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The Women's Division -- Or What's Left Of It.
August 17, 2005 by Davie-Boy Davis

"In professional wrestling, a diva is a recent term used by World Wrestling Entertainment for a beautiful woman employed primarily as eye candy, but sometimes as a wrestler as well. Although "diva" is a recently-coined term in the wrestling community, promotions have been using women as managers or wrestlers for years."

-Wikipedia, *Diva (professional wrestling)*
I thought I might as well give a definition of what exactly a diva is, or should I say supposed to be, since Mr. McMahon has completely forgotten. My name is Davie-Boy Davis, I'm a 19-year-old from Queens, New York, and this issue of WWE Divas has been bothering me for a very long time.

Once upon a time, there lived a Women's division that could actually wrestle, with the likes of Jacqueline Moore, Gail Kim, Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly) and Carlene Begnaud (Jazz). Even if you search back more, you can see that the Women's Division was something much more than it is today. The WWE would give its fans week after week of matches, even as far as Hardcore matches.

Now, while I am not complaining about eye candy, because it is definitely a necessary *wink, wink*, but it was the physical action that had at least me coming back for more. From Jacqueline's tae kwan do influence, to Luna's tough s.o.b. attitude, it was a part of the show and somewhat made the show what it is today. Where else do you hear, "We want puppies""

Fast Forward to November 4th, Jazz, Gail Kim and Nidia are all given the pink slip, and we as the fans have lost three tremendous assets to the company. Fast Forward once again to July of 2005, the WWE releases veteran wrestler Dawn Marie and one of the second Tough Enough champions, Jackie Gayda. The WWE has been firing Divas, but these two time periods are the most significant.

Rewind a little, the company decides to change direction creating the ever so famous Diva search. Fans and WWE Superstars alike were angered because Divas that had wrestling experience were being fired to give space for a new Diva that had no wrestling experience what-so-ever (and didn't want any), and that she was going to get a salary higher that most WWE Wrestlers. With one of the worst WrestleMania matches at WrestleMania 21, the WWE had hit rock bottom with the division.

However, our love it or hate it company has made progress, they have released most of the Diva search left-overs (even though, Joy Giovanni was pretty hot), and hired female....WRESTLERS!!! New to the roster are Melina and Jillian Hall, and to keep the company from seeming racist they hired a black chick, Booker T's wife, Sharmell. The 2005 Diva Search has just recently ended with Ashley Massaro being crowned the winner. The first time I saw her I wanted her to win (bear with me, if the WWE is gonna have it, I'm gonna watch it). Plus this Ashley chick has proved that she is a wrestling fan, and the likelihood for her to be a wrestling women's champ in the years to come is pretty damn high.

Anyways, I found a petition http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/Janine, so you can sign it if you want to, but hopefully the word Diva will regain it's true meaning, Hot Chicks...Who kick ASS

by Davie-Boy Davis ..

Eric H. (Long Island) wrote:
Well, not too long ago, I too was, let's say, bothered with the release of talent from the WWE's women's divison- Gail Kim, Ivory, Jackie, Dawn Marie to name several.

I took a deep breath watched, waited and I now believe things are actually on the upswing with Michelle McCool, Melina Perez. Both of them have the pizzazz, style and personality to go along with big time wrestling skills. Candice Michelle, and now Ashley Massaro seem ready to generate some real electricity into the women's division, case in point Melina and Candice at the Great American Bash and Ashley bringing it on week in and week out in the '05 Diva Search. Frankly, in comparison, the afore mentioned, Gail, Ivory, Jackie, Dawn...had a following but in my view, were disconnected with the audience, and whether it was their doing or the company's producers, each of these vets was becoming a tired act. So Vince, Linda, and company may have after all have things well in hand all along! I enjoy the women's and sure hope I'm right. Prediction from out of the blue....Ashley and Chirsty defeating Trish and Lita in a Women's Tag Team Championship, yes that's right, I know nothing of the sort exists right now, but who knows was cooking up in WWE HQ - the wheels are always turning and the show goes on and on, doesn't it"

Janique D. From Pittsburgh wrote:
After reading his article, I had to say something.

As a 16 year old female from Pittsburgh, PA, i have to absolutely agree. I've been watching wrestling for almost 7 or 8 years, and i have to say that Davie is right! I hate the fact that my favorite Divas (Joanie Marie Laurer (Chyna), Jacqueline Moore, Gail Kim, Nora Greenwald (Molly Holly) and Carlene Begnaud (Jazz) just to name a few, as well as Jackie Gayda, and Dawn Marie) are all gone to make way for the likes of Christy Hemme and Stacy Keibler to do Lingerie Pillow Fights. It's an outrage!

