Is Playboy Overshadowing the Womens title?

[Deexter Jorgan]

Melinas blog On WWE'S WEBSITE: Last year, Playboy got more recognition than the Women’s Championship. Winning the Women’s Title has been my dream since I stepped foot in a ring. Think of the great women who fought for that championship. That title means a great deal to me. Why take a step into that ring unless you are working toward being the one on top ... getting better than when you last stepped in there?

So im asking you guys here do you think that playboy is currently overshadowing the womens division?, do women come into the wwe strictly to do playboy and not to win the womens title?

let me know your thoughts on this matter...

My opinion is that this statement is entirely true i do not believe that the wwe employs women wrestlers, they employ glamor models using the whole diva search competition and promote more of a busty approach rather then promoting womens wrestling as a whole, they train these women hoping that they improve in the ring and make the credibility of the division go lower then val venis's win loss record

thats my two cents in this matter

 

[klunderbunker]

Playboy is overshadowing the division. When I watched Mania this sunday, I had literally forgotten the Beth was the champion. Why did I do that? Because she's never on tv with the title. All we see are Candice, Ashley and Maria talking about how they're fullfilling a dream of posing. Okay, if I want to see girls like that I'll go watch porn. It's stupid to have the good workers like Melina and Beth and Mickie pushed off to the side so the playboy models can give wwe more publicity, like they need it anyway. Honestly, if Maria and Ashley had won sunday, I might've just quit watching and heard about it after the show was over. Thank goodness the actual wrestlers won.

 

[HBK-aholic]

The womens division has been like this for a while. Maybe not with Playboy, but with vaity and superficiality playing more of a part than wrestling talent. The WWE doesn't go around looking for a WWE wrestler. They look for the best looking girl with he biggest boobs and who they think will bare more. Look at the Raw Diva Search. Not exactly based on wrestling talent is it?

Watch WWE at the moment. If you didn't know, who would you think was womens champion? Candice? Ashley? Well it certainly wouldn't be our actual WWE champion Beth Pheonix. Why? She cares about the title. Something that seems taboo in the division.

It demeans the womens division, and womens wrestling as a whole. People will watch WWE and think those divas there are the finest womens wrestlers in the world. That couldn't be further from the truth. Women are used for their bodies. And do you know what's worse? They're okay with it.

 

[Shocky]

A piece of dog shit rotting in a park overshadows the WWE's womens title. That title is more worthless then the cruiserweight title, hell the European Championship or Hardcore Title carry more prestige.

The women's division is a wreck and a half, and is incapable of having a credible champion or good matches. Since the modern/Sable era of WWE women's wrestling, that division has managed to put on one good match at Mania (22) and that was for all the wrong reasons. The last good match from that division was Unforgiven 2006.

Once Trish and Lita retired, any star power that division once had is gone. Like I said, my dog poops out more relevant stuff then that title.

 

[Bottom_Line]

I agree that Playboy has been overshadowing the women title. The WWE has to promote their girls in playboy, as both products share a target demographic. However, why not give Maria a shot for the title at Mania? Or make the tag match a fatal fourway. At least then you can give your number one girl, in terms of promotion, the title, without ruining the credibility of the best actul wrestler, Beth Phoenix. I cant believe that the title hasn't been on the line, with all the womens matches there have been on Raw recently. It's not exactly a huge event when the title changes hands, so why not give the title to your girl of the month.

 

[AllJokesAside]

I Concur they shouldn't put women who want to do playboy anywhere near the women's title. Beth, Victoria, Melina, Mickie, and McCool should be the only women in the women's title hunt. Maybe Jillain, but get Candice and Ashley out of the division throw them on Smackdown.

 

[chasingamy]

While I don’t think that ALL women come to the WWE just to do Playboy, I think that WWE has made Playboy the focus of the women’s division in the last few years. The women’s title hasn’t been defended in awhile now and lately the women’s matches are a joke. I can’t remember the last time a woman cut a serious promo that spoke to wrestling and the woman’s title.

A recent example is ECW diva Kelly Kelly. Back in February, she cut a backstage promo saying she was happy for Maria and called posing in Playboy both prestigious and glamorous. She said one day she hopes to have the opportunity to pose for Playboy and questions whether she has what it takes.

