A Brief History Of The WWE Women’s Revolution (Part 2)

The Horsewomen

From:WWE.com

The story of how Becky Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks took women’s wrestling in WWE to a previously unseen level is as important as it is complex. Charlotte as the new champion in mid-2014 was still a part of The BFFs faction with Sasha Banks and Summer Rae, but Rae was pulling double duty between NXT and the RAW brand.

Paige as WWE Diva’s Champion and old rival Emma were similarly splitting their time between struggling to get fan reaction on the main roster, to being welcomed back by a loyal, dedicated Full Sail crowd.

Charlotte’s first rivalry as champ would be with Bayley who was an easy to like pure Babyface protagonist. Her match with Charlotte on the first episode of NXT that followed the successful TakeOver would mark the beginning of something special.

The fictitious dissension among the BFF’s had also begun with a surprise return of the previously mentioned Summer Rae, whose appearance served as an almost costly distraction to Charlotte. The inevitable break up of the group that would help the real-life transition of Rae to RAW fully and completely, was nudged further along by the NXT television début of Becky Lynch.

Dressed nearly head to toe in Irish green, while dancing a ridiculous jig to badly composed folk music, Lynch’s initial gimmick in NXT would have been a career killer for anyone less talented between the ropes. Having had a decade’s worth of experience Pro Wrestling internationally, Lynch ran with the absurd character she was asked to play while remaining a workhorse in the ring.

After losing embarrassingly to Lynch with no aid from Charlotte or Banks, Summer Rae went off to lick her proverbial wounds for a couple of weeks, while the remaining two BFF’s would attempt to show their fallen compatriot how to get the job done.

On the following episode of NXT Charlotte and Banks would tag against Bayley and Lynch. This would be the first time in televised continuity all 4 women would be in the ring together, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

What started as a match that showed Charlotte and Banks working like a well oiled machine that outmatched their opponents at every turn, ended with the dissolvement of the BFF’s in spite of having won. Banks had taken exception to the fact Charlotte did not celebrate in the ring with her, or have her back in chastising a prone Lynch nor coming to her aid when Bayley fought her off.

Charlotte was striking out on her own as champion. A successful defense of her title against Summer Rae concluded the latter’s NXT obligations, opening the champ up to a continued rivalry with Bayley and an emerging one with Banks.

Thankfully within a couple of months of her first televised appearance, Becky Lynch was able to evolve her twee Irish character into more of a Hard Rock Headbanger that – while far from perfect – was a vast improvement. By October 2014 and after a series of losses, Lynch was given the opportunity to further her character arc still.

On the October 23rd episode of NXT television, after Sasha Banks had defeated Bayley but continued to assault her beaten adversary, it appeared Becky Lynch was charging down to the ring to rescue the helpless Hugger.

Instead – and to the shock of the crowd – Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and proceeded to batter her herself. A new villainous alliance had formed between Banks and Lynch in what would be known as Team B.A.E. (Best At Everything). It was a great chance for Lynch to show off a more serious side to her persona.

(Important to note at this point in time is the polished characterization in Banks and Bayley, as both have settled on a look that current audiences are familiar with as well as having their iconic, present day entrance themes in Sky’s The Limit and Turn It Up, respectively.)

The title matches between Charlotte and Bayley were good but for many did not capture the audience’s attention quite like the Charlotte vs Natalya match earlier in the year. It would be the feud with Banks and in particular the match at NXT TakeOver R Evolution that helped kick the division up a gear.

Needing nothing more than a competitive animosity to be the best, the atmosphere on December 11th, 2014 inside the home venue of Full Sail University was thick with fan anticipation. The match itself managed to surpass the intensity of Charlotte vs Natalya through higher risk moves spurred on by sheer hostility.

The crowd was split down the middle with half in support of Charlotte, and half in favor of Banks, and by this point in the card NXT TakeOver R Evolution was the number #1 trend on Twitter. Arguably more fans were watching WWE’s third brand than ever before.

Not only were those in attendance moved to chant “This Is Awesome” during the last leg of the contest, they were motivated by what they were witnessing to follow-up with “This Is Wrestling” moments later. Judgment was being passed on WWE Women’s wrestling that night, and the fans found Divas outside of NXT wanting.

Both Charlotte and Sasha Banks had upped their game and were performing feats of athleticism and physicality that was on par with many of their male peers. The match would end with an incredible top rope version of Charlotte’s Natural Selection signature maneuver; the result – another successful defense of her standing as legitimately the best Woman in all of WWE.

These two women only needed 12 minutes to tell a high pace, high performance story to completely win the audience. By contrast the WWE Diva’s title had changed hands a couple of times in sub-10 minute matches, most notoriously at one of WWE’s ‘Big 4’ events, Survivor Series 2014.

The match lasted a mere 34 seconds. This, just 2 and a half weeks before the NXT crowd-pleaser.

AJ Lee and the Bellas had a chance to put on a proper match a few days after NXT TakeOver R Evolution, and Nikki Bella would again defend her title this time at WWE Tables, Ladders, Chairs (… and Stairs). Both women were also in the unenviable position of following John Cena vs Seth Rollins, a No DQ affair that incorporated the event’s title.

The bout between Lee and Bella was clearly booked to cool the audience down after going wild for the comically violent match beforehand. The result was a competent but mostly dull exhibition with plenty of lulls in action that lasted about 7 and a half minutes. The biggest reaction this Diva’s Championship match got was actually when the referee ejected Brie Bella from ringside because she had been caught interfering.

With the referee occupied, Nikki Bella sprayed a liquid in Aj Lee’s eyes to get an unfair advantage and continue her nefarious winning ways. The crowd response was far less than the one earlier in the match, the finish was not clean, and the experience as a whole utterly paled in comparison to the classic put on by Charlotte and Sasha Banks just 3 days earlier.

With another match that was limited on time and even more so on content, fans’ patience with the main Women’s product was wearing very thin.

Just over a month into the new year and a continuing war between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, NXT TakeOver Rival would take place. Team B.A.E. was beginning to crack under the pressure of competitive ego, and even Bayley who up until now as a character would always do the right thing for the benefit of others, was beginning to think and act more independently.

With every woman for herself and unresolved issues between the quartet, it was decided to pit all of them together in a Fatal 4 Way match for the NXT Women’s title (video above).

And so on Tuesday, February 11th 2015, these 4 women would put on a clinic of exciting Pro Wrestling. Every one of them got their chance to show what they could do, at times being innovative while continuing to tell a story that made sense and remained true to their character.

This was a match that was given reverence by both the audience, and by the producers in its booking. Not one of these women were made to look inept, and their performance was not treated as little more than an active break in the schedule of their male peers.

The finish was clean and genuinely surprising, with Sasha Banks picking up a pin fall victory after wearing old adversary Charlotte down with her signature submission hold, The Bank Statment. The spectators at the familiar stomping ground of Full Sail University were left satisfied, and eager to find out where the NXT Women’s division was heading next.

13 days later however on WWE’s flagship RAW program, the fans who had endured the Diva’s division reached their breaking point.