Happy Women’s History Month to everyone except Naomi, I guess.

It’s upsetting, frankly. A few weeks ago, I chalked up my anxiety about Naomi’s booking to impatience, mostly. Sure, her “WWE SmackDown” re-debut was lackluster, but surely, that would have been a one-off occurrence, right? Surely, they wouldn’t bring back Naomi — someone who had publicly walked out on the company due to her inconsistent and poor booking — just to have her take multiple losses in a row, right?

About that.

I know this will get me some heat, so let me get it out of the way now: This is not about Tiffany Stratton. Naomi could’ve lost to anyone else on the roster, and the only thing that would have changed about this collection of words was the name I put in that last sentence. This criticism is about how Naomi’s booking has remained the same, even with new management, a very public walk-out, and an impressive TNA Knockouts World Championship under her belt.

Naomi is someone who needs all the momentum right now. Yes, she may be a decade-long veteran of the business, but her booking lies somewhere in between rookie and enhancement talent. If you listed the reasons as to why Naomi needs to take losses on both pay-per-view and weekly shows, that list would be shorter than the people she’s lost to. There is no good reason to book Naomi the way she’s being booked. To take a loss to someone in a four minute match, with no subsequent segments to follow up that loss? No blindsided attacks? The finality of that match’s ending should inspire concern for anyone, and it absolutely is concerning for Naomi.

All of our fears about history repeating itself are slowly becoming confirmed, and it’s terrifying. Naomi is one of the most talented women on the roster in-ring, on the microphone, with the crowd, in her presentation — she is, quite literally, the full package. Instead, she is being booked like an afterthought. She is just someone they can use to get another person over. She’s filler.

It’s upsetting that WWE’s production and creative teams do not give Naomi the respect she deserves. Right now, nobody knows what Naomi will do. If you want to be optimistic, then this is all an elaborate set-up to bring Naomi back to her feet, like a phoenix from the ashes! If you want to be realistic, and probably right, then we are seeing the build-up to Naomi walking out of WWE second time. Those who forget their history — those who forget to book talent fairly and consciously — are doomed to repeat it.

If you are unconvinced that WWE sees Naomi as second-class, I’d like to tell you this anecdote. The above image came from a video. I clicked on the video’s hyperlink to retrieve the actual link to cite the image, and it took me to Naomi’s WWE profile, instead of the video. I had to scroll down her associated highlights, all the way back to January 14. This has never happened before, and does not happen with other female stars of Naomi’s caliber. WWE does not care enough about Naomi to make sure links associated with her work properly. If Naomi’s booking doesn’t upset you, that should.

Written by Angeline Phu