While WWE has established two women’s championship matches for WrestleMania 41, reports indicate growing concerns among other talent regarding creative direction for the event. Tiffany Stratton will defend against Charlotte Flair, and the Women’s Elimination Chamber winner will challenge Rhea Ripley.
Speaking on Fightful’s The Hump, Sean Ross Sapp addressed the situation regarding women’s booking.
Somebody asked about women’s booking and I said, yes, I have spoken with plenty of women in WWE who are frustrated about the booking of the women. This is not a new thing. It’s nowhere near Royal Rumble 2022-level…but there has been a situation where a women’s WWE performer has reached out to me and said, ‘Dude, can you find out if I’m listed internally as a heel or babyface?’ And I’m like, ‘Damn, okay.’ I know there have been some Mania pitches that have been rejected because people are like token tag matches aren’t something that they want to do.
Sapp elaborated further on the talent’s perspective:
They want things put on a more even plane in the women’s division. The contracts are going up, viewership is adjusted accordingly for when women are on-screen, it’s not the sideshow or anything like that, it’s a part of the show. You’re adding more titles, add more matches, all that stuff. There’s a lot of people that have been parked. For example, I’m not going to say Natalya is frustrated, they signed Natalya, they wanted to keep Natalya, they had creative plans for Natalya. And then what’s Natalya done since then? Hasn’t done anything, hasn’t been on NXT, hasn’t been doing anything.
These concerns emerge as WWE moves closer to WrestleMania 41, with only the two championship matches currently confirmed for the women’s division.