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Former Staff

Lack of Women on RAW XXX Sparks Social Media Backlash

This past Monday night, WWE held Raw’s 30th Anniversary show. WWE announced several WWE legends, including Alundra Blayze/Madusa and the Bella Twins, for the event. Despite positive reviews, the show’s lack of women was obvious and left fans and wrestlers wondering why.

In the weeks leading to the show, a steel cage match was announced between Bayley and Becky Lynch. After 30 years of Monday Night Raw, many fans predicted this would be the match of the night. Unfortunately, this match never happened. During Becky Lynch’s entrance, she was attacked by Damage CTRL, leaving her injured and unable to compete in the match. Social media users were disappointed because the women’s cage match was one of their most anticipated matches. After the show, Becky and Bayley’s match was cut due to rumors of segments taking too long.

The women’s match that we did get on Raw ended up being Raw Women’s Champion, Bianca Belair, against Sonya Deville. The segment started when Ric Flair introduced Smackdown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair, to the crowd. The Queen was given some time to talk about herself and her accomplishments which brought out Bianca Belair. The two champions had a little back-and-forth in the ring before Sonya Deville came out and demanded attention. This led to Charlotte Flair offering Sonya a match against Bianca Belair. Bianca was ultimately the winner and called out Alexa Bliss after the match. Alexa appeared via the titantron and explained that she didn’t need Bray Wyatt or Uncle Howdy to be her authentic self and that after the Royal Rumble, she would be the Raw Women’s Champion. 

The other issue with Raw this week was the lack of legends brought in from the women’s division. WWE had many men do backstage segments, interact with current stars, and introduce people or start the show. The only woman that was brought in was Alundra Blayze/Madusa who is an absolute icon, however, she was regulated to participate in backstage poker segments. Originally the Bella Twins had been announced to appear but were pulled in the days leading up to the event. There seem to be conflicting stories on why the Bellas were pulled from the event with the Bellas stating that they had never even been actually asked to appear and were just advertised.

On Nikki Bella’s Instagram live from the night of the show, she and Brie also seemed to insinuate that they were pulled because WWE was upset with them for posting about Sasha Banks/Mercedes Mone. They also criticized WWE for not showing any aspects of the Women’s Evolution which they were a huge part of. They said WWE seemed to exclude any women who weren’t on good terms with the company, regardless of their impact on Raw over 30 years. Even though her husband, the Undertaker, was invited, Michelle McCool tweeted that she was not.

WWE had not brought in Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, or other women who still had a good relationship with the company, which was odd. Since she was the only woman the WWE brought in for the event, Alundra Blayze should have been used more.

Wrestlers, journalists, and fans have complained on social media about Monday Night Raw’s lack of women. Maria Kanellis quote-tweeted the Becky vs. Bayley match being canceled, “What about a video package honoring the history of women in wrestling and their sacrifices?”.

Maria responded to a fan’s suggestion that women legends were invited but couldn’t attend due to family obligations, “There are several women including myself that have children and are on the road. That most certainly is not the issue.” Big Swole was also not pleased with the lack of women on Raw. She tweeted on Tuesday, “There wasn’t enough women representation last night. And they owe us a steel cage match, 19 yrs and we get that.”

It’s true that WWE’s women’s division is vastly different from Raw 30 years ago. However, it’s disappointing that the broadcast didn’t take time to honor the women who got us here. There were many other segments that could have been shortened rather than the steel cage match between Becky and Bayley.

WWE could have invited so many amazing women to Raw to show their appreciation for their 30 years of service. Next time WWE holds an anniversary show with legends, I hope they focus more on the women and showcase them in matches, appearances, and video packages.

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