Sexy Star is the Real Face of Wrestling’s Women’s Revolution

Why Lucha Underground’s presentation and booking of Sexy Star may be the true revolution in women’s wrestling

Wednesday night at Ultima Lucha Dos, perennial fan favorite Sexy Star, arguably the heart and soul of Lucha Underground, captured the Gift of the Gods championship, last defeating her storyline archnemesis, Marty the Moth en route to her huge win. Echoing Princess Kimber Lee winning the CHIKARA Grand Championship, once again a woman had been crowned with one of a promotion’s most prestigious titles.

The victory would mark Sexy’s second title win; she had previously been crowned the Lucha Underground Champion, only to drop the belt as quickly as she had earned it, setting in motion her trajectory in her quest to claw and scratch her way back to the mountaintop. It’s a tried and true storyline, however, the difference this time around is that it’s a woman; two seasons into Lucha Underground, it has become readily obvious that it not only treats, but cares for its women’s roster in a way that is rarely seen in pro-wrestling.

Related Story: WWE: State of the Women's Revolution

Sexy Star faced off against Mariposa in a “No Mas” match and early 2016 Match of the Year candidate

For the last several months, Lucha Underground fans have been treated to Sexy Star’s story of her rise to the highest level in the promotion, with the underlying narrative of being a woman competing on a nightly basis against men the likes of Pentagon Jr., and Chavo Guerrero. Along the way, she faced off against Mariposa in the main event in an early 2016 Match of the Year candidate: a brutal “No Mas” match (the equivalent of an “I Quit” match) that essentially put her on the map stateside.

However, what it also did, was raise the level of women’s wrestling to a completely new level; showcasing never-before-seen physicality and violence that was once thought to be taboo. The fans in attendance at the Temple were visibly uncomfortable at times watching Mariposa and Sexy Star beat the living tar out of each other because it wasn’t what they were accustomed to seeing; traditionally, it would be men taking these kind of bumps, doing these kind of spots. But on that night, it was two women who tore the house down and put on an incredible match for the ages, similar to how Trish Stratus and Lita did on a Monday night in 2004.

The “No Mas” match occurred in the Women’s Revolution lull post-Wrestlemania 32, where WWE inexplicably kept Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks off of TV. Becky for a month, and Sasha even longer, due to a freak accident concussion she suffered later. Becky, Sasha, and Charlotte were wrestling the same triple threat match night in and night out on the European tour, so at that particular time, it wasn’t like Becky and Sasha were hurt or needed time off. And yet, WWE made the conscientious decision to keep two of the division’s most popular stars off of TV for an extended period of time, instead of capitalizing on the success of the Wrestlemania 32 match and subsequent appreciation from the fans on the Raw after.

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The Women’s Revolution essentially lost nearly all of its momentum in the aftermath of Wrestlemania 32, with the only storyline and TV time being given to Charlotte and Natalya. Everybody else was virtually MIA. The unfortunate part about all of this, is that WWE had done so much in the months leading up to Wrestlemania 32 that you had the sense that WWE was finally taking its women’s division seriously. They had even retired the Divas Championship and introduced the much more respectable looking Women’s Championship, a physical symbol of their commitment in responding to the “Give Divas A Chance” movement back in the summer of 2015.

Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha were all called up from NXT heading into Summerslam to make an immediate impact and turn the then-Divas division on its head, a far cry, and almost distant memory in comparison to where the women’s roster currently is today, although Sasha’s return to in-ring action has recently given the stagnating division a much needed boost.

in an edition of Miz TV, Charlotte voiced to the talk show’s host that she and the rest of the Horsewomen would fight anybody, including “any man”

Ironically, in an edition of Miz TV, Charlotte voiced to the talk show’s host that she and the rest of the Horsewomen would fight anybody, including “any man”. Although there is no doubt that Charlotte truly believes in herself when she made such a statement, and there is no denying that WWE’s roster of women in 2016 are capable of getting in the ring with men, the unfortunate part is that WWE will most likely not adhere to such a claim any time soon.

The inconvenient truth at the moment is that it appears that WWE jumped onto an organic movement and capitalized on the Divas Revolution, before turning it into yet another marketing term, resulting in a seemingly return to where the women’s division was prior to “Give Divas A Chance”. While Sasha’s return to the title picture and now Becky and Natalya’s feud provides for two ongoing women’s division storylines at the same time, only time will tell if it will be enough to revitalize the scene and capture the same magic they had the summer prior.

Lucha Underground’s presentation of its women is something that WWE must take note of and attempt to replicate

Although WWE had touted about its Divas Revolution for months on end, in the end it was Lucha Underground seeing the value in and entrusting Sexy Star with the responsibility of leading the real revolution in women’s wrestling. Lucha Underground’s presentation of its women is something that WWE must take note of and attempt to replicate. If they can obviously imitate the Final Deletion, despite going out of their way to never acknowledge TNA’s existence, then surely they are indeed aware of Lucha Underground’s strides in raising the bar on women’s wrestling. Yes, WWE had Bayley and Sasha main event a Takeover, but so much more still must be done.

The sole difference in how WWE treats women’s wrestling compared to every other promotion on planet Earth is that WWE presents them like special attractions. It is undeniably much better now than it was a decade ago, when the special attraction was bra and panties matches, but still, WWE essentially segregates the women’s roster from the rest of the competitors. In TNA, in CHIKARA, in Lucha Underground, in PWG, in Japan, women frequently compete either alongside or against men to the point that it’s normal.

The women are treated as just wrestlers and not women’s wrestlers

The women are treated as just wrestlers and not women’s wrestlers. It’s not uncommon for fans of any of those promotions to see women get in the ring and put on great matches, while the WWE audience has been trained for so long to view women as either valets or girlfriends or physically incapable of hanging with the boys, that it genuinely surprises the WWE Universe when someone like Bayley hits her finisher on a man.

In total, this subconscious reflection of the times in WWE may be a result of the views its owner, Vince McMahon, has had towards women in the sport. Given his time is dwindling down by the day, the real change that the fans have been wanting to see in WWE women’s wrestling may not occur until after he is gone and the company is entrusted to either his daughter, a feminist figure in Stephanie McMahon (who, by the way, gets literally booed when she cuts women’s empowerment promos on the mic from time to time, a sign of how conditioned the male WWE audience is to reject such a notion), or his son-in-law, Triple H, or both.

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But perhaps the person who could do the most in truly revolutionizing women’s wrestling is in fact, Triple H. With his incredible work with NXT and Bayley, and his progressive stance on changing the age-old perceptions in pro-wrestling with the Cruiserweight Classic, all signs point that Triple H is the guy to bring about real change for the company top down.

After all, although he may not be on record for saying he’s a feminist, he is the father of three girls. Who is to say that one, or all three of his daughters want to follow in their parents footsteps and become pro-wrestlers. Surely Triple H would not want to see, nor allow, his daughters to have to go through the same things that women have had to go through during Vince’s regime. Surely, he would not want his daughters to be subjected to the same reactions and receptions women used to get. If it were to be the case, Triple H would have begin to implement that change in WWE right now because of the talent they have and Lucha Underground and Sexy Star is the perfect blueprint to follow.

Next: WWE Brand Split: What Happens to the Women's Title?

We can’t say what’s next in store for Sexy Star; whether she’ll have a lengthy reign as Gift of the Gods Champion, or lose it the following episode as she did the Lucha Underground Champion. Regardless of what happens, there is no arguing that Sexy Star’s work in Lucha Underground, and the promotion’s willingness to get behind her and work with her and push her the way they have, have done more for the sport and is the real revolution in women’s wrestling.