Validating A Career

John Cena retained his WWE Championship against Mark Henry. One of the ideas in that feud was that Mark Henry wanted that title to kind of validate his career. He had been there so long and won titles here and there, but he was willing to do anything to win the WWE Championship.

I sometimes hear wrestlers say that they would love to be a World Champion or main-eventer in interviews. I can't tell how many of them really mean it or are just saying that to make it seem like they are shooting for more in their careers. Whatever the case may be, it is the same idea that getting a big title reign validates your career. Without that, you aren't at the same level as certain others. I sometimes think it means more to the fans than most of these wrestlers.

How does that translate to the diva division? A guy who is stuck winning midcard titles for years and years is at another level once he wins a World title. In the diva division, all there really has been is the Diva's/Women's Championship. Even when the two titles existed at the same time, they really weren't pushing it as one being a midcard-level title and the other being a main-event-level title. Both were meant for centerpieces of their respective shows. Does winning a title in the diva division really validate a career? I guess it depends on how the woman views it, but should it really be given as much worth as a World title win for a man? The title in the diva division goes to both centerpieces and credible jobbers, as well as some periphery divas. And those credible jobbers almost always end up being rotated out and treated badly. Being the WWE Champion really is something more elite than that. Some former WWE Champions still get treated badly and moved down the card, like Miz, but he is still pushed regularly. That is more than you can say for credible jobbers in the diva division. Some of them get treated poorly even while they are holding the title.

Since winning a title in the diva division doesn't necessarily put a woman in a special group in the same way winning a World title might do for a man, what should really validate a career for a diva? You spend your career being loyal to the company and you get the job done by connecting with the fans well. What should your reward be? A title reign? The same thing you give to credible jobbers who may not connect with the fans as well as you just did? How about giving that person a career of success? Push them as either the centerpiece or periphery diva. Being pushed as someone who can get the job done and be a star should validate your career. Once you get that, you really have arrived. You are being acknowledged as something more. Of course, it's easier to see a title belt than a type of career someone is getting.