The Wrestler/Inside Wrestling Magazine
Volume 12, 2007 Issue
No Holds Barred with Will Welsh

During the years that Trish Stratus starred atop WWE’s women’s division, the energy level and excitement surrounding the division was something that was felt at every Raw event. Stratus, with the help of more than a few experienced wrestlers, including Victoria, Lita, Jazz, and Molly Holly, took the division to a new level by showing that women could be both good-looking and athletic. Together, these ladies redefined women’s wrestling.

Over the past few years, however, WWE has reduced the number of women wrestlers on its roster. First, Jazz was let go. Then, Molly Holly decided to retire from the sport. Lita continues to hang around, but, somewhere along the way, WWE decided to pull her out of active competition (at least temporarily) so she could prance along ringside in strategically taped tops.

And while these women left or reinvented themselves, WWE hired a whole bevy of other women, many of whom competed for roster spots by basically stripping down to the bare minimum and pandering to the mostly male crowd. Ashley, Candice Michelle, Layla, Maria, and Kristal all joined the company by the way of the WWE Diva Search — and there was a slew of other Diva Search contestants who came and went so quickly that their names barely register anymore. Memories of them have coalesced into a potpourri of lingerie matches and whipped cream spectacles.

The role of these women is to look good, dress scantily, and tease the males in the audience to the point that they keep coming back for more. They are not expected to wrestle (or at least to wrestle well), and they sure aren’t expected to make the women’s division competitive.

In fact, with the way WWE has handled the hiring and firing of its female performers, it’s clear that it doesn’t really care if there’s a women’s division at all. Even the hiring of Mickie James, who joined the Raw roster last year and is an established wrestler with genuine skill, has to be viewed with a critical eye, as it’s clear that she relishes her role as a bouncy bimbo.

Only a few years ago, WWE’s women’s division was the strongest and most competitive it had ever been. Today, it is at one of its lowest points ever and seems to be around for no good reason. If it doesn’t again emerge as a critical and successful part of Raw’s formula, it may not be long before WWE retires the women’s championship altogether.

This would concern a lot of people, but most wouldn’t be affected in the long term. There is one person, however, who would be most affected if WWE decides to do away with the women’s division and championship: That woman is Victoria.

Victoria must hate watching WWE slowly dismantle the women’s division. Undoubtedly, she must be second-guessing the sacrifices she has made to be become the all-around wrestler she is today.

The division was built around women such as Victoria. For the longest time, she was Stratus’ arch-nemesis and her main competition for the women’s championship. Together, they had many extraordinary matches (matches that often times stole house shows or even Raws away from the male performers) and traded the women’s title back and forth as if it were a dressing room secret. Heck, for a time there, it felt as if the two of them were the women’s division.

Throughout their long rivalry, however, Victoria never got the respect she deserved. While Stratus always heard the cheers, Victoria heard the boos. While Stratus received all the public accolades, Victoria was relegated to the role of a supporting cast member. Only true students of the game knew how important she was to Stratus’ successful ascent to the top of the sport and the overall performance of the women’s division.

And then, when Victoria was given an opportunity to become a full-fledged fan favorite, it was scuttled before it even got started, thanks to an ill-advised entrance theme and dance that had most people laughing or cringing or both.

Victoria has been forced to watch the division disintegrate and watch her most worthy opponent retire. Ironically, the best athlete on the women’s roster is now a misfit. Why? She doesn’t smile and show her pearly whites; she scowls and lets you know she means business. She’s not small and petite like a Victoria Secret’s model; she’s sexy and muscular and could break the other women on the roster in half. She’s not one to go get pretty at a salon; she’d rather spend her day at the gym working to improve her in-ring performance.

“I don’t look at wrestling as a steppingstone to anything else,” Victoria told The Wrestler during a 2001 interview. “I want to be a WWE Diva, and I’ll do anything it takes to do that.”

This woman is a former middleweight bodybuilder, magazine cover girl, and organ harvester who sacrificed medical school to pursue a career as a wrestler. And that’s why her current predicament is such a shame. She started as a full-time member of the Raw roster more than four years ago, and not even a serious knee injury kept her away from the ring for very long. If you haven’t noticed, she’s been wearing a knee brace for a few years. She has dedicated her life to the business, assuming there was a place for a talented female wrestler.

Victoria has done everything that has been asked of her, allowing Stratus to overshadow her, adopting a psycho persona, dancing like a fool, and showing off a bit more of her sexuality. Victoria’s career has come to a standstill as attractive — yet considerably less talented — women have become a bigger part of the show. As WWE de-emphasizes actual wrestling among its women, Victoria’s value to the company will continue to diminish.

It’s just not fair. Victoria is one of the greatest female wrestlers of her generation — and possibly in the history of the sport. Here’s hoping that when she retires, whenever that may be, she finally gets some of the respect she so richly deserves.