10 Paige Matches That Prove WWE Has Misused Her In Women's Revolution
Before she fell into irrelevance, Paