FanPost

In Defense of Eva Marie... It's On WWE

WWE.com

If you'd have told me a year ago that I would be writing a fanpost defending Eva Marie, I'd have let out a great HA! and went about my day raging about the WWE women's division. I remember rolling my eyes at Eva Marie's flailing attempts in the ring when she first started off on Raw, shortly after her debut on Total Divas. At that point, we were treated to true wrestling classics like this

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and this of course.

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But today I find myself defending the woman the sight of whom I once so wretchedly detested. Eva Marie debuted as just one of a long line of women over the last two decades who had little wrestling ability and were pushed due to a look or other physical quality that apparently caught the eye of WWE management. And that's putting it kindly. From Sable to Kelly Kelly to of course the Bella twins (at least in their earlier days), WWE has consistently pushed women based on sex appeal rather than wrestling ability.

So of course the debut of Eva Marie and her clear deficiencies in the ring had many dismayed, including myself. Several years ago, watching the Bellas being pushed over and over in their early days and Kelly Kelly pin Beth Phoenix clean several times were a significant factor in my taking a wrestling hiatus that was only broken by the debut of the Shield. So after returning to WWE, seeing Eva Marie in the ring did nothing to boost my confidence in the WWE women's division.

And then this happened.

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And this.

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Once these videos of her training with The Brian Kendrick hit her Instagram page, I found myself growing fonder of the Red Nation leader. She started training like crazy, pulling out flippy moves that I am a confessed mark for. Rumors started to swirl that she'd asked for training early on but was denied for months. I didn't want to like it at first. I was stubborn. She was still Eva Marie and had not proven herself in the ring in terms of actual matches. But then I wondered, what more could I ask of her? She clearly had the drive and desire to work hard and get better at her in ring skills. That would take time. But what else could I ask for? Her turning into a wrestling superstar over night? It's simply not that easy, as any professional wrestler worth their salt will tell you.

That's when I came to the realization that I was taking out my frustrations with the status of the women division on Eva Marie rather than on the people responsible: WWE.

It's WWE who puts women like Eva Marie in the ring when they clearly have no clue on how to wrestle.

It's WWE who insists on neglecting other women like Emma and Natalya who can go in the ring.

It's WWE who decided looks should take precedence over sexual appeal.

It can be argued that WWE has merely responded to the needs and desires of a society that continues to judge women based on looks, a society that, as much as it's grown over the last few years, continues to be sexist in many ways. But fans for years have been clamoring for a better, fairer women's division and WWE has been far behind the curve when it comes to producing gender equal television. And at the end of the day, that's all on WWE.

And that's why I will defend Eva Marie today. Because WWE was the one who put her in this position. And she's proven that she wants to improve, to deliver in the ring. It won't happen over night, but with enough hard work and dedication, it could. The rest is on WWE, not to push her too quickly, not to give her chances other girls with far more experience have earned, not to allow her to fail in the ring.

Maybe Eva Marie is just doing all this to build a name for herself and will ditch the company once she's "famous enough". Maybe she really doesn't care about wrestling and this is all just for fame. But if she's willing to put in the time and effort to improve in the ring, to entertain us fans, what more can I really ask of her?

I'm not saying she deserves the push she's getting even in NXT - not when there are women like Jessie McCay and Cassie who've put in far more time and are far stronger in the ring. And not while this woman is back down in NXT.

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Plus there's no denying Eva Marie has a lot more to prove to us - can she put on a solid match? Can she be a decent enough promo? Only time will tell.

I guess what I'm saying is that Eva Marie the person is not to blame for the chances she gets. And I want to commend her for trying to improve and truly working at being a better wrestler. Yes it's her job, but again, it's on WWE for not giving her the tools to do that job properly in the first place. And if the rumors are true, she's wanted to try for a while.

That doesn't mean I (or we really) have to like her or even want to watch her. I'm not quite a Red Nation citizen yet. But basically, I want to remind myself that ultimately, it's WWE who's responsible for the state of the women's division. It's WWE who made a "revolution" necessary in the first place. And it's WWE who'll be to blame if they fail.

Besides, if THE Brian Kendrick can believe in Eva Marie, why can't I?

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.