On this day five years ago, a WWE women’s revolution was born
On July 13, 2015 the WWE Women’s division was forever changed, as female wrestlers transitioned from Divas to Superstars in what became known as the Women’s Revolution.
5 years ago, #GiveDivasAChance sparked a revolution and changed the @WWE Women’s Division forever. pic.twitter.com/lzLikWPHRN
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 13, 2020
On an episode of Monday Night Raw, Team Bella’s stranglehold on the Divas division was challenged, when Stephanie McMahon proclaimed a revolution in the women’s division and introduced NXT’s Charlotte, the daughter of two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, Becky Lynch, the self-proclaimed “Irish Lass Kicker,” and Sasha Banks, first cousin of Snoop Dogg, to the main roster.
A brawl ensued between the present and future NXT Superstars, culminating in the NXT Divas on top with Charlotte’s Figure-Eight Leglock, Becky’s Dis-arm-her, and Sasha’s Bank Statement.
It was a revolution.
But the seeds of that revolution were planted months before, in an episode of “Monday Night Raw” on Feb. 23, 2015, in the only women’s match of the night, featuring the Bella Twins against Paige and Emma – a tag team match with the most iconic Divas in the business.
It was all of 29 seconds, but it ignited a movement, which eventually would became a flame that burned bright. The fans in crowd responded, and the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance began to trend on Twitter.
Glad to see #GiveDivasAChance is trending. I have long been a #DivasBeliever. #RAW
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) February 24, 2015
#GiveDivasAChance is trending. I think the wrestling world has spoken, & it’s nice to see so many people getting behind the ladies.
— ✨Velvet Sky✨ (@VelVelHoller) February 24, 2015
WWE is known for pushing their own company generated hashtags on their shows, but this was a completely authentic creation, as the fan base expressed their dissatisfaction at seeing their favorite female wrestlers not given enough spotlight.
The uproar on social media trended for three days, and many big names took notice, including chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
We hear you. Keep watching. #GiveDivasAChance
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) February 25, 2015
From there, the WWE knew it was time for change. Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon commented:
“I noticed it the second it started trending. We talked about it Tuesday night and Wednesday and it was brought to everyone’s attention that this is still trending. It really was an ‘aha moment’ for some of us in the office and it was definitely the impetus for a much bigger movement. Our fans spoke out. It was a global trend that was so loud and so powerful. It was a cry for our female performers to be given longer match time and to be given more meaningful story lines and to have deeper character development. Our fans said with their voices very loud and clear that we want more from our female performers.”
I talked to @StephMcMahon about the evolution of the @WWE women’s division for the launch of ESPN’s WWE vertical. https://t.co/8N1vqm3ztI
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) August 11, 2016
Quickly female Superstars started to see more air-time, and the WWE had no shortage of up-and-coming women’s talent, most notably the “Four Horsewomen” of Charlotte, Lynch, Bayley and Banks who were establishing themselves in the WWE, which provided a pathway for the revolution to occur.
On August 23 2016, the WWE world unveiled the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship title, as an addition to the then-WWE Women’s Championship, which was exclusive to Raw.
Becky Lynch was crowned the inaugural champion, winning the title at Backlash on September 11, 2016. Lynch defeated Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Naomi, Natalya, and Nikki Bella in a six-pack elimination challenge to become the champion.
From there, the women’s division continued to grow, showcasing the female Superstars in televised main events and the first ever all-female pay-per-view, Evolution — featuring wrestlers from NXT, Raw and SmackDown on October 28, 2018.
The main card boasted seven matches, as well as a dark match before the show and the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament. The evening saw incredible performances from Becky Lynch as she defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
The main event featured Ronda Rousey defending the the Raw Women’s Championship and defeating Nikki Bella by submission. Toni Storm won the 2018 Mae Young Classic over Io Shirai, and Shayna Baszler became the first two-time NXT Women’s Champion coming out victorious against Kairi Sane.
“This is our Evolution.”
The Women of @WWE left it ALL in the ring last night at #WWEEvolution. pic.twitter.com/ujPBuMhRWj
— WWE (@WWE) October 29, 2018
And on April 7, 2019 history was made when WrestleMania 35 introduced the first-ever women’s main event match in its history.
Becky Lynch battled Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair in a Winner Takes All triple threat match, claiming both titles.
She won her first Raw Women’s Championship and record-tying third SmackDown Women’s Championship, all while handing Rousey her first pinfall loss.
All these matches have forged the way forward for women’s wrestling, according to Alexa Bliss, and the female division continues to grow with each event.
“Our evolution started when the first ever women’s match ever happened. It took the attitude era, it took the NXT era, it took Paige and Emma having the NXT Women’s Championship match, it took all these moments to get here … they’ve been giving us more opportunities. We’ve been main eventing Raw, main eventing SmackDown, main eventing pay-per-views – we’ve main evented WrestleMania. This whole evolution means everything to the women’s division.”
“It all changed for me when I was watching @RealPaigeWWE vs. Emma.” – @AlexaBliss_WWE @TheWilderThings talks to the SmackDown Superstar about the origins of the ‘Women’s Evolution’. pic.twitter.com/F4OVnQ8zcj
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) June 24, 2020
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for women in the WWE.
