One of the things the WWE can boast is a strong Women’s Division. Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Asuka, Natalya, Naomi, Carmella, Tamina and Dana Brooke are just a few on the stacked roster.
Yet, Sasha Banks and Bayley currently hold every Women’s Title. Banks hold the RAW Women’s Championship, Bayley holds the SmackDown Championship and together they both hold the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Though Banks and Bayley are having fun hamming up their heelish dominance, they serve as unwitting evidence of WWE’s lack of creative direction. Their reign is simply an instance of where popularity is a queen in the WWE Universe.
WWE fans must admit that the majority of them are superficial. Quotes from Gladiator often ring true making “The mob is fickle…” a reality. This is due to a lack of creative focus. It’s no secret the WWE often has trouble making good use of talent. There are numerous reports of wrestlers who sit at home because the creative department had nothing for them. The talent is there, just not the viable vision. That’s why a wrestler has to be charismatic and dramatic so they can carry themselves. Without that, a wrestler is subject to Creative and how that may go is hit or miss. Therefore, fan attention defaults to whoever is hot at the moment. Alexa Bliss is a prime example. She has plenty of fans, being both attractive and talented. The problem is she also has a lot of titles making her potentially boring. A hot item goes cold quickly when overplayed. This may explain her current pairing with The Fiend. Fans must think a wrestler is great for whatever reason otherwise, they simply don’t care. The big deal must be clear since a push isn’t guaranteed to help.
With this backdrop, it’s no wonder the remaining Horsewomen hold the titles. Yet, there must be some viable candidates. Given who’s on TV, we have;
- Nia Jax and Asuka but they could be considered overplayed.
- Rumours abound for getting Naomi a title run but she may be considered well-known but not popular.
- Natalya could also be in that boat along with Tamina and to an extent Lana.
- Shayna Baszler is believable but a tough sell with the edgy persona.
- Lacey Evans can certainly perform but there are definite rough edges.
- Nikki Cross has a lot of popularity but her “crazed” NXT persona may be hard for WWE to translate to a wider audience. The fans respect honesty so, it’s probably best to let her run wild but then how do you keep a title on her? Though fun, does the WWE want a crazed maniac for a “face of the company”?
- Mandy Rose is definitely appealing but since she’s so tied to Sonya DeVille and Otis, it’s hard to see how the WWE would get her to change direction at this juncture.
- DeVille could be a good challenger seeing how she may have to find other ways to fill her time kayfabe-wise. She has sold her character and is clean on the mic so her holding a title is not far-fetched.
Also, there is the new stipulation Stephanie McMahon decreed. There will be a triple brand Battle Royale set for this week’s SmackDown to determine Bayley’s opponent for the SmackDown Women’s Title at SummerSlam. Regarding NXT, talk of Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox appears to be prevalent on the grapevine. Io Shirai, Dakota Kai and Mercedes Martinez are close seconds. When it comes to title-holding appeal, Rhea Ripley may have the edge. She’s imposing and downplays her looks, making her easy to respect at a base level. One could conjecture the Women’s Titles are up for grabs and whoever performs well could influence whether these titles change hands. If the women fail to impress, the titles may remain defaulted to Banks and Bayley merely because they have the popularity and seniority.