Beth Phoenix in the Men's division?

[Amarillo del Bosque Verde]

As you can see from the Royal Rumble, Beth Pheonix is the second woman to be in it...do you think now Beth is in the Men's division? How do you think they'll use her? My idea:

Have a heel on smackdown (not a big one maybe Mike Knox or Charlie Haas) come out and complain that they weren't in the Rumble but a woman was. Have Beth come out and they can feud...what do you think will happen?

 

[X]

I'd like it. Beth isn't too bad in the ring, she's a good heel, and she's got the build to atleast be able to feud with some of the smaller guys. Shit she's probably bigger than Rey Mysterio. I enjoyed Chyna's short run in the male division and her feuds with Jarrett and Jericho, it could work again. Certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Shit, she DID eliminate the Great Khali. That's a rather large man.

 

[Thumz9814]

Well, we're kinda comparing Beth Phoenix to Chyna here, which I don't think should be the case. Beth Phoenix is kinda manly, but not nearly as manly as Chyna is. I think it was pretty cool that she competed in the Royal Rumble and even the fact that she eliminated Khali, but I think that, and mixed-tag-team matches, should be the extent of her in ring experience with the superstars.

 

[martin]

I think that Beth's Rumble appearance was a one-time deal. From what's been happening between Mickie and LayCool, she was featured prominently in the pre-match promo and I imagine that she will be involved in that feud now.

I was a fan of Chyna during her time facing men, and no offence to Beth as she is a terrific talent but WWE should be keeping their top female talent for the two women's titles that they wanted to have. Also, with a family-friendly approach WWE has been on, there has been very little interaction between men and women (excluding Punk's GTS on Beth and Randy Orton's DDT to Stephanie McMahon last year), matches may be limited to what they can do/show.

 

[Loveless]

If you put Beth Phoenix in the mens division you kill the career of anyone she beats. She's great for a womens wrestler but a big part of that is her strength. You stick her in there with people twice the weight of what she's used to dealing with and she'll soon look dreadful. There's nothing for anyone to gain by having her wrestle men.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The idea is believable and solid enough to implement. Beth Phoenix in the women's division is kind of stuck essentially. She does show why she deserves to be a top level contender in her division by beating up Mickie, showcasing good skills in matches and being powerful... however, she loses to Mickie one way or another every time on SmackDown. And considering Maria is leaving, Mickie is the only face on the roster for Beth to deal with. Sure, she can go after McCool and Layla, but that won't be on a long term deal. And with Serena now on the main roster with CM Punk as a heel, it would make sense for Beth to go into the men's competition. There are a lot of men on the SD roster who can easily job out to her and make her look good, as they haven't been used regularly.

I'm inclined to think however that the RR appearance might be a one-time deal, but I could be wrong. Unless SmackDown gets more face diva's or she goes face, the only way we will get to see Phoenix prominently featured is by squashing female jobbers or heading into the men's division. Let's just see where she stands in this Mickie/Michelle feud first.

 

[Bernkastel]

I say no, unless Beth Pheonix never competes in the Women's division again. The primary reason as to why Chyna was such a failure as the women's champion was because she found reasonable success within the men's divsion. You can't have a woman win midcard titles, defeat men of main event caliber, and become Number 1 contender for the biggest title in the promotion only to job to women that couldn't realistically accomplish the same feats.

The only way I'd support Phoenix doing any real work in the men's divsion would be if she followed the same path that Stratus and Lita did; get involved in a storyline with a big name superstar that doesn't revolve around a title, and have her pushed as a general underdog.

 

[Tastycles]

Women in the men's division will never work, even if they are as powerful as Beth Phoenix. The reason for this is that for every Chris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett willing to actually engage in a feud with a woman there are 20 chauvanists that won't lie down for a woman. Beth might get so far, but wrestling is a man's world and nobody wants to be the guy that lost to a woman. If I was in the WWE, I'd put her over, but unfortunately, wrestlers are not typically as progressive as me. I'd like to think that Beth could have a run or two in the men's division as having her in with the divas makes her look a bit shit as she has to take a lot of awkward defeats.

 

[Mustang Sally]

If you put Beth Pheonix in the mens division you kill the career of anyone she beats.

Yes, that's always been the problem, whether it be high school wrestling matches between guys and gals..... or basketball & baseball, which are other sports that guys don't want girls around because they might end up looking bad.

I didn't enjoy the Chyna Era. She looked like a female version of Arnold Schwarzenegger and wrestled like The Great Khali. I feel that when men watch women's wrestling, they come primarily for the sex appeal of two gals rolling around the mat. With Chyna, you didn't even get that.

If a woman is going to compete with the men, she at least needs attributes like speed and agility to compensate for the natural advantage in upper-body strength possessed by men. Chyna's problem was that she was slow as molasses; much slower than most of the men she wrestled. I found it painful to watch her lumber around the ring as the guys sold her moves. It looked terrible.

Which brings us to Beth Phoenix. If anything, I like the idea of her competing against men more than Chyna, not less. Beth has good speed and agility and a strong degree of technical proficiency; yet she's a big girl who would look more believable fighting the guys than Chyna ever did.

I would hate seeing Beth abandon the women's division altogether......but sure, let her occasionally get in the ring with the guys.

 

[The Doctor]

I was just about to make this thread.

