It’s Time for a New Women’s Revolution

Rob has some thoughts on giving the Smackdown Women’s Division more shine!

I was watching Smackdown on June 5th and couldn’t help but notice a lot of good things about the women’s side of the show.  They had three women’s matches plus multiple promos and backstage segments to help move things along; clearly outclassing the men when you line their segments up head to head.  Rhea, Charlotte, Jade, Tiffany, Fatal Influence, Chelsea Green, Lash Legend, Nia Jax, Michin, Giulia, and Kiana James are all Smackdown regulars and particularly talented in at least one aspect of professional wrestling.  Then there’s Alexa Bliss who was absent for the week and the soon to be debuting Blake Monroe who we saw via video.  Even though they never used to her potential Candace LeRae still has talent. With a roster that deep it’s time for the ladies to be the main focus of this show.  Yes there are some great, talented men on the blue brand but can you rattle off that many names who are both talented enough AND popular enough to dominate the TV time like they do?  Cody, Gunther, Sami, Trick, Drew and Randy when they return, Danhausen, Carmelo Hayes, Ricky Saints and now Finn Balor and Chad Gable.  You can throw in Shinsuke, Solo, R-Truth and Damien Priest and the two groups are neck and neck in terms of sheer talent.  I dare you to watch last night’s episode and tell me whose time who more interesting from top to bottom, the men or the women.  When you give them ample time they’re showing that they can be the better half of Friday night’s WWE fare.

“But women don’t draw”, is the usual retort to when you ask for more time or better card spots for the women. Well I can tell you that even a cursory glance at some of the available information will show that since WrestleMania the women’s side has not just been holding it’s own but are often outdoing the men’s side to get attention from the audience. While there’s nothing that approaches the level of interest there is for the Bloodline stuff or Brock vs Oba on RAW, everything else is fair game. Rhea Ripley is the biggest female star in the company and bigger than most of the men to boot. If the Undisputed Title can be contested in multiple TV main events this year, the upcoming Cody/Gunther match will be the third PLE main event quality title match of it’s kind in 2026, then there’s  room for a few women’s matches of that level as well. How did Jade not give Tiffany a rematch on a Friday, when she badly needed a well known challenger before WrestleMania?  In the rare chance there has been a women’s matches that had the marquee name value, they were barely hyped up to build any anticipation.  This year Jade vs Iyo Sky, Charlotte and Alexa vs the Bellas and three other notable tag team title matches were either barely mentioned in passing on commentary a week ahead of time or announced the same night on the show!

As we approach SummerSlam, and as Smackdown reverts back to two hours starting in July, it’s time to put the best feet forward on Fridays.  Yes the top male acts like Cody, Drew and Randy are going to get premium real estate. Trick, Sami and Danhausen will get some time every week. But beyond that it’s very clear that it should be a woman’s world on Friday going forward.  It’s time to book some more big matches, give them the proper build to make them feel as important as they should, and give them the main event slot like they deserve.  There was a time when Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs Bianca Belair happened on Friday Night Smackdown, not just on a PLE.  It’s time to bring that back.  More importantly it’s time to give the full creative weight and effort to the division as a whole.

Do you think the audience would rather see more Fatal Influence, or more MFTs?  Blake Monroe doing anything or Johnny Gargano sleeping on a crate?  I think it’s pretty clear at this point.