Thus instead of aspiring to improve her wrestling ability and one day earning a women’s title shot, all she wants is the chance to pose nude. With statements like that, it’s no wonder nobody takes the WWE divas or the women’s title seriously anymore.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

to me the whole stigma surrounding the womens title is gone, there are no more important wrestlers in the womens division, an example of this is beth phoenix, she has all the tools, is glamarous and also a powerful and brilliant heel, but yet the womens division is centered around maria, who in tow is a backstage anouncer and part time wrestler, who has yet to achieve any sucess in the womens division at all and before posing for playboy was used as a jobber to further storylines, so why is this happening?, the wwe sees that there is no focus on womens wrestling which is absoloutly wrong, they are buring a division inwhich tna has increased it viewership putting over, and that shows that the company which is lackluster in terms of storylines is doing something right then the wwe is in trouble IMO.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Ladies and Gentlemen, you've finally figured out the sole purpose of a W.W.E. Diva Search. Its a glorified search to figure out whos next in line for posing in playboy.

Christy did it. Ashley did it. I can't even remember the other winner, but if she hasn't already she will. Candice has done it. Maria just recently did it. In order to be a regular "diva" in the W.W.E. anymore you almost have to be willing to pose nude in Playboy. If you don't want to, then you better hope you have wrestling talent.

Beth Phoenix is getting the worst end of the deal as their current Champion, simply because A.) she has no true opponent to go up against, outside of Victoria. (which wouldn't make sense since they're heels) and B.) the division is no longer being focused on as being a wrestling division, so much as tits and ass.

Now, with all of this being said.. its not a horrible thing that these girls are being overshadowed for talentless hacks who get tons of spotlight for posing nude.. Playboy is a respectable magazine and helps lots of girls be seen in the best possible way, nude. Many, many females enjoy posing for the magazine because while some may see it as degrading, many others view it as an accomplishment.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I agree that playboy is over shadowing the division. Part of the reason is the women wrestlers are not getting over. Mickie James, Beth Phoenix and Melina all get luke warm to no reaction. Part of the reason is of bad booking and lack of star power in the division.

 

[NYSandman]

Agreed. The women's title basically means nothing now. But, we also have to look at how things have changed.

Back in Moolah's day, WWE couldn't get away with the shit it does now, as far as skimpy outfits and all the sexuality.

Here is the sad fact. The women's division is now relegated to giving a break in the action so men can *********e and fantasize. However, the quality and skill of a lot of the girls has gone down, probably becuase of how the division is perceived nowadays.

IMO, Trish and Lita were the last two skilled women wrestlers, and now they're gone. They were the glue that held the credability of the division together.

As far as Playboy goes, I cannot fault these ladies for wanting to make big bucks and become famous, but, yes, it does overshadow the wrestling aspect as a whole.

Perhaps something insanely different, like having Santino win the title, would be cool. I'm serious! That shit would be very, VERY amusing, and imagine all the girls gunning for him, him getting his ass beat every week by women!

LOL!

I don't think it will change, though. Unless the female wrestlers actually demand a change, or the male fans stop watching and cat-calling, this is how it will be.

It's a shame, because I think it does, to some extent, degrade women. The females with real skill are overshadowed by the huge-breated sex objects, and that's too bad. It sends a bad message to young males as well. But, as previously stated, it won't change anytime soon.

 

[psykohurricane]

I don'T necessarily thing that Playboy overshadow the women'S title that much. Sure once a year you get alot of publicity for playboy since one of the divas will pose for Playboy and in a way that alright because it give the wwe some publicity and at some point, maybe one of the more talented women on the roster will be ask to be in playboy and am pretty sure that most of them would except in a heartbeat if they were ask.

The problem is that when you got a champion like BEth Phoenix who is pretty much stuck in a feud with Candice and she can't continue that feud because of Candice who is still injured, what else can you do really.

The thing that people don'T realise is that before Trish and Lita era, the WWE would pretty much hired any girl the could find to feel the woman's division and that it was very T & A oriented. I remember when the defended the woman'S title in bra & Panties match inside a swimming pool. So this was way worst then anything going on right now. At less they make sure that these girls love wrestling before hiring them. Sure there are some worstless Diva's in the WWE and the division is weaker then it was before. But when you compare it to the ATTitude era, it'S not that bad.

