I'd like to hear Devolution's thoughts on how females are presented in wrestling, WWE especially - and then other areas like TNA and Shine.
I'm going to take a guess and say; badly. Even in the PG world of modern WWE, the women are lauded for their athletic prowess, but given the barest of chances to show it. They seem entirely interchangeable from one another, only being placed in the limelight when paired with a male wrestler as a valet or girlfriend, until, invariably, storyline dictates that they expose their low morals by cheating on said wrestler. There's an air of rigmarole to the Divas matches, as if they're there to check a box, and as if WWE only bothers with them because otherwise the Divas would be barely a step above the Nitro Girls.
In TNA the women are presented far more lasciviously, scantily clad and performing risqué poses as they enter the ring. But once there, they at least wrestle. TNA doesn't build up their skills only to then let them go to waste, but rather portrays them as good wrestlers in their own right (with the added of advantage of looking sexy in the process), even if the quality and maturity of the storylines given to them often leave a lot to be desired.
Women's wrestling on the indies in places like SHIMMER, SHINE, WSU, ACW, NCW, etc is mostly presented in a much more athletic manner, but that doesn't mean they are unaware of the more seedy side of how women's wrestling is perceived and the money-making opportunities therein. For instance, some wrestlers take to auctioning their ring-worn gear to the creepy guys who come to these shows for more than just the wrestling, while others advertise their availability for fetish video work and custom video requests from fans.
I think women's wrestling has a long way to go in the US - there are many who say that people just aren't interested in women's wrestling, but the problem remains with the fact that not enough good women's wrestler are being given the opportunities to wrestle. There's no doubt in my mind that women's wrestling can be as exciting and entertaining as men's wrestling, and for entirely the same reasons, but until it's presented as being on par with men's wrestling, until WWE begin giving opportunities first to the women who CAN wrestle and not just look pretty, it will always be badly perceived imo.
Alucard said:
Fun fact: I was at Dragon Gate's first Canadian PPV, Uprising 2010. It was Akira Tozawa's PPV debut, and he was put in the first match against Mochizuki. The crowd was red hot and the match was very good.
I remember that show - it's crazy how much Tozawa improved in that year. Also, jealous you got to meet some of the DG guys! Would love the chance to meet guys like Mochizuki & Shingo.