In the 2023 blockbuster film BarbieIn “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” iconic actress America Ferrera delivered the greatest performance of her career when she spoke about the plight of being a woman. In this famous monologue, there is one line that stands out: “Always be grateful, but never forget that the system is rigged. Find a way to acknowledge that, but always be grateful.”
Over the last decade, the wrestling community has seen a rise in women’s wrestling in the WWE. Where there used to be bra and panties matches, there are now steel cages. Where there used to be mud bath matches, there are now Last Woman Standing and Royal Rumble stipulations. Where there used to be eleven second knockouts, there are now twenty to thirty minute classics. While there is much to be thankful for, the system is still somewhat rigged.
Although WWE has made great strides in portraying female Superstars as equals to the men, it can be argued that there is still a lot of improvement to be made. Along with every Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Becky Lynch, there are also Indi Hartwells, Candice LeRaes, and Kiana James waiting for their chance in the spotlight. Diverse women’s stories are not given the time to marinate and cook like men’s stories are. As WWE becomes more global and accessible, it should find innovative ways to bring more women onto television and create the change that little girls and women deserve. This is why WWE needs to introduce more women’s mid-card titles.
The WWE is extremely talented in terms of the number of female fighters it has, but much of that goes unnoticed unless it’s consistently showcased or in the larger title picture. If more women’s titles were created, they would reward the female athletes who are emerging as workhorses in the middle class.
Take former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion and first Queen of the Ring Zelina Vega, for example. Her rise in the ring has been great since joining the Latino World Order (LWO), and her notoriety outside of wrestling has grown through her appearances in video games, anime award shows, and the like. Vega has also proven she’s worth her weight in gold on the microphone. Her quick-witted, New York directness never fails to trip up her opponents.
Michin (Mia Yim) is another woman who has proven her worth as an adaptable athlete who can compete with top stars on SmackDown as well as newer stars like Jaida Parker and current North American Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan on NXT. The one thing both women have in common is that despite their talent, they usually receive one-off women’s title shots without a prolonged feud developing. A mid-card title shot would be a chance for stars like Yim and Vega to achieve a goal that could advance their careers. Those who work hard and want to improve their skills deserve to be celebrated, and a mid-card women’s title shot could do just that.
Another reason WWE needs women’s mid-card titles is because they could be used to tell more creative and authentic stories. In recent years, since the introduction of the Women’s Tag Team Championships, women who weren’t actively involved in major title feuds have been paired up with other singles athletes for a short time to compete for the tag titles for a few weeks, only to then feud with their former partner for another short-term program.
Although that seems to be changing in the Triple H era of WWE, there are certain women who would have benefitted from a feud rather than remaining in a tag team. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell fall into this category. When LeRae seemed to take a darker turn earlier this year, Hartwell seemed to have conflicting feelings about it until she eventually aligned herself with Candice. What if WWE’s creative team had decided to let Indi step out on her own? And what if a mid-card title was in the running? Imagine Hartwell challenging LeRae for Intercontinental Champion. The title would give their rivalry a bigger platform and give a young star like Indi a chance to prove herself against a seasoned veteran like LeRae.
The existence of mid-card titles can also open doors for more authentic stories to be written by women for women. Hiring more female producers and writers can provide a better, more nuanced look at the way women operate in the current wrestling landscape. Male writers may know and respect women, but unless they have experienced it themselves, they shouldn’t be at the forefront of writing stories for female athletes. Women in wrestling are so much more than stories about fighting over men and insulting each other over looks. With mid-card titles in play, we could have Bloodline-level stories and rivalries for an underserved audience.
WWE has experienced an epic renaissance over the past two years. From consistently selling out shows to critical acclaim in many forms of pop culture, the institution once known as a “revolutionary force in sports-entertainment” is in its cool era. As mentioned, there are female stars who are benefiting greatly from this era, such as Jade Cargill, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Tiffany Stratton, and others. But what about the other women who want to elevate their status to the same level as their female and male counterparts? During this era of WWE, we have seen the Men’s Intercontinental and United States Championships repositioned as platforms for future success.
Why can’t the same be true for the women? If WWE invested in women’s mid-card titles, it could create an atmosphere where women can take the same steps to success as the men. The same formula that worked for Bron Breakker after he signed with Raw and fought his way through competition for the Intercontinental Championship can be used to promote a new face like Kiana James. The way the U.S. title is used as a long-awaited coronation for a megastar like L.A. Knight can be applied to someone like Naomi, who is finding her feet in a company that’s different than the one she left two years ago. Any woman who would win a mid-card title would be able to stand side-by-side with the man who holds the male version of the title at fan events and in the press. Visually and creatively, women’s mid-card championships make WWE more than a place that offers band-aid solutions to the inequality women face in wrestling. They could further put the company on the road to success by attracting diverse talent and giving them more work.
Women in wrestling have shown that if you give them the ball, they can run with it. Even when the odds are stacked against them, they find a way to rise above. The WWE has created a bigger platform and a bigger system that can benefit the growing pool of female talent. But it can only do that if they are given more opportunities. More women’s titles in the WWE landscape would turn female wrestlers into future stars and create storylines that fans will care about and remember forever. There is a lot of room for women, and giving them more titles will do that. The WWE may have been a man’s world, but without its women, it is nothing.
