Benefits of a Divas-only 30 min WWE Network show?

[TheRev]

Since the #GiveDivasAChance came out recently, wouldn't it make sense for WWE to truly give them a chance?

What I mean is why not give them a 30 minute show on the network? Make it live, make it taped...don't think it really matters. It could be shown right before Smackdown if they wanted, kind of like a pre-show. Or they could do it on a different night and time altogether. Maybe they play it after Total Divas goes off on its cable channel. My point is they could do a show whenever they wanted since they own an ENTIRE network for themselves.

To me, it makes sense to since they control the network to hit that specific market. Not only that, but you could build some legitimate feuds on that show and refer to it on RAW or Smackdown. It would also give the divas more ring time to tell a story with their match instead of rushing everything in 30-90 seconds.

From a logistics standpoint, I'm not sure if it is feasible to record it when they record Superstars or Main Event matches prior to RAW and such. They may only be allowed so much time in the arena and adding more recording could throw things off...honestly not sure.

They couldn't really record it at NXT unless they did several weeks worth at the same time since the ladies are typically on tour.

Could you see this working?
Would you even watch it?
What other benefits could you see coming from this type of show?

Again to me, the idea makes sense, just not sure about logistics.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

They already have 3 hours on RAW and 2 hours on SmackDown to feature women's wrestling, they just choose not to. The divas don't need their own show, they need time on the real shows. How about instead of the Ascension we get some more of the divas. That's what I call an improvement to the product.

 

[TheICChampion]

Kind of have to agree with SoS here, I mean they have 5 hours of live programming every week, not to mention Superstars and Main Event, so it's pretty obvious that they don't care enough about the divas to dedicate that much time to them. They'd rather see Stephie baby and HHH take up an hour or 5 replays of a "major" segment from RAW or Smackdown then give the divas any more than a few minutes. Until that changes then good luck seeing the ladies being featured in any meaningful way. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind seeing it, I just don't think it will happen.

 

[laodaron]

I'm torn on this. I enjoy Total Divas, and I like what it's done for some of the Divas on the show. I also think that a wrestling show involving the Total Divas angles would work. On the other hand, they DO have 5 hours of TV time to give the Divas instead of the Ascension, Adam Rose, New Days, Jack Swagger, or Cesaro.

 

[Navi]

The Diva's have their own show, it's called Total Diva's. Considering the fact that that's how the WWE has decided to portray them, I don't hold out much hope for another show featuring them actually wrestling.

Like the others have said, there is a total of 7 hours each week, that they can put on Diva's matches. If the best we're going to get is a 30 second match on RAW, then yea. I have a feeling the reason they only show up from time to time on the main shows is to promote Total Diva's.

I don't watch that show, so when I see Cesaro/Kidd against the Uso's and the wives are involved, I'm like WTF. Nattie and Naomi are both decent wrestlers in their own right, and now they are reduced to playing a part in tag matches. Total waste of time really when you see how TNA treats their Knockout division, and NXT put out quality women's wrestling. If I was Charlotte or Sasha Banks I would be fighting tooth and nail to stay where I am.

 

[Hem]

With 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SD, 1 hour of main event and 1 hour of superstars summing up to a total of 7 hours of weekly WWE programming excluding NXT and the rest of the network.

They can't give the Divas division 15% percentage of it?

I don't like the idea of having a divas only show because WWE will probably stop it after one season due to its eventual reoccurring similarities with Total Divas and quite frankly the cost is something which the WWE would not care to take up.

I said it earlier, if you can't find time for them on a three hour show like Raw where the same group of people show up two or three times per show then give them some time on Smackdown when you are not busy with the RAW replay or the rematch main event which turns into a tag team match.

How hard can it be for them to book a 5 minute promo between two divas, have a 7 to 8 minute match on a show and 2 to 3 minutes worth of entrance and commentary build up of the divas? Thats asking for 15 minutes out of a weekly 300 minutes of RAW and Smackdown.

They have all the talent they need to make the divas division prominent once again and to establish a secure and promising future for the VERY talented women down in NXT and developmental.

