When you book WWE, do you abolish the women's division?

[Historian]

I don't play as WWE ever because I don't play real world sims, but I always book a women's division. Sometimes, I start out without one (because if I'm playing as MAW, they don't have one) but over time I add it in. In the CVerse, it's a good way to save money because the women are paid less, but there is also a lot less of a chance of your female talent being poached so if you build them as stars they're probably not going to go anywhere.

 

The beauty of 2020 doing away with the women's division being it's own separate push is now that if you have a female star, she's a star regardless of whether or not you have women wrestle each other or wrestle men or both or whatever.

 

I say book however you want to book. Some people struggle focusing on multiple groups of wrestlers to book, some don't. I know The Lloyd didn't use NOTBPW's women's division when he booked them in a diary but he does use the WWE one in his new three brands diary where he is running WWE. It all depends on how you like to book.

 

My personal recommendation is that if you're going to have the division, just book it like you would the men. Try and get someone over. Tell a story and let them go out and tear it down -- many of the female wrestlers in the CVerse have potentials to be incredible workers and stars if they're given the opportunity to be so don't short change yourself.

[Blackman]

I know The Lloyd didn't use NOTBPW's women's division when he booked them in a diary but he does use the WWE one in his new three brands diary where he is running WWE. It all depends on how you like to book.

 

Or just what's optimal. In C-verse start dates, the NOTBPW women's division has never really been deep with talent. You start out with mediocre workers, which is a huge contrast with the men, who get stellar performances every time. One of the best things you can do performance-wise imo in the 2010/2013 NOTB games is to cut the division entirely, because it literaly takes up space and trims your payroll. On the contrary, it's almost always beneficial for American or Japanese promotions in those games to start up a women's division, based on the advantages mentioned (cheaper & not getting poached). Some great - and especially positive - workers will always do more good than harm, even if you book it randomly.

 

(I know you can just fire the mediocre workers and hire good ones without penalty, but I play by my own rules and put up with whoever is there until the contact stops)

[Mkelm44]

I usually set change the women to be integrated with the rest of the roster- I've never loved the "womens division" push, but I don't abolish them entirely. Depending on the era though and the mod, I usually find the need to send large swaths down to development and enjoy when they come back up as m uch more skilled workers in 6-8 months.

[brianc2008]

<p>For the most part, I do try to have a women's division in most any game I start. Usually, it's to add some variety to the card and avoid some penalties that might occur.</p><p> </p><p>

To answer the OP's question, yeah, I think there's a scenario where I wouldn't have a division. Probably about the point where the women were involved in pillow fights and gravy matches instead of real wrestling. </p><p> </p><p>

Like some others, I do have some issues in trying to get them over. I suspect it might involve getting them into a storyline with male wrestlers or something more than what I am doing.</p>

[Matt_Black]

<p>Hey, don't knock pillow fights or gravy matches; you can get ridiculously good ratings with even mediocre workers with those in a company like SWF.</p><p> </p><p>

I think the problem the AI has with getting women over is the same problem WWE or AEW has- if they even focus the women's division on the show, it's often just one singles match, many times featuring the same workers.</p>

[Kiheiji]

No, I'm not a pig. I keep the women, and book them as strong as the men.

 

Man why are you guys getting worked up over this comment? :D:D

 

I like to challenge myself in old school WWF saves with the women's division. Like, I want to see how far I could go with Wendi Richter instead of letting Moolah get her way. There would be like several 'core' talent that the division would be based on (people like Richter herself and Sensational Sherri would be ideal for this). I would also use to working agreement with AJW (like they did IRL) so we could share their wrestlers and and I'd try to get them over.

 

But I understand the sentiment that there isn't enough talent in America ATT.

 

Seems like it would be easier in modern WWE with the many female talent available but every time I start a modern WWE save, I get overwhelmed and say "f*** it". By the chance I could actually play it, I don't think I'd get rid of the girls though.

