Every Women’s Wrestling Match in WWE TLC History

Credit: WWE.com

Nikki Bella VS AJ Lee for the Divas Title (2014)

WWE giveth and WWE taketh away. 2013 looked to be sending the women’s division on a course for improvement, but 2014 showed that it was lightning in a bottle and that WWE was still uninterested in giving them a real, consistent platform.

Nikki Bella was defending on the long road to her becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion of all time, and the unforgettably awful feud between her and Brie had finally been all but stricken from the history books. AJ Lee was a babyface now, but despite being one of the most beloved female WWE Superstars of all time almost, no one in the audience was rooting for her. They weren’t rooting for anyone.

The drivel that passed for hype leading up to this match was the sort of trite nonsense the Divas division had become known for as it stumbled toward the lowest of low points. Nikki won an emotionless match by spraying something into AJ’s eyes and the Fearless Bella raised her arm in a celebration not even the crickets were participating in.

Charlotte Flair VS Paige for the Divas Title (2015)

As I continued my stroll down memory lane reliving all the women’s matches in TLC history, I reached 2015 and realized that finally, mercifully, I had reached the point of progress. 2015 was the year Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch had made their much-anticipated arrival on the main roster and by TLC that year Charlotte had ended Nikki Bella’s historic Divas title reign. She was now set to defend against one of the trailblazers of the modern women’s division: Paige.

It was a story that had gotten personal with Charlotte’s family involved, and WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair was even at ringside. Ric was pretty much always with his daughter on TV during her early months with Raw and SmackDown and his presence frequently paid off in spades. On this night Ric would give Paige plenty of fodder to play off of in order to garner cheers from an audience that was apprehensive at first, but ultimately was won over. Charlotte successfully defended, protecting what would be the final reign in the Divas Title’s history.

In watching this match in 2018 I realized just how far Charlotte Flair and the division as a whole have come, but when this was current it felt like everything suddenly had meaning. The sun was rising on a new day in women’s wrestling and this was one of the matches that laid the groundwork.