One single 15 minute segment on RAW and SD or even just SD alone will do 100x more for the divas then anything the WWE has done in the past 2 years at least.

 

[Slyfox696]

With 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SD, 1 hour of main event and 1 hour of superstars summing up to a total of 7 hours of weekly WWE programming excluding NXT and the rest of the network.

They can't give the Divas division 15% percentage of it?

The Divas already get an hour for Total Divas to be interesting. For what it's worth, I find the Divas far more interesting after watching Total Divas.

But why should they get 15% of the TV time, if they consistently draw poorly?

I don't like the idea of having a divas only show because WWE will probably stop it after one season due to

Not having enough benefit to the company.

How hard can it be for them to book a 5 minute promo between two divas, have a 7 to 8 minute match on a show and 2 to 3 minutes worth of entrance and commentary build up of the divas? Thats asking for 15 minutes out of a weekly 300 minutes of RAW and Smackdown.

Considering how poorly they execute when they DO get that time, it seems like it's hard indeed.

When wrestling fans truly care about women's wrestling, the WWE will feature women's wrestling more prominently. But until that happens, the WWE will devote the amount of time to Divas they deserve.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, as has been mentioned, the Divas have the Total Divas "reality" show on E!, though interest in the show seems to be waning. The entire 2nd half of last season saw most of, if nearly all, the episodes draw less than a million viewers and viewership has been slowly decreasing over the course of the current season to the point where this past Sunday's show was the first to draw less than a million. I do watch the show, I admit that I find it kind of entertaining in some ways.

In my opinion, a show for the Divas on the WWE Network isn't really the answer. I think the only thing that's going to work in the long run is for a complete change in the main roster's approach to using women. WWE has 5 hours of prime time television each week and some of that time can be devoted to prominently displaying the female wrestlers. The women are generally used as if they don't matter and that's by design. WWE's creative team has to come up with ideas that first & foremost appeal to Vince McMahon because he is THE final word on what does or doesn't go on, which tells me that Vince doesn't know how to treat women wrestlers seriously or simply doesn't want to.

At the same time, however, there's also the historical fact that women's wrestling has never been a particularly big draw in American wrestling. That's not to say that there aren't or haven't been fantastic women wrestlers who work as hard as their male counterparts, but there's never really been any significant money to be made. Now in spite of AJ's claims in her messages on Twitter, it's an extreme rarity for a Diva segment to be the top drawing portion of Raw. Segments featuring AJ have been the most watched at times, but she was also involved in said segments with the likes of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and John Cena.

If there's anyone that can change the perception of women's wrestling as not being able to make money, it's WWE. WWE is the brand that everyone knows whether they're a wrestling fan or not. One thing that I think needs changing is a change that we've seen implemented in NXT. It's something that's basic and should be one of the first changes implemented: they hire women that WANT to be wrestlers, women that have a genuine love & passion for wrestling, women that have some knowledge & experience as wrestlers rather than mostly hiring fitness or swimsuit models looking for an easy paycheck in which their biggest worry is looking pretty in skimpy outfits or hoping to use WWE as a platform into something else. The image of female wrestlers in WWE is something that's going to have to be changed and along with other changes, such as what we see in NXT, it doesn't really look like it'd be something that's a whole lot of work, just a willingness to want the Divas to be better.

 

[rbv13]

This June, a Network Exclusive, The Queen of the Ring. Eight Women in a One Night Tournament. Plus a Divas Championship title bout and a six women tag.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I think the only question asked here that really matters is this one...

Would you even watch it?

& my answer is no.

While there are a lot of talented divas that I like in WWE right now like AJ, Paige, Charlotte & Emma, an all Divas show really doesn't interest me that much. Especially when overall the Divas Division still needs quite a lot of work. Not to mention WWE still seems to be of the mindset that "all their women need to be perfect 10's & have large, silicon breasts" as Good Ol' J.R. would put it. Nikki Bella is the current Divas Champion for crying out loud!

If WWE took an approach that was very similar to NXT, they really took their time creating an awesome female roster & they really put some solid effort into the project as a whole, then MAYBE I'd be interested in watching. & if at it's best my answer is still just a maybe, I think that right there says just about how successful the project would be.

