It seemed as if times were changing in the WWE for the better. Ever since the “Summer of AJ Lee” in 2012, the return of the Bella Twins and their rise to dominance in 2013 and the premiere and success of Total Divas on E!, plus a roster of divas that are not only beautiful, but incredibly tough and talented, such as seen with the reign of one such divas as Paige and the popularity behind NXT’s divas like Charlotte, the women of the WWE were truly stealing the show.

However, last Monday on RAW, I couldn’t believe it when a match between the Bella Twins and Emma and Paige lasted about 30 seconds—probably around 8 seconds if you don’t count bantering outside the boundaries of the match—when Brie defeated Emma immediately with a face-buster. That lead to a campaign on social media known as #GiveDivasAChance. There’s time for video packages and promos that seem to go beyond their limit yet divas, the ones who many fans tune in to specifically to see, especially taking into consideration fans who are new to WWE and were exposed to the company primarily by the divas they see on Total Divas, are given literally less than a minute.

It trended worldwide, even beating such trends Tuesday night as #ParksFinale for the series finale ofParks and Recreation, which had received widespread media coverage.

Especially in light of Patricia Arquette’s speech calling for gender equality during her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars on Sunday, there is becoming an even louder voice for equality. After Stephanie McMahon praised Arquette’s words for “#WomensRights”, AJ Lee went on Twitter and directed her thoughts at Stephanie McMahon, saying, “Your female wrestlers have record selling merchandise & have starred in the highest rated segment of the show several times And yet they receive a fraction of the wages & screen time of the majority of the male roster.#UseYourVoice”

About three hours later, Vince McMahon tweeted “We hear you. Keep watching. #GiveDivasAChance” About 5 hours after it was tweeted, it had received almost 5,000 retweets and favorites from the WWE Universe.

If anything, this campaign proved just how much power there is in the hands of the fans and with the tool of social media being used in a positive light, change can happen. Here’s to hoping these talented, athletic and amazing women get the spotlight and screen time that they truly deserve. Just one tweet can help make a difference in the world.

-Celine

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Many fans were upset when Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. Some cited their reasons for being so upset with the fact that they believe the WWE was pushing him on them too hard. Some claimed that he wasn’t ready yet. He wasn’t that good on the mic and wasn’t that good in the ring. As a way to appease the fans, the WWE put Reigns’ spot in WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar (which he won by winning the Royal Rumble) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line at WWE’s Fastlane against fan favorite Daniel Bryan.

In the end, Reigns was once again victorious. While what fans have said about Reigns can be seen as true, it wouldn’t be fair to Reigns to win the Royal Rumble just to have it taken away from him. TVTropes.com defines this as Retcon. It’s a situation when past plot points are reframed to meet whatever the current needs are for the story. While it would have been a possible and plausible alternative, the boos didn’t seem to be as uproarious in the weeks following Reigns’ victory. It was as if fans learned to deal with it, and that would be the best thing to do, a thought that may be seen as an unpopular opinion.

If WWE would have followed this method more often, John Cena may have had only a few title reigns, even though he is such a talented performer. Persistent cries for change can make a difference, but the flame of hate towards Reigns seemed to die down. Sure, the Internet wasn’t happy when Daniel Bryan lost, but at least they can remember the joy when he won at WrestleMania as an underdog only a year ago. There’s other matches at WrestleMania and many events have double main-events. It’s not the end of the world. While he may not have been the guy many wanted at this time, perhaps the Lesnar/Reigns feud will be a surprise hit.

The Rock was booed unmercifully when he was new in the 90’s. Now he’s a legend of the business. Who know what’ll come of having Roman Reigns in the main event title picture at WrestleMania but even with the potential retcon hurdle along the way, plans are seeming to stay to as they were in January and hopefully we’re all in for a great surprise.

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-Celine