The WWE’s Divas movement was demanded by the fans and worked out well for the pro wrestling organization. Now, years after the diva movement began and bringing more focus to the women of the WWE, the game is changing in a way that hopefully puts women on a slightly more even playing field with their male superstar counterparts.
The WWE unveiled a brand new women’s championship belt at WrestleMania, with WWE Hall of Famer Lita doing the unveiling honors. The championship belt is no longer referred to as the Divas Championship, but is now the WWE Women’s Championship belt. The new belt offers a similar look to the signature WWE championship belt, with a red background behind the WWE logo. Going with red is a strong choice by the WWE too, because going with pink could have easily been ridiculed as a color that actually holds women back by painting a boundary between men and women in the WWE. Using red helps level the playing field and avoids the stigma that the WWE is playing up a diva-like environment.
“This title belt represents the pinnacle of achievement in pro wrestling — and shows that in WWE, it isn’t about gender, race or ethnicity,” Stephanie McMahon wrote in a post on The Players’ Tribune. “It is simply about being the best at what you do.”
That’s just the beginning though. McMahon also announced the WWE will no longer refer to women as divas either. Instead, all wrestlers under the WWE banner will be referred to as superstars.
“Our female performers are world-class athletes, actors, public speakers and philanthropists,” McMahon wrote in her post. “They’re role models, inspiring and empowering women and girls to be confident and strong. They dedicate themselves to WWE, achieve great success and earn the same respect as their male counterparts.”
The WWE will continue to fight some of its past mistakes regarding women for years to come, but by serving up this progressive approach in how women stars are marketed, the WWE is sending a message that it is heading in the right direction in that aspect. The company that once used women as arm candy for star wrestlers and inserted them into storylines to generate drama is growing up and now given women a chance to be a superstar alongside the men.
Given how much these women have worked at their craft, it’s about time.
