Jim Ross Says the Only Thing that Can Hurt the Divas Division is “Old School Thinking”

In the most recent blog post on his official website, JRsBarBQ.com, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross says the only thing that can hurt the Divas division is “old school thinking” from WWE management, which likely means WWE CEO Vince McMahon more than anything else. Ross made the comments on the cusp of the highly praised main roster debut of NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte during the July 13 edition of “Monday Night Raw” from Atlanta, Georgia.

Ross, who knows McMahon’s thought process about the Divas division, or at least his “old school thinking” on the subject probably better than most, writes the following about the surge of talent to the Divas roster and how it can be a positive if negative connotations don’t get in the way.

“Interesting RAW Monday night from Atlanta as the new, females from NXT had more people talking on my timelines than anyone else on the show including the combatants for the WWE World Title. Sara Del Ray has done an amazing of training/coaching the women who pass through NXT.

Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch should be stalwarts for years to come in WWE and I see no reason why they cannot move to the top or near the top of primary WWE events sooner than later.

It’s a sign of the times and a changing of he guard not unlike the days of Jennie Finch putting women’s softball on the map or Ronda Rousey becoming a mega star in UFC. The only thing that can hold these women back is old school thinking and not being willing to take a chance on adding something new to the top of the cards.”

McMahon’s view of the Divas division has been very open to debate, as it has been reported on numerous occasions that he views the women involved in it as “eye candy,” not talent that can draw money and ratings. However, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have been said to be pushing for a change in the way WWE’s women are presented on television.

This came on the fringe of the “#GiveDivasAChance” movement on social media, where fans began to see the quality work NXT superstars such as Banks, Lynch, Charlotte, and Bayley were cranking out, and pushed for the main roster to adopt the same mentality. Even McMahon himself replied to the hashtag once it trended worldwide for over 24 hours on Twitter, replying with, “We hear you. #GiveDivasAChance,” which is rare for McMahon to address the fans in that fashion on social media.

Divas matches were lasting all of three minutes, and their characters were flipping back and forth between “babyface” and “heel” with no real direction. McMahon reportedly told his writing staff that this is because “there are no heels or faces in the Divas division.” Former writer Kevin Eck revealed that McMahon had told writers to consider all the women competing in the division as “flippant and catty,” and that they can flip back and forth blaming “women being emotional” as the foundation of the thought.

Editor’s Note:

Ross is on to something. If Triple H and Stephanie can run things, maybe we’ll see Banks and Charlotte main eventing “RAW” soon. It’s only been done one other time before with Lita and Trish Stratus, which was the last time women wrestling in WWE meant ANYTHING.