In the Saturday Supplement, the Diva Dirt team will aim to discuss a news story, a televised event or other relevant and current topics. The objective, like the average weekend newspaper, is to offer more indepth and lengthy discussion.
We’re in a era of women’s wrestling where it’s not only possible, but likely for former porn stars and models to get title shots, while professional wrestlers with years of experience get put on the backburner. With that said, I ask the question: What are the components for the ‘perfect Diva’? And even if you have the total package, will you still be marketable to the WWE Universe?
The first ingredient to the ‘Perfect Diva’ recipe is skill. An extremely valuable asset to any Diva (though you wouldn’t know it judging by some of the girls in recent years) should be in-ring skill. A pretty smile and a great rack can only get you but so far in the wrestling world. If you want to be taken seriously by a wrestling promotion and their audience, you should at least be able to take a decent bump.
The next component is sass. While in-ring skills are extremely important, personality is just as vital. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best wrestler to ever step foot in a wrestling ring; no one is going to care if you have the personality of a brick wall. The biggest offender of this rule is current Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool. While McCool has come leaps and bounds since her debut, in regards to her wrestling ability, her lack of charisma has been her downfall. The fans just can’t seem to get behind (or against) Michelle and some might attribute this to absence of spunk outside of the ring.
As shallow as it may sound, another important aspect of women’s wrestling is beauty. Professional wrestling for women, especially in this day and age, is based mostly on aesthetics. If you don’t have the so-called ‘look’, chances are you won’t make it very far in a mainstream promotion. That said, in the last few years, wrestlers such as Awesome Kong, ODB and Beth Phoenix, who may not be considered ‘beautiful’ in a conventional sense, are breaking the mould of the typical Diva. They are prime examples that a female wrestler doesn’t have to look a certain way to get noticed.
Last but probably the most important part of this formula is passion. While passion is probably one of the most important tools for a wrestler, male or female, a lot of women’s wrestlers in a certain mainstream promotion seem to be lacking. It’s not surprising given how girls are recruited these days. Talent scouts seem to be looking for models they can turn into wrestlers, as opposed to actual wrestlers.
Most Divas possess some of these qualities that I have listed but a select few have the ‘total package’. There is an elite group of girls, who are able to captivate audiences with their skills, attitude and beauty. Only a minuscule percentage of ladies who have dedicated their lives to learning every subtlety and nuance of pro-wrestling. Unfortunately, these Divas never get the push.
Over the last decade, the most popular Divas have had a certain look for the most part. Model-esque looks and figure, blonde hair, etc. The pattern can be traced back to WWE’s golden girl Trish Stratus, all the way to current flavor of the week, Kelly Kelly.
At the time of Trish’s first title win, there were other women such as Ivory and Jacqueline, who were more experienced competitors that were passed over in lieu of Trish. In the modern day, competitors like Victoria and Natalya were pushed aside for the less experienced Maryse, for the Divas Championship. Coincidentally, both these Divas are similar in terms of looks. Hmm…
The reason for this, I daresay, can be explained by looking at WWE’s demographic. Monday Night Raw, WWE ‘flagship’ show markets itself to the young, Caucasian male group, from the ages 18-35. In WWE’s eyes, a blonde, Caucasian woman would catch the attention of it’s audience, better than a brunette or a African-American Diva.
On the other hand, Friday Night SmackDown has a large percentage of Latino viewers and often utilizes Latinos in their broadcast to boost rating. Evidence of this include Rey Mysterio’s success, Melina‘s abrupt return to Smackdown last spring and the recent success of Eve Torres.
This favortism doesn’t stop at who’s booked on which roster. Take a look at WWE’s most recent marketing campaign with 7-Eleven. Instead of choosing Mickie James, who is a five time champion, Gail Kim or Melina who are top contenders in their respective divisions, they chose Kelly Kelly to grace their SummerSlam cups. Once again, WWE’s ‘key demographic’ seems to be more responsive to a female of the blonde, Caucasian persuasion. Before Kelly became the proverbial poster girl of the WWE, Divas like Trish and Torrie Wilson were often at the helm of such marketing initiatives. Is it really a coincidence that all of these girls are seemingly cut from the same cloth? Why not choose girls who are just as beautiful such as the three listed above. Couldn’t any Diva on the roster sell Big Gulps or pay per views just as well as Kelly? If they’re all as “Smart, Sexy and Powerful” as WWE likes to boast, what’s the harm?
Is it really that implausible that Raw’s demographic could get behind a Diva who doesn’t necessarily fit the All-American girl mould? Can SmackDown’s audience relate to a Diva who isn’t Latina? Should slim, fair-haired girls be the face of such a diverse women’s roster. The ‘Perfect Diva’ shouldn’t have a race, shape or size. Maybe WWE should let the fans decide who we want to support, instead of telling us who we should.
