninspired lately, but at the same time, what has she been given? Time to stand on the stage, take retro style cheesecake photos and job to Kelly Kelly? The story they're telling could be good, but the execution is just so blase and tepid. I know that blaming the writers is the hip thing, but as Zack Ryder and Mark Henry have proven, people can get over on their own. So, what was stopping Phoenix and Neidhart from trying to get the narrative over in the ring? If anyone tries to argue that they were doing their best, I present the case of Mickie James last week on Impact.
James was wrestling Brooke Tessmacher, and she found herself seated in the corner. Tessmacher, whose rear end is her bread and butter from a standpoint of sexual attraction, used that posterior as an offensive weapon, giving Mickie the stinkface. What did James do? If the answer is "sell it into a near fall", then that's ridiculously wrong. She no-sold it and went apsehit on Tessmacher, leading into the finish of the match which James won convincingly.
So, in one sequence of a match, Mickie James sold the ethos of the Divas of Doom better than Beth Phoenix and Nattie Neidhart have in two-plus months to date. To me, that's kind of sad. It might be disingenuous to compare the two companies, but at the same time, WWE is the market leader, at least they're supposed to be. Yet, here they are in women's wrestling, and not only are they lapped by the indie companies whose niche is solid female wrestling, but also by the other mainstream company that they dominate in every other category.
I get it, the writers aren't interested in strong women. Change then has to come from the women themselves then. If the writers and bookers aren't interested in telling a story, maybe Beth and Nattie need to go into business for themselves. They need to no-sell the booty popping and the stinkfaces. They need to grab the bull by the horns and make the models keep up with them, not the other way around. If they try to get themselves over, one of two things happen. One, they'll get the crowd into the matches and thus get themselves attention from the front ofice, or two, they'll get fired and go back to companies that actually give a shit about legitimate women's wrestling.
I don't want women pushed for the sake of women getting pushed. I want women's wrestling that's good, that has a a chance to be something more than Hawaiian Tropic models failing to run ropes. If WWE wants to give me a good women's division, then they should shit or get off the pot. After watching Kelly Kelly shit around the ring like a rookie again Monday, I'm done trying to defend her or preaching patience to wait until she grows into her role. If they're not going to give me that, if they're going to give me a Divas division, then they might as well not waste my time with wasting the talents of the women who CAN wrestle and give me something to ignore again. Or maybe they should just scrap women's wrestling altogether.
When Nattie and Beth get shown up in one flourish by Mickie James in the other company, it should serve as a wakeup call. Actions speak louder than words, and the Divas of Doom need to start acting.