Am sure that at some point, the WWE will realise that waiting for Candice to come back so that they can establish beth phoenix as champion is just stupid and they will move on and like i said before i don't think that playboy is overshadowing the wwe woman's championship, it just bringing more publicity to the company will showing how talented the WWE divas are in the ring.

 

[John87]

Playboy is actually saving the womens division. seriously, what the heck have they really done over the last few years? they have like one match on TV, if that. its the only real recognition the womens division ever really gets and it isnt like it used to be back in the day when women did wrestle. also, they arent signing enough women and when they do they turn them into backstage announcers. correct me if im wrong, but arent those women getting into wrestling to one day become the womans champion and not a famous backstage announcer?

 

[Seal]

I love how the diva search didn't mention wrestling once. All the women got lukewarm reactions at WM and with good reason. What reason does any intelligent person have to go nuts whenever Maria is making her entrance.

I particularly hate Ashley, she has to be one of the laziest people I've ever seen in professional wrestling.

 

[obsidiana]

I think maybe WWE should take a look at Mexico and the women wrestler's down there. They are right there in wrestling matches against men as well as women. They aren't really scantily clad either. I do agree that WWE doesn't seem to be concentrating on if a woman can wrestle just on how pretty she is.

I knew the diva search was a joke as well when during one of the searches they were interviewing the women. I think it was the one Christie was on, and one of the girls said another was making fun of the wrestlers. I believe it was the girl that came second to Christie who was makign fun of the wrestlers. If memory serves they never do mention wrestling at all during these searches do they? You are going to make fun of wrestling yet you are going to try to be a part of it. I would have loved to beat the hell out of that broad.

Maria as champion? No thank you, I didn't understand either why they had Kelly Kelly talking about how prestigious playboy is. Oh yeah it is so prestigous to pose nude in a magazine and have guys jacking off to your picture because they have no life. That is sooooo prestigious and such an honor. Those women know nothing of what truly is honourable.

That was why Molly Holly could never get over because she refused to be like them because she had certain values and standards which she wasn't willing to change to what WWE wanted. Women who want a job so damn bad they are willing to look like idiots to get it. I mean what a travesty it is when a woman goes on tv and talks about how prestigious posing nude in a magazine is over the damn belt.

I totally forgot about the women's belt until WM when I saw Beth Phoenix holding it. That is how important it has gotten. I don't watch the women's divsion because it is a joke and it is pointless. At least with someone like Lita or Molly Holly you knew you were going to get a good match.

 

[Eternal Dragon]

It demeans the womens division, and womens wrestling as a whole. People will watch WWE and think those divas there are the finest womens wrestlers in the world. That couldn't be further from the truth. Women are used for their bodies. And do you know what's worse? They're okay with it.

I don't think it's right to say that "they're okay with it." Look at Torrie Wilson- she's admitted in interviews how she hates doing bikini contests and the such and would much rather wrestle.

The women's division is a wreck and a half, and is incapable of having a credible champion or good matches. Since the modern/Sable era of WWE women's wrestling, that division has managed to put on one good match at Mania (22) and that was for all the wrong reasons. The last good match from that division was Unforgiven 2006.

WM 22 was not the only Mania that had a great women's match after the Sable era. WM20 had a decent bout between Molly and Victoria, and WM19 had a fantastic match between Jazz, Victoria, and Trish, not to mention WM18 with Lita, Trish, and Jazz.

And I would say that the last good match from the division was at Backlash07, Melina vs Mickie.

Once Trish and Lita retired, any star power that division once had is gone. Like I said, my dog poops out more relevant stuff then that title.

I think there are many women in the WWE right now that have the potential and the star power- Mickie, Melina, etc, but they don't exactly get treated in the best way. Mickie somehow dominated for weeks and then was pushed off of Raw for like seven weeks. Melina dominated early 2007 only to be taken out by Ashley and then Candice (though I do like Candice). The way they use the Divas just doesn't make much sense.

