WWE's Evolution pay per view, the first event in its history that will be composed entirely of women's matches, comes at a strange time. The talent in the company's women's division has never been better. Unfortunately, they haven't been utilized well. Indeed, 2018 has been the worst year for WWE's main roster women's division in at least three years.
They're going to have a lot of work to do.
Over the past two days of taping, the Mae Young Classic tournament final has been set.
In one corner, you have the consensus best female wrestler on the planet, Io Shirai. In the other, you have another world-class talent who is one of the fastest rising stars in women's wrestling, Toni Storm. The stakes are equally huge because they even go beyond the tournament title.
For Shirai, it will be an opportunity to get what should have been hers last year. For Toni Storm, it will be a chance to come back stronger following her semifinal loss last year, legitimizing herself and the NXT UK women's division in the process.
It will probably be Evolution's best match by miles, especially if current trends continue on the main roster.
Not since Charlotte Flair took on Asuka at WrestleMania has a match in WWE's main roster women's division felt like it was a truly big deal. While Ronda Rousey's presence has helped things, she's yet to be given an opponent to make for a must-see match. The feud with Alexa Bliss has unfortunately descended into trope and most viewers believe the SummerSlam match will be a squash (as it should be).
Instead, women's wrestling in WWE has regressed to Divas-centric booking, with the current champions, Alexa Bliss and Carmella, being pushed largely because of their looks, while far more talented women meander.
Sasha Banks and Bayley have had arguably the most bizarre storyline of 2018. Becky Lynch appears to have been built up just to take the fall at SummerSlam. Asuka's mystique is gone. Charlotte doesn't feel special like she did after breaking Asuka's streak. Ember Moon has done nothing of note. The list goes on and on.
If the main roster wants to compete with the Mae Young Classic final, what will probably be an excellent NXT Women's Championship match, and a similarly good NXT UK Women's Championship match, it will need to step up its game, or the pay per view will be a failure that fully illustrates that, for all the talk about "making history," nothing has truly changed with the way the main roster handles its female talent.
Here's how it can do so.
Step 1: Hit the reset button at SummerSlam
The reigns of Alexa Bliss and Carmella have been catastrophic for WWE's women's division. Someone aptly described them as essentially "the same division-destroying character."
During Alexa Bliss' long tenure on top of Raw, every babyface who has feuded with her has been gutted. Her feud with Bayley was last year's worst. Sasha Banks, already struggling, had the nails put into her coffin. Then the Raw Women's Championship wasn't defended for three months (Brock Lesnar, comparisons, anyone?). The company made the worst choice possible in having Nia Jax dethrone Bliss in a feud that contained one of the year's most terrible segments, only for her to then drop it back in a couple of months.
Her tenure on top from May of 2017 to now has been marked with stagnation, repetition, mediocre matches, and a ceiling on the other women in the division.
The same has been true of Carmella's reign, which has been even worse because she doesn't have the charisma that Alexa Bliss does. Carmella's reign has only succeeded in tanking Asuka's standing and normalizing Charlotte after her greatest triumph.
It's time for a reset. It was time for one ages ago.
At SummerSlam, Ronda Rousey should destroy Alexa Bliss and do the same in their rematch at Hell in a Cell. Likewise, even if it's not as likely, Carmella should drop her championship to one of Charlotte or Becky Lynch.
Sending Bliss and Carmella into Evolution as champions will certainly not contrast well with the Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm Mae Young Classic final.
Step 2: Nix the rematches!
An astounding percentage of WWE's pay per view matches this year have been rematches. As a result, originality and buzz have been nearly wiped clean. Pay per views are constantly a long slog of rematches with little done in the build to justify them.
Carmella and Alexa Bliss could drop their titles at SummerSlam, it's far from out of the question that they get rematches at Evolution. Beyond that, certain women's feuds could be dragged to the point of nausea and put onto the show. Is anyone interested in seeing Ember Moon, Sasha Banks, and Bayley vs. The Riott Squad for the millionth time?
If Evolution is to succeed, WWE's main roster should book it with new, exciting matches, or at least ones we haven't seen take place in a long time. How about a triple threat match between Charlotte, Becky, and Asuka, or a clash of styles between Ronda Rousey and Ember Moon?
A little originality can go a long way.
Step 3: Get fans invested in matches
Asuka and Charlotte didn't just have a great match. There was a lot at stake in it. Asuka's undefeated streak vs. Charlotte Flair's title. The two most dominant women in the company, a match fans had been dreaming about for a few years.
No other women's match on the main roster has felt as big. That's because the main roster matches are often either rematches or are built in a haphazard fashion consisting of a few promos, maybe a beatdown, and some tag team matches. The result is a barebones affair without the spark that could turn it into truly something memorable and enthralling.
WWE is guilty of this throughout its roster, but it's particularly glaring with the women's division.
If WWE wants Evolution to succeed, it's time for them to put in more effort. They should make the matches have higher stakes and feature real personalities. They shouldn't be subjected to the usual tropes. Otherwise, Evolution will mostly be remembered as a monotonous affair with a few special matches that didn't come from the main roster.
If WWE wants to truly make it "historic," they'll put in some effort for this.
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