WWE Issues Statement Responding to Accusations of Sexism

Following WWE programming last week, two story line points emerged which caused some stir on the internet and on social media, and lead to accusations of sexism towards women on WWE TV.

One of the story line points in question was when Ric Flair, at last Sunday’s Royal Rumble, forcibly kissed Becky Lynch during her match to distract her from Charlotte, an act which was mostly lauded by the announce team as a joke. The second story line was on WWE Raw this past week when The Rock delivered a speech to Lana describing an apparent sexual encounter the two had last year.

The story lines prompted writer Alex Groot to pen an editorial over at Vocativ.com, called “WWE’s Looming Sexism Problem”. The following is an article excerpt:

Sadly, such treatment is nothing new for Lana, real name C.J. Perry, who was once positioned in storyline as a strong, confident manager and mouthpiece for Rusev, the “Bulgarian Brute” who tore through much of the roster upon his arrival. But before long, John Cena was calling her a “ho” and suggesting she performed favors to procure matches, rival Ryback was taunting her about “going all the way” with a fellow competitor, and lead commentator Michael Cole led off an interview by probing into her sexual history.

What do all these characters have in common? They were positioned as babyfaces in their storylines, the good guys that fans were expected to support and cheer for. That, for far too long, has been the strange ethos of the WWE, where women are objects, crude name calling is to be cheered, and slut-shaming is righteous. Indeed, it is no secret that the company has a checkered, problematic past, not only with women, but with race, homophobia, and taking care of its own employees. The empire Vince McMahon built has a rather retrograde history, much like that of American professional wrestling, more broadly.

WWE issued an official statement to Vocativ, responding to the article, and it reads as follows:

“WWE programming, which features fictional characters that cover a range of personalities similar to movies and television shows, tells stories of good versus evil. In addition, as our on-going storylines develop, we will continue to position women as both strong competitors and compelling individuals.”

Full 2015 PWI Female 50 List Revealed

Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s annual Female 50 issue has been released digitally, revealing the entire 2015 list.

As previously announced, Nikki Bella tops the list, followed by Paige, Sasha Banks, Santana Garrett and Gail Kim.

View the full list below. Last year’s placement is in parenthesis:

1. Nikki Bella (24)
2. Paige (1)
3. Sasha Banks (-)
4. Santana Garrett (15)
5. Gail Kim (3)
6. Charlotte (10)
7. Naomi (39)
8. Cherry Bomb (26)
9. Courtney Rush (8)
10. Taryn Terrell (36)
11. Bayley (19)
12. Brie Bella (16)
13. Sexy Star (-)
14. Cheerleader Melissa (4)
15. LuFisto (5)
16. Nicole Matthews (30)
17. Becky Lynch (41)
18. Kimber Lee (28)
19. Natalya (9)
20. Jessicka Havok (13)

More?

WWE Announces First Ever Divas Beat the Clock Challenge for Raw Monday Night

WWE has announced the first-ever Divas Beat The Clock Challenge will take place on WWE Raw Monday night in Tampa. The match will feature Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and their opponents have yet to be named.

The rules of the match stipulate that the Diva who wins her match in the shortest amount of time will earn a shot at WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella at the Night of Champions PPV.

WWE Taps Out ... On 'Submission Sorority'

The WWE fixed its colossal XXX mistake ... by dropping its Divas team name after it accidentally pointed fans toward tons of Internet porn.

According to the WWE, it changed Paige, Charlotte and Becky's Submission Sorority because its TV programming is PG -- and they didn't know the name had porn ties.

As we reported ... the search results for Submission Sorority turned up thousands of porn results.

During Thursday night’s episode of "SmackDown" the Diva team name was quietly changed to PCB on parts of WWE's website. Charlotte even started hashtagging with it.

source: tmz.com

WWE To Change Stable Name Due To Adult Website?

As noted, WWE has given Paige, Becky Lynch and Charlotte the "Submission Sorority" name for their stable. WWE did not do proper research and quickly found out that this is the same name of an adult website.

There's talk of changing the group name to The Submission Sisters. The idea of calling them the Horsewomen was also thrown around but that could be seen as stepping on Ronda Rousey's toes.

Video: Stephanie McMahon launches a revolution in the Divas division by introducing Becky Lynch, Charlotte and NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks on Raw

Three NXT Divas Debut On Tonight's WWE RAW

Sometimes all you need is a spark to start a revolution. - Triple H

'The Four Horsewomen' of NXT: Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch on how they're changing women's wrestling

If you’ve watched WWE NXT any time in the past year (and you really should be watching WWE NXT), you’ve likely noticed something: The women’s division is really damn good.

