Why Thunder Rosa Needs to be the Face of the AEW Women’s Division

It’s me, it’s me, it’s JDB…

Not long after the rise of everyone’s favorite wrestling dentist, fans would anoint Britt Baker the “face” of the AEW women’s division. For a talent who looked fairly green at the beginning of her AEW career, Baker has elevated herself into main event status in a short period  of time.

Britt Baker is really good, and she’s a legitimate cornerstone of an evolving women’s product. However, when it comes to the flagbearer of the division, this title needs to belong to Thunder Rosa. With Kris Statlander primed to returned this year, and Allie “The Bunny” now back in in-ring action, the competition in this division is about to heat up. When you add in the already sky-rocketing Baker, current women’s champion Hikaru Shida, and other up-and-comers like Abadon, Tay Conti and Red Velvet; this division is getting very good, very quickly.

And this is even more reason for Tony Khan to find a way to officially sign Thunder Rosa as soon as possible. Here are some reasons why:

Women Empowerment

One of the larger messages that Thunder Rosa has repeated in her interviews is that of female empowerment. Thunder Rosa (real name Melissa Cervantes) happens to run the only wrestling promotion in America owned by a woman in Mission Pro Wrestling.

Through Mission Pro, Cervantes is training the next batch of great women’s talent to come out of the industry. Providing a safe place for women to hone their craft is more important than ever; especially in the age of speaking out.

Thunder Rosa is simply a great role model for young women’s wrestling fans, and there’s not just monetary value in that, but more importantly, social value.

She’s Damn Good

Cervantes is not only a damn good wrestler, but she’s well-experienced in her wrestling travels. Stardom, Tokyo Pro, Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor and course, the NWA — Rosa has competed nearly everywhere. She has and will continue to take this experience to not only provide top-notch match quality, but make her opponents look better as well.

Trained by California’s Matt Carlos, it’s hard to believe that Cervantes has only been an active wrestler since 2014. Point being, she’s only going to continue to get better as her career progresses.

Profitable Latina

It’s well known that WWE has been attempting to find their “next” Rey Mysterio for years now as they try to increase their presence in the Latinx market. While it doesn’t seem like Angel Garza or Andrade will be their answer, AEW has their own in Thunder Rosa.

Thunder Rosa is a main event caliber talent that can draw a wide Latin audience to AEW, and I would think Tony Khan knows this. AEW is in a prime location  for growing their Latinx base as Florida is the fifth most Latinx populated state. For me, this one is a no-brainer.

The Next Generation

As alluded to before, talent from Mission Pro Wrestling often appears on Dark, Elevation, and on occasion, Dynamite. From Madi Wrenkowski to Alex Gracia, MPW has a pulse on the next great influx of women’s wrestlers. Thunder Rosa will not only train the next generation of women’s talent, but will improve the AEW women’s division with her leadership.

It would be a shame if Tony Khan didn’t take advantage of this and fully secure a long-standing relationship with MPW for years to come. In addition, this only strengthens the relationship with NWA for up-and-coming talent to appear in future AEW shows.

Yet She Remains Unsigned…

After all of this, however, Cervantes remains unsigned by AEW. Now I don’t know the specifics of why she remains unsigned, or if it’s just because of her current contract with NWA, but now is the time to figure this out. I would imagine that Billy Corgan and Tony Khan could put their heads together to work something out for both sides in an official capacity.

The bottom line is that Khan has a generational talent on his hands. Thunder Rosa is a wrestler that makes every match she’s in feel important. She has the ability to hold a major storyline without holding a championship, and that’s a rare find in this industry.

Along with Kris Statlander, Britt Baker will remain one of my favorite wrestlers in women’s wrestling. But if we’re being honest, Thunder Rosa needs to be the face of the AEW women’s division, and it needs to happen soon.

-JDB