[Blackman]

Man why are you guys getting worked up over this comment? :D:D

 

But I understand the sentiment that there isn't enough talent in America ATT.

 

I don't know... probably because it disses everyone who doesn't play with a women's division because of a multitude of reasons. We've come to expect better quality posts on this message board. You can count the number of insults on this board's posts on one hand. This is one of them. And insulting people for their style of booking is asinine.

 

The dominating sentiment is not about the talent level, it's about the place of a "division" in a product. Generally people consider it 'floating', but you have to have a plan. There needs to be a decent amount of turnover to make this model viable. Otherwise it's either spamming 3 vs 3 matches or random tag pairings, or the endless singles matches without a deeper meaning.

 

You'd have the same problem if you divide your roster into segments, like the WWE 2K series ask you to in Universe mode. If you have multiple islands, repetition sets in. Probably the reason people don't tune into main event RAW anymore: because it's the same stuff all over again.

[PDoody]

Definitely depends on the era the game is set in. If there isn’t enough quality talent 80’s/90’s then yeah I don’t tend to book one. Madusa was great but lack of competition leds me to often getting rid of it. Around mid 2005’s when they had Trish, Lita, Victoria, Gail is when you can have more interesting matches.

 

Today I can’t see a division not being involved

 

 

The problem is the game can't do it justice properly

 

Unless you have them integrated the female wrestlers can't rise very high at all

[Blackman]

Unless you have them integrated the female wrestlers can't rise very high at all

 

This is simply not true as it has no effect at all on their pop gain. In my NOTBPW game I ocassional switched to integrated just to check how they are doing company-wise and it was pretty common deep into the game to see a couple of the women's division members make it to "main event" level, because of their skill/popularity values. The same gameplay applies: depending on product you give the workers great matches or angles/gimmicks and they will rise accordingly. The dominant output of this thread is people indicating that being part of a division restricts their way of thinking, making them believe there is some sort of ceiling that simply doesn't exist.

 

But Adam already explained how it works different now. I'm assuming it remains separate from this "filter", and that is exactly what it is: a filter.

[d12345]

If you were thinking about making them figurehead, you should at least consider having an "integrated roster", because it would be really weird (imo borderline insane) not to have your "figurehead" tangle with the main eventers. Arguably you can say Tessa Blanchard could potentially fit the position, but if you're not running integrated at that point, you're not really paying attention to the product. The only other option I see is running a promotion with mainly female workers and a male division. In that case, just take the added annoyance that you have to sort between gender when booking (or use the "tags"?).

 

The real annoyance when using "integrated", and one of my biggest in TEW, is that - if your women's division is crap, you're left with E-rated matches because you're using 2 openers and get the 'mainstream' penalty, though they were my top female workers.

 

You could always do a brand split + Integrated product and do 2 separate shows for men and women. Best of all worlds without the need to sort your roster by gender to avoid intergender matches everytime you book.

[BHK1978]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Kiheiji" data-cite="Kiheiji" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47329" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Man why are you guys getting worked up over this comment? <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />:D:D</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I was just thrilled to see him declare himself as not being a pig. Had he not said anything then I would have wondered if pigs could type and how could they do so with hooves. It would be a tough thing to do.</p><p> </p><p> Seriously though, in a slightly related topic. For the people who do run Women's Divisions, how many women do you normally have?</p><p> </p><p> I tend to try and have 12-16 Women. It might seem excessive if they are not the focal point of the promotion but it does keep the match ups fresh.</p>

[Editor6]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47329" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Seriously though, in a slightly related topic. For the people who do run Women's Divisions, how many women do you normally have?<p> </p><p> I tend to try and have 12-16 Women. It might seem excessive if they are not the focal point of the promotion but it does keep the match ups fresh.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I have 10 in my OLLIE game, and I think 14 or 15 in USPW. For me it's enough to do multiple matches per show (including dark matches) and have a decent selection of title challengers.</p>

