Five Women Who Really Led the Women's Revolution in WWE
The Bella Twins
What better way to start a blog post with a little controversy. I'm pretty sure a great deal of you reading this post today were sure as hell not expecting to see the Bella twins feature in the list. Wrestling fans will always be strongly opinionated and everyone will have different ideas on who should be held responsible for making a change in the women's division. Over the years the Bella twins have been a huge talking point. You either love them or you hate them but every single person has an opinion of them. There are so many people who strongly dislike these girls and believe they haven't brought any good to the division what so ever, I, on the other hand, believe they have brought a lot to the division and we actually have a lot to thank them for. Unlike some of the women that will feature in this blog post-Brie and Nikki haven't competed in a bunch of history making matches and moments and have had a load of standout bouts that have generated a lot of attention. They have, however, put a heck of a lot of attention on the women's division and have started something that no other women in history have started. When they came to the WWE they were already an original product. As far as I believe they are the first female set of twins to step foot in the WWE and they really did make an impact from day one. I've always liked how they were introduced to the company with the use of twin magic and Nikki coming along a little later on. The Bella twins have always known they are a strong brand and over the years they have developed that brand massively and becoming two of the most popular and recognisable faces in women's wrestling. As the years passed in the WWE they always found themselves busy and the focus point of many storylines's but more recent over the past four or three years they have become almost the faces of the division especially Nikki and while many will argue that falls heavily on the men they are in a relationship with these are two women who know a lot about business and have taken the brand to the next level time and time again. The pair together have made history on several different occasions, been a part of some standout storyline's and compete in some pretty decent matches. A couple of years back we saw Nikki make history becoming the longest reigning divas champion and in the build up to that happening we saw her popularity increase massively. Nikki and Brie have the biggest merchandise page for a female superstar, they have been put centre stage in the division time and time again and we, of course, have to touch on reality TV. Total Divas and Total Bella's while both remain controversial have generated so much attention and brought in a new audience. They kick started something along with the rest of the cast members that no other women in the WWE have done using reality TV to gain more popularity and push themselves up to the top of the division. These girls are money whether you like them or not and they have been apart of this huge revolution. Nikki's reign and matches against the likes of Charlotte, Paige and even her sister Brie have been big talking points. Both these women had to be included in this post without a shadow of a doubt.
AJ Lee
If you have been reading my blog for long enough you will know all too well that I have been an AJ Lee fan since day one. She is someone that I have spoken about plenty of times before here on my blog and I have always made it clear that I believe she has been a key part in the women's revolution despite not being on the roster for the past few years. Now, I know there will be plenty of people reading this who will totally agree AJ deserves to be in this post as so so many people have told me that they too believe she was the real leader in this women's revolution in the WWE. It's pretty impossible to talk about the revolution without mentioning AJ. The impact she had in the WWE was just insane and the things she did and brought to the division is something no one can avoid. I strongly do believe that before she came along the division was seriously suffering. Sure we still had women such as Maryse, Michelle MCool, Eve Torres and Natalya killing it but there was no one in the division that was truly connecting with the fans. There were no gripping and entertaining storylines and no women that were standing out massively, not even the champion. AJ Lee came about when NXT held its first divas season and while she didn't walk away from the winner she was one of the fan favourites from day one. Her unique look and different character allowed her to shine and stand out more than any other women taking part. What was also so great to see was how quickly and strongly we saw her connect with the fans. She was a fun and relatable character that fans love watching and at the start of her career she wasn't massively sexualized which meant for a while she was connecting with the younger audience also. AJ was always going to stand out because of how different she looked. From her frame to her ring gear she was completely different to any other women on the roster and the WWE jumped on that. Over time we did see her character change but it was for the better and it didn't feel forced what so ever. It felt like a natural progression and it made sense thanks to the story she was telling. She went from forever being attached to someone else whether it be her pro or Kaitlyn or the many men she had by her side and eventually we saw her break away from that and she became her own star. Throughout her career, AJ was paired up with and took part in storylines with some of the biggest and best names in WWE history such as CM Punk, John Cena, Kane, Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. This was the first time in a long time we actually saw fans invested and entertained by a female character. Her work was genuinely fun and enjoyable to watch and her character development was amazing to see. She was the first women in a long time to work the crazy girl character so well and convincingly. She was the first women to defend the divas championship at Wrestlemania, she ha a great storyline of her being the then longest reigning divas champion of all time. She had an input in the careers of Paige, Kaitlyn and more, we saw her cut the most memorable female promo in WWE history and she was always known for speaking out for women's wrestling and the first women to speak up and push herself as a wrestler and not a sex symbol. She kicks started the change and while I think she would be fantastic as part of the division now she is so strongly responsible for where it is at now.