Thus instead of aspiring to improve her wrestling ability and one day earning a women’s title shot, all she wants is the chance to pose nude. With statements like that, it’s no wonder nobody takes the WWE divas or the women’s title seriously anymore.

Kelly actually has been training pretty hard in FCW and I think that comes across in her matches against Layla, who's training at EWF. Though I do think the statement is pretty ridiculous, I'm sure it was said more to promote Playboy.

IMO, Trish and Lita were the last two skilled women wrestlers, and now they're gone. They were the glue that held the credability of the division together.

Mickie, Beth, Jillian, Melina, Katie, and Victoria all are very skilled, and there are others like Michelle and Candice who have really become better in the ring. Trish and Lita were amazing and it's really unfair to compare the divas of now to them because they came from an era when the WWE actually cared about their Women's Division. Now- not so much.

----

I think the whole reason why Playboy seems all the more ridiculous this year is because the division itself is in complete shambles, and that's not even Playboy's fault, that's the fault of the WWE for not putting enough effort and care into the division. Every single fued is the same and makes the divas look petty because they're always fighting over some jealousy issue or the such. The last great feud was the Trish/Mickie one in 05+06 and that was a long time ago.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[Y 2 Jake]

WWE women's wrestling doesn't sell anyway. People watch WWE for the men. The women just pad out the roster. The didvision is how it should be. Bottom of the card with shit wrestlers. Some fans might say that Trish Stratus' retirment sold tickets. I kinda doubt that. The TLC & HIAC sold the tickets. The Trish match was just a cherry on top.

Playbody models should be holding the title. Beth Phoenix is one of the better champs of the past few years. Yet nobody gives a shit about her. But for some reason the fans love Candice Michelle. Despite the fact she doesn't have considerably more charisma. Just bigger tits.

Anyway. If all the women were trained properly then we wouldn't get amusing falls like Candice had in October.

 

[Danmen001]

In recent times, yes of course Playboy has been overshadowing womens wrestling. Women's 'wrestling' has become a huge, huge joke. All it seems to be is 'lose you clothes, win a match'. Even though that slogan I made up was catchy (If I do say so myself ). It should be more about the wrestling, looks don't hurt at all, but can't they wrestle more. There are plenty of skilled wrestlers in their division but they don't use them. Mickie was hugely over, and she is a great wrestler. Melina, is a heel and she is a great wrestle, but it is harder for heels to get over in womens wrestling these days for some reason. Judging by pops, you can't boo Melina because she doesn;t have a heel aura abou her.(well, thats my opinion ofcourse, but she seems to nice and her entry doesn't seem heelish.)

Basically, Playboy overshadows Women's wrestling.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I don't think it's right to say that "they're okay with it." Look at Torrie Wilson- she's admitted in interviews how she hates doing bikini contests and the such and would much rather wrestle.

Of course Torrie would say something like that. Shes posed (twice) for Playboy already. The funny thing about that magazine to most men. Once you see them naked once, you've seen them naked for a lifetime.. seeing them over and over defeats the purpose, since you're seeing the same thing.

Torrie was one of the first to pose, so naturally she'd be against it (now) since shes no longer wanted in that area.

As far as her wanting to wrestle.. Torrie needs to either go into managing, or leave in general. Shes been in the business since 1998 at least, and shes been in W.W.E. since 2001.. you'd think she'd of picked up some form of talent by now, but no.. she hasn't.

WM 22 was not the only Mania that had a great women's match after the Sable era. WM20 had a decent bout between Molly and Victoria, and WM19 had a fantastic match between Jazz, Victoria, and Trish, not to mention WM18 with Lita, Trish, and Jazz.

And I would say that the last good match from the division was at Backlash07, Melina vs Mickie.

Armageddon - Beth Phoenix v. Mickie James. I'm unsure if it was at that exact Pay Per View, but thats the last "great" female wrestling match I remember seeing.

I do, however agree with you that there were several great female matches after the "Sable era." How on earth was Sable viewed as better than the likes of Jazz, Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, Ivory & Victoria to begin with?!

