The wrestling world is abuzz with the news that Kaitlyn has decided to leave WWE and pursue other endeavours outside the sports-entertainment world. Whilst this doesn’t come as a massive shock because of her treatment since dropping the Divas title, it really is a shame that someone as talented and wiling to prove her worth has chosen to jump without being pushed.
You just have to compare the Divas title, which is the main and only title in the women’s division, with the WWE title. Whilst it may be absurd to suggest that they hold the same prestige, they are both the main titles for their respective genders. If we compare the last ten men and women that have been champions from both categories we get these names.
WWE Champions: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, The Rock, CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Sheamus, Batista.
Divas Champions: AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Eve Torres, Layla, Nikki Bella, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Brie Bella, Natalya, Michelle McCool
What is most amazing about this list is that five of the former Divas champions are no longer with the company. That surely has to be a sign that there is a problem with the Divas division in its current incarnation. Is winning the Divas title some kind of curse? Or is it because the former champions realise that they have reached their highpoint within the company and don’t want to end up as a laughing stock.
What’s even more startling is if we do some more digging and go back to the invention of the new Divas title in 2008. There have been a total of fifteen Divas to hold the title as shown below.
1. Michelle McCool 2. Maryse 3. Mickie James 4. Jillian 5. Melina 6. Eve Torres
7. Alicia Fox
8. Natalya
9. Brie Bella10. Kelly Kelly 11. Beth Phoenix
12. Nikki Bella
13. Layla14. Kaitlyn
15. AJ Lee
If my calculations are correct, we have nine former Divas champions that have since left the company. It gets even more ridiculous when you compare it to the last 15 WWE Champions in the men’s division.
1. JBL – Retired
2. John Cena3. Edge – Retired
4. RVD
5. Randy Orton
6. Triple H7. Jeff Hardy
8. Batista
9. Sheamus
10. The Miz
11. CM Punk
12. Rey Mysterio
13. Alberto Del Rio
14. The Rock
15. Daniel Bryan
This is surely as damning a report as you could get when discussing how much stock WWE put into its female wrestlers. I think it’s fair to say that the women that are currently residing in NXT should be making sure they start to save money now, or have an exit plan for when WWE gets bored of them. It is a real shame that I have to say such a thing in the year 2014 but it’s the cold hard truth.
This all brings us back round to the fact that Kaitlyn has left the WWE. I’m sure she’ll be successful with whatever she chooses to do going forward. I’m even more sure that most wrestling fans will forget her much in the same way they have with the other eight departed former champions and I can only blame WWE for this.
– By Michael Owen