{"id":63579,"date":"2018-07-24T12:45:25","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T17:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=63579"},"modified":"2018-07-24T23:18:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T04:18:45","slug":"editorial-wwe-once-again-turned-potentially-inspiring-announcements-into-condescending-exercise-of-self-congratulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/07\/24\/editorial-wwe-once-again-turned-potentially-inspiring-announcements-into-condescending-exercise-of-self-congratulations\/","title":{"rendered":"EDITORIAL: WWE once again turned potentially inspiring announcements into condescending exercise of self-congratulations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1065247909\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>A One-Dimensional Evolution<\/h3>\n<p>The prospect pf WWE\u2019s first all-women\u2019s pay-per-view event, Oct. 28\u2019s WWE Evolution, is exciting. The announcement, on the other hand, was patronizing.<\/p>\n<p>The July 23 edition of Monday Night Raw opened with Vince McMahon in the center of the ring, addressing the entire Raw roster that crammed the stage at the top of the entrance ramp. Vince quickly invited Triple H and Stephanie McMahon to join him in the ring, where Triple H delivered a novella-worthy performance, asking the female wrestlers to step forward so he could congratulate them on the hard-earned strides they\u2019ve made thus far in their division (with a tear in his eye, of course). Stephanie then relieved her visibly upset husband, reminded us of #GiveDivasaChance (yep, we\u2019ve got it), and formally introduced WWE Evolution.<\/p>\n<p>The Evolution announcement follows a pattern. It was just as congratulatory and sanctimonious as the Women\u2019s Money in the Bank, Royal Rumble and WrestleMania Battle Royal announcements that proceeded it. As in those moments, the female WWE wrestlers smiled, turned to one another, and hugged. Some cried. We groaned.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not that we don\u2019t enjoy stuff like this. We do. These peeks behind the curtain are why we devour WWE Network exclusives, like WWE24 and WWE\u2019s Original Specials. But that\u2019s where these moments should live &#8211; not on the main stage. Not in front of all of us. Not again.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s arguably fine for a wrestler to abandon their character at the right time in favor of real-life, fourth-wall-breaking moments, the WWE\u2019s female main roster has made it their trademark. It seems obvious who is behind this unfortunate edict.<\/p>\n<p>Clearly, Triple H was instrumental in catapulting the female division to the prominence that it currently enjoys; first in NXT, now on WWE\u2019s main roster. Nonetheless, it seems he\u2019s also played a key role in encouraging WWE\u2019s women to shirk character in big moments.<\/p>\n<p>One of the behind-the-curtain WWE Network Original Specials that I most enjoyed was September 2015\u2019s NXT All Star Panel, where Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Sasha Banks, and Triple H discussed the phenomenon of NXT in a panel moderated by Corey Graves.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no question that Sasha Banks\u2019s character was strongest and most-defined in NXT. This is where the Boss was at her most ruthless. She stole Bayley Superfan Izzy\u2019s headband and made her cry. She brutally stomped on Bayley\u2019s fingers to prevent her from reaching the ropes and breaking Sasha\u2019s locked-in submission (there were no resulting anger management classes). Sasha was an undeniable star.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-360069408\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>When the conversation at the NXT All Star Panel turned to Sasha Banks, the group discussed her first NXT Women\u2019s Championship Victory. Sasha recalled brushing off the referee, grabbing the belt, holding it up above her head, and taunting the crowd. The moment was magic, and the character was solidified.<\/p>\n<p>But Triple H says this isn\u2019t what he wanted from the Boss. Hunter wanted Sasha to breathe: He wanted her to soak in the moment and let the real emotions to shine through.<\/p>\n<p>This, right here, is the break. The memorable moments that Triple H\u2019s (and, by proxy, Stephanie McMahon\u2019s) women\u2019s divisions are trying to make are not the moments that a blossoming division need. We need defined, developed characters to care about instead of a homogenized team of rivals with a harmonious meta-objective.<\/p>\n<p>Think of the first WWE UK Tournament or Mae Young Classic. WWE utilized dissension, making relative stars out of Pete Dunn and Shayna Baszler by showcasing their aggression and lack of respect. Look further back and recall Vince McMahon, crying out, \u201cYou ruined it, damnit!\u201d at a restrained &#8220;Stone Cold&#8221; Steve Austin, after he crashed the announcement of Mike Tyson\u2019s WrestleMania XIV involvement. These were moments that were utilized to evolve characters, not just WWE\u2019s public image.<\/p>\n<p>We get it, WWE. You want to make these historic announcements apart from storyline, so they can stand independently for years and decades to come. Of course, if that\u2019s the argument, you\u2019ve got the James Ellsworth problem to contend with \u2013 the fact that you allowed a man to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase in the first ever Women\u2019s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. All we\u2019re asking is that you utilize one of your dwindling historic moments to allow one of your female wrestlers to do the same thing.<\/p>\n<p>WWE, you\u2019ve taken plenty of extraordinary moments, moments that could have been electric and invigorating for your women\u2019s division and turned them into condescending exercises that fell relatively flat. You\u2019ve been there and done that. It\u2019s time to evolve.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CHECK OUT THIS PREVIOUS ARTICLE:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/07\/23\/top-3-developments-raw-7-23-womens-evolution-ppv-announced-briefcase-up-for-grabs-reigns-is-number-one-contender\/\">TOP 3 DEVELOPMENTS \u2013 RAW 7\/23: Women\u2019s Evolution PPV Announced, Briefcase Up For Grabs, Reigns is Number One Contender<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2294400842\"><div id=\"pwtor-2576518395\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>A One-Dimensional Evolution The prospect pf WWE\u2019s first all-women\u2019s pay-per-view event, Oct. 28\u2019s WWE Evolution, is exciting. The announcement, on the other hand, was patronizing. The July 23 edition of Monday Night Raw opened with <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/07\/24\/editorial-wwe-once-again-turned-potentially-inspiring-announcements-into-condescending-exercise-of-self-congratulations\/\" title=\"EDITORIAL: WWE once again turned potentially inspiring announcements into condescending exercise of self-congratulations\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,52,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-opnionandanalysis","category-guesteditorials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/07\/bayley_3x2TG-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63581,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63579\/revisions\/63581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}