Breaking news guys; NXT's women's division is great, and WWE's main roster absolutely sucks. I know, I'll let you collect yourself.
There are plenty of reasons this is the case, and I'll just throw this out here now, so that we're all in understanding; the primary reason it's better, is because of the match quality. NXT's matches are better than WWE's matches, and consequentially, they are better. I wouldn't try to convince you otherwise.
Now, let me convince you of otherwise.
First, a little bit of context: in the media, there's a term thrown around (quite loosely, at least now) referred to as the Bechdel Test. For a movie/show/whatever to pass the bechdel test, the following must happen:
1. There must be at least two women in the film.
2. These women must actually talk to one another
3. About something besides a man.
Seems easy enough, donit? Welp, of the 5,913 movies in the database site tracking the bechdel test, only 58% of them pass this test. Granted, that's not exactly the largest sample size, but with such a simple qualifier, one would see it as really strange to see so many movies fail at least one of these rules.
And therein lies the underlying issue between NXT and WWE; NXT would largely pass the bechdel test, whereas WWE would fail. The motivations, hopes, and desires of women in the WWE are largely associated with a man, whereas in NXT, women are treated as independent entities (heh... Titties...)
It really didn't dawn on me, until I saw this comic from Botched Spot...
People have already clamored (even here, on this very forum) that they don't like the pairing of Ziggler and Lana, and that it really takes away from their enjoyment of the Rusev-Lana angle. Lana deciding she no longer wants to be with the Super Russian brute is something most of us can relate to; we find ourselves cheering for Lana, hoping that she tells off Rusev. Even Rusev comes off as somewhat relatable, especially to the non-Yanks who want no part of the ritual jingoism that is America rules, and everyone else sucks. You understand each character's motivations, and in some way, you can find yourself seeing the truly human characteristics of each person.
And then, Lana fucking kissed Dolph Ziggler. On the exact same day she broke ties with Rusev. The exact same fucking day.
Further research will show that this is a common trope in WWE, as opposed to NXT, where you rarely (if ever) see the motivations of the women directly tied to a man, at all times. In the almost 3 years that it has aired, they've never once had a feud involving women fighting over a man, or a woman jumping from man-to-man to make them jealous. For the most part, the women aren't even involved with the men at all. They actually exist as independent entities. And in the one romance subplot they've had in all that time (Carmella/Enzo/Blake & Murphy) it was actually the men who were chasing after her, not the other way around. I mean, if you really want to be pedantic, you could argue that whole Johnny Curtis/Maxine...Thing. But by and large, the women are left to their own motivations. And the motivation is really simple; be the best, and win the Women's Title.
Sounds about right, yes? Now, let's take a look at the amount of romance angles run with women of the WWE, within that same three year span.
This is, by and large, the main roster we have now. Going back and looking at it, I was shocked just how many angles were directly involved with relationships. More than anything else, it's funny just how poorly the story lines are put together. Lana and Rusev isn't the rarity; Or how everything Brie Bella says has to be connected to Daniel Bryan, like she has no other reason for being there. You also have Tamina, who after all these years is still nothing more than "The Usos' cousin." Emma, one of the most gifted early women of NXT, getting called up only to become Santino's awkward love interest. Summer, Layla, and Rosa - all of whom fought over Fandango, after which Rosa immediately ran into the arms of Adam Rose (again, you can't have her being single). Then you have Natalya, probably the best female wrestler in WWE, yet the sole focus of her character has been her marital problems with Tyson. And let's not forget all the crap AJ Lee had to go through before finally getting past the "crazy girlfriend" role.
I'm not saying romance shouldn't have a role in the wrestling world. When done right (Randy Savage and Elizabeth), it helps accentuate key components of characters. The problem becomes when the only motivation of the character is tied directly to her wanting of a man. And that happens in WWE, far more than it does in NXT. The women fight to become the best, and plays an actual role in the storyline. The storyline makes the match better, and forces the women of NXt to excel, in their desire to be the best.
See? It really isn't that hard.
There are plenty of reasons this is the case, and I'll just throw this out here now, so that we're all in understanding; the primary reason it's better, is because of the match quality. NXT's matches are better than WWE's matches, and consequentially, they are better. I wouldn't try to convince you otherwise.
Now, let me convince you of otherwise.
First, a little bit of context: in the media, there's a term thrown around (quite loosely, at least now) referred to as the Bechdel Test. For a movie/show/whatever to pass the bechdel test, the following must happen:
1. There must be at least two women in the film.
2. These women must actually talk to one another
3. About something besides a man.
Seems easy enough, donit? Welp, of the 5,913 movies in the database site tracking the bechdel test, only 58% of them pass this test. Granted, that's not exactly the largest sample size, but with such a simple qualifier, one would see it as really strange to see so many movies fail at least one of these rules.
