Smackdown's Women's Division: The Diva Era's Last Stand?

Smackdown really got down to business last week. That was the first episode after the brand split and draft really took effect. They had a segment to introduce the women on the roster. First, Becky Lynch beat Natalya. They had Natalya win at Battleground, then had Becky get the win two days later. No need to talk too much about that booking decision. Wins and losses do not matter, especially in a feud like this. After that, however, the other women of Smackdown made an appearance. Naomi returned from injury. Alexa Bliss, Carmella, and Eva Marie then made their debuts on their new brand. Of course, Maryse is also with Miz.

Many fans have said that this division looks like the old diva division. And I would agree. You have more women that were hired as eye-candy divas on the roster than women hired as female wrestlers. You have some former cheerleaders. You have Eva Marie. Maryse is a former centerpiece of the diva division.

Despite some fans groaning at this roster, you have to give the WWE some credit for changes they have made this year. Jacqueline, a credible jobber from the diva era that never even got that over, was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Becky Lynch, who would likely have been a low/mid-tier credible jobber ten years ago, was the first woman drafted to Smackdown. If the status quo was like it was during the diva era, someone like Maryse might have been the top draft pick, as far as women go. Or AJ Lee, the top periphery female wrestler for a few years, if she was still around.

In a way, this is the real Diva's Revolution. Fans may not like hearing that. When they started #GiveDivasAChance, they didn't mean women like Summer Rae and Eva Marie. They meant Emma and Sasha Banks. They meant female wrestlers. The WWE wasn't ignorant to that. They made changes to let these women get more time to wrestle and have been promoting them a little better. Problem is, you still had divas. You had them on the main roster. You had them in NXT. And you even brought one back a few months ago, Maryse. You can't just underutilize these women. Problem is, pushing them too much in the ring is not how you utilize them properly, especially those that are not great in the ring. You have to utilize these women creatively, with good storylines and character development. And I'll say it, give divas a chance! Not everything is about entertaining wrestling fans.

Let me single out Eva Marie. She was the last diva introduced and she had an elaborate entrance. I liked it. It was over the top. She gets heat, probably for the wrong reason, but the WWE can utilize that to build her character and for the sake of storylines. She is not someone that should be wrestling too much. And she probably doesn't have what it takes to be a good manager. But she can still be used as a valet. Lana has been demoted to pretty much that status now alongside Rusev. Lana deserves better than that, but it could be a good way to get Eva Marie reintroduced on the main roster. Stand there and look pretty, come in now and then in segments and to help some storylines. Build that character to one day be more than just a valet. To just toss her into the ring would not be utilizing her right.

Another complaint wrestling fans have is that these women have nothing to fight for on Smackdown. No title. So what? You don't need a title to treat these women in creative, entertaining ways. And that is what is important. The diva division's best years came when there was only one title for the women to fight for. While that was on Raw, the WWE pushed women in the periphery on Smackdown. Part of the declining years of the diva division involved them trying to maintain two titles. They couldn't. Injury issues and women flopping led to the WWE losing interest in the division and treating it less respectably. This was also a time when the WWE was not doing a great job in the periphery. They were too caught up trying to make new centerpieces. The WWE shouldn't go through that again. If the WWE can't make a creative women's division without a women's title involved, they really have lost it.

Look at other sports. There will always be certain games in sports like baseball, basketball, or football where nothing is on the line. Both teams don't have a shot at making the playoffs and the game doesn't really matter too much. You can say that the coaches or players are playing for their jobs, but that's not usually a draw. And yet, fans would still watch these games. Not as many as big games where something is on the line between two great teams, but fans still watch.

Let me bring up one example. Last year, the Baltimore Ravens faced the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. Both teams had losing records with just a few weeks left in the season and were going to miss the playoffs. To make matters worse, Joe Flacco, the Ravens quarterback that led them to a Super Bowl win, was out with an injury. On the Brown's side, Johnny Manziel was out of the game due to one of his many issues. ESPN had actually promoted this game as featuring Manziel. With him not starting, there was just less reason to watch. But the game ended up being competitive. It came down to an exciting big play at the end. Needless to say, it still got more viewers than Raw that night. And that is why fans will still watch these meaningless games that lack star power, even if they are not big fans of either team. There can still be amazing plays. There can still be hilarious mistakes. There can be controversy. There can be something that gets talked about for years to come and changes the game.

Some people are unhappy that Becky Lynch is stuck on this title-less brand. First of all, there can be trades. She will likely end up on the same show with a title eventually, even if the WWE doesn't make a new title. And I don't think they should. Until then, however, the WWE can build her character more and help her to stand out as more than just a wrestler. I actually would have had Paige in this position, but Becky is the one that is there. I am not saying the WWE will definitely rebuild a strong periphery, but they should. And pushing Becky Lynch as the top star in the periphery would not be wasting her. Pushing her to be the next in line to women like Chyna, Lita, and AJ Lee is underutilizing her? These women did a lot more than just win women's titles. There was great storyline and character development for them. They were pushed alongside top stars. Becky Lynch, if pushed right on Smackdown, could end up looking more epic than whichever woman is holding the title on Raw. Given the WWE's reliance on wrestling these days, however, I do not feel it is likely to happen.

In the end, is the diva era really over? There are still divas. The Bella Twins are still hovering around, winning awards like they are respectable women's athletes. I always wanted to stop blogging once the diva status quo was no more. Remnants of the diva era aside, the real problem is not giving women fair opportunities and not utilizing them properly. Even if the WWE does start juggling around who holds the Women's Championship between only women with a certain elite level of wrestling talent, that's not how you make stars. TNA juggling people around has not helped them, so how is it going to make real stars in the women's division? It might not be a matter of screwing anyone in particular, but they are botching.Let Smackdown be something different. Let that have the women's division that utilizes these women beyond just wrestling feuds. You can entertain without a title.