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)
Where did the fall go? As temperatures plummet around the country, so goes down this year in wrestling history as well. I cannot believe we are in December! All Elite made some improvements in women’s visibility per my suggestion in the last Nylons, and WWE put on a decent Survivor Series, albeit with some questionable … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: I Feel Like A Woman (December 2, 2020)
We are on the road to WWE’s Survivor Series and AEW’s Full Gear, which means that 2020 is nearly drawing to a close. With Hell in a Cell now in the rearview, I’ll be taking a look at the epic meeting between forever rivals Bayley and Sasha Banks, as well as where the rest of … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Poetry in Motion (October 28, 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)
Fall is finally here, friends! And with the withering of the leaves outside also comes the winding down of the wrestling calendar year of 2020. I can’t believe we’re entering the final quarter of this black hole of a year. Are we heading toward going out with a bang, or a quiet sizzle for the … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Wild Women (September 30, 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)
Wow wow wow. The past two weeks have produced some of the best women’s wrestling I can remember seeing in the last 12 months. For both WWE and AEW, my critiques are mostly nitpicky details from a critic invested in keeping this momentum going. It can’t be denied that the women have been an integral … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: In Sasha We Trust (July 8, 2020)
The oddest WrestleMania in history has come and gone, folks. And well, with all due respect to AEW, I think the historic nature of WrestleMania this year requires me to focus on it exclusively this week. Still, I will give some general thoughts on AEW at the end of this post. All in all, I … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The Business of Wrestling (WrestleMania Review, 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)