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21 Comments
Great article, Steven. I have to admit this very thought has crossed my mind recently, especially with the mass production of one Kelly Kelly. Just going beyond the Summerslam advert, Kelly has also been featured in the Svr09 game advertisements and has replaced Candice in the opener for WWE programming. At least Candice had accomplished at least one title reign to substantiate her being featured and Torrie (the predecessor) has gained prestige through Playboy. What exactly has Kelly done to put herself on the map as the face of the Divas? Maryse would have made more sense to me. You know, if it was “sex appeal” that they were after. She has managed maintain appeal despite being an uber heel, just like Candice has in the past. Anyway, I think it’s pretty obvious why Kelly has become as popular and treasured amongst the “higher-ups.”
But to play Devil’s advocate, being the resident “sexpot” Diva comes with its own faults. Torrie has expressed in previous interviews that she found it very difficult to prove herself as a wrestler having been typecast as the “sexy covergirl” of WWE for so long. Whereas Trish Stratus found a comfortable medium between the two. As young as Kelly is, the possibilities are seemingly endless, so it’s really a toss-up with her. But for now, Kelly may be scoring some major attention, but at the end of the day, who’s winning the championships?
I totally agree with what is said and the thing that gets me the most upset is that Natalya hasn’t had gold around her waist yet
I loved this. I’m sick of Smelly Smelly. REALLY sick of her. And ODB isn’t ugly at all. She’s actually a cute girl. Kong isn’t horrifying as TNA makes her seem either and I think she’s pretty in her own way. And Beth is fucking gorgeous. All of them are beautiful. There isn’t one ugly TNA Knockout or WWE Diva.
Awesome, awesome article!
I love the Saturday Supplement.
I honestly believe that if Melina or Mickie James were on the SummerSlam cups, they would actually sell better. I wouldn’t spend a penny on a Kelly Kelly cup.
I think Trish was a so-called ‘Perfect Diva’ as she fit all the qualities of a WWE Diva, and gave it 110%. She was Smart, Sexy, and Powerful! She was beautiful, yet could kick butt! I think despite what others think Maryse, Melina, and Mickie really fit the title WWE Diva.
Totally agree. I think WWE has a false idea of what really appeals to people. They seem to think the stereotypical blonde diva is the most receptive to the audience, but this theory has been proved false so many times. I mean, look at Lita. She had a different and unique look and wasent the stereotypical diva but she connected to the audience like no woman before. During her time as a babyface she was one of the most popular and most recognisable performers. TNA’s knockout division is diverse and isnt prefominantly made up of “models”, but yet the Knockout segments get the highest ratings of the show.
I think a large part of former poster girls’ Trish and Torrie’s success could be attributed to their personalities. So, if they want to make Kelly Kelly the face of the divas they need to show us her personality and develop her character so we can care about her.
I totally agree with you.
That’s why I feel sorry for divas like Alicia Fox, Gail Kim, Katie Lee, Natalya, and Layla. In my opinion all of them are GREAT wrestler besides Layla she have her ups and down.
But it is what it is with WWE. They only see their women wrestlers as sex appeal nothing else. Vince McMahon doesn’t have any respect for them.
Quite possibly the best Saturday Supplement I’ve ever read on this site. Very good point, and just one more piece of proof that WWE doesn’t care about wrestling ability in the Divas; all that matters to them are looks.
Good point by Tiffany. Kelly Kelly may be filming commercials, but women like Mickie James, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Melina and Michelle McCool are the ones in the title picture. From an advertising point of view it is smart to use the most commercially pretty girl just like they did with Torrie Wilson in her heyday. I don’t think WWE thinks Alicia or Eve or Layla aren’t pretty and wouldn’t sell, as they were hired for their looks as well, but Kelly Kelly will appeal to the general audience more. Lets also not forget that Kelly Kelly gets the loudest cheers out of any of the Divas along with Maria and Melina. Combine that with her all American girl looks and can you really blame WWE for looking at her as the woman to market?
Steven, thank you for a fantastic article. I have been thinking about this a lot too, and not just about the Divas, but the WWE as a whole. The WWE universe is having select talent shoved down our throats. Vince McMahon and WWE creative team have long since lost track of what the fans want, and that is being shown through low ratings. How many times are we going to see a Cena/Orton feud? How many more times are we going to see talented women like Katie Lea and Jillian Hall job to Kelly Kelly and the Bella Twins?