Honestly, I love the Diva Search...just for the fact that there could be a small possibility that the winner could wrestle! I mean, I know it's a longshot, but still. In my opinion, the only Divas left that can actually wrestle, are Lita, Victoria, and Trish Stratus. (where ever she is) The newest addition to the Diva's roster, Ashley Massaro, will probably actually well, WRESTLE! I think that there is more for women to do in the WWE then shoot t-shirts into the crowd and have Bra and Panty matches.

It isn't that difficult...find women who can fight and aren't afraid to break a nail! NO MORE BARBIE DIVAS!

PABONZA00 wrote:
The WWE has been doing some terrible decisions in the past few month, particularly with The Cruiserweights and The Women's Divisions. The only way to save the reputation of the Women's Championship is to get rid of it. Now stay with me on this one, The WWE is afraid that Christy Hemme isn't cut out and the business so they are getting people like Victoria to job for Christy Hemme. At Vengeance Victoria didn't even perform 10 percent of what she really has. Victoria was never afraid of anything and now they have her running away from losers like Christy Hemme. Trish Stratus was also one of those people who jobbed for Christy at Wrestlemania even though she won but the Trish Stratus that I know would have chick kicked her ass and got it over with. Lita, they have Lita in this stupid storyline with Edge and Matt. Lita could have taken over the women's competition beating the hell out of these Diva wrestler wannabes. Don't get me wrong I like Ashley she is a looker and she's definitely got the spunk but not sending these divas down at the O.V.W. is really a bad idea. Christy Hemme in one freaking year she went to Wrestlemania this pissed me off so bad. Wrestlemania 21 was the worst Wrestlemania in history. This prove that the WWE doesn't care about women's wrestling anymore. I think the WWE needs to recruit some women from WEW which is a wrestling promotion for women's wrestling, Women's Extreme Wrestling. The reason above is the reason they need to get rid of the title so people like Christy Hemme can't get they're dirty hands on the title. Imagine Christy Hemme main eventing another Wrestlemania. Oh Hell No!!!!!!!!'

Morgan Williams of Australia wrote:
Well, After reading your article I must admit that you have come up with more then enough strong points. Womens wrestling really started its detoriation before the release of Gail Kim, Jazz and company.

Now I was an on-off fan from 1998-2002 but got back into it halfway through 2003 and I was shocked at how the matches had changed.... That is everything except for the Womens Championship matches. These matches weren't about eye candy but about the talent shown by two female wrestlers and I liked what I saw. Divas like Lita, Molly Holly and Victoria were respected and never jobbed but instead just were beaten with difficulty. That is not what it is not like now, oh no way. The last Diva match that I could stand watching was Trish vs Christy at WM21 and that was just a piece of utter crap.

Weeks later and I heard that the WWE released or were going to release Molly Holly and that was just the last straw. I stopped watching anything concerning Divas on RAW or Smackdown; So was my disgust. Now that the Diva Search is over, Vince will just hire the leftovers and we can live in limbo of trying to get a decent Diva match.

powe4016 wrote:
Despite what some will tell you, womens wrestling was never and will never be a real money making draw for WWE. Most fans just dont care about the matches. Yes they will watch a Lita match or one with Trish but when its Molly v. Victoria or Gail Kim v. Nidia or Victoria v. Jazz it was a bathroom break.

I was a fan of the womens division up until the Spring of 2004 when the product just went downhill. We had a bald Molly jobbing to everyone and making a fool of herself each week with those wigs. Victoria was a face champ and no one cared about her. Nidia got moved to RAW and was forgotten within a month. Gail came back from her injury, got a title push and then had it taken from her just so they could put the belt back on Trish. Trish and Lita were involved in big time angles and got more TV time than the other girls and this thing they call a Diva Search began.

The division has been in decline for over a year now with the company showing a lack of interest by releasing talent in favor of hot chicks who cant wrestle and by letting Trish sit on her butt for almost 4 months with the title instead of giving it to Christy or Victoria. Speaking of Christy, why did they move her to SD for Torrie Wilson" The only good to come out of the division in recent memory was the Lita/Trish RAW main event last December but even that wasnt enough to spark some life into an already division. I say kill the title and just keep the remaining women as eye candy and as managers and if they cant be effective doing either then they should be released

Richard Powell wrote:
Vinny Mac strikes again! Of course everyone should know that a T and A show is what a woman's role in the WWE is all about. There is no wrestling here for the ladies, (unless anyone is crazy enough to believe that a bra and panties match or a lingerie pillow fight are matches to be taken seriously). I can't speak for others but I have always been interested in serious women's wrestling matches. Whether it be Victoria (whom I absolutely adore) vs Molly Holly or Gail Kim vs Trish, a true women's wrestling match, with women who have talent and can wrestle is a real treat. My two favorites are Victoria and Molly Holly in that order. Christy Hemme, Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Michelle McCool are jokes of the worst kind, and with Victoria now jobbing to Trish, leave it to Vinny Mac to screw things up and now the women's division is more or less pathetic...........