 

[MC_Live]

The problem I see is that any in ring show on the network won't matter. I mean, who actually watches Superstars or Main Event? The vast majority of the WWE audience doesn't have the network. Would a Divas only show draw in more subscriptions? Maybe. But probably not enough to make it worth while. If it doesn't happen on RAW, it doesn't matter at all. That's the state of the WWE right now. Remember those reports a few months back that WWE wanted to make SmackDown equal to RAW? That went well. Anyway, like I said, if it's not on the regular TV show, most people won't see it, and nobody will care. As long as the Divas get treated the way they do (and a 30 min network show wouldn't change that) then nothing will be important. And it's going to take something very big to change how the divas are viewed and treated in that company.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Total Divas.

My fiancé pretty much only watches Total Divas and the divas matches. Doesn't really care about the guys.

Women only wrestling promotions have a hard time getting out of niche. WWE pretty predictably (and rightfully so) books time based on popularity. If the divas get more over, they'll get more time.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

I want to see the Divas division and the US division carry a one hour live Sunday Night Smackdown show. Smaller arenas and live, a step up from NXT, a step below RAW.

WWE IC and Tag Titles would carry a 2 hour RAW most weeks.

Occasionally I'd let a US Championship match or Divas Championship match open up RAW. Talent would still appear on all shows but I'd still have that soft brand split.

 

[Dave]

The WWE is a wrestling promotion first and foremost. And until the WWE starts to believe in their women then it will never really be on a level with their male talents. It doesn't really matter how much time you give them on the Network when you just don't believe that they are going to bring money in the door. And in the case of the WWE, I just don't think they will.

I'm not sexist in the slightest, some of my best friends are women... But right now, it's just fashionable to be all about equality. And whilst I think the WWE could be doing more to bring the Divas onto a better and more fair level, the fans just could not care less about the Divas Division; it is that simple. It has been years and years since I legitimately cared about what was happening in the Divas Division. I don't think there are enough great women wrestlers to make the matches worth watching either. Most of them are clunky and boring in the ring. People don't go to arenas to see Nikki Bella like they do to see her partner in John Cena. Like it or not, the damage is done to the Divas Division and it will never be a big draw.

By all means, make some noise about getting them more TV time and better money. But, honestly, I don't think they are worth the investment. Sad as that sounds.

 

[stingray11214]

Over the last few days, we have seen #GiveDivasaChance splattered all over the Internet. We have seen AJ Lee call out the boss. We have seen 30 second tag matches. So, with the advent of the WWE Network, and the fact that the Divas will never realistically get much in the way of any real time on RAW or SmackDown, this question needs to be asked: Should the WWE create a separate Divas promotion, in the spirit of Shine and Shimmer, for their Divas to perform in?

There are arguments for it:

1) The WWE Network NEEDS programming. A Divas-only wrestling show would fill the empty slot that WWE Network has to fill.

2) Would be very similar to NXT, as they would have the backing of WWE, and be a destination for female wrestlers.

3) They could do all their shows from Full Sail, which would all but eliminate travel costs for the Divas

4) The Divas would get all the time necessary to create crisp storylines, and actually show what they can do.

5) Would barely cost Vince a dime, while scoring serious PR points.

OK, now it is your turn. What do you think?

 

[rbv13]

This #GiveDivasAChance movement really seems to be garnering a lot of attention. It has created a long desired spotlight. However, I think before committing to an entire brand we should see how they do with an extra ten or fifteen minutes on the current programs. If it shows audiences truly want more women than maybe their own special.

 

[LBGetBack]

No. They just should get a little more time on the shows than they do.....they need actual angles and their chracters to be fleshed out a bit more......they need a bit more effort put into their angles meaning NO MORE RANDOM UNEXPLAINED HEEL/FACE SWITCHES. I don't even mean turns. Brie Bella didn't even turn! She just came out one week acting like a heel, where the previous week she acted like a face! And it's not like Brie was a nobody where it could go unnoticed. She was like a month or two removed from a major angle with Stephanie McMahon! Ridiculous. Pretty sure Alicia Fox has done that before too.

