All That Talent, But No Stars

I sometimes say that the women's division has no stars right now. And part of me usually feels guilty and I add that I am not saying that there is a lack of talent. Why not spend some time to further explain what I mean?

A few weeks ago, I was watching a basketball game and the commentators started to discuss the decision by some head coaches to rest star players. Even before they clinch the best seed possible, and sometimes even before they clinch even a playoff spot, a coach might decide to rest some of his best players just for the sake of resting them. The commentators pointed out how this is disappointing to fans that come because they want to see those stars. Stars do exist in sports. Fans are literally falling over the railings to get Steph Curry's autograph. They want to see these guys do their thing.

One of the commentators compared it to fans buying tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert, then being told when they got there that Springsteen would not be performing, but some other talented singers would be. A lot of fans would be disappointed by this. No offense to those talented singers, but fans paid to see a certain star. When it comes to basketball, fans will still get to see some talented players play. You have to have something going for you to be playing for an NBA team. But they will not get to see that star they were excited to see.

Of course, there are some lovers of the game that will still be interested even with stars resting. Not only am I thinking of fans of the team wanting to see them still win, but there are fans that want to see fresh talent and young guys getting an opportunity. They sometimes may play even hungrier than the stars when given an opportunity. In the Springsteen example, there might be some lovers of music that wouldn't mind hearing a talented singer, even if they are not famous. In these situations, talent is all you need. You don't need the hype or to be one of the greatest.

Back to wrestling. Back to that women's division in the WWE. Honestly, I do not think they have stars. What they have is talent. Combine that with vocal wrestling fans being rowdy these days, and these being the kind of fans that care very much about talent, it is not hard to imagine that these performers might get a lot of love.

Problem is, you cannot be fooled by those fan reactions and stuff on the Internet. This is an era where the product is terrible and ratings are declining. Who are these fans that are reacting to what is going on? Because there very well are fans that aren't into it.

I watched that match between Charlotte and Natalya last week. Natalya actually got a good reaction. They weren't even in Canada. Natalya is not someone that has been pushed very well in all her years in the WWE. She has gotten some good reactions here and there, but I would not normally consider her among the most over women on the roster. I know some fans are high on Sasha Banks, but if Natalya could connect that well with fans, what more could Sasha offer? I would say even Becky Lynch can get that same respectable reaction. And don't forget Paige. But what should you make of this? Is it really that you have at least four faces in the division that are very over? Or is that connection based off of their wrestling talent, which will connect them with wrestling fans, and the fact that they are faces, who will do things that are supposed to be cheered? Who is really excelling? Who is really connecting with the fans the way a star should?

If the WWE can take any woman with solid wrestling ability, run her through NXT for a year or two to develop her further and get wrestling fans excited for her there, and then push her as a face on the main roster and she will get cheered just as well as these other women I mentioned, then these women really aren't stars. You just have a strategy that is appealing to wrestling fans. And you have to wonder if and when fans will get bored of this.

I would say overness is the main thing to look at. I know I brought up fans paying to see stars in my basketball and music examples, but the environment is so terrible in the WWE, you cannot go by the ability to draw. Even men thought to be draws and treated as draws cannot bring a consistent boost to numbers. Just go by popularity to determine the stars. When it comes to the women's division, who is it? Who really are the most over divas? Who go beyond just appealing to those fans interested in talent? I don't think anyone is there. The WWE may be pushing Charlotte pretty well, but she is not connecting with the fans properly. The main faces seem to be getting the same level of reactions. The divas, like Lana, have potential, but the WWE is not handling them well. So far, I just see women with talent benefiting from the current system. I do not see anyone excelling enough to be considered a star. And that is why I say there are no stars in the women's division.