And therein lies the underlying issue between NXT and WWE; NXT would largely pass the bechdel test, whereas WWE would fail. The motivations, hopes, and desires of women in the WWE are largely associated with a man, whereas in NXT, women are treated as independent entities (heh... Titties...)
It really didn't dawn on me, until I saw this comic from Botched Spot...
People have already clamored (even here, on this very forum) that they don't like the pairing of Ziggler and Lana, and that it really takes away from their enjoyment of the Rusev-Lana angle. Lana deciding she no longer wants to be with the Super Russian brute is something most of us can relate to; we find ourselves cheering for Lana, hoping that she tells off Rusev. Even Rusev comes off as somewhat relatable, especially to the non-Yanks who want no part of the ritual jingoism that is America rules, and everyone else sucks. You understand each character's motivations, and in some way, you can find yourself seeing the truly human characteristics of each person.
And then, Lana fucking kissed Dolph Ziggler. On the exact same day she broke ties with Rusev. The exact same fucking day.
Further research will show that this is a common trope in WWE, as opposed to NXT, where you rarely (if ever) see the motivations of the women directly tied to a man, at all times. In the almost 3 years that it has aired, they've never once had a feud involving women fighting over a man, or a woman jumping from man-to-man to make them jealous. For the most part, the women aren't even involved with the men at all. They actually exist as independent entities. And in the one romance subplot they've had in all that time (Carmella/Enzo/Blake & Murphy) it was actually the men who were chasing after her, not the other way around. I mean, if you really want to be pedantic, you could argue that whole Johnny Curtis/Maxine...Thing. But by and large, the women are left to their own motivations. And the motivation is really simple; be the best, and win the Women's Title.
Sounds about right, yes? Now, let's take a look at the amount of romance angles run with women of the WWE, within that same three year span.
AJ Lee: (Oh God, because of course I have to do this one, first. No seriously, it's alphabetical.) AJ has been romantically linked to Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Kane, John Cena, and Dolph Ziggler.
Aksana: Teddy Long and Cesaro
Alicia Fox: Holy Shit, none. Of course, it's worth mentioning that Alicia has also never really had a sustained push...
Beth Phoenix: None
Brie Bella: Daniel Bryan
Cameron: None
Emma: Santino Marella
Eve Torres: Zack Ryder and John Cena
Kaitlyn: Big E. (This may be me being pedantic, but I'm referring to the whole AJ-Kaitlyn-Big E feud...Thing.
Layla: Fandango and Adam Rose
Naomi: Whichever of the Uso she's marries to
Natayla: Tyson Kidd
Nikki Bella: None (at least on the main shows. Total Divas is not worth getting into now, and not my hill to die on.
Paige: AJ Lee (somewhat joking. Paige doesn't have any, and we'll discuss Paige in a bit
Rosa Mendes: Adam Rose, Fandango, and... Alberto Del Rio?!
Aksana: Teddy Long and Cesaro
Alicia Fox: Holy Shit, none. Of course, it's worth mentioning that Alicia has also never really had a sustained push...
Beth Phoenix: None
Brie Bella: Daniel Bryan
Cameron: None
Emma: Santino Marella
Eve Torres: Zack Ryder and John Cena
Kaitlyn: Big E. (This may be me being pedantic, but I'm referring to the whole AJ-Kaitlyn-Big E feud...Thing.
Layla: Fandango and Adam Rose
Naomi: Whichever of the Uso she's marries to
Natayla: Tyson Kidd
Nikki Bella: None (at least on the main shows. Total Divas is not worth getting into now, and not my hill to die on.
Paige: AJ Lee (somewhat joking. Paige doesn't have any, and we'll discuss Paige in a bit
Rosa Mendes: Adam Rose, Fandango, and... Alberto Del Rio?!
This is, by and large, the main roster we have now. Going back and looking at it, I was shocked just how many angles were directly involved with relationships. More than anything else, it's funny just how poorly the story lines are put together. Lana and Rusev isn't the rarity; Or how everything Brie Bella says has to be connected to Daniel Bryan, like she has no other reason for being there. You also have Tamina, who after all these years is still nothing more than "The Usos' cousin." Emma, one of the most gifted early women of NXT, getting called up only to become Santino's awkward love interest. Summer, Layla, and Rosa - all of whom fought over Fandango, after which Rosa immediately ran into the arms of Adam Rose (again, you can't have her being single). Then you have Natalya, probably the best female wrestler in WWE, yet the sole focus of her character has been her marital problems with Tyson. And let's not forget all the crap AJ Lee had to go through before finally getting past the "crazy girlfriend" role.
I'm not saying romance shouldn't have a role in the wrestling world. When done right (Randy Savage and Elizabeth), it helps accentuate key components of characters. The problem becomes when the only motivation of the character is tied directly to her wanting of a man. And that happens in WWE, far more than it does in NXT. The women fight to become the best, and plays an actual role in the storyline. The storyline makes the match better, and forces the women of NXt to excel, in their desire to be the best.
See? It really isn't that hard.