[Historian]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47329" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I was just thrilled to see him declare himself as not being a pig. Had he not said anything then I would have wondered if pigs could type and how could they do so with hooves. It would be a tough thing to do.<p> </p><p> Seriously though, in a slightly related topic. For the people who do run Women's Divisions, how many women do you normally have?</p><p> </p><p> I tend to try and have 12-16 Women. It might seem excessive if they are not the focal point of the promotion but it does keep the match ups fresh.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> For me, it’s about the size of the promotion I am playing. If I am playing as a regional or smaller, I try to have five or six women that are full time and then bring in a handful more on short term 3-9month deals to work arcs and stories with my full time women.</p>

[ShaunGBD]

I don't have one when I played as TCW. I did make an alliance and have a women title but I would have to bring in the champion and bring in another girl from a different company. All I would do

[nerodragomir1]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="BHK1978" data-cite="BHK1978" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47329" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I was just thrilled to see him declare himself as not being a pig. Had he not said anything then I would have wondered if pigs could type and how could they do so with hooves. It would be a tough thing to do.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oink Oink!</p>

[thadian]

<p>I prefer to set women's to "Integrated" and book them the same as men. I don't do mixed or intergender matches ever, but I like women to have the ability to reach mid and upper midcard levels.</p><p> </p><p>

In my AEW game, I put Jayme Hater and Bea Priestly into Dark Order with that blonde guy as their Exalted One who I named "Sam Smiles" and he's a "VERY NICE GUY", think the song "Mister Happy" from ICP (i know, unbearable band, but that song is the theme of this character and thus, Dark Order as a... HAPPY place).</p><p> </p><p>

Point is - I like to book women in the same way I do men, and sometimes into the same angles.</p><p> </p><p>

I can't set up a company to work this way because the 2016 AI will either release them all or they will just be jobber division, or they will have integrated matches.</p>

[James Casey]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="thadian" data-cite="thadian" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="47329" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I can't set up a company to work this way because the 2016 AI will either release them all or they will just be jobber division, or they will have integrated matches.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yes this has always been an issue with TEW. In fairness to Adam, it's only in the last few years that women's wrestling has blossomed in North America and the UK. TEW 2016 was announced in January 2016; At that time we'd only just had the first Takeover headlined by women, Asuka was freshly debuted in NXT, the Becky/Charlotte/Sasha showstealer at WM was still 3 months away and they were still fighting over the <em>Divas</em> title... Yes, women's wrestling existed outside WWE, but it was rare for companies to present it as equal to the men's division.</p><p> </p><p> I'm delighted that AI feds will be able to run equal men's and women's divisions in 2020, but as a booker myself I either run fully integrated shows or have them as separate-but-equal; How else am I supposed to run a company where I have Lucy Stone-McFly <em>and</em> David Stone on the same roster?</p>

[thadian]

Yes this has always been an issue with TEW. In fairness to Adam, it's only in the last few years that women's wrestling has blossomed in North America and the UK. TEW 2016 was announced in January 2016; At that time we'd only just had the first Takeover headlined by women, Asuka was freshly debuted in NXT, the Becky/Charlotte/Sasha showstealer at WM was still 3 months away and they were still fighting over the Divas title... Yes, women's wrestling existed outside WWE, but it was rare for companies to present it as equal to the men's division.

 

I'm delighted that AI feds will be able to run equal men's and women's divisions in 2020, but as a booker myself I either run fully integrated shows or have them as separate-but-equal; How else am I supposed to run a company where I have Lucy Stone-McFly and David Stone on the same roster?

 

With high respect to Adam, you're wrong and Adam did a disservice to the many Broads - not ladies, divas, knockouts, gals - but broads, defined as tough as nails and full of grit. The women of the 1930s to 1980s were an amazing cast of high calibur talent that sold out shows and worked on the same level as men in many cases. People act like it was Moolah, Mae, and in the 80's add Elizabth, Sherri, and Wendi.

