KillThatNoise #1: How (and Why) Carmella Broke The WWE Women’s Revolution

Oh that glorious Women’s Revolution. What happened? After two years of highly touted, history making, over hyped gimmick matches, the revolution of WWE women came to an alleged halt after Carmella was crowned as the first-ever Ms. Money In The Bank this past Sunday.

The fans in St. Louis were ready for the opening match of the Money In The Bank show. The outcome of the Women’s match would surely help set the tone for the entire show. When Carmella was first inserted into the MITB match, the general response from the internet was that James Ellsworth would somehow help Carmella win the match. Of course, the goal is to win the match by obtaining the briefcase. Easy enough, right? Not so fast. In a somewhat short, yet fluid match that had the St. Louis crowd engaged, the ending angered some of the most hardened WWE fans. The moment that James Ellsworth climbed the ladder, unhooked the prize, and dropped it right into the arms of his princess, Carmella, was the official ending of the WWE Women’s Revolution. The WWE Universe was furious. The company became the biggest heel of the night instead of James Ellsworth, while Carmella was the beneficiary of a movement that fans thought to be real.

The Women’s Revolution was never a real thing to the WWE.

Vince McMahon will always use the interaction of fans to make, mold and create business for his company. Outside of an all-women’s Royal Rumble, the MITB was the most important showcase for the division on either brand. It also was the perfect time and match to break away from the “Revolution.” For over two years, WWE fans dissected every women’s match just to see if it fell in line with the term “ While the initial movement for “Give Divas A Chance” may have been created out of real frustration, WWE saw it as a way to drive interest to the main products on RAW and Smackdown Live. Through all the cheerleader like promos by Stephanie McMahon, all of the gimmicks that Sasha and Charlotte Flair went through, someone at some point had to say enough with the group hug. Following MITB, Carmella’s fiery, show stealing promo on SDLive was performed in a way to let fans know that she simply didn’t care about the progression of the Women’s division. She only cared about herself. How the breifcase got in her hands was a moot point. But the confusion starts at this point.

Carmella listed several instances when people got involved in a ladder or MITB match without real repercussions for the winner. After all of the other participants pleaded to General Manager Daniel Bryan about the match outcome, a change was finally made. Bryan stated that “we are in uncharted territory,” announced another MITB match for the next Smackdown Live and banned James Ellsworth from ringside. Allegedly, the match was also made to bolster SDLive’s ratings, but some say that it is also a way to actually get one of the women to get the case. All of this is a convoluted mess for the WWE, fans, the superstars involved and everyone in between. Fans aren’t going to simply forget that the first actual women’s Money In the Bank match was spoiled by James Ellsworth grabbing the case for Carmella. WWE can’t undo that. The outcome of the match is abundantly clear — Carmella must win with no strings attached.

WWE created a movement in the Women’s Revolution that got fans emotionally involved to the point of angering them when it seemingly fell off the rails. We’ve went from a heel Mickie James claiming to be the woman to start the movement to the Princess of Staten Island, Carmella, being the one that doesn’t care about any revolution at all. The design of the MITB match was supposed to put all of the heat on James Ellsworth and Carmella. It ended up creating a backlash on WWE and now the entire thing is being redone.

One thing that WWE can’t afford to do is mess up Carmella’s push as a heel. She’s been a surprise in and out of the ring and has come a long way in a short time on the main roster. James Ellsworth adds a lot to her act. The time was right for her to win and break a revolution that had been going for over two years, but will fans let the actual story play out instead of complaining?

Probably not. We’re too emotional. And Vince McMahon loves the sound of that. $$$

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#KillThatNoise is a commentary written by FightBooth.com contributor, Shannon Willis, on the industry of professional wrestling and the reactions from its fans. Follow Shannon on Twitter @willmarelle.