Personally, I LOVE the idea. I am a huge Phoenix fan in both looks and ring presence, and I legit marked out for her performance in the Rumble. She's a muscular girl, while still really good-looking (Seriously, when she wears street clothes on the DVDs...damn.), and could believably hang with the boys while still being able to use the fact that she's a woman to have a cheap heelish way to win matches.

Having her as a serious contender in the male division would be fun to watch, and if she was taken as a threat (at least in the midcard division) it would help emphasize the point that anything can happen in WWE. True, this has been done with Chyna, but that was a while ago. A lot of newer fans don't even know about that. Plus, Chyna wrestled, as Sally said, like The Great Khali.

Tasty is right, though. There are a lot of chauvinists, and that is her major obstacle. If men would take the pin and put her over, I believe we could be onto something fresh, and big.

 

[Super Crazy]

This would be great, and I knew it would happen at some point. I actually brought this up about Awesome Kong in the TNA section a couple of months ago. I think pushing someone like Beth into the men's midcard as a serious threat, is a smart move. Honestly, with Beth's abilities, I feel she is above the women's division right now, as there isn't much for her.

If she could be taken seriously and pushed as a serious threat, that'd be an interesting move on the WWE's part. If I was in the WWE, I would not be afraid to let Beth pin me, I wouldn't want to be looked at as the man beaten by a woman, but more so, the man who helps to break the mold so to speak.

 

[Warrior]

I guess it could of worked when she was more over. she wont draw as much attention as when she first debut.Maybe she can face charlie Haas so he can finally do something. She should stick to her guns and stay in the womens division.(i dont mean to sound sexist.)

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'd be interested in seeing a few matches between Beth and midcard guys.... I don't think it would be a long term thing at all though, just to give her something to do before her next Womens Championship win/feud. Unlike Chyna, whose appearance in a Rumble I have tried to erase from my memory, I enjoyed seeing Beth in the Rumble despite her being female. It was something different that probably no one expected. I definitely agree with Sally that Chyna wrestled like Khali, Chyna sucked. Beth doesn't. She's one of the best women wrestlers in quite a while. I doubt she'd get a long title reign with the IC title or anything, but seeing Beth against midcard guys for a bit would be something new and I'm not against it. Eventually she will get put back in the Womens Championship scene and win that belt again, so I think her feuding with guys would be over before it has the chance to get old or too weird.

 

[ColdPlay3r]

i guess i could give it ago if the story line/s are not too cheesy. The only thing i can see wrong is that because this is the PG era it might stir up a problem with inter-gender fighting. if i see her wrestling a guy then i am going to find the first girl i find and give her a GTS.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Where as I love the intrigue value of seeing Women wrestle Men occasionally, it just isn't practical to do on a regular basis. And the reason that is the case is because it is a career killer for any guy if the women is a regular. I have no issue with what they did with Phoenix in the Rumble, as she worked out a spot with Khali, that wasn't really that humiliating the way it was done .... and other than that she had no other real eliminations.

But it always produces good television when you see multi-gender matches and it builds intrigue as long as it isn't done regularly. However, I am against it being done if the women is a regular addition to the Main Men's roster, as it just serves no purpose other than to kill careers. Half the time, it just doesn't look believable, anyway.

 

[Mr. TM]

Somehow in the WWE with two womens belts, Beth PHoenix is not in the running for either. She is probably the most believable potential on either brand, but yet, she isn't in the running. So yes, what is the problem with moving her up? She does not have the physique that Chyna had, but she could be built up over a period of time. Start off with someone like Ryder and work her way up. I wouldn't give her the IC belt, or anything that dramastic, but put her in a match for it would be alright.

 

[The Doctor]

Where as I love the intrigue value of seeing Women wrestle Men occasionally, it just isn't practical to do on a regular basis. And the reason that is the case is because it is a career killer for any guy if the women is a regular. I have no issue with what they did with Phoenix in the Rumble, as she worked out a spot with Khali, that wasn't really that humiliating the way it was done .... and other than that she had no other real eliminations.

But it always produces good television when you see multi-gender matches and it builds intrigue as long as it isn't done regularly. However, I am against it being done if the women is a regular addition to the Main Men's roster, as it just serves no purpose other than to kill careers. Half the time, it just doesn't look believable, anyway.

Why?

I mean, is it just the fact that she is a woman that makes it unbelievable?

Beth Phoenix is a strong and powerful-looking woman, who can wrestle. She could crush the women's division and work her way up from local male competitors. If she was treated no differently from male wrestlers, there is no reason this could kill anyone's career. She would be a monster heel who happened to be a woman. It's really not that hard.

 

[RKOChamp]

I cant say that I see Beth Phoenix wrestling in the mens division now based on her being in the RR. My thinking is that it was done so she can begin to build her credibility of being such a dominant female back up. Ive seen posts saying the same thing so I know im not alone in saying that for awhile, she has lost some of that dominance feel. Her competing in the RR and even eliminating someone gives her a chance to use that in upcoming feuds with the divas and make her look like the threat she really is to the title holder.

 

[RayneJames81]

I personally thought that Beth being in the RR match was awesome, but i dont know bout her taking on the men from here on out. I DO think she could do it easily, and I loved when Chyna was in the WWE and competed against the men, and did a great job doing it. I think Chyna helped pave the way for some of the "bigger/muscular" women across all Wrestling brands, whether or not you consider her a top female competitor. Id love to see Beth mix it up, but me thinks this was a ONE time deal.