One of the reasons I never fully became a Trish Stratus fan was because I felt like she was being forced upon the audience. Same goes with Candice Michelle, she was pushed to that title and that just didn’t jive with me.
@Irene > I love what you said about developing Kelly’s character so that we can care about her. One thing I will give Trish Stratus is that every storyline she was ever put in added to her character. We knew why she was a face and we knew why she was a heel, and that helped fans love or hate her.
Kelly Kelly = The new Stacy Keibler.
great article steven.I really wish WWE would focus on wrestling skills then beauty because geat woman wrestlers like katie lea,jillian hall,and natayla are never getting there chance,it’s not fair
this stereotypical blond american girl WWE wants is not what the fans want,I don’t want a kelly kelly summerslam cup because i’m not a fan of hers,she can’t wrestler.I want a mickie james,gail kim,alicia fox,jillian hall,beth phoenix,melina,and katie lea summerslam cup,if WWE puts those on the shelfs of 7-eleven,I would buy each one of them and i know for sure they would sell:D
WWE did great with Trish stratus but they need to realize that it’s not going to happen again,there not going to get another trish stratus.Trish was the best,she had the wrestling skills,the sass,the beauty,and the passion,she was perfect in everyway.i hate it when girls today like kelly kelly lack each one of those traits up there but still get all the magazines covers and all the commerials,it’s not fair and it pisses me off,WWE needs to change
once again,great article steven
pretty good article, but i disagree with what you said about melina, i mean some of her push could be attributed to her being latino, but her push started on raw, which doesnt have the latino following that smackdown does. and really of all the divas, melina is the closest to the next trish, at least in my eyes. she has the perfect combination of beauty, skills, and charisma, she has it all, and on top of that, just like trish, she is a great heel AND face, something not many divas or superstars can pull off like she can
trishrocks-Thankyou.I always thought that people saw Melina as an afterthought,but you just made my day.
Awesome,awesome article Steven.Kelly Kelly has potential,but I don’t see her leaving her ‘spot-monkey’ ways.
trishrocks — I don’t think you read it correctly. Steven said Melina’s return to SmackDown could have something to do with that brand catering to Latino viewers. He never said anything about her success being attributed to her being a Latina on SmackDown.
Steven rules..nice article..i think the best ever..i like blond girls but i do love latina mamasitas…divas shoud be reconized by being strong and sexy..not by the daamm color of hair or skin..or something like that!
I know that Steven didnt mean that Kong, ODB or Beth were horrible or anything but I must say I think Beth is beautiful!!
Didn’t Layla and Beth get featured in FLEX magazine and Eve, Maryse, and Michelle for Muscle & Fitness? Anyway, I know Diva fans would love to have cups of each Diva and have them all in 7-11 commercial but I mean come on, Kelly is one of the most popular Divas in WWE right now. I doubt Alicia and Katie Lea cups would be flying off the shelves. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of them but let’s be real.
@ Christie – I’d buy an Alicia Fox or a Katie Lea cup!! But don’t expect me to get near the K2 one…
Steven this is an excellent article. Seriously, you had me eager to read all and process everything you had to say. I’ve been wondering for awhile why exactly they kept shoving certain Divas down our throats. I mean seriously? When I saw the commercial I blanked for a second. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why K2 was on a cup when she did nothing special on the show. I was even looking for Mickie or Maryse or even Michelle to pop up in there but nope, nothing.
The WWE wants us to like what they tell us to like and that’s it. What I don’t understand is, doesn’t anyone from the company read the comments on the web? On every single website I go on people are getting fed up of pretty girls having no talent in the ring. You’d think they’d get a clue and actually push someone who we want to see…. like Natalya?
@ Shan:
Even if they did read what fans had to say, WWE will never change their mind anyway. REAL wrestling fans have been booing Cena with a passion for years yet there he is anyway, still getting his steroid-infested dut-dut-dirut getting shoved down our throats. Kelly will be no different; she can’t wrestle her way out of a paper bag but as long as he thinks she’s young, she’s hot and she’s worth every guy’s fantasy she’s going to be the one to endorse everything.
See WWE doesn’t give a jabroni about the second W in WWE… all that matters to them is the E. That’s all there is to it… the days when the second W was was still important was in the days of the Attitude Era… the era that has now been long gone.
PS
It’s just a darn cup anyway; why is everyone making such a fuss about it???
@TouchOfAnEnigma:
I think the cup’s just a means of representation. It’s just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back when it comes to the crap actual wrestling fans have to put up with.
Plus I get what you mean with the Cena bit, I was watching RAW and he was getting booed… I just cannot believe they turn a blind eye to it continuously happening. And then there’s the whole Jillian thing. Then again let me not even start up on that…