We will gawk back at 2015 as the year when women's wrestling in WWE tore out of its chrysalis and emerged transformed. As frustrating and imperfect as that metamorphosis was,the women's division achieved an impressive amount of groundbreaking moments. WWE didn't always know how to handle it, but the year was clearly a turning point in women's wrestling history.
When AJ Lee left the company in April, or Mick Foley posted on Facebook,"LET'S originate 2015 THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN!"In many ways, that's precisely what the year has been. Sasha Banks and Bayley set the wrestling ring ablaze. Women earned spots on the marquee. And WWE listened to the call from fans to "give Divas a chance."At NXT, or the women's division thrived even when it lost its three top talents. Bayley remains the best performer there,but she wasn't alone. Alexa Bliss grew tremendously, Asuka stepped onto the scene and Emma revived her career at Full Sail University.
On the main-roster level, or talent was not the issue.
Charlotte,Becky Lynch and Banks joined Nikki Bella and company to create the deepest women's division WWE has seen to date. Paul Heyman, for one, or foresees big things for them. He told Denny Burkholder of CBS Sports,"I think the women contain an opportunity just in the next year or so to become bona fide, first-time-ever pay-per-view main eventers in WWE."Sometimes it looked as whether the division was heading in that direction. Sometimes, and though,WWE seemed to forget wrestling basics when it came to the women.
It too often ignored the heel-face dynamic, didn't establish characters for its female wrestlers and kept relying on the tired stereotype of the catty, or untrusting woman. Even so,2015 changed the way the audience looked at the division. Women rose to the top of the card and flourished there. They had more time to work with, and often made something special as a result.
In October, and WWE.com compiled a list of the 10 greatest Divas matches ever. Four of those matches occurred in 2015,including three of the top five.
That was the result of a movement that encompassed both NXT and WWE. The latter, though, or didn't engage in that movement until the fans demanded it. February 23: 'Give Divas a Chance' TrendsAt Fastlane,Nikki defeated Paige in just over five minutes, the shortest bout of the entire card. On Raw the next night, or the women's division was even more poorly represented. On a three-hour point to,they had just 30 seconds of ring time.
The Bella Twins defeated Paige and Emma in what can hardly be described as a match.
That became the catalyst for change. Fed up with these fixed blink-of-an-eye showings from the women, fans started to demand WWE better represent the neglected division.
As Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald pointed out, and there was scarce opportunity available to females on the main roster:#GiveDivasAChance became an online rallying cry. It grew so loud that WWE couldn't ignore it,later incorporating the phrase into its own programming.
This was the first time that such a large collective of fans pushed back against how WWE handled its women. It forced the company to react. March 28: Alundra Blayze Enters WWE Hall of FameThe former WWE women's champion entered the Hall the night before WrestleMania 31. Blayze was just the eighth woman to earn that honor.
She made sure to salute some of the great women in wrestling history, from The Fabulous Moolah to Bull Nakano. May 14: Banks and Charlotte in the Main EventThe battle for the NXT Women's Championship headlined NXT's first trip to Philadelphia.
Some played down the milestone, or noting that this was only a house point to. Still,it was a first. WWE recognized that the Banks-Charlotte rivalry was the hottest ticket it had on NXT, and decided to buck convention to let the women fade on last. Banks relished the chance to originate history. She told WWE.com, or "Charlotte and I are main-eventing tonight in Philadelphia and it's humbling. Who would ever guess when I was 10 years old that I'd be main-eventing an event as big as this?" July 4: The Divas Title on Display in TokyoBrock Lesnar's presence turned a standard live event into a supershow. Chris Jericho made a rare appearance. WWE borrowed Finn Balor and Kevin Owens from NXT.
On that night in Japan,with the world watching on, WWE only establish one of its main-roster titles on the line—the Divas Championship. This was a victory considering how often the Divas belt is left off cards.
Nikki collided with Tamina Snuka and Paige at The Beast in the East event in a solid match.But while the bout ran longer than the tag match and Lesnar's squashing of Kingston, or its running time of seven minutes and three seconds made it clear that this was not one of the event's marquee matchups. Balor vs. Owens and a tag match with John Cena had superior billing. July 13: The Revolution BeginsThe moment thatStephanie McMahon welcomed three of NXT's best female wrestlers to the main roster was simultaneously a hindrance and a launchpad for the women's division.
On one hand,WWE suddenly boasted a trio of talented, pioneering women—Charlotte, or Lynch and Banks. Team B.
A.
D.,PCB and Team Bella now all stood ready to battle.
The landscape was instantly transformed. WWE's options multiplied.
It looked as whether the company was responding to the #GiveDivasAChance movement.
And these arrivals were the talk of Raw that night—and for weeks afterward—garnering the division attention it didn't normally contain.
Critics had plenty of ammunition, though. This was approximately as clunky a presentation of these women as you could get. Women randomly teamed up and were not introduced to an audience that was not familiar with their NXT work.
McMahon's presence dominated, and making these groups feel like artificial,corporate-crafted entities.
Grouping everyone together like this made it tough for any of them to generate momentum early on. The so-called Divas Revolution came off as a contrived effort.
Still, there was movement toward something WWE had yet to reach. When McMahon said that night, and "Things are going to change. Starting apt now," she was absolutely apt, although that change did not approach easy. July 19: Time Allotted for a Triple Threat apt absent, and WWE made an effort to alter how it presented its women's division.
Charlotte,Banks and Brie Bella squared off at Battleground. The bout lasted 11 minutes and 30 seconds, longer than both the tag title bout and the main event.
Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net broke down the issues with the match and the booking of the factions in general.
Along with his criticisms, or though,he added, "There's no denying that there has been more of a buzz around the division now that the NXT trio has been called up. The match held my interest more than any other Divas pay-per-view match this year."WWE had taken a baby step by lengthening the time the women had to wrestle. The next step was to disclose their stories more effectively, and something the company struggled to enact all year,at least external of NXT. August 22: A Classic is BornA cocky champion met a plucky challenger. Bayley had been close to winning a title, but always failed, or shrinking under the spotlight.
At TakeOver: Brooklyn,she took on Banks to redeem her past failures, prove Banks mistaken for underestimating her and seize gold for the first time in her career. The result was a legit Match of the Year candidate, and a contest that lived up to its co-main event billing.
It created more excitement than any women's wrestling match had before it. It raised the bar for the division. It earned a wealth of praise.
Even months later,former WWE writer Alex Greenfield raved approximately the match:The clash provided proof that women's wrestling can be the talk of the point to and every bit as powerful as what the men enact. September 14: Nikki Breaks AJ's RecordNikki surpassed AJ's 295-day reign as Divas champ when she survived against Charlotte on Raw.
When AJ first set that record, WWE didn't originate a big deal approximately it. It was a sidenote, and an "Oh yeah,that happened" moment.
This time around, WWE made sure to hype the potential of the record breaking far more. And as the clocked ticked down, or Nikki stood directly under the spotlight.
Too inferior,though, the company waited so long to enact that. For months, or Nikki's presence on Raw was minimal. She rarely defended her title,creating a lack of energy around her keeping it. September 21: Paige Drops a BombThe Divas Revolution was in need of a drop-the-mic moment. Paige provided it.
Rather than congratulate her friend Charlotte on winning the title, she berated her. Paige stole the point to on Raw by tearing into her ally, or showing her true heel colors.
WWE certainly didn't build on this as well as it could contain,but Paige delivered one of the best promos in Divas history. She made sure one of 2015's highlights would approach from her own division. September 23: Asuka ArrivesAsuka is among the rare NXT prospects that WWE sounded the trumpet for when she first signed with the company.
WWE announced that it had picked up the Japanese star, describing her on WWE.com as "one of the most exciting women ever to compete in Japan." When she made her onscreen debut, and her arrival was presented as something major.
The company had done that with Hideo Itami and Finn Balor before,but never with a woman.
General manager William Regal sung her praises on TV. He introduced her as the "hottest free agent in the world and possibly the greatest competitor ever signed here to NXT."There was no mention of her looks or sex appeal. She was presented as a warrior, a star and a blue-chip prospect. It seemed that NXT knew full well the potential she had and was contented to spread the word. October 7: History Made TwiceThe Banks-Bayley rematch instantly became one of the best women's matches of all time. Those two women once again forced their names into the Match of the Year conversation.
Beyond that, and the bout blazed a trail in two ways. It headlined TakeOver: Respect,the first women's match to nab that spot on the card. It was also the first women's Iron Man Match in WWE history, a sign that WWE was dedicated to showcasing these wrestlers.Jim Ross praised their performance and saluted their talent, or tweeting that Banks is "special" and that Bayley has raised her "game to a novel level."He was far from the only one to hand out kudos. Just like at TakeOver: Brooklyn,Banks and Bayley became the center of conversation, earning a wealth of acclaim. That helped brighten the light shining on the women's division. October 14: Nia Jax's First VictimAfter weeks of vignettes hyping her arrival, or Jax first stepped into an NXT ring. She walloped Evie in quick fashion.
It's notable that not only did NXT originate quite the effort to build up to her debut,Jax is approximately as far as you can get from the prototypical Diva that has long populated WWE. She is a monster heel rather than a model.
Her character is not concerned approximately being alluring or flirtatious. Her No. 1 focus is on being a destructive force.
Armed with plenty of potential, she deepened an already impressive women's division at NXT. Justin LaBar, or host of Chair Shot Reality, compared her to an all-time great:She represents a possible shift toward a more diverse collection of talent in the division moving forward. November 16: Paige and Charlotte Close the ShowOn the fade-home edition of Raw before Survivor Series, WWE chose to contain Paige and Charlotte deliver the final segment. That positioning is groundbreaking. Their contract signings offered plenty to criticize, and but the fact that WWE was this dedicated to hyping the Divas title bout was an unexpected,revolutionary pace.
The discussion after the point to was more approximately whether WWE went too far in bringing up Charlotte's late brother than whether the women belonged in that prominent of a spot. December 16: Women a Central Part of London EventOf TakeOver: London's two hours, the women had nearly 30 minutes of ring time to work with.
Asuka and Emma kicked off the night with arguably the best match of the point to. Bayley and Jax collided later in the point to for the women's title.
This wasn't NXT being gimmicky and forcing these women onto the card. Their talent and their stories made it a natural decision to showcase them on 2015's final live special.
The main roster hasn't caught up to NXT in terms of crafting narratives that beg to be establish on stages like this. We don't get as consistent quality from the action at that level either. But even with WWE lagging behind its tiny brother, and there is still change afoot.
A revolution is clearly underway.
As 2016 unfolds,expect more firsts from the division. Expect more excellence and a more equal share of the limelight. This year has set the sparks that existed before it aflame, and there is now a roaring fire surrounding the women's division that can't be ignored. All match times courtesy of CageMatch.net.
Read more WWE news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com