Broken heart, lost soul

The past few years during WrestleMania season I’ve run a couple of pieces on women’s wrestling, submitted by Tanya of the Suplexes and Shea Butter Podcast. You can find her at @TheWitchMilitia on Twitter. Her previous work from 2021 can be found here and here, and from 2022 here

There is a gigantic void in the WWE Women’s division; a hole the size of the grand canyon. It has been there since May 16, 2022. That was the day the then WWE Women’s tag team champions walked out of Monday Night Raw before the taping began. I am not writing this piece to contemplate whether their actions were just or not (they were) but rather speak on what the fans of Women’s wrestling have lost since their departure. 

Simply put, Naomi has been the heart of the division since she shed her Funkadactyl skin and blossomed into a full time TV wrestler. Even as a heel, she was a constant source of fan entertainment. Upon finding her GLOW, she became the perennial babyface. She was always good for waking a crowd up with her entrance, gear, and flashy offense. Her smile could light up an arena. And she was always, ALWAYS more over than her push.

Sasha Banks quite literally was the conversation when it came to top notch in ring work for the Women’s division. Despite how polarizing (and sometimes because of it) her personality came across, one thing Women’s wrestling fans could be assured of was her ability from bell to bell. Her presence in any angle assured that it would be just that more important because she would will it to be.

No disrespect to Becky, Bayley, Bianca, etc, but none of those ladies give what Sasha and Naomi gave. Those women were their own unique brand of star, which is why Women’s wrestlings fans were overjoyed when they became a tag team. Even though it seemed thrown together. Even though most of us wanted Naomi to see a real resolution to the months of torture she endured carrying the main Women’s storyline on SmackDown. Even though a lot of Banks fans wanted her in the main title picture. Most of us recognized those two teaming together could be magic.

Unfortunately for us and WWE, management did not recognize the magic. And now the void remains and no amount of recent call-ups from NXT, returns, or repacked gimmicks have been able to fill it. It was deeply felt at the Royal Rumble. It felt like something was missing. And everyone knew what it was.

The simple fact is WWE does not have a Midcard, always over babyface like Naomi anymore. None of the other ladies have filled those GLOW boots. And they definitely do not have someone who can make any match feel like it matters the way Sasha can. You can’t just put on a Sasha wig and be Sasha. 

Again, this is no disrespect to the women who are still there. The Women’s division of WWE still has some amazing talent who bust their asses every week. However, many have said “the division is cooked” or “the division needs work” without honestly saying what exactly is missing. Well, I am saying it. The heart and soul for the better part of a decade moved on to other ventures and do not appear to be coming back soon.

I hope the division is able to find a new heart and soul soon because, quite frankly, the thrill is gone for me. And looking at the divisiveness concerning fans online, it is gone for them as well, even though most cannot or will not admit it.