FitGems Nation Blog: #LetDanaFlex: Our Open Challenge to the Wrestling World

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS BASED OFF THE OPINIONS OF THE OWNER OF FITGEMS NATION AND DOES NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF FITGEMS NATION AS A WHOLE.

Call us crazy, but I feel that when you put the work in, one should reap the benefits from it at some point. For this article, I'm going to focus on wrestling, or more specially WWE, and even MORE specifically a certain WWE Superstar. If you have followed us enough, you probably have a good guess on who that is. As a long-time fan of pro wrestling, I know that every woman in WWE has put in the time, effort, dedication, and hard work to make themselves better, the women's division better, and in general, their company better. While I don't doubt the hard work of any woman in WWE, I truly feel Dana Brooke (real name Ashley Sebera) is among the hardest working women (or person in general) in WWE that has not gotten her due in the company yet, whether by fans, her coworkers, legends, or the company itself. While FitGems Nation loves to talk about Dana as much as we can (especially on our social media accounts), we should NOT be the ones writing this particular article. This should be done by wrestling journalists because wrestling fans are the ones that need to see this more than the fitness world does. But Dana came from the fitness world, where unlike the wrestling world right now, we KNOW her hard work. We RESPECT her hard work. So it's only right that the world gets to understand who Dana is from people that know her best outside of her immediate family, and right now...it sure as hell isn't the world of professional wrestling.

Five Years of Flex Appeal...and counting!
Photo credit: Dana's Instagram

We will be the first to admit Dana didn't exactly set the world on fire during her debut on NXT over five years ago (we actually mentioned that on our blog before). But like every single person who's ever stepped into a wrestling ring, it takes time to mature and evolve. Not one wrestler gets it right the first time. Seriously, check every wrestler's first year (and yes, wrestling fans, we're definitely talking about your favs as well) and tell us just how perfect they were the very first time they stepped in a ring. Most of you couldn't do it. Despite that, today's wrestling fans seemed like they had already made up their mind about how to approach Dana no matter what. She didn't come from a wrestling background, wasn't from the independent wrestling circuit, nor was she international. She entered pro wrestling from a fitness background, which included..yes, modeling. Today's wrestling fans HATE women that come from modeling backgrounds of any kind, despite them putting in the work to try and shatter that overplayed stereotype. I've seen it time and time again over my years being a fan of professional wrestling and it absoultely sucks.

We want to make this very clear to everyone. We know Dana isn't the best performer in the women's division. We know in-ring wise, she is below the talent of the Four Horsewomen (Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley). We know there are those outside the 4HW in WWE that are better than Dana in the ring. However...it doesn't change the fact that she constantly works on her craft, whether it's her in-ring gear, her moveset, interacting with the crowd (when WWE was actually in front of crowds). I mean, there's no way in hell you can watch Dana over the last couple of years of her career and NOT see her progression, unless you are totally blind or you have THAT deep of a hatred towards her. In no way are we saying that Dana should be the ace of WWE's women's division, but it would be nice to put her in a position in WWE where folks can see what those in the fitness division already know about her...Ashley Sebera the person is special, and the same can be said about the wrestler Dana Brooke.

No matter where she goes, whether mainstream, behind-the-scenes, or somewhere in between...Dana always finds a way to make an impact!
Photo credit: Dana's Instagram

Want proof? I got some proof for you all. Take a look at this year's Money in the Bank. Who were people talking about the most during that match? Who was the MVP of that match? Who had folks entertained more than anyone else, male or female? DANA BROOKE. Her comedic antics stole the show, especially the Money in the Bank fake-out. It got folks hoping that she could take a more comedic approach to her persona. How about last year's build to Wrestlemania? Dana got to show her real self to the fans with a passionate promo against then-Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey and got a title match with her the following week (which honestly was nothing more than a sham to make Ronda credible for Mania...like she needed that. We will never forgive Vince McMahon for that). At Wrestlemania 35, she competed in the Wrestlemania Women's Battle Royal and got one of the biggest reactions of the night with folks chanting her name and actually going nuts when she eliminated 2/3rd of the Riott Squad by herself before getting elimnated by Mandy Rose, which didn't set well with the fans in attendance, FYI. When Dana was dropped by Charlotte Flair before Wrestlemania 33, Dana went on a ranpage whooping Charlotte's ass with the entire crowd chanting her name without it feeling forced. The next week, they had a match and Charlotte beat her like it was nothing and they dropped it like a bad habit.

If Dana actually was blowing her moments, we wouldn't be having this discussion. But she kills it each time she is given a chance to shine, but WWE for whatever reason or another refuses to follow up on anything she does. Which is why we can't help but have our worries for her new tag-team partnership with fellow fitness star and WWE Superstar Mandy Rose (someone else we think highly of on here). Thus far, their tag team is working and things are clicking so well, but anyone who has followed WWE for a while knows that they have a tendency to drop stuff on the fly without any explanation. And with their track record thoughout Dana's career ALONE, we can't help but be worried for Dana's current direction in the company right now. But maybe for once, they will let this follow through and potentially taste gold for the first time in her career in the form of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and maybe eventually the Raw or Smackdown Women's Championship down the line.

Future WWE Women's Tag Team Champions?!
Photo credit: Mandy's Instagram

She's far from the only person that has suffered from on/off booking in WWE and she definitely won't be the last, but for someone who represents less than 1% of the world's population as an IFBB Fitness Pro, she should be shown in a far better light than what she's currently been given. Dana/Ashley loves WWE, otherwise she wouldn't have signed a five-year extention with them last year rather than explore other options (and trust us, there's a LOT more options now. WWE isn't the only game in town anymore, despite what some in the company wants you to believe). It's time for WWE to love her back. Put her in, folks. Let Dana earn your trust...and this goes to the wrestling fans and critics just as much as it does the company itself.

LET. DANA. FLEX.