Also, let them actually interact with the other members of the roster. The recent stuff with Natalya and Cameron interacting with Tyson/Cesaro and the Usos is a start.

Maybe also they can relax a little bit on the character stereotypes? I mean, how many pretty, mean, stuck up bitch characters have we had? It's like they give someone new a chance to play that character every few years. Right now it's Nikki Bella's turn. How many psycho's have we had? Fox, AJ, Mickie James, Victoria, etc. Can we ever have some more realistic characters, rather than the over the top teen movie characters they usually give us?

It shouldn't be that difficult to put a little effort into them. Doesn't mean they need an entire show. I'd rather see them be better used and incorporated into the current shows.

 

[Dagger Dias]

While the WWE Network does need more programming, I don't see this happening anytime soon. The divas already have their own show. It is pure torture to watch and 100% garbage, but Total Divas is the show they made for the divas. I doubt they would make a Divas wrestling brand. Now, assuming they did, then yes I would watch it and give it a chance. Between Paige, Emma, Summer Rae, Natalya, and Charlotte upon her inevitable promotion to the main roster there are enough divas worth pushing to the top of the brand. I'd be worried though that The Bellas would end up being pushed as the stars of this show when THEY STILL CAN'T WRESTLE OR PROVIDE HALFWAY TOLERABLE PROMOS!

Now, they did do something like this with the Divas season of NXT back when it was still in its competition format. This show introduced us to girls like AJ and Kaitlyn, who went on to become stars. It generated the least interest out of the NXT competitions, so the big question is will this show draw? If they would be able to get legends like Trish and Lita to make occassional appearances or maybe even work title matches, that would help the show a lot. Your suggestion of airing it from Full Sail is interesting, as they could get the NXT fans to attend it and they can appreciate womens wrestling in the form it was meant to be in, women WRESTLING not models who cannot act "pretending to wrestle". What about PPV matches though? Wouldn't they need to still travel for those appearances? Or would this get its own exclusive PPV, perhaps in February to replace Fast Lane?

It's certainly worth a try and I would watch it.... but it will never happen. Total Divas is probably the only divas show we will ever get, which is sad seeing as though it has destroyed what is left of the divas division. Paige should be Divas Champion right now getting pushed to feud with Natalya, the useless Bellas should be nowhere NEAR that belt. Until Triple H takes over the whole company from Vince, we'll have to settle for watching NXT to watch actual wrestling matches featuring women.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

But why should they get 15% of the TV time, if they consistently draw poorly?

It comes down to this.

Except maybe Paige and AJ(when and if she comes back) would you guys really be interested to see anything regarding Bellas, Naomi, Eva Marie and other Divas to have even half hour show just for them? Is any of the second bout of female talents I mentioned worthy of having them inserted in real programing that would include some feud and match that would be interesting if some of them cant even work 3 minute match without making some botched move? Or even be interesting to feud other then just be "pretty and hot"?

So, no, in times where Divas are "piss brake time" according to many of the viewers, you dont need half an hour show to watch how really bad some of the Divas are. "Total Divas" are nice way to expose them because reality shows draw good, especially when you have bunch of hot women parading around almost naked. Other then that, dont see that any of that reality TV crowd would be interested in watching actual feud and match beetween them on WWE program. So from a bussiness point, other then filling WWE programing with more wrestling and as much as I would personaly love to see good Divas feud and match, dont see how it would draw good and how WWE would make good programing with curent Divas roster and direction they are heading right now.

 

[SoulTrain4]

Just replace Superstars with an all divas program. One full hour before the guys go out. Putting it on the network means whatever they draw is irrelevant because those who want to watch it will and those who don't want to won't, it's a simple fix.

Truth is though, nobody really cares about Women's wrestling in totality anyway, even among hardcore fans it's a small cross section of the audience.

WWE for a long time tried to make women's wrestling a big thing, it's apart of Vince's concept of having a little something for everybody but nobody cared until they started getting butt ass naked on RAW every week. The audience made the company misogynistic because for years prior to that the women had a place as legitimate performers.