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In the not so distant past, women's wrestling in general, and in the WWE in particular, was treated as a sideshow attraction at best, and a dime store striptease purely aimed at titillation at worst. The bra and panties matches, evening gown matches, and fulfill your fantasy cosplay battle royals painted women's wrestling in an unflattering or even exploitative light.
"Wrestlers" like Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler often took up television time rather than actual skilled in ring performers such as Ivory or Jazz. For a time it seemed as if all a woman had to do was pose for a men's magazine and she would wind up winning the Divas Championship and a WrestleMania match.
Over time, things gradually began to improve. Spurred on by the success of the TNA Knockouts Division, the WWE expanded its women's roster beyond simple eye candy. They hired women like Beth Phoenix and Natalya Neidhart who did not fit the cover girl mold. It was in NXT that the seed of the Women's Evolution was truly germinated. On the yellow brand, wrestling talent was made a priority over glamorous looks.
Now we are in an era when women can main event WrestleMania, a woman is arguably the biggest star in the WWE, and women continue to dominate the conversation about the direction pro wrestling is taking. But how did we get here?
Here are ten pivotal moments from the Women's Evolution in the WWE.
#10 AJ Lee calls out her boss Stephanie McMahon on social media
It all started not in a wrestling arena or backstage area, or in a meeting of the top executives of WWE, but rather at the 2015 Academy Awards.
Actress Patricia Arquette--whose husband, David Arquette, is a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion--gave a rousing speech about equality in films between the sexes. WWE's own Stephanie McMahon would praise Arquette's speech on social media, which roused the feather of one AJ Lee.
AJ called out her boss on Twitter for not giving the same treatment to her female stars as she did her male stars. Rather than getting angry at AJ Lee, Stephanie McMahon agreed that changes needed to be made, which was the impetus for the Women's Evolution in WWE.
#9 Sasha and Bayley battle at the first NXT: Takeover Brooklyn
As stated before, NXT is the birthplace of the Women's Evolution. No two women exemplify the spirit of change in this regard than Sasha Banks and Bayley. Sasha Banks had her call up to the main roster first, and was due to 'pass the torch' of top female NXT star before she left for good. Bayley was chosen as her successor, partially due to the huge surge in popularity that the Hugger had enjoyed.
The two would clash at NXT Takeover Brooklyn I in a mach that is considered by many to be the best in ring performance of 2015 in the entire WWE, not just NXT or even the women's roster. Even the ever picky Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter rated the match four and a half out of five.
Bayley and Sasha, whether they intended to or not, put the entire WWE roster on notice with their bar raising performance.
#8 The End of the Divas Era
To understand why the WWE ever had Divas in the first place, you have to examine late 1990s culture in North America.
Due to a popular concert featuring stars like Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion on the VH1 cable network, called VH1 Divas, drew public consciousness to the idea of women engaging in diva-ish behavior. Before this time, Diva was definitely an insult, a term used to describe a woman who was arrogant and believed herself to be above other people.
But the concert made the term acceptable. Ever wary of trends in the entertainment industry, the WWE would trademark the term with regards to female wrestling talent. Unfortunately, the Divas division would be driven primarily by appearance and not by wrestling ability. In fact, the belt itself was a gaudy piece of costume jewelry that would be more at home in a thirteen year old girl's room.
Thankfully, the WWE ended the Divas era in a most fitting way, by using one of the early pioneers of women's wrestling in the modern era, Lita. The new Women's Championship looked like a proper wrestling title, not a bedazzled bauble.
#7 Hell in a Cell isn't just for men anymore
Credit must be given to the WWE, because in a few short years they went from bra and panties matches to featuring women in the main event of their pay-per-views.
At Hell in a Cell 2016, the main event was between Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, who battled each other in an instant classic that had many longtime fans doing a double take at just how insanely good the match was.
There were a few scary moments, such as when the table didn't break under Sasha Banks and she absorbed the full impact of a nasty powerbomb by Charlotte, but all in all the match was every bit as entertaining as previous Hell in a Cell matches that don't involve a man named Mick Foley.
#6 Showcasing female talent with the Mae Young Classic tournament
Tournaments have always had a special place in pro wrestling lore. For example, the Crockett Cup was once the pinnacle of tag team excellence in the NWA territories. Japanese promotions are particularly fond of tournaments, but they can be found in other parts of the world as well. In fact, most of WrestleMania IV is taken up by a one night single elimination tournament to crown a new WWE World Champion, which was won by Randy Savage.
