Iconic WWE Women's Wrestling Moments that Sparked the Evolution (Part 1)

Over the past five years, a women’s evolution in the world of pro wrestling has been alive and well. Gone is the term “diva” and the days of bikini contests and pillow fights and we now live in a time where women in the WWE are being given identical opportunities to their male colleges. From the first ever All women’s Royal Rumble, Hell in a Cell, and Elimination Chamber amongst many the right steps have been made and as we approach an even bigger milestone; the first ever All women’s PPV I think it’s time we looked back at some of the standout moments that sparked this evolution.

Trish Stratus vs Lita

One of the most iconic rivalries in pro wrestling history (putting gender aside completely) without a question goes to Lita vs Trish Stratus. Now sitting as two WWE Hall of farmers, the pair had a phenomenal career that sparked a conversation regarding women’s wrestling over a decade prior to an evolution. Living in a controversial time for women in this industry, Trish and Lita raised the bar and were amongst those to spark an extremely early change in how women are perceived in this industry. Main eventing an episode of Monday Night RAW back in two thousand and four this is a match that has gone down in history as an all-time great in women’s wrestling and continues to be a bout that inspires many men and women to go on to pursue a career in this business.

AJ Lee’s Promo

AJ Lee is a woman we have all been talking about over the past couple of weeks with rumors of a possible return happening at the Evolution pay per view. With Lee strongly in the spotlight, fans have been reminiscing on a standout and important career the former champion had and one of the most memorable moments of her run with the company but also an iconic and key moment in the women’s evolution was that huge promo delivered on an episode of RAW several years back. Confronting the cast of Total Divas, Lee delivered a pipe bomb that changed the game. Speaking truthy regarding the flaws in the women’s division AJ personally attacked each woman in the ring from the Bella Twins to Natalya and Naomi to newbies Eva Marie and JoJo. The promo has gone down as one of the strongest in WWE history and remains a segment many continue to re-watch. With Lee being highlighted as a single key figure in the revolution this promo too this day remains an important factor in a huge movement.

Paige

While former champion Paige is no longer able to compete inside the ring no one can deny that her short in-ring WWE career was massively effective and a major component in the women’s evolution. Her rivalry and singles match against Emma were truly what sparked conversations regarding a women’s evolution with the pair working matches at a standard fan hadn’t ever seen from female competitors in the WWE. The reason I have decided to single Paige out separately is simply because of the effect she had alone. Her striking look and “anti-diva” persona was completely new and fresh when she arrived on the scene. With only AJ Lee truly working that “different” image, Paige was a breath of fresh air presenting something far from the model image we had previously seen within the women’s division. A genuinely passionate pro wrestler Paige grabbed the fans attention in a new and exciting way and made history several times including the first-ever NXT Women’s champion, her bouts against Emma in NXT, Winning the Divas championship on her debut night at twenty-one years old, holding both the NXT and Divas championship at the same time and current Smackdown LIVE GM.

Sasha Banks vs Bayley

Arguably the greatest WWE women’s wrestling match of all time, Sasha Banks vs Bayley was a bout that changed the game and raised the bar in a surprising, heart-warming, and important way. Colliding at NXT Takeover Brooklyn, Banks and Bayley told a classic story of underdog vs cocky heel and it worked perfectly. The storytelling, the character work, and the sheer wrestling excellence had fans completely blown away. Not only the match of the night but voted by many to be the match of the year at that time and now an all-time great, there is no denying the impact this match and these two women had on the evolution as many continue to compare current bouts to this epic collision.

NXT/ Four Horsewomen

Throughout this blog post today we have spoken of NXT greatly for it is truly the home of the women’s evolution. It's here that fans were opened up to a whole different style of women’s wrestling in the WWE. Not only was the talent not referred to as divas (as often) but instead women we also witnessed far longer matches, better storylines, more time, and greater character diversity her in the black and yellow brand. Triple H has over the years done a fantastic job to use NXT as the foundation to build a whole new women’s division and completely change the perception of females in this industry and the hard work and passion have paid off massively.

We also have to discuss the four horsewomen. There is no denying the likes of Paige, Emma and more were also extremely important in the evolution of women’s wrestling in the WWE it has been Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair who have been pushed as Evolution leaders. Their fatal four-way match a couple of years back also went down as an all-time great in women’s wrestling and the four women were massively responsible for the changes we have seen. Without them, the women’s division would be very interesting today and to this day they remain key figures and main attractions in the division.

And that is part one of this very special blog post! In the coming weeks I’m going to be uploading a part two where we will look at five more key Iconic WWE moments that sparked a change in women’s wrestling but also looking at the bad moments, moments outside the WWE, and the historic milestones the WWE have reached in recent years! Don’t forget to get involved in the conversation and have your say by leaving a comment below or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria. 

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