I think there are many women in the WWE right now that have the potential and the star power- Mickie, Melina, etc, but they don't exactly get treated in the best way. Mickie somehow dominated for weeks and then was pushed off of Raw for like seven weeks. Melina dominated early 2007 only to be taken out by Ashley and then Candice (though I do like Candice). The way they use the Divas just doesn't make much sense.

I think that can mainly be summed up to mixed emotions. They try to push the division as worth something more than looks, then they realize how many people in live audiences could care less if they're watching a great, technical match between two females, or a bikini contest between more.

They try their hardest to push their talented stars, but when they receive next to no pop, or emotions from the crowd.. they go back to pushing their looks.

 

[psykohurricane]

WWE women's wrestling doesn't sell anyway. People watch WWE for the men. The women just pad out the roster. The didvision is how it should be. Bottom of the card with shit wrestlers. Some fans might say that Trish Stratus' retirment sold tickets. I kinda doubt that. The TLC & HIAC sold the tickets. The Trish match was just a cherry on top.

Playbody models should be holding the title. Beth Phoenix is one of the better champs of the past few years. Yet nobody gives a shit about her. But for some reason the fans love Candice Michelle. Despite the fact she doesn't have considerably more charisma. Just bigger tits.

Anyway. If all the women were trained properly then we wouldn't get amusing falls like Candice had in October.

Yeah, you're right, fans loves Candice Michelle simply because she got Bigger Tits. It got nothing to do with the fact that she a pretty decent wreslter and she's working very hard to get better has a wrestler. I also take offence in the fact that you sayaing that candice's fall in October was amusing. I'm sure that if it was Melina or Mickie James taking that fall and injuring themselves, you wouldn'T found it amusing at all. So yeah, fans don't care about the divas anymore, because the last time people actually cared about the divas was when they were taking there close off in every match and when the WWE woman'S title was defended in a bra & Panties match in a pool match. That's what the fans want to see and that's what the WWE should give them instead of having them wrestle every week in regular match.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Yeah, you're right, fans loves Candice Michelle simply because she got Bigger Tits.

You darn tootin.

It got nothing to do with the fact that she a pretty decent wreslter and she's working very hard to get better has a wrestler.

Decent wrestler? Nope. She's terrible. Yes she has improved. But she couldn't have got much worse no could she?

I also take offence in the fact that you sayaing that candice's fall in October was amusing. I'm sure that if it was Melina or Mickie James taking that fall and injuring themselves, you wouldn'T found it amusing at all.

Mickie James wouldn't have fallen like that. Why? Because she's a PROPER wrestler. Not some model with minimal training.

So yeah, fans don't care about the divas anymore, because the last time people actually cared about the divas was when they were taking there close off in every match and when the WWE woman'S title was defended in a bra & Panties match in a pool match. That's what the fans want to see and that's what the WWE should give them instead of having them wrestle every week in regular match.

Right on sister.

Bra & Panties matches get more of a reaction than straight WWE women's wrestling.

 

[Canadian Knight]

I think Playboy attracts people to the Women's title. Let's face it, it has been not been good in awhile. Yes these women can wrestle but they don't seem to really care about the title just like the tag team division when they put two wrestlers together and see how they work together. They need for Beth to fight someone else rather then Candace and make sure that person can wrestle. Playboy lets some of these divas to shine more yes, but without it how many would actually watch them wrestle?

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

the whole issue with this i find hard to swallow is the fact that tna are able to sustain a quiet entertaining womens division when the wwe cannot and overshadow it with playboy, think of it this way tna has awesome kong who is a huge woman and not a playboy playmate or wanabe model but yet she is able to work a match get a crowd reaction and generate heat, where in the wwe you got girls like maria who generate heat by showing their boobs,that shows that the wwe could fix the division but are more concerned about getting modelling contracts then gettting actual talent IMO

 

[Eternal Dragon]

Playbody models should be holding the title. Beth Phoenix is one of the better champs of the past few years. Yet nobody gives a shit about her. But for some reason the fans love Candice Michelle. Despite the fact she doesn't have considerably more charisma. Just bigger tits.

The reason so many people just don't care about Beth has nothing to do with Playboy, it's because she's been booked horrible. I mean come on, she was valeting Melina on Heat for weeks just before WM. The Women's Champion should not be standing at ringside.

