Column: WWE has opportunity to show that divas matter at WrestleMania

The WWE has rarely treated the Divas division with any amount of respect at WrestleMania in the past.

At WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, Texas, that has the opportunity to change with a highly anticipated triple threat bout for the Divas Championship between three of the most polished divas in years.

With Divas Champion Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, this match has the opportunity to not only steal the show but help change the perception of women’s wrestling in the WWE.

When Stephanie McMahon announced a “Divas Revolution” several months ago, the WWE wanted the audience to know that it was in tune with the times. The company basically proclaimed that it would finally take women’s wrestling serious for the first time in years.

WWE’s developmental programming NXT, which all three women started from, has produced some of the better women’s wrestling matches in years. NXT proved that women can and should have a place in WWE’s male dominated sphere as performers and not just as eye candy.

The WWE has done a better job of taking the divas division seriously since McMahon’s declaration, but it’s still nowhere close to where NXT is with how it treats its female performers.

That should change at WrestleMania this upcoming weekend. This triple threat match has had some solid build up, but if the WWE is serious about finally putting the divas division on the map then the company needs to let them wrestle for a good 15 to 20 minutes.

It would be a step back and an absolute shame if the WWE didn’t allow Charlotte, Banks and Lynch to have a chance to steal the show with this match.

All three performers have shown time and again during their NXT runs that they all have the ability to put on high caliber matches on any given night. Granted, none of these women have ever faced the pressure of a WrestleMania – an estimated 93,000 people could fill AT&T Stadium – but that shouldn’t mean their match should get cut at all.

The idea of a “Divas Revolution” happening overnight was always a farce for WWE and its fans. For years the WWE has conditioned fans that the divas match doesn’t matter and the audience is better of going to the bathroom or getting a snack.

It’s taken several months and some hard work by the divas, but it seems that finally the WWE is making a conceited effort to make the division matter.

This triple threat match may be just one of nine on the WrestleMania card but it might very well be the most important. If the WWE wants the divas to actually matter then WrestleMania, the biggest show of the year, will tell everyone what the company really thinks.

If it doesn’t happen at WrestleMania then it never really mattered at all.

Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.