While to many people WWE does have a preference for women with fairer hair, some people can indeed push back and say well of the 121 title reigns only 40 have been held by blondes, the problem is most of these reigns are held by the SAME blondes. Sable was the face of the women’s division in 1998-99, and the women worked around her, in the 2000s Trish was able to hold the title 7 times in six years and was only in the title picture as a serious competitor for five, injuries notwithstanding. She was, in all honesty, a fixture in the title picture more often than not, even if she was mixing it up with the men.
In the Era of the Diva, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly and Maryse were seen as the faces of the division, even though women like Mickie James, Melina, and Gail Kim could be on par if not better than the mentioned ladies, and while Mickie and Melina did get their glory, they often took a backseat. Gail Kim was easily the most skilled woman on the roster in her time and she was treated as an afterthought.
Coming into this era now, there are 14 RAW and SmackDown Women’s Championship reigns and a Blonde has been in the catbird’s seat of the title scene 7 reigns each. We have seen, for better or worse, over the past couple years, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair dominate the title conversation; Charlotte Flair notching 7 titles in four years, and Alexa Bliss pulling 5 in less than three full years. While there have been women who have been darker haired, even darker skinned: Melina, Layla, Mickie, Naomi, Nikki Bella, AJ and Eve in particular who have enjoyed long reigns or “special moments” in their reigns, the perception is still unchanged.
What WWE has to understand that in the business they run, perception is everything, and if the look that they want out there is one of inclusiveness, then they need to change their current model.
So does WWE favour blondes to you? Does your perception change based on the numbers you see here, or what you see on TV, or are some women, like a Charlotte Flair, so talented, things are thrust upon her because she’s seen as just that good?
Let’s look at the last set of numbers: There has been an active Women’s Championship more or less since 1956; in those 63 years all reigns combined to make 121, and the days span 21,942+, of those Non-White, have held gold 4,530 of those days, Blondes-4,558, White women overall-17,412, or 73% of the time.
