Two Women Alter WWE History Forever

On Sunday October 30, pro wrestling history was made. Two women, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, were [...]

By Hunter Miller

On Sunday October 30, pro wrestling history was made. Two women, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, were in the main event for a WWE pay-per-view.

In the WWE, the headlining match is usually the one that the wrestling company believes is going to sell the most tickets and get the most views from pay-per-view and the WWE Network subscriptions.

bankscharlotte
(Photo: WWE)

Part of the reason this is such a monumental achievement is because the WWE's audience is nearly 40 percent female, according to CNET.

Typically the female wrestlers were given the slots in the lineup that would come right after or right before the marquee men's match, which would essentially be used in order to allow the fans to go take a bathroom drink or make a trip to the concession stand.

What is more insulting is that the talent executive with the WWE would reportedly look for the more attractive women rather than the good wrestlers. The women were routinely objectified in the sport, even in the way they were branded. The women were called the "Divas" while the men were dubbed the "Superstars."

In the '90s, WWE CEO Vince McMahon tried to promote women as genuine wrestlers. He attempted make stars like Alundra Blayze into a main event type wrestler, but "it was the public not accepting the push," according to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer.

The female managers, such as Sunny and Sable, were more popular than the wrestlers themselves.

"Sunny and Sable [were more popular] than Blayze at the time," Meltzer said. "Sunny and Sable were new... it was an era with a very young audience and hot women wearing very little. Sable in particular was a huge ratings draw."

However, in 2014, the tide began to turn. Charlotte's infamous match against Nataya Neidhart shocked the fans and was "one of the best women's matches in WWE history," Meltzer said at the time. "It was a statement."

This past April, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch would earn a slot at WrestleMania 32. The match was much longer than the normal time allotment the "Divas" were given in WreslteMania 31. Most importantly, the WWE did away with the "Divas" term.

So when Banks took on Charlotte at Sunday's Hell in a Cell, it was a tremendous occasion for the WWE. They smacked each other with chairs, crashed through tables, and were even in a cage, which had never been done before by the women.

Both the crowd and the Internet absolutely loved it as well.

Mega Ran on TOUR tweeted that the "whole place is on their feet," he wrote, "Electric."

What are your thoughts about Sasha Banks and Charlotte being the main event for a WWE pay-per-view special?

[H/T CNET]

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