Chelsea Green believes WWE’s women have reached the point where they aren’t simply keeping pace with the men — sometimes they’re beating them in the ratings too.
During her conversation with eTalk, Green reflected on how dramatically women’s wrestling has changed since the “Give Divas a Chance” movement took off. She credited the women who came before the current generation for fighting to get more television time and better opportunities on Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Green specifically remembered watching that push begin in 2014 and said those women had to fight for every opportunity they received.
“I will never forget in 2014 when the Give Divas a Chance era really went viral. Those women who came before me fought tooth and nail every single episode of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT to make sure that the women that came after them would get that time in the ring. And they did it.”
Green believes that work completely changed WWE’s approach to developing female talent. Women are now being scouted, developed through NXT and positioned to become major WrestleMania stars. She made sure to give the previous generation credit for making those opportunities possible.
“Now we are breeding some of the most talented wrestlers in the world from the ground up. We are scouting them. We are bringing them to NXT. We are developing them, and then we’re moving them up to the main roster, and they’re becoming our WrestleMania stars.”
“It is incredible, and that is all thanks to the women that came before us who walked so we could run.”
Green pointed to matches and concepts that were once unthinkable for WWE’s women, including the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank.
“We would have never dreamt of having a Royal Rumble. We would have never dreamt of having a Money in the Bank moment. And now those things are just like, yeah, of course we have them.”
That’s when Green made her biggest claim, saying WWE’s women can generate just as much interest as the men and sometimes produce stronger television ratings.
“We draw just as much attention as the men do. Our ratings are a lot of times higher than the men. The skill level is equivalent to what the men are bringing to the table. There’s nothing that the women can’t do now.”
Green is also interested in seeing how far the division can go over the next five years because she believes the athletic ability of the current generation has taken women’s wrestling to another level. She specifically pointed to Sol Ruca and Tiffany Stratton as examples of what WWE’s women are capable of today.
“I love to think about what’s going to happen five years from now because these women are defying gravity. Truly, the things that they can do in the ring, it’s incredible.”
“If you’ve ever taken a moment to watch Sol Ruca or Tiffany Stratton, you know that the women in WWE and the women in sports are limitless right now.”
Women’s wrestling in WWE has changed drastically from the days when performers were fighting just to get meaningful television time. Green believes the current roster has now reached a point where the women can go head-to-head with the men in the ring, in fan interest and even in the ratings.
Do you agree with Chelsea Green that WWE’s women can draw higher ratings than the men? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