Simeon Hubbard wrote:
Well you know something ever since last year The Women's Division has gotten sorry, all because of Vinnie Mac getting rid of talented women for more eye candy, I mean last year they fired Jacqueline and Sable, and instead of bring back the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles, they decided to have a RAW Diva Search which is an absolute waste of time and money, then they put Lita in a stupid storyline about her being pregnant, and then they put 7 RAW Divas against 7 RAW Diva Search Contestants in a game of Diva Dodgeball which was so stupid, What the Heck were they thinking" and then last November they fire Nidia, Jazz, and Gail Kim, and then Molly Holly leaves the WWE and then they fire Miss Jackie and Dawn Marie, and now Ivory is gone from WWE, plus Shaniqua is gone from WWE (who knows where she's at now), but now all you have left is my girls Trish Stratus, Lita, and Victoria, but last November some of the matches were replaced by stupid matches like Bra and Panties, Lingerie Pillow Fights, and Bikini Contests, but when Trish and Lita both out with injuries thankfully somebody had to put their foot down and take a stand for the Women's Division and that was Victoria, when she took out Christy, Candice, and Maria and even The King, Victoria got cheers from the fans, and come to think Christy wrestling at WrestleMania 21 for the Women's Title and all she did was compete in stupid matches and posed for Playboy, that's not what the title represents, it represents honor, it represents, pride, joy, and passion, and it even represents tradition, but now they're having Trish and Victoria not getting the spotlght that they deserve, and Lita involed in a stupid storyline with Edge and Matt Hardy, the Women's Division is in big trouble and I mean big time, you know what the WWE should've done was have Torrie, Candice, Christy, and Stacy to RAW, and send my main girls Trish, Lita, and Victoria to SmackDown! (also known as Friday Night SmackDown!) with the Women's Title so it won't be in the hands of Christy and Company, and then Melina, Jillian, Sharmell, and some from OVW to have a chance, but instead they have Torrie and Candice on RAW and Christy and Stacy on SD!, and now they got Victoria plauying bodyguard to Torrie and Candice, and doesn't get anytime on the MIC, Victoria is outspoken and she's spirited, but now with Taboo Tuesday coming up I just hope that the WWE doesn't give Candice the Women's Title because if they do then they kiss the WWE Women's Division goodbye, I just hope that they will improve, or else Trish and her 2 buddies Lita and Victoria would defect to TNA and do like Madusa did and throw the Women's Title in the trash and burn it so Christy and Candice won't get their dirty hands on it and then TNA will have a better Women's Division, I mean after all Victoria's friends Gail Kim and Miss Jackie are both in TNA, and Traci the sweetheart of TNA has great wrestling ability, don't be surprised if Dawn Marie, Nidia, Jazz, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, and even Ivory shows up at TNA.

Richard Powell wrote:
Simeon, You are absolutely right. The sequence of events that you have was very refreshing and informative. I especially like the moment when Vicotria singlehandedly took out the King, Christy, Candice, and Maria in one sitting! Not even Trish has ever been that impressive! But still Victoria jobs to Trish and the rest of the trash divas continue to get the spotlight. Victoria a bodyguard" How ridiculous and outrageous! But leave it to Vinny Mac to come up with the absolutely ridiculous these days. As internet fans we should tell Vinny Mac to bring back the women's division, with a Vengeance!

Babigurl1505 wrote:
I think it is an outrage what the WWE has been doing with the women's division. I plan to start a wrestling career and I have always been interested in signing with WWE but now TNA sounds like a better idea, at least their women get credit for wrestling because as far as (WWE) women's wrestling they have brought so much to entertainment. Some of the divas like Trish Stratus surpass even the male superstars! Trish is what a diva is all about. Beautiful, and still a devoted and skillful wrestler. She makes the diva contestants like Maria who don't get me wrong is beautiful but cannot wrestle so she shouldn't be classified as a diva, look like complete idiots every Monday night on raw. The diva search was a stupid idea. Even the male viewers think so. Okay so you hire all these cute girls but this is PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING!!! Not professional beauty contest. Some of the women such as Gail Kim and Molly were let go but they were two of the most talented women in wrestling. TNA was smart by grabbing Gail Kim right away. A little more intelligent than Vince and his talent agency it would seem. Okay, you have Candice Michelle next. What exactly is this girl used for" She gropes all over Torrie Wilson every Monday night...That girl is not a good actress she wouldn't be a good wrestling even if she was trained by the greatest women's wrestler alive Trish Stratus. She is used for eye candy...At least if you are going to hire eye candy and pay them money make sure they can do their job, WRESTLING! She should be fired right away and given to playboy...which she just signed to do. That's where she needs to be. Not in a respected sport like the WWE. Then you have Christy Hemme. She is beautiful. She is also very unique and tries very hard to gain skill in wrestling. She actually WORKS! So I think even though she was in the diva search she should continue to wrestle. Because at least she does what the other are non-divas cant and that's WRESTLE!

