Review: WWE #14

The arc of the Shield and their falling out has passed in WWE #12 and we’ve seen some of the unrelated events during and after in #13. But what we haven’t seen is arguably the biggest thing happening in sports entertainment: the Women’s Revolution.

From Trish Stratus and Lita main eventing Monday Night Raw in 2004 to the then-Divas of the main roster growing tired of being shoved aside when they should have the spotlight to the ever-growing bevy of wrestling talent in NXT to the May Young Classic to most recently the first ever Women’s Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble matches, the Women’s Revolution is ripe for so many stories. However, you can’t talk about this most recent arc of women’s wrestling in WWE without mentioning the Four Horsewomen of NXT: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley.

If you aren’t familiar with the story of the Four Horsewomen, this arc won’t be the most in-depth guide at this point the way the Shield’s arc was. However, the team of Dennis Hopeless, Serg Acuña, Doug Garbark, and Jim Campbell return to start with the story from Bayley’s point of view. It’s an interesting tack to take, as you’ll swiftly learn or are already aware of. Make sure to keep an eye out for players you’re certain to see again in coming issues. As a start, this throws you a bit into the deep end but, in this specific case, it works well for the direction it seems things will be heading in. I’m excited to see where the creative team will go with this and what will get included in the Women’s Revolution arc when there’s so much to potentially pull from.

Also in this issue is the return of Tini Howard with artist Hyeonjin Kim and letterer Jim Campbell with the beginning of a four part backfill chronicling the rise of the Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka. For the unfamiliar, Asuka is a Japanese superstar who burst onto the scene at NXT and has done nothing but dominate since. Still undefeated at the time of this review even after moving to the main roster on Raw, Asuka is a force that simply begs for her own standalone comic. I have the utmost confidence in Howard’s ability to weave this tale after “The Brawler and the Beast” in WWE #3 and Kim’s art is a wonderful and distinct match to go with it. It’s no standalone to sing odes to the longest undefeated streak by any WWE superstar but it’s definitely something.

Story: Dennis Hopeless, Tini Howard Art: Serg Acuña, Hyeonjin Kim
Colors: Doug Garbark, Hyeonjin Kim Letters: Jim Campbell
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0
Recommendation: If you’ve been wondering what the fuss is about women’s wrestling lately but don’t have the time to watch almost 4 years of WWE content, this is a perfect jumping-on vector.