For as many years as the product has been around, the thought of intergender wrestling has been something largely ignored by the WWE.
Some fans are fully on board with that line of thinking, perceiving the sport to be better when divided into male and female divisions. Others feel that it’s a missed opportunity for WWE, especially considering success with the idea in newer promotions like Lucha Underground.
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The question is then, should WWE embrace the concept?
The WWE’s resistance to the idea is understandable if you factor in their previous history with it, which is rather subpar. Most matches, even the ones including Chyna during the Attitude era, still focused on the match as if it were a gimmick. The overreliance on gimmicks could be described as a flaw within WWE in general, but especially here. The few matches that have taken place are treated more like sideshow acts, instead of simply warrior vs warrior, so if they are going to approach the matches in the same way then no, they shouldn’t embrace it.
Triple H recently addressed the subject (via f4wonline), saying he “didn’t think the WWE fanbase would be ready for a male to be seen beating up a woman in the ring. He prefers the women being able to stand out on their own athletic merits.”
It is here where the confusion starts.
Triple H still views this in the traditional way, seeing a woman as inferior to a man in the athletic arena, but that is in direct opposition to his last statement, where he prefers them to stand out on their own athletic merits.
There is no reason that Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Asuka, or Nia Jax should be viewed as lesser opponents when compared to The Miz, Roman Reigns, or Kevin Owens. Are you really saying those wouldn’t be epic matches? Sure they would, and these aren’t just women vs men, these are athletes vs athletes, and they shouldn’t be limited because of dated gender roles.
Lucha Underground might not be for everyone, but it has excelled in this area. Lucha star Ivelisse explains why the two companies are able to offer something different (via WrestleZone).
“The thing is they are two completely different things. WWE is a completely different product than Lucha Underground even though they are based on sports entertainment. WWE is using wrestling as a form of entertainment, but through the realistic aspect of wrestling. That is what they’ve done for a very long time. I prefer to bring as much realism to my wrestling performance as much as possible. With Lucha Underground, they’re doing something completely and entirely different. They are wrestling to entertain, but they’re doing it from a completely different aspect. They are doing it from more of a theatrical matter. Like when you watch movies, you see women fighting men all the time. Whether it’s superheroes or really skilled female fighters, it’s completely acceptable and it’s something that has been going on for very long time. It’s two completely different ways of going about the entertainment you are watching. Neither is wrong because they’re both entertainment they are just two different ways of entertaining.”
She’s right in her description of what the two companies focus on and do best, but WWE’s focus on realistic wrestling shouldn’t act as a deterrent from trying some new things. WWE might say they are more realistic, but the superstars are still treated like superheroes and villains in the ring. There’s a story to tell during the match, and typically it’s an old fashioned good vs evil storyline. So if that is the foundation, why would intergender have any effect on that at all? That is if the match commentary and buildup is actually focused on the two stars facing each other and not just the mere fact that a man and woman are facing off in the ring.
WWE isn’t wrong necessarily for opting not to do this, but it shouldn’t rule it out simply because of an outdated tradition or their past history. What say you, though? Would you like to see it happen more often? Let us know in the comments!
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