Before it was announced, many fans speculated that WWE would one day put on an all women's Pay-Per-View. Sure enough, we learned that day would come on October 28th in the form of "Evolution," an homage to the women's revolution that turned into an evolution. Soon after, rumors began, speculating about the matches that would occur on the show. When Stephanie McMahon made the announcement, because of course she did, she mentioned over 50 female superstars from the past and present will be part of it. During SummerSlam weekend, the first match was announced, Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss, which was met with mixed reactions, to put it nicely. When fans learned about the rumored and eventual true main event in Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella, the reaction was nuclear. The way things are going, especially with the latter match, (not to be confused with a Ladder match), it seems a little backwards to me.
Evolution is supposed to mean growth and advancement, especially when it comes to the women's division in WWE. Let's start with this main event, shall we? I am completely fine with Ronda Rousey in this spot, as she is a major star and has improved by leaps and bounds since her debut match at WrestleMania. While I think they hot shotted her to the Raw Women's Championship, she is the current Champion and I understand it. Some say the reasoning for Nikki Bella being involved is that she is the most well known woman in the current landscape of WWE's women's division and the star power she has, along with Ronda's, would make the match seem important. That couldn't be further from the truth! I don't think her level of star power is nearly as high as WWE tells us it is. I can't speak for everyone but there are many fans that hate this, and I'm one of them. Nikki and her sister Brie are the epitome of why the women's division needed to evolve. They were and still are everything wrong with the women's division. To me, those two are Divas all the way, a term WWE finally disposed of two years ago.
Nikki has certainly gotten better but that's not saying much. Brie seems to be getting worse, but she was never that good anyway. Don't give me the excuse of ring rust due to her pregnancy! She's always been bad. Also, they are both awful actors and horrible on the mic. I put the Bella Twins in the same category with Divas like Eva Marie, Kelly Kelly, and the like. If the argument is star power, I think Ronda has enough by herself that would make most opponents for her make the match a big deal. I can think of plenty of more deserving women for this match. Sasha Banks has some kind of "injury," Bayley is doing nothing, and poor Asuka has been nearly ruined in WWE. All of these women, even more respected veterans like Natalya and Mickie James deserve the match with Ronda much more than Nikki Bella.
As for what I would do, my ideal opponent for Ronda is Natalya. Nattie doesn't have to win to be looked at as a good opponent for Ronda. Just being there would give her the proper respect she has earned. Also, her being Ronda's opponent makes much more sense than Nikki Bella, even if they've teased her involvement for over a month. Natalya has more history with Ronda and it could be a match out of respect or a heel turn. Either way, it would be more well received by the fans. Otherwise, newer women like the others I mentioned could use the opportunity. Natalya, however, is more respected and a much better choice than Nikki. Don't get me wrong, the Bella Twins can still serve a purpose. I'd put them against the Iconics and have the Iconics go over. It seems like a better match placement to me.
Let's go back to the first match that was announced, Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss. As far as the theme of trailblazers to current women, I get why this match was announced. However, much like the other match I've been talking about, I think there are other women more deserving to face Trish than Alexa. Another match that was announced was Mickie James vs. Lita. That's certainly nothing to complain about, but I think it deviates slightly from the show's name and purpose. On Raw this week, due to the underwhelming response to the Trish/Alexa match, WWE seemed to rectify the situation by combining these matches into a tag team encounter. Trish and Lita have long been known to be best friends in and out of the ring. Meanwhile, Mickie has been aligned with Alexa for the past two years. Combining the matches makes sense and I believe it will be a better match. Alexa is okay but she's not exactly the best in-ring woman in the business. Having the match contain three experienced legends helps it significantly. Even so, I wish we could have gotten Trish vs. Sasha Banks and Lita vs. Bayley.
As for the rest of the card, it's still speculation. The only other matches that have been confirmed are Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Title and the finals of the Mae Young Classic, likely between Toni Storm and Io Sharai, which, in my opinion will blow every other match out of the water. They've also announced a Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Women's Title between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Despite WWE spinning the wrong narrative of Becky being the heel, this should be a good match. I may be complaining but I'm start enough to know that a couple of things I disagree with should not ruin the entire show for me. There will also be a defense of the NXT UK Women's Title featuring Champion Rhea Ripley.
What else could be in store for Evolution? Unfortunately, Asuka has been an afterthought and someone who was once looked at as special. She is someone that needs to get back on track. Perhaps a match against Ember Moon would be good but then again, Ember could also use a win. Now that Naomi's feud with the Iconics is over, they should move Asuka away from her. Asuka could face Nia Jax but we've seen that both in NXT and on the main roster. For me, the perfect opponent for her would be another legend, Beth Phoenix. Just picturing the Glamazon vs. the Empress of Tomorrow sounds amazing. We already know Beth will be there, and she is once again calling the Mae Young Classic. Recently, Bayley tweeted at Ivory about a match but I don't think Ivory will be wrestling. Would it be completely out of the question to see Alundra Blayze in the ring one more time? Who knows?