Of course Torrie would say something like that. Shes posed (twice) for Playboy already. The funny thing about that magazine to most men. Once you see them naked once, you've seen them naked for a lifetime.. seeing them over and over defeats the purpose, since you're seeing the same thing.

Torrie was one of the first to pose, so naturally she'd be against it (now) since shes no longer wanted in that area.

As far as her wanting to wrestle.. Torrie needs to either go into managing, or leave in general. Shes been in the business since 1998 at least, and shes been in W.W.E. since 2001.. you'd think she'd of picked up some form of talent by now, but no.. she hasn't.

What does Playboy have anything to do with what I said? Posing in Playboy doesn't mean that Torrie doesn't want to wrestle. Didn't Candice pose in Playboy? Is she wrestling? Yes.

And, yes Torrie has picked up talent. She's no Victoria, but she's just as good, if not better than Michelle McCool, Candice Michelle, etc. I know many of fans want to see her leave the WWE with at least one title reign. A lot of Torrie's best matches have never been shown on TV which is why a lot of people think she still can't wrestle.

Armageddon - Beth Phoenix v. Mickie James. I'm unsure if it was at that exact Pay Per View, but thats the last "great" female wrestling match I remember seeing.

Eh, the Armageddon match between Beth and Mickie was okay, but the whole feud was just lacking in quality and depth. That really ruined the match for me. Most people perfer the Backlash match just because Mickie and Melina seemed to have a better feud and better chemistry in the ring.

I think that can mainly be summed up to mixed emotions. They try to push the division as worth something more than looks, then they realize how many people in live audiences could care less if they're watching a great, technical match between two females, or a bikini contest between more.

They try their hardest to push their talented stars, but when they receive next to no pop, or emotions from the crowd.. they go back to pushing their looks.

The crowd doesn't care because the divas are not pushed right. Every, single feud since mid-2007 has been boring and repetitive.

Mickie James wouldn't have fallen like that. Why? Because she's a PROPER wrestler. Not some model with minimal training.

Are you kidding? Did you miss Mickie's fall in the Mickie vs Melina Falls Count Anywhere match? Does that fall make her a bad wrestler? No. The logic that Candice fell because she isn't a good enough wrestler yet falls flat.

Flames Out
Dragon

 

[psykohurricane]

the whole issue with this i find hard to swallow is the fact that tna are able to sustain a quiet entertaining womens division when the wwe cannot and overshadow it with playboy, think of it this way tna has awesome kong who is a huge woman and not a playboy playmate or wanabe model but yet she is able to work a match get a crowd reaction and generate heat, where in the wwe you got girls like maria who generate heat by showing their boobs,that shows that the wwe could fix the division but are more concerned about getting modelling contracts then gettting actual talent IMO

The Thing is with TNA, it's always the same fans showing up for the TV Tapings and some of the PPV when they do them from Orlando. These fans would react to pretty much anything. You could put a wrestler watching paint dry and it will get a crowd reaction. So it's very easy to get a crowd reaction when you're always in the same place. Look when TNA goes outside orlando and Awesome Kong doesn'T get the same crowd reaction.

Has for playboy overshadowing the WWE woman's title, i don't think it's overshadowing it at all. Let's face Playboy and the WWE does have some sort of understanding that before wrestlemania, one of the WWE divas will pose for playboy. That'S not news, it'S been that way since 2004 and before that you Sable and Chyna posing for playboy and both of them became were WWE woman'S champion and help their popularity in the process. Also if it wasn't for the WWE hiring models instead of actual wrestler, Trish Stratus and Victoria wouldn't have had the chance to become to great wrestlers that they are today. Both of them were hired because of the looks and we alot of training and just by having matches with some of the more experience wrestler they became greater and the fans accepted them has wrestlers. Now the new generation of models have arrive and for most of them, they have the same passion for the business that Trish and Victoria had when they first started. Maria was popular before posing for playboy, all playboy did is help her be more popular with the fans and the way i see it, by continuing wrestling the more experience divas like Beth Phoenix and Jillian, she will get even better and the same goes for Candice and all the other girls. If they have the passion for the buisiness, they will succeed with or without Playboy.