As usual, WWE’s women’s roster is killing it at the moment. Most impressive is that much of this is being done without the usual stars. Charlotte Flair is on hiatus. Sasha Banks and Naomi are gone. Becky Lynch just returned from injury. Still, the division doesn’t slow down, due to the Raw reign of Bianca Belair, the character change for Ronda Rousey, and the great work of Damage CTRL. While the Women’s Tag Team Championships are finally being treated like a big deal, there is still the need for something more.
The men have a plethora of titles. Yes, the main event championship has been unified, while the women’s hasn’t, but the men have the Intercontinental and United States Championships to battle it out for. The women don’t have that. With Belair and Rousey’s stronghold on their belts, it gives those in the midcard not as much to fight for. AEW has a women’s midcard title in the TBS Championship. Say what you will about how it’s booked around Jade Cargill’s waist, but still, it’s there. It’s time WWE does the same.
Raquel Rodriguez Recently Spoke Out In Favor Of A Midcard Women’s Championship
Raquel Rodriguez is one of those midcard names that could use a bump from a midcard title to fight for. She was a great champion in NXT, and a good choice for the shock win with Aaliyah for WWE’s Women’s Tag Team Championship, but after their short reign, Aaliyah is out with injury and there’s not much for Rodriguez to do, which is a shame, given her star power and dominating presence.
Raquel Rodriguez recently commented on this when asked if there should be a women’s midcard title. She told Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, “100%. I think that would be something so great for the women’s division especially because we have so much diversity in the women’s division. We have women from all over the world, from all over the country, from different backgrounds and different ethnicities. I think having an Intercontinental Championship, having a North American championship for the women would be something. Just a huge leap forward for the Women’s Division in wrestling in general. And I personally do feel like that is something that is possible and is something that’s that could possibly be happening in the near future, so I’m looking forward to that and possibly you know making new history.”
A great point was brought up about NXT’s North American Championship, the midcard title for the men. Big names like Adam Cole, Ricochet, Keith Lee, Johnny Gargano, and Carmelo Hayes have held NXT’s secondary title, making them look more important and putting them in great feuds when the main event title scene is booked. With the plethora of women’s talent in NXT, a midcard title would be a huge boost for an already impressive division.
WWE Would Have The Chance To Do Right What AEW Has Done Wrong
AEW’s TBS Championship, while stuck with an absolutely awful name, was a great idea in theory. Though Tony Khan really does need to develop a tag team title for the women’s division, a midcard title was still a nice start. It has been used wrong though. A midcard title should be a way to build up talent just under the main event. Instead, the TBS Championship has been held only by a main event level star. Jade Cargill is money. She even wears it as a design on her clothes. But she’s also hogging the championship.
Cargill is undefeated and such a naturally imposing presence. She deserves everything she has accomplished in AEW, but by making it so that she destroys every challenger, it doesn’t allow anyone else to be built up under her. It’s almost as if the title doesn’t exist.
WWE would hopefully learn from this and know that a midcard title can’t be held forever by one person, especially when it’s that division’s only midcard belt. That doesn’t mean that it should be dropped every month, but it needs to be presented as something that’s realistically attainable, whereas in AEW, no one has ever been made to feel like they can beat Cargill.
WWE Has So Many Names Worthy Of A Midcard Title
There is a long list of talent in WWE who would benefit from holding a midcard talent in the women’s division. Raquel Rodriguez is surely one. Dana Brooke is another. She had even hoped to have the 24/7 Championship fit this role.
The list could go on and on, with names like Shotzi, Candice LeRae, Mia Yim, Lacey Evans, and Sonya Deville all great wrestlers who have gotten over in WWE, but who could all use the boost that a championship would bring. Triple H has done a great job in making the Women’s Tag Team Championships feel significant. It’s time to do the same with a midcard title too.
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