Is The Divas Division a Money Loser?

I want to share an animated GIF with you, taken from this past Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

This picture is the best possible example of what is wrong with the Divas division in WWE today. And if for some reason you can see it, it was the end of the Divas match in which Tamina pinned one of the Bellas after the superfly splash, the camera cut to the crowd and the reaction?

Uh, well… there was none.

Simply put, people in general DO NOT CARE about the Divas division in WWE. And the biggest reason why?

Surprisingly, it isn’t because of the ‘Barbie-doll’ type ‘wrestlers’ that current occupy much of that division. People don’t care about the Divas division because THEY DON’T HAVE A REASON TO CARE.

To put it another way, fans don’t care about the Divas division because the WWE doesn’t care about the Divas division.

The fact is, WWE hasn’t given their fans a reason to care about what happens in the Divas division since they first introduced Kharma. Not only was she unique but she was also a CONSISTANT STORYLINE. Something the fans could follow and support. When all you do is throw out an 8-Diva tag team match every week, how is anyone supposed to care?

But I digress. The main topic behind this - and this blog - is the financials behind it all. Is the Divas division losing money for WWE? Is it worth whatever they spend for these Divas?

That’s a hard question. I don’t know the value of each individual Divas’ contract nor do I know how much merch sales they draw in, but I can safely say I don’t see many “Kelly Kelly” or “Eve” shirts in the crowd nor do I hear a lot of people paying to see the Divas in action.

So, how do they fix it?

1.) Put some kind of effort into writing for the Divas division. Instead of wasting time with generic crap, create a story and flesh it out with the Divas. Give them mic time, add a bit of interesting dynamic to it and follow up with it.

2.) Put on some good, competitive Divas matches. Three minute distractions where they just throw Divas out into the ring doesn’t help the division and in fact does more damage to the product and to the respective Divas’ brands.

3.) Treat the division with respect. Putting them out there to wrestle in outfits that barely resemble bikinis or S&M attire? Calling them “Divas”? Making their title belt a giant butterfly? How is anyone supposed to take them seriously if this is the branding?

The fact is, WWE knew how to make the Women’s division work. Even back just as far as Trish Stratus and Lita, the division had interesting storylines, solid TV time and women who were not only capable in the ring but were given characters and the time to create a character that fans could react to.

Nowadays, it’s all just dry, boring nonsense and until WWE does something about it, they’ll continue to lose money and lose interest in the entire concept of women’s wrestling.

It can be fixed, they’ve done it before, they can do it again. As long as they want to.