Women don’t draw money in pro wrestling. They can’t do what the men can do, and no one will pay to see women wrestle. They definitely would not pay to see women headline; so there’s no reason to ever book them in that spot. Wrestling fans are very familiar with these sentiments and have heard them for years.
But two women are preparing to step inside Hell In A Cell and forever change the game. This is the biggest night not only of Charlotte and Sasha Banks’ careers; this is the biggest night that women’s wrestling has ever seen. For the first time, women will be on par with the men and that is indeed epic.
Working the main events in NXT was important. Being featured at WrestleMania was the pinnacle. But Hell in a Cell is the Promised Land. Many male Superstars will go their entire WWE careers without competing in Satan’s Structure, but these two women will do just that on October 30.
Fans knew the women’s revolution was groundbreaking, but this is beyond anything anyone could have imagined. This is WWE going for broke on an angle that deserves a high profile match. Charlotte and Sasha have done more than enough work to get this spot and had they been men, this would likely be just another match.
This is true of many great moments the two have shared together. Working the last match on Monday Night Raw is important, but once a guy gets to that level, it becomes just another day at the office. But when Charlotte and Sasha did it, 12 years had passed since Trish and Lita worked Raw’s main event.
Those two women were pioneers, and fans likely believed their accomplishments would never be matched. But Charlotte and Sasha are surpassing Trish and Lita at this point, and that’s something that no one could have predicted. But Hell in a Cell is beyond anything either woman has ever done, and they will make history on October 30.
However, that history could come at a price. While neither of the two women may dive off the cell as Foley and Shane McMahon did, they could very well climb to the top. If that happens, then just the sight of Sasha and Charlotte fighting below the rafters would instantly create a lasting image replayed for years to come in WWE.
But anything can happen on top of the cell. What if the ceiling gives way and one of them accidentally falls through to the mat below? If that doesn’t happen, there’s always the chance that one of them could sustain a serious injury on top of the cell, with no way of getting any help down. The entire match could end on a very bad note, and that outcome could forever impact the way women are booked in WWE.
It’s safe to assume that if something goes wrong, or the crowd loses interest during this match, then WWE could have a knee jerk reaction and pull back. If that happens, then every woman on the roster would immediately be affected. The company would certainly never book another Hell in a Cell match for the women’s division, so that would be off the table.
The chances of women working the main event of Raw would perhaps not be that good anymore. WWE would be concerned that something could go wrong on a live TV broadcast, and its PG show would go off the air with a woman lying hurt in the ring. It may seem like a stretch, especially considering the level of female talent that currently performs on Raw.
The only way to guarantee the aforementioned scenario couldn’t happen is to never book it. This means that any prayer fans ever had of seeing women main event a pay-per-view would effectively be over. The problem here is that while the whole thing sounds implausible, it’s really not. WWE can pull the plug on anything at any time. It’s the reality that every female, and male, WWE Superstar faces every day.
So fans have to decide if this is all worth it. That is a question that really has no wrong answer, but for anyone that’s ever stepped in the squared circle, the answer is yes. The same is certainly true for Sasha and Charlotte, who are just doing what pro wrestlers do: they’re wrestling.
Women who get in the business want to work the main event because that’s what wrestlers want to do. The fact that they would be breaking ground due to their gender is not necessarily the driving motivation; it’s that the last match equals dollar signs. Pride, ego, and love for the sport each play a role, but to truly get over means being a draw, and being a draw means making money.
Female Superstars have just as much right to get paid and get paid well, for their efforts, as men do. If the women in question are contributing, if they’re giving maximum effort, and if they’re getting over, then they deserve a fair shot. These are the principles that both Sasha and Charlotte have based their careers upon, and the result of their hard work will come inside Hell in a Cell.
This will change the landscape of WWE. Every woman that follows Charlotte and Sasha has more opportunity than those who came before. Doors are being opened and boundaries are being broken. The days of women hoping for a better future are over. This is the era that will define women’s wrestling for years to come.
Hell in a Cell is coming, but for Charlotte and Sasha Banks, it’s heaven on earth.
Tom Clark can regularly be seen on Sportskeeda. His podcast, Tom Clark’s Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here.
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