Bolstered by out-of-nowhere performances by the likes of NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and more, the ladies of NXT have blown up to main-level attractions under the guidance of WWE COO Triple H. As NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable approached, and just hours before Sasha and Ric Flair progeny Charlotte main-evented NXT’s first Live Event in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Sasha, Bayley and Becky Lynch sat down for a roundtable interview with WWE.com. The division’s “Four Horsewomen” opened up on how they got to where they are, where they see themselves going (hint: WrestleMania) and why someday they’ll tell the boys to “Follow that.”

So without further ado, sit back and enjoy some straight shooting from the show-stealin’, wheelin’-dealin’, high-flyin’, revolutionizin’, hug-givin’, match-winnin’ and (onetime) Irish-jiggin’ women — key word — of NXT. Click here.

WWE NXT Takeover: Unstoppable Results

Triple H NXT Media Call Recap: Sami Zayn And Hideo Itami Update, NXT Touring Plans, Samoa Joe, More

* Triple H apologizes for his voice and says "with a nose like mine, changing allergy zones three times" is a bad thing.

* HHH puts over Charlotte and Sasha Banks headlining an NXT live event last week. He wants them to change the perception of what women do in the industry.

* The NXT tours will continue. He's looking at festival touring and some international shows as well. He wants NXT to be a full brand by next year.

* HHH thanked ESPN and Jeremy Schapp. He said he hopes that they can work together more, or produce more of those for the Network.

* Sami Zayn has been cleared, an will compete.

* HHH thinks Becky/Sasha could steal the show.

* Matt Bloom has been promoted to permanent head coach at NXT. Sara Del Rey is assistant head coach now.

* Sara Del Rey is still working as a road agent as well.

* He already considers NXT an additional brand. He wants to find what's best suited for NXT. Things that work on the main roster may not work in NXT.

* Triple H wants NXT on the road 3 days a week by 2016. He wants NXT to have a two-tour function eventually. He doesn't want to lose the homegrown fans in Flordia, either.

* Triple H doesn't care if someone has indy experience or not, but having experience helps.

* He doesn't know if NXT will become a cable TV show. He's happy where they are on the WWE Network. Triple H sees NXT as a selling point for the Network, too.

* Hideo Itami will be represented, but will not be wrestling tomorrow night.

* While NXT is a third brand, it's still there to get people ready for the main roster, Triple H says. He says the best problem he can have is Vince calling him in the middle of a hot angle and asking for that star.

* Triple H says that there are several talents in NXT ready for the main roster, but there aren't spots for them, or else they'd be there.

* HHH says WWE developmental is a young man's game. He says it takes a while for them to get talent up to speed.

* Triple H says he likes Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate. He says he's not trying to make NXT a direct competition to them. He wants to make the best roster that he can. He thinks if NXT's business grows, so will RoH's. He said he'd love to help support ROH and grow.

* Triple H says there are talents that said they turned down NXT deals for ROH. He says they haven't spoken to those talents on any level.

* Triple H says he wanted to make NXT an individual brand from day 1, but didn't tell anyone that.

* Triple H thinks Samoa Joe is a phenomenal talent. Says he was at the performance center a month or two ago. He doesn't know if they'll do business. He said they only spoke for about five minutes, and it was mostly pleasantries.

* He says there are plenty of talents that won't make it on the main roster, and gimmicks that won't work on the main roster.

* Vince McMahon doesn't see all of NXT. Triple H shows him bits and pieces.

* HHH doesn't see Cena going anywhere. He thinks it's great that Cena is confident enough to give younger stars a time to shine. Time pushes people to move to different roles.

* Someone asks about Emma. Triple H says it's more than possible for her to get back in the title picture.

* Triple H says Vince McMahon was blown away by the NXT show WrestleMania weekend. Triple H didn't know Vince would be there until last minute. McMahon messaged him and said he'd be there. Triple H said that several WWE executives came and were impressed, and wanted to do more with it.

* Triple H puts over the progress of Sami Zayn working without a mask and Baron Corbin.

* There aren't plans of an all-female NXT show or special, but it could happen.

* Nothing in NXT was by accident. He had a vision for this.

* The majority of the fans dictate what they do.