Sunday, September 12, 2010

Fitness Stars Invade WWE; A Change in the Air?!

Are we looking at the return of fitness muscle in WWE?
From Left to Right: Kaitlyn (Celeste Bonin), Aksana (Zivile Raudoniene), Jamie (Brittany Beede)
Photo credit: WWE.com

As some of you know, I happen to be a big fan of wrestling, especially WWE. One of their big things happens to be their Divas, the names for their female wrestlers, or more appropriately, their female entertainers. For the most part, the Divas are seemingly fit, but not in the realm of fitness/figure competitors, at least not since the days of Trish Stratus, Chyna, and Torrie Wilson. The closest to that kind of physique right now is Beth Phoenix...at least until this past Tuesday.

This past Tuesday was the season premiere of WWE NXT, and this season's an all-Divas season. I mentioned earlier on this blog that Aksana (Zivile Raudoniene) and Jamie (Brittany Beede) are two fitness stars that are a part of the cast this season, and as broken first by Isaac Hinds, we would find out that ANOTHER fitness star would join the NXT rankings.

Before NXT even began, WWE NXT was down one Diva (Aolesia) due to some outside complications that surfaced before the season began. So they teased a new Diva coming in for Pro Vickie Guerrero. That diva would be Kaitlyn, but for us, we know her by the name of Celeste Bonin.

Celeste's a former NPC figure competitor who was contemplating going to bodybuilding, but obviously that is out the window now with her being in the WWE. Her look alone has definitely caught the eye of WWE fans, collectively known as the WWE Universe.

This article is not about how well they did (For those interested in THAT, go to my NXT column on Diva-Fiva.com. WARNING: I get a bit personal and carried away a bit when I do wrestling talk.). Rather, this article is about how it seems like the winds of change are fast approaching WWE, and possibly mainstream entertainment. Let's be honest, things are not the same anymore. Thin is not in when it comes to what people LIKE to see. It seems like those with a bit of meat on their bones are being more praised. No, I'm not saying that female bodybuilding is becoming the norm. That could be some time, as I don't think the mainstream is quite ready for that yet. But there are those seemingly willing to give those in figure/fitness/bikini a chance to showcase themselves in the mainstream eye.

I might be jumping the gun a bit, but there's a good chance that these three ladies in this aricle might be going something more than they realize. They might holding the keys to the future of entertainment, possibly the future of what women's aspire to be. Maybe not wreslter, but fit yet feminine women who can do anything they can put their minds into. The Original American Gladiators did it in the 1980s. Kiana Tom did it in the mid-1990s into early 2000s. These three (regardless on how long they last in the competition) just might be the start of something big in the world of mainstream entertainment. Only time will tell whether these three help make a difference by just being on TV, but if their past achievements are of any indication...I wouldn't bet again any of these ladies and the influences they can bring in in the short-term and long-term.

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