In 2017, WWE announced it would be holding the inaugural Mae Young Classic, and all female single elimination tournament showcasing the best in international women's wrestling. The Mae Young Classic proved to be a huge hit for WWE Network, and has been critically acclaimed for both the quality of the wrestling and the old school presentation.
The Mae Young Classic set the bar very, very high for the WWE women's roster, and also led to the signings of some high profile talent such as Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane.
#5 The Empress of Tomorrow's winning streak
Back when WWE first announced that they had signed legendary Japanese women's wrestler Kana, the internet scratched their heads in confusion. After all, she mainly put her mark on the pro wrestling world with her in ring ability, long considered secondary to looks in the WWE's women's wrestlers.
Previous champions had included 'talent' such as the Kat, untrained wrestler Sable, and even Vickie Guerrero. Would Asuka be able to stand out in the WWE given her limited command of the English language?
The answer was a resounding yes. Not only did Asuka do well in the WWE, she thrived. Her winning streak at 914 days stands as a company record, not to mention her marathon 514 day title reign is the longest in recent memory.
When WWE signed Asuka, they were announcing that they intended to take women's wrestling seriously, an attitude that was long overdue.
#4 The First Women's Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a WWE tradition dating back to the 1980s. It was on January 24, 1988 that the WWE presented the first Royal Rumble on the USA Network as a special attraction. It featured many of the major stars of the era, such as Andre the Giant and Demolition. Hacksaw Jim Duggan would win the inaugural rumble, and make history in the process.
For the next thirty years, the Royal Rumble would be the exclusive domain of male wrestlers, with a few special appearances by wrestlers such as Beth Phoenix and Kharma. However, the women finally had their chance for a Royal Rumble in 2018. Asuka won the first women's Rumble, and went on to challenge Charlotte at WrestleMania 34 for the Smackdown Women's championship.
By having a Rumble for both sexes, the WWE made a statement that women's wrestling was now just as important as the men's.
#3 The First WWE Women's Match in the UAE
Just to be abundantly clear, the WWE did NOT feature the first ever women's wrestling match in the United Arab Emirates.
That honor goes to TNA/Impact Wrestling, who featured a bout with Madison Rayne, Velvet Skye, Angelina Love, and Sarita. However, the fact that Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss were featured on a WWE show in the UAE is still a huge deal.
Often in the past, when the WWE toured the Middle East and Asia the women performers stayed at home. Thanks to the trailblazing by Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss, there is now a precedent for including the women.
The WWE has been somewhat downplaying this match in recent years, mostly because of their deal with Saudi Arabia which forbids women competitors.
#2 Rowdy Ronda Rousey joins the WWE
For a long time, women struggled for recognition in combat sports in a similar way to how they struggled for recognition in pro wrestling.
It took women's MMA pioneers like Cris Cyborg and Gina Carano to convince promoters to take a chance on female fighters. Would audiences cheer for women warriors just as they did for men, or would the sight of a woman being injured on live TV be too much to bear?
The first axiom proved to be true, but it wasn't until the UFC finally allowed female fighters that Olympic Judo champion Ronda Rousey made the world stand up and take notice of women's MMA.
Ronda Rousey is a household name and crossover performer, and when she decided to lace up the boots and wrestle in WWE it definitely put a magnifying lens on the women's wrestling industry. Ronda helped increase the prestige of women's wrestling, and that effect will last long after her career, hiatus or no.
#1 The Women Main Event Wrestlemania 35
From the very beginning through the Attitude Era and the modern, WrestleMania has represented the World Cup, World Series, and Superbowl of pro wrestling.
While there are, and have been, other major wrestling shows, such as NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom or NWA's Starrcade, none have matched the sheer size and pageantry of WrestleMania. We're not trying to argue about if any particular WrestleMania was better than any other particular show from another promotion; We're just pointing out that more eyeballs have seen WrestleMania shows than the others, probably combined.
That being said, there was one thing that didn't happen at WrestleMania for over thirty years; An all female main event. As a testament to how far the Women's Evolution has come, it finally happened at Wrestlemania 35.
Becky Lynch became dual champion, and made history by winning the first all female main event in WrestleMania history. From here, the Women of the WWE have nowhere to go but up.
There you have it; Ten pivotal moments in the WWE Women's Evolution. Questions or comments? Please leave them below the article and as always thanks for reading!
Also Read - WWE History: When Vince and Shane McMahon went to church
