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

The PipeBombshell: AJ Lee Uses Her Voice

From:WWE.com

Of the few who did not fit the mold of a ‘Diva’ in the post-Stratus/Lita era of WWE, AJ Lee (AJ Mendez) may have stood out the most. Whilst Paige was turning heads and changing opinions on women’s wrestling in FCW and later NXT, Lee herself was an ‘Anti Diva’ of sorts on the main RAW and SmackDown brands.

And yet through hard work and gift of the gab, Lee had ingratiated herself with the WWE audience and had become popular enough to win the fan voted ‘Diva of the Year’ award twice.

Lee was a diminutive, often tomboy looking wrestler who – without the marketing benefit of the typical Diva aesthetic – would rely on her intelligence and cunning, both in-character and out. Nearly 2 years before #GiveDivasAChance, Lee cut a promotional monologue against long time rivals The Bella Twins, while also savagely critiquing the cast and vapid nature of the Total Divas television show.

On the surface this promo was just an exercise in cementing Lee as cruel villain who was full of contempt, but underneath there was the implication that the oft suspected nepotism and favoritism in WWE concerning the promotion of its talent was a real issue.

Fast forward to  the February 23rd, 2015 episode of RAW and the #GiveDivasAChance movement, and AJ Lee spots an opportunity to publicly challenge her boss, Stephanie McMahon.

First, some context. Patricia Arquette had just won the ‘Oscar’ for Best Supporting Actress in the film ‘Boyhood‘ at the Academy Awards, February 22nd, 2015 – the night before that fateful episode of RAW.

During her acceptance speech, Arquette used her platform to call for wage equality and equal rights for Women.

The speech prompted Stephanie McMahon to Tweet the next day – several hours before RAW broadcast live – her support of Arquette’s statement.

AJ Lee – who was absent from WWE’s active schedule due to needing time to heal an existing neck injury – saw her opportunity to raise her concerns.

The time stamp on those Tweets show they were sent at least a day after the February 23rd episode of RAW, and after the #GiveDivasAChance tag was in top gear as a viral social media trend.

AJ Lee did not use that tag, but instead did something smarter: Lee used the same #UseYourVoice tag that Stephanie McMahon does. McMahon’s public use of that tag ended up being an invitation for others to do the same, and that included one of the women who worked for her.

Any public repercussion from Lee tweeting honestly at her boss would likely have turned #GiveDivasAChance into an even bigger sensation, and a PR nightmare that WWE would have to do damage control over.

Stephanie McMahon responded the only way she could.

AJ Lee was the only woman brave enough in WWE to legitimately user her voice this way, and it was not part of a gimmick or angle to further a fictional story.

Lee would have a handful of matches on her return to WWE, but with long-term injury issues and the continuing awkwardness of being a part of WWE after its ugly split with her husband, former superstar CM Punk, Lee would retire shortly after WrestlleMania 31 in April of the same year.

Lee’s contributions and tenacity are as much a part of WWE’s Women’s Revolution as anyone else’s, arguably more so than others.

WWE might have dragged their feet over pushing the women on the main roster, but there was a different Women’s Revolution happening in a parallel field they could not commercially ignore.