 

I apologize if my post comes off hostile in any way, but I must stand by history and say there should've always been product settings that allow women to be booked as men (main eventer, upper midcarder, midcarder). It isn't that I don't understand why - it's that I believe the design choice was wrong.

 

In the golden age of wrestling, alongside Mae and Moolah, there were legends such as June Byers, Penny Banner, Mildred Burke, Betty Weston, Gladys Gillem, Babe Gordon, Purple Flash - women who entertained before, during, and after World War II. These are the Rosie the Riviters of Pro Wrestling. And in the 1950's there was a huge boom of women's wrestlers - and thanks to Billy Wolfe, who went to promoters insisting that women's wrestling is popular, we had a women's revolution and women were gaining steam in the business.

 

Unfortunately, in the 50's, is also when "The Broads" changed toward the Hollywood Babe instead, and even Mildred Burke demanded her students be in top shape and look like models, with promoters and bookers slowly using more sex appeal and tacky segments.

 

The joke lower midcard product you mention - that was mostly created in the Rock 'N Wrestling age. Even in the late 1980s to mid 1990s, lets not forget about Japan with legends like Bull Nakano and Combat Toyota. Women have always had a place in professional wrestling.

[Matt_Black]

Yes this has always been an issue with TEW. In fairness to Adam, it's only in the last few years that women's wrestling has blossomed in North America and the UK. TEW 2016 was announced in January 2016; At that time we'd only just had the first Takeover headlined by women, Asuka was freshly debuted in NXT, the Becky/Charlotte/Sasha showstealer at WM was still 3 months away and they were still fighting over the Divas title... Yes, women's wrestling existed outside WWE, but it was rare for companies to present it as equal to the men's division.

 

 

I think you're doing a bit of a disservice to TNA and their Knockouts division.

[Vinsmoker]

I think you're doing a bit of a disservice to TNA and their Knockouts division.

 

TNA had one great feud between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong. The rest is seriously not much different from Attitude Era to Ruthless Aggression WWE

[Jaysin]

TNA had one great feud between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong. The rest is seriously not much different from Attitude Era to Ruthless Aggression WWE

 

TNA had a solid division. Gail Kim, Roxxi, Taylor Wilde, Rosita, Sarita, Daffney, Kong, Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, Alissa Flash, Hamada, and Tara were all quite good.

[Vinsmoker]

TNA had a solid division. Gail Kim, Roxxi, Taylor Wilde, Rosita, Sarita, Daffney, Kong, Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, Alissa Flash, Hamada, and Tara were all quite good.

 

I know. Doesn't mean they were booked well at all. They still had all these stupid gimmick matches, resulting in people like Alissa Flash/Raisha Saeed, Gail Kim and Tara to be wasted to no end.

 

They were a bigger focus on Impact and therefore already miles ahead of WWE at the time, but that doesn't really mean much. Compared to any other division they were still not treated well. Short matches, ridiculous gimmicks like all the stuff involving Tara's Spider, Winter/Angelina Love mirror stuff, etc.

[nerodragomir1]

I can only remember TNA having one great womens feud. Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong. The rest was pretty terrible. Just because you have great talent, doesn't mean you book great talent.

[Matt_Black]

<p>Yes, a lot of the women were booked poorly. That can be said of the whole roster; there's a reason that AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, and many many other guys who were the backbone of the show left.</p><p> </p><p>

Having said that, they allowed the women to do things that mainstream wrestling hadn't allowed women to do at that point. Roxxy LeVeau was gigging on TV. I don't think the WWE would have let a woman blade in the Attitude era, let alone during that period of time.</p>

[Munit]

Ive tried it before in my WWF historical save around 89 and it was fun. I usually always disband the division though because i find myself overwhelmed booking just the male talent. Guess it depends on my mood