Again, I'm not going to let some things I disagree with ruin an entire show for myself. I have no problem with Nikki Bella being part of the show, but I definitely think she should not be involved in the main event. It also doesn't make sense to have the Bellas heel now when Brie was just side by side with her husband Daniel Bryan against Maryse & The Miz. Ronda being larger than life still needs to be maintained. While she did a great job selling against Alexa at Hell In a Cell, I think she sold too much and now she needs to sell against Nikki. These are two opponents that shouldn't be in Ronda's league, despite her inexperience. They're humanizing her too quickly in my opinion. I worry about the future of some of the women in NXT, NXT UK, or the Performance Center when they come up to Raw and Smackdown. Sasha, Bayley, and Asuka, to name a few, have been treated poorly.
As much as an issue the women's division and Evolution is, I believe the problem goes way beyond just that. It's affecting the entire company in general. Raw's ratings have been the lowest they have ever been as of late. That is directly why Raw this week was much better in comparison. I hate to say it, but WWE seems to push only one person on that roster and does not build new stars, which is why they have to rely on older ones. I can't blame it all on Vince McMahon. I think the problem is the yes men he surrounds himself with, such as John Laurenitas, and especially Kevin Dunne, who has the most backwards thinking, specifically towards the women. I truly believe that when Vince passes his company to Triple H and Stephanie that they will get rid of Kevin Dunne. Triple H especially has grown NXT to become the brand it is today and truly understands how to grow the business. It will be in good hands! What are your opinions on the topic? Some of it just seems more like a devolution to me.
As for the rest of the card, it's still speculation. The only other matches that have been confirmed are Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Title and the finals of the Mae Young Classic, likely between Toni Storm and Io Sharai, which, in my opinion will blow every other match out of the water. They've also announced a Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Women's Title between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Despite WWE spinning the wrong narrative of Becky being the heel, this should be a good match. I may be complaining but I'm start enough to know that a couple of things I disagree with should not ruin the entire show for me. There will also be a defense of the NXT UK Women's Title featuring Champion Rhea Ripley.
What else could be in store for Evolution? Unfortunately, Asuka has been an afterthought and someone who was once looked at as special. She is someone that needs to get back on track. Perhaps a match against Ember Moon would be good but then again, Ember could also use a win. Now that Naomi's feud with the Iconics is over, they should move Asuka away from her. Asuka could face Nia Jax but we've seen that both in NXT and on the main roster. For me, the perfect opponent for her would be another legend, Beth Phoenix. Just picturing the Glamazon vs. the Empress of Tomorrow sounds amazing. We already know Beth will be there, and she is once again calling the Mae Young Classic. Recently, Bayley tweeted at Ivory about a match but I don't think Ivory will be wrestling. Would it be completely out of the question to see Alundra Blayze in the ring one more time? Who knows?
Again, I'm not going to let some things I disagree with ruin an entire show for myself. I have no problem with Nikki Bella being part of the show, but I definitely think she should not be involved in the main event. It also doesn't make sense to have the Bellas heel now when Brie was just side by side with her husband Daniel Bryan against Maryse & The Miz. Ronda being larger than life still needs to be maintained. While she did a great job selling against Alexa at Hell In a Cell, I think she sold too much and now she needs to sell against Nikki. These are two opponents that shouldn't be in Ronda's league, despite her inexperience. They're humanizing her too quickly in my opinion. I worry about the future of some of the women in NXT, NXT UK, or the Performance Center when they come up to Raw and Smackdown. Sasha, Bayley, and Asuka, to name a few, have been treated poorly.
As much as an issue the women's division and Evolution is, I believe the problem goes way beyond just that. It's affecting the entire company in general. Raw's ratings have been the lowest they have ever been as of late. That is directly why Raw this week was much better in comparison. I hate to say it, but WWE seems to push only one person on that roster and does not build new stars, which is why they have to rely on older ones. I can't blame it all on Vince McMahon. I think the problem is the yes men he surrounds himself with, such as John Laurenitas, and especially Kevin Dunne, who has the most backwards thinking, specifically towards the women. I truly believe that when Vince passes his company to Triple H and Stephanie that they will get rid of Kevin Dunne. Triple H especially has grown NXT to become the brand it is today and truly understands how to grow the business. It will be in good hands! What are your opinions on the topic? Some of it just seems more like a devolution to me.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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