Eva Marie's Rumored Release the Latest Sign of WWE Women's Wrestling Evolving

Eva Marie and WWE parting ways would be a natural consequence of an evolution that threatens to make performers like her extinct. 

The Red Queen represents a past period in women's wrestling, one where looks were more valuable than skill, where the company tried to reshape models into grapplers. There's little place for Marie in the landscape of the current women's division.

The WWE SmackDown Superstar is on hiatus after serving a 30-day suspension for violating the company's wellness policy last August. She's been filming movies and doing photo shoots since. Marie may now be replacing her in-ring career with those endeavors for good. 

Wrestling Inc's Raj Giri reported, "WWE informed me that the company will not be renewing Eva's contract."

That's not surprising in the least. Marie had a star's presence but struggled at many of the aspects of the business. She stank in the ring and was wooden on the mic.

When she debuted in 2013, she looked completely lost. Looking back at that trainwreck of a match on Raw is a reminder of how much the WWE women's division has changed.

Aksana is no longer with the company following her release in 2014. Rosa Mendes was inactive for a long time and retired in February. JoJo Offerman is now a ring announcer; Alicia Fox is a valet for Noam Dar.

Like Marie, the Aksanas and Offermans out there don't mesh with today's women's division.

WWE has made the conscious decision to blow up the Divas era, replacing it with one marked by superior ring work and far more adept female performers.  

Women like Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair are major stars on their respective brands. Match times for the division have ballooned. The women have gone from low-rung filler to key parts of the show.

It's a transition WWE has championed and celebrated.

Marie worked hard to fit into the changing world of women's wrestling. She spent time at NXT to hone her craft. She trained with Brian Kendrick as fans saw on Total Divas.

But The Red Queen hasn't been able to progress enough.

WWE did its best to work around her limitations before her suspension. A storyline unfolded where she refused to fight each week, coming up with a fresh excuse each time.

As entertaining as that was, how far could the company take it?

Marie wouldn't be able to hold her own against Lynch. She isn't on Alexa Bliss' level. Mickie James, Natalya and Nikki Bella are miles better than her as all-around wrestlers.

Had she signed with the company five years before she did, things would have been different. 

Marie may have been the Divas champ. She wouldn't be expected to work a match longer than three or four minutes. She'd be in the ring with the likes of Kelly Kelly and Mendes.

That is not the world of WWE's women's division any longer, though. 

The reported decision to walk away from Marie, marketable looks and all, is a sign of WWE's shift in focus. It will be increasingly hard for models-turned-wrestlers to make it in the New Era. Marie finds herself obsolete, an archetype of a bygone period.