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Earlier in the week, Mickie James talked about her pitch to WWE for an all-women’s brand. That was rejected, James says, because a company executive told her “women’s wrestling doesn’t make money”.
There were lots of reactions to Mickie’s tale, and yesterday (April 30) WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley offered his. It came in the form a plea to Vince McMahon to greenlight a project like James suggested, lest WWE’s beaten to the punch by Tony Khan & company:
Dear Vince,
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) April 30, 2021
An all women’s brand NEEDS to happen in @WWE
Unless you want @AEW to beat you to the punch.
Sincerely,
Mick@VinceMcMahon
Mick got a lot of responses, including from Gail Kim advocating for Impact to beat both AEW and WWE to the punch, and Maria Kanellis-Bennett reminding everyone Ring of Honor just launched a version of the idea.
For my money, the most interesting takes came from Lance Storm. Agree or disagree with what he comes up with, the veteran wrestler, producer, and trainer (just on the women’s wrestling front, he’s coached names like Taya Valkryie, Chelsea Green, Tenille Dashwood, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and Rachael Ellering) puts a lot of thought into the business. His question for Foley is an important one to consider on this topic:
Would the women no longer be on Raw & SD? I think this is a much more complicated decision. If the women (especially the top women) remain on RAW and SD then the all women’s show will struggle. If the all women’s show in on a lessor platform it will feel like a demotion.
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) April 30, 2021
People clamored for years for the return of the cruiserweights, and there was some optimism when a dedicated show followed the announcement of a title. But it started to feel “less than” even while WWE was pushing the division on Raw. Now 205 Live is Main Event for the third brand. There are talented guys working the show (Ever-Rise Rules!), but very few fans know about it.
A women’s show on Peacock that featured Nikki Cross and Santana Garrett would probably fare better, if for no other reason than that all women wrestlers tend to have more fervent followings than guys like Curt Stallion. But I think Storm is right that if the Charlotte Flairs and Bianca Belairs and Raquel Gonzálezes are being featured on other shows, many in the audience will assume the talent who only work a weekly all-female show are inferior.
The solution?
Booking everyone better on the current 7 hrs of weekly TV they have already, is always a good option.
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) April 30, 2021
What a concept!
Lance was also ready to get serious for a moment with people who agree with what James was told, too:
You want the women to draw they need to have credible presentation and consistent strong booking for promos and matches so they are viewed as top stars and seen as truly important. Women can draw Becky proved that.
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) May 1, 2021
Lance is smart. Somebody should hire him... and this time, don’t furlough him six months later!