Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
We’re taking off the Nylons today, friends. I have much to say about the journey we’ve mapped for women’s wrestling in the past three years that Nylons and Midriffs has existed, but I want to take one last review at this unforgettable year first. So much happened in America in the midst of great trauma, … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Being Seen (Year in Review, 2020)
We’re in the heart of spooky season pals, and there are some very scary things happening in the WWE world right now. We’ll talk about them at the end of this entry, but before that we’ll keep our discussion centered on in-ring action. I apologize in advance that this week’s Nylons will once again tilt … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Wicked Ways (October 14, 2020)
I come to Nylons this week very confused. I have so many questions instead of answers from both promotions about, more or less, what on Earth they’re doing with their women. No big deal, I just want to know what the heck is going on. (Sarcasm intended.) From unconvincing finishes to tangled webs of storylines … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Some Explaining to Do (September 2, 2020)
Oh don’t worry, we’ll get to that finish from Extreme Rules in due time… Returning for another edition of Nylons, we have some good and horrific things to talk about in the wake of The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. But, we also have a few topics to visit outside of that show, and also … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Ring the Freakin’ Bell! (July 22, 2020)
Much of the same mix of hope and anxiety have continued for me since the last edition of Nylons. And what’s worse is that I (spoiler) have many negative feelings toward wrestling at the moment, for the various news that have come out in the last couple of weeks. From WWE allegedly forbidding Performance Center … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Deliver Us From Charlotte (June 24, 2020)
Disheartened, exhausted, hopeful. These are just a handful of the emotions that I’ve felt in the last three weeks of American life. I, like Black folks everywhere in this nation, had to search deep in my well of stamina to both process the violence hurled at Us and protesters, as well as find resilience to … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Meritocracy Is A Lie (June 10, 2020)
Sometimes, I think WWE and AEW read Nylons, because no sooner do I critique something about their women’s divisions do they correct themselves on the following episode of TV. As many of you witnessed, women returned to TV on AEW two weeks ago. Hooray! And as such, there were some good things, and there were … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The (Secret) Fear (May 20, 2020)
If you read the previous edition of Nylons, you know that I am taking a little break from WWE programming. It has been refreshing for the most part to simply not care what has been going on at Titan Towers for a few weeks. And yet, ironically, the second I stop watching WWE TV, AEW … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Come, My Ladies (May 6, 2020)
I find myself despondent writing Nylons this week. As most of us likely know by now, WWE administered mass layoffs, furloughs, and releases of their staff last week — inclusive of producers, writers, trainers, on- and off-air talent. I followed the news as it broke on YouTube with my preferred wrestling content creators. I texted … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: A Reckoning (April 22, 2020)
In the words of the great feminist writer Roxane Gay, every day is a month in this new world of social distancing. As a fan of wrestling, I am glad to still have this form of entertainment during this tumultuous time. However, it comes with a twinge of concern for the people I see on … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Near? Far? Wherever You Are… (March 25, 2020)