The WWE women’s division is taking on the elements that makes the NXT women’s division (and for that matter, NXT in general) so good: Clear-cut babyfaces and heels. Titles matter, wins matter, and those factors are augmented by personal animosity.
Like Paige’s promo Monday, which was GREAT. Very emotional and well-delivered. A shoot, no doubt. But not a shoot angle.
The Charlotte-Nikki match at NOC told a story. Charlotte sold her “injured” knee so well, I actually thought it was injured at first. Charlotte could have beaten the B-list Bella a bit more handily on Raw but, if Charlotte’s knee is creaky on Sunday, it should be creaky on Monday, too. The women are better than the men when it comes to things like common sense and continuity.
In WWE, in fact, the women are better than the men, period. It’s certainly not guaranteed they will ever draw more interest (or money). But the women’s product, in recent weeks, has been better than the men’s.
That’s because, in large part, the men’s product is so awful.
I hate the notion that high social media numbers reflect WWE’s popularity. It’s difficult to monetize those numbers. Network subscribers and TV ratings matter most. WWE drew 1,200 to a house show in Jonesboro, Ark., so let’s not talk about live attendance. It’s a small town, but live wrestling should play big in a small town.
The WWE women’s social media response, however, reflects passion, energy and emotional investment the men don’t get. Follow the women and men. You’ll see. The women’s social media response also seems to reflect a younger demographic.
Those theories are very inexact, but I definitely know what I’m seeing. The women’s division seems capable of great growth.
