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Which 5 moments have made the most impact in WWE’s Women’s Revolution?
The Women’s Revolution, formerly known as the Diva’s Revolution, may go down as one of the most important periods in WWE history. While it can be argued that things were a bit forced at first, there was undeniable and emphatic change in the women’s division shortly after the main roster call-ups of Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch.
Life for women in WWE had been a problem for a long time. While the Attitude Era gave us an immeasurable amount of historic moments, one part of it that unfortunately bled over into the early/late 2000s was the offensive way women were portrayed. They were basically just seen as sex objects and were mostly only given air time due to their looks. While there were a few exceptions thanks to the likes of Chyna during the Attitude Era, and Trish Stratus and Lita shortly after, the focus was not on wrestling and objectification was the norm.
But thanks to a few women from NXT, everything changed. The era of bra and panties matches was finally put to rest and women were able to showcase their ability to do anything the men can do. While WWE had been progressing slowly toward this for a few years, the Women’s Revolution expedited the process more than anyone could have expected. These are the five best moments of that revolution.
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5. The Call-Ups
The moment that kicked off the Women’s Revolution has to be included in its top five moments. Despite what you may think of the events that followed it shortly after, the initial call-up of Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch was an extremely cool moment. Nikki Bella’s Diva’s title reign was getting stale and as she was boasting about having no challengers, Stephanie McMahon came out and introduced these three women to the main roster.
First of all, seeing this many NXT talents called up at once is a rarity, making the moment awesome to begin with. But more importantly, it indicated that the in-ring product of the Diva’s division was about to improve drastically. While Nikki Bella is far from a bad wrestler, the rest of the division could not hold a candle to any of these three women. Knowing that the main roster was about to see some of the magic that had been going on in NXT for years was great.
But as we know, not everything went smoothly at first. The “team” setup that existed with Team PCB, Team Bella, and Team B.A.D. at the start of the revolution was a dud. It created meaningless inter-team matches and ultimately took away each woman’s individuality. Only after the team’s disbanded did we really see meaningful storylines, especially following Charlotte’s heel turn.
But overall, this was a huge moment. It was the start of a new era for women in WWE. For that reason alone, it comes in at number five.
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4. Bayley’s Call-Up
When the Women’s Revolution kicked off, there was one glaring absence. With three of the four horsewomen heading to the main roster, anyone who followed NXT realized that meant Bayley was the one left behind. And honestly, that ended up being a good thing. The best moments of Bayley’s career occurred shortly after Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky made their way to the big time. She had her legendary feud with Sasha and won the NXT Women’s Championship, all while anchoring NXT as a brand alongside Finn Balor. Plus, having to wait for her debut made it all the more special.
Bayley finally found her way to Raw the night after SummerSlam. While Sasha and Charlotte were spearheading the women’s division (and still are at the time of this writing), Bayley being called up gave the division another huge boost. It meant the quality of women’s wrestling on Raw was about to improve even more. It also meant, and still means, that we’re bound to see a re-creation of one of the best feuds in WWE over the last several years, Sasha Banks vs Bayley.
More than anything, Bayley’s call-up meant all four horsewomen were finally on the main roster. The women who banded together and changed the culture of women’s wrestling in WWE are now all being showcased weekly on the company’s biggest stage. Because it symbolized the completion of a drastic change in women’s wrestling, Bayley’s call-up comes in at number four on our list.
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3. The Announcement of Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Inside Hell in a Cell
As of this writing, Sasha Banks has yet to face Charlotte inside hell in a cell. But regardless of what actually transpires at the event and inside that structure, the most notable thing is them being allowed to compete in this match to begin with.
In WWE, women have never competed in a match like this. Obviously there have been some terrible gimmick matches in the past, be it a bra and panties match, a mud-wrestling match, or a straight-up bikini contest. But women in WWE have never been allowed to compete in a gimmick match where the gimmick implies they will be getting more violent than usual. While the male superstars will bludgeon each other with weapons on a regular basis, jump from unreasonable heights, and more than anything put their bodies on the line for their craft, the women have been protected. In an era where the women are proving they can do anything the men can, this line of thinking is obsolete.
A running theme of this article has been touting WWE for noticeably changing their stance on their female performers. This match is the epitome of that as Sasha Banks and Charlotte will be the first women to ever compete in a gimmick match like this. The simple announcement that two women will face off inside hell in a cell is one of the most groundbreaking moments to ever occur in women’s wrestling.
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2. Sasha Banks Wins the Women’s Championship on Raw
Thanks to the revamping of the Women’s division, every time the Women’s title changes hands it feels like a big deal. That rang especially true for Sasha Banks’ victory the night after WWE Battleground when she finally won the strap from Charlotte. It came out of seemingly nowhere and created an absolutely phenomenal moment for both Sasha and wrestling fans everywhere.
It seemed like it would be a classic post-PPV rematch where nothing truly significant happens. But when Dana Brooke was thrown out of the match due to Sasha using a tactic reminiscent of Eddie Guerrero, it started to feel a lot different. It gave the feeling that maybe, just maybe, this could happen. And happen it did. Sasha achieved a childhood dream and captured her first main roster championship, ending Charlotte’s 300-plus day reign.
Simply put, this was a feel-good moment for all involved. Even Charlotte can be seen cracking a smile as she makes her way up the ramp following the match, because she just saw one of her real-life best friends realize a dream. As far as the big picture of the Women’s Revolution is concerned, this match proved that the women really can steal the show on any given night. It also ensured that another of the four horsewomen captured a championship on the main roster, furthering the legacy of a group of women who changed women’s wrestling.
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1. WrestleMania and the Re-Branding of the Diva’s Division
No other event throughout the Women’s Revolution holds a candle to this one in terms of importance. While the initial call-ups of three of the four horsewomen indicated clear change was coming to the women’s division, it wasn’t really official until it was actually called the women’s division. No matter how many great matches were put on between Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, or any other woman on the roster, they were still competing as “Divas”.
The word “diva” carries with it a connotation that has nothing to do with wrestling. That’s why it was such a big deal when WWE announced they would be re-branding the Diva’s division to the Women’s division, introducing a Women’s title to replace the Diva’s title, and would be referring to their female talent as superstars, just like the men are. It was a huge step toward female wrestlers being viewed as equal to the men and actually being judged based on their ability as performers, rather than just their appearance.
This all happened the night of WrestleMania when Lita unveiled the new championship. And on that same night, the women who started it all competed in a triple threat match that was one of the brightest spots of the show. Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch showcased their talents on the grandest stage of them all and showed exactly why women’s wrestling should be taken seriously. Aside from some interference from Ric Flair that put a bit of a damper on it, the match was fantastic.
Thanks to some progressive thinking from WWE and the efforts of some of the best female wrestlers in the world, April 3, 2016, will go down as one of the most important nights in the history of women’s wrestling.
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