Chyna
There was no chance in hell I could write this post and not include Chyna. Whenever you are talking about women's wrestling and the history of women's wrestling you just have to include this amazing woman as no has quite made the impact Chyna made during her run with the WWE. Now, of course, everyone has their opinions on what she decided to do after her WWE career but if we focus completely on what she active as a professional wrestler Chyna is someone who belongs to be in the Hall of Fame more than any other women. The things she has done, the impact she had, she is someone who paved the way for women's wrestling and sparked something no one else in the division is. She started a trend and proved that women can hang with the men in this industry and changed the game massively. The first thing that grabbed everyone's attention when it came to Chyna was her look. There were no other women on the roster that looked like her. Her size made her massive threat. She didn't look like all the other girls on the roster with their blonde hair and more feminine look. She brought something different to the table, her own idea of sexy and became one of the most iconic and recognisable faces in the women's division not only during that time but in history. She was something different and people loved that. She didn't have or the play the role a lot of women during that time were playing and over time she went from being this fantastic image to being an icon in the ring. The attitude era to this day is the most talked about a time in pro wrestling. It was a crazy era, yes but it was full of phenomenal names, the gripping storyline's an outstanding matches and Chyna was a huge part of the attitude era. Not only Triple H's bodyguard she was also a part of one of the best and most popular factions in WWE history, D-Generation X. She also had several standout and history making moments of her own including becoming the first and only women to hold the WWE Intercontinental Championship when she defeated Jeff Jarrett at the nineteen ninety-nine No Mercy pay per view (I was literally one year's old). She was also the first of only three women to compete in the Royal Rumble match. We saw her go one on one with the likes of Triple H and was involved in storylines with some of the best names in WWE history including Kane, the Rock, Lita and Eddie Guerrero. She was such a huge inspiration to women all the round the world and inspired so many future female talents in the WWE. There have never been women to challenge and give a male superstar a run for their money as much as she did. She is without a shadow of a doubt the most dominate women in WWE history and one of the most influential. She will forever be a huge talking point and a huge part of the women's divisions and its revolution.
Bayley
Up next we have the only member of the four horsewomen to feature in this list, Bayley. Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe that all four of those women had a huge impact in this revolution and will always be noted as the kick starters of the past few years and what we have seen. However, while she may not be my personal favourite of the four Bayley is the one women I just had to include in this post and this strongly comes down to the fact that she brings something completely different to the table and something we haven't spoken about today. What is so unique about Bayley and something we constantly are hearing is her connection with the WWE universe. It's something we haven't really seen with a female talent before and there are so many reasons why she is having the effect and why she is so over. Sure she is a fantastic wrestler, we are constantly seeing her getting better and better in the ring. If you look at tape of her when she started out in NXT and where she is now its crazy to see how far she has come in the ring. The matches we have seen her put on over the past three or four years have been phenomenal and I know for a fact she will be a part of many more fantastic standout matches in the future. Now, what really makes her stand out more than anyone else right now is her character. This is the first time the WWE have done this with a female character and it's what makes her such a huge and important part of this revolution. For so so many years we have seen women in the WWE sexualised and used strongly as eye candy, Bayley is the complete opposite of this. Her character is unlike anything we have seen in the division and something we just wouldn't have had presented to us years ago. She is the complete opposite of what once exactly what they wanted in a female talent. She isn't a blonde supermodel who will be put in bikini matches, this is the women that little girls can look up to and aspire to be like. Her character is so childlike she is constantly playing the underdog role and-and we as fans are always always always getting behind her. She the women that have sparked a change in characters proving that women can get over massively with the fans without being sexualised but instead just being a likeable character. She is targeted at the younger audience yes but Bayley as a worldwide connection with fans of all ages and genders. While you will get a seven-year-old little girl obsessing over her you will also spot a middle-aged man who has been a wrestling fan for years sporting a Bayley shirt. She has such a strong and unique connection with the fans and it's something thats forever growing. She is constantly making history and it's such an interesting and fun journey to watch play out for a female superstar.
Trish Stratus
And finally, we, of course, have the amazing, Trish Stratus. Let's be honest, I couldn't really write this post without including Trish. One of the most influential and popular female superstars in WWE and professional wrestling history, Trish Stratus should be in everyone's list of women who led the revolution in WWE. She's the girl that proved everyone wrong and went from being a decent wrestler to one of the best the company has ever seen. Now a WWE hall of Famer, Trish has been a big talking point for years. The things she has achieved over the years have been outstanding and almost every wrestler and wrestling fan talks about how she inspired them and how she will forever be one of the best in history. Unlike most of the women we have spoken about in today's blog post, Trish was that blonde model like talent the WWE has always favoured. She was that gorgeous girl everyone loved to look at and it was because of that she was doubted so many times in her career and while she was a sex symbol throughout her career she was also one of the best wrestlers and most
And there we have it! That is my list of the top five women who really led the women's revolution in the WWE. I had so much fun writing this blog post and it definitely has inspired me to write even more posts focusing on the women's division.Who do you think truly led the women's revolution? Leave a comment bellow or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria letting me know.
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