It’s no secret that historically women’s wrestling has been treated as a side show attraction. In WWE in particular we’ve seen them get the “pat on the head, awww they’re trying” treatment. The Independent scene is certainly much more progressive when it comes to women in wrestling, with the ready acceptance of inter gender matches and titles; but in recent months we’ve begun to see a shift in the WWE as well.

Truly, the arrival of talents like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley have paved the way for women’s wrestling to be what it can be – which is just damn good wrestling. With Stephanie McMahon (Helmsley?) making the historic announcement on Raw this past week about the “Evolution” pay-per-view, it seems that the spotlight has been shined brighter on the ladies of the squared circle than ever before. So in the spirit of this amazing move forward for women in the wrestling business, we’ve compiled a list of programs that we would love to see (that are totally still on the table.)

Trish Stratus and Alexa Bliss

Neither of these women are what we would consider “technicians” in ring. Let’s just call a spade a spade; both are awesome characters who are memorable and this is “entertainment.” That’s what gives them both their status. Trish was a product of the attitude era, willing to get your attention by any means necessary – even if it meant she had to be in her underwear to do so. Alexa spent the majority of her time in NXT as the valet for Blake and Murphy. It wasn’t until they gave her a shot on the main roster she showed that she’s a heluva promo and an awesome heel. Neither one are going to go out there and steal the show with their technical abilities.

That said, Trish is one of the most iconic figures in wrestling. She and Lita main evented a Raw at a time when Vince was still sour on the idea of women actually contributing. Alexa has been consistently entertaining and is the only wrestler trusted with both the raw and smackdown women’s titles outside of the WWE’s female blue chipper, Charlotte.

If nothing else, this match would be super entertaining and the build to it would be so much fun. From the initial pop that Trish would get to the cornucopia of material that Alexa has at her disposal for some potentially memorable promos, this would be a highly anticipated match up that would be fun and has the potential to tell an excellent story.

Beth Phoenix and Nia Jax

Say what you will about Nia Jax, but this woman has come a long way in a short amount of time as far as her in-ring work is concerned. Her character could still use some work. I think her biggest hang-up is that she naturally fits into the monster heel role on TV, but that’s contrary to the nature of the woman behind the persona and she just cant separate them. I would argue her best character work was as a face against Alexa Bliss in the bullying angle a few months back – even then she was seen as a sympathetic baby face. As good as it was, I just don’t see that as a natural role for her.

I believe Beth Phoenix could bring out the monster in Nia. Beth, with her size and ability presents a formidable opponent for Jax; which, outside of Maybe Charlotte or Rhonda Rousey, doesn’t exist in today’s WWE. I didn’t believe it for one second when Alexa Bliss cashed in her Money in the Bank – she wasn’t even tall enough to hit her in the vitals with the briefcase. In a real fight, Nia would have gotten up, maybe with a sore shoulder and cold cocked Bliss. Just saying.

Nia needs a babyface that is believable and can work with her behind the scenes to continuously improve her in-ring work and the Glamazon would be exactly what the doctor ordered: a powerful lady that would have the crowd behind her instantly. Beth would be able to match power for power and when the time comes, she would be the perfect baby face to put over the arrival of the true monster within Nia Jax.

Molly Holly vs Natalya

The women’s Royal Rumble was an excellent barometer for where some of our nostalgic picks are physically. Lita and some of the women who were never really taken seriously, like Kelly Kelly, Tori Wilson, etc., were a little disappointing; but there were two dark horses that stood out to me. One was Michelle McCool the other was Molly Holly. Holly didn’t look like she’d lost a step and was in great shape. While I don’t know that you would consider her one of the greatest in-ring worker’s she was another that was a risk taker and looked like she could still go in the WRR.

Pair her up with someone like Natty who is a sound in-ring technician and I’d be willing to bet the end result would be very satisfying. This is the type of match that would be an excellent secondary feud to compliment the marquee match ups that could take place at Evolution.

Sasha Banks and Michelle McCool

As I previously mentioned, Michelle McCool’s performance in the WRR was a bright spot for me. I think the proved that she can still go and maybe even that she’d improved a little. Sasha Banks is a good in-ring performer and I think they would pair up nicely – as long as Banks can learn to lay in her kicks in the corner.

I’ll admit, this is complete fantasy booking here and I have no other reason for putting these two together other than it’s an interesting match up to me. I would love to see them play off their connections to Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker in the build up to the match. I’d also enjoy seeing a reprisal of the “Boss” character by Sasha against McCool from the Laycool days. Love me or hate me for that comment, I thought she and Layla did some decent character work during that time period.

In fact, bring Layla into it as a valet. I’m good with that. I just think this match would be enjoyable.

Mickie James and Ember Moon

Note: This one has happened as a throwaway match. But we’re focusing on programs and making things matter.

Again, this is just another program I would like to see. Mickie James was always one of my favorites in her earlier runs with WWE and also in TNA. I think sometimes her character can be catty and immature, but her in-ring work has always been solid and I would argue that it’s gotten better in recent years. I’m especially fond of that roundhouse kick she does.

Ember Moon is an excellent performer. I have enjoyed her matches and would argue that she made Shayna Basler. Her abilities and charisma are off the charts. The only thing that she’s missing is the name recognition. With WWE network only being 10 bucks a month, I’m not sure why there are any holdouts anymore. That’s a great value for the amount of content you get. Because of that I’m going to say 70 percent of casual fans have no clue about the awesome stuff happening in NXT right now and that’s what hurts all the NXT call-ups – particularly those who don’t get an immediate push. Ember fits into that category.

I think that if you put Ember and Mickie in the ring together and give them a good build to their pay-per-view, you get the veteran talent putting over the clearly superior rookie. The casuals who know Mickie James will respect Ember and she gets a nice win to put on her resume.

Bonus!
Women not mentioned who can add value.

Alicia Fox – I’ve always been high on Foxy. She’s was a model turned wrestler in a diva search who has been around for 10 years. And I think that’s for good reason. She’s always watchable even if she has no direction, she’s not the best, but solid in ring and has the most beautiful northern lights suplex I’ve ever seen.

The Bellas – Love them or hate them, they bring the casual fan’s eyeballs to the product. Neither one of them are lights out performers, but they’re serviceable workers and would get a massive pop. Like it or not, they would add value to a show like Evolution.

Naomi – She’s definitely one of the most athletic women on the roster, she’s over with younger fans and she’s serviceable in-ring. I enjoy Naomi, personally and let’s not forget, she’s a Wrestlemania caliber talent.

The Iconics – With WWE Heavily Teasing women’s tag team wrestling, I think that we see the Iconics become much more prominent in the division than ever before. Billy Kay and Payton Royce can work. I personally think they should find a spot for them on Evolution.

Becky Lynch – Because she’s straight fire. Also because she’s awesome and a crowd favorite. I would love to see her get a push. Like a real one.

Surprise NXT Call-up – This would be the perfect time for a surprise NXT Call-up, whoever that may be. I don’t really care how they do it, but I would love to see it happen. Kairi Sane comes to mind as the ideal candidate but there are a couple other good options in Shayna Basler, Candice LaRae, Lacey Evans or Bianca Belair.

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