Then you have the newest diva to the raw roster Ashley Massaro. Now I think this girl is beautiful and she is a tough ass-kicking chick. She needs to go to OVW or somewhere and work on her skill. Bring her back and she will be the next Lita or Trish Stratus because she realizes that she has entered a sport called WRESTLING so she respects fans enough to WRESTLE! Then you have Lita. What is the point of Lita now" I look up to this women very much. She is a different kind of beautiful and an excellent wrestler. Now all she does is shake her ass with Edge every Monday night. I miss the high flying dare devil Lita who had intense matches with Trish and Chyna. Sadly the women's division is going downhill even with the great women veterans who are still there. WWE needs to wake up and realize they are ruining a once great thing. Now I know the men love to see a bra and panties match every once and awhile but WWE stop embarrassing your veteran women wrestlers and put them in a kick ass match...A cage match, hardcore match even! They deserve to be in the spotlight for all their hard work! GET RID OF THE DIVA SEARCH! GET RID OF THE NON-WRESTLING DIVAS! Listen to your fans...they want this. Your product is all about giving your fans what they want so give them what they are asking for! Don't put us through another idiotic match with Maria and Candice pulling off each other's bra's and having Trish and Victoria watching. Have some respect for your real wrestling divas. As far as Ashley Massaro and Christy Hemme, good luck in wrestling I know you will do well. You have that drive and you respect your fans enough to learn the game. And my message to WWE get your intelligence back and fire these other women who don't bring anything to your product!

Scwoody wrote:
I am inclined to believe that all the women's division has been jobbing to Trish for the past few years. The WWE strategy makes no sense: they have a division in which they fire or do not use most of the talent, and instead hire a bunch of divas with no wrestling ability. Did anyone ever wonder why Christie was in Wrestlmania this year" because for the life of me I can't figure it out...

I would like to be nostalgic and say "oh, back when lita was a high flyer.." or "back when Molly Holly was wrestling" or jazz, gail kim, or even Victoria. However, I have very little faith that the women's division will ever be reinstated to its full potential. What can we do other than sit back and shake our heads"

Simeon Hubbard wrote:
Hey you know something: I think that the WWE has completly destroyed their women's division, I mean yes Mickie James and Beth Phoenix are the newest RAW divas, but yet the WWE gives them some ridiculous gimmicks, I mean Mickie James impersonating Trish Stratus while Trish Stratus impersonates Mickie" I mean Joey Styles was right, are we watching Monday Night RAW or are we watching The Twilight Zone"

But let me ask you all this: are we watching Monday Night RAW or is this the Candice Michelle Freakfest"

I mean WHY can't Vince justmake Lita go back to being Xtreme instead of a trashy diva who has oral persuations w/Edge"

Why can't they just have Jillian Hall and Melina wrestle more often and even for the Women's Title"

Why can't they just let Victoria wrestle more and go back to doing the Psycho Gimmick and let her talk more instead of doing kissy faces w/Candice Michelle and letting Candice do all the talking and I wish that they would stop having Victoria job to Trish Stratus all the time, as well as jobbing to Maria, Torrie, and Ashley as well"

Why can't they just let Mickie wrestle more often instead of acting like Trish Stratus all the time"

Well you know something: I think that it's time for the WWE to fold its Women's Division and the women should might as well take the WWE Women's World Title and burn it and all of them head to TNA and start a Bigger and Better Women's Division and compete in more very competitive matches as well as Hardcore Matches/Street Fights as well as Elimination Challenge and the 6 Sides of Steel and 8 Women Tag Team Matches"

Also I think that TNA should either bring back the NWA World Women's Title and Women's Tag Team Titles or TNA should create their own version of the Women's World Title or Women's Heavyweight Title and even create their own Women's Tag Team Titles"

Now that would be great. The WWE is getting no where these days.

wrote:

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