Crown Jewel Without the Queens

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In 2018, WWE had two scheduled shows in Saudi Arabia: Crown Jewel and the Greatest Royal Rumble. This comes as WWE’s business initiative to expand the company into uncharted territories. However, this expansion in a controversial country has, at the very least, divided fans, superstars, and the women’s division at large.

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First, the fans of the WWE expressed backlash against these events, as they happened amidst the controversial death of an American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in Saudi Arabia. After the events were announced, subscriptions to the WWE Network program decreased. While there is not causal link between the announcement and the decrease, WWE has to be concerned with the blowback they will receive from fans by continuing the programs in the country.

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WWE has just announced their intent to remove the classic Backlash pay-per-view from their schedule in order to replace it with another Saudi Arabia show. While the shows do produce a lot of money for the company, one would have to wonder why the WWE is making this risk. On top of the friction with viewers and the location, there is also heat amongst the superstars working for the company. John Cena, Daniel Bryan and Sami Zayn, for instance, decided to cancel their appearances for the show after the controversy was released to the public. Being some of the biggest names in the company, these stars hold a lot of weight among the fan base, and definitely seem to be throwing their influence around.

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Additionally, and more problematic, the company maintains their policy of keeping the women from competing in the shows. At a time when the WWE has preached this idea of the “Women’s Revolution” in the company, they seem to be hypocritical when it comes to this show in the Middle East. While it is true that the business must be concerned with multiculturalism and the influence of other non-western systems of life, they also must be concerned with upholding their values. WWE claims they are doing this in the name of being a catalyst for change in the region, as they were in Abu Dhabi, where the women had the first women’s match in the entire history of the Middle East. By having more shows in Saudi Arabia, WWE hopes to one day make it to a position of progress that allows their women to compete without question in the region.

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Until that time comes, the WWE will continue to wait out their fans reactions, see if the fans forget about the controversy in the region, and find out if their fans can live without the prominent women main event matches being on the pay-per-view shows. Additionally, they will have to look for ways to appease their stars, write the characters that are upset with the situation out of the storylines, and work to appease the women that are missing this major pay-per-view in the name of business expansion.

Despite these challenges from the business administration, these women worked so hard to break the glass ceiling in WWE. Get on WWE’s social media sites, show your support of the women, voice your opinion on this business decision and continue to be entertained by the greatest women’s athletes in the world. Leave a comment on the post below, and tell me your thoughts on this issue.

1…2…3… I’m tapping out.

The Lady Meets the Man

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On the Monday after Wrestlemania, it became very clear who would step up to the plate to battle superstar Becky Lynch: Lacey Evans. For weeks the “Lady of the WWE” had been making appearances on shows, walking out, waving to fans, and leaving the arena. For weeks fans were confused, but it seems that WWE has a clear vision for the proper lady of the WWE: to teach “The Man,” Becky Lynch, how to be a lady. Lacey Evans has brought a breath of fresh air, unmatched physicality and a wonderful gimmick that fans adore so far.

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On Monday night RAW, Lacey Evans walked out of the backstage area to confront Becky Lynch. She hit Becky Lynch with her finishing maneuvar, “the Woman’s Right.” This knock out punch infuriated Lynch, who then fought with Evans until putting her in an armbar.

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In the following week’s episode, Evans defeated the legend Natalya in order to secure a match against Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. Fans, nonetheless, are concerned that this may be too early for Lacey Evans to receive a major superstar push. The match seemed very dry and dull, with not much excitement in the ring.

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Lacey Evans, despite criticism towards the creative writers, is an amazing character. As a former marine, she uses her background to add to her chracter development. Her southern lady gimmick is great, as she walks around wiping her sweat with hankies, throwing it on the women of the WWE, and calling them “nasties.” She claims to be bringing lady-like behavior back to a division that desperately needs it.

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Despite knowing very little about Evans yet, it is clear that fans like her character, and are excited about the breath of fresh air that she brings to the division. Instead of seeing the same matches every pay per view, we will now see more women being called up from the developmental division, NXT, just like Evans. Get on WWE’s social media sites, show your support of the women, and continue to be entertained by the greatest women’s athletes in the world. Leave a comment on the post below, and tell me your thoughts on this new rivalry.

1…2…3… I’m tapping out.

Botched Battle for Becky

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Sunday night was a huge night for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Three of the companies biggest female stars closed the event for the first time in its 35 year history: Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, and Charlotte Flair. Both the Smackdown and RAW Women’s championships were on the line in the match. Becky Lynch, winner of the women’s Royal Rumble walked away with the titles, but not without controversy.

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The match ended with Ronda Rousey attempting a modified judo throw, and Becky Lynch putting her in a pinning predicament with Rousey’s own move. Rousey had her shoulder up at the count of one, but the referee’s view was obstructed, so he counted the pinfall anyways. Becky Lynch won the main event due to a referee’s mistake.

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The ending has been highly criticized by fans, upset that the first women’s main event ended in such a controversial way. The women did not get to showcase their skills as much as they otherwise would have, since the match accidentally ended on an error. This was around the time that the match was beginning to pickup.

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This ending severely hurts the image of the women’s main event. Fans have made comments claiming that the women did not need the main event if they were going to mess it up, or that WWE may not let them main event Wrestlemania again due to the error. Many fans have went as far to claim that the women should not have been the final match if it was going to end that way.

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A match with as much effort put into it as this one (Charlotte Flair entering the building on helicopter, Ronda Rousey coming out to a live band playing her music, and Becky Lynch’s elaborate costuming) makes no sense to end in the fashion that it did. The most disappointing part of the botched ending is the fact that it limited other wonderful displays of talent in that match that the stars may have been planning to show the 80,000 fans in attendance and millions watching at home.

Ultimately, do not let this botch stop you from supporting the women of the WWE. Those women worked so hard to break the glass ceiling in WWE, and I hope they continue to main event major events, as should you. Get on WWE’s social media sites, show your support of the women, and continue to be entertained by the greatest women’s athletes in the world. Leave a comment on the post below, and tell me your thoughts on the main event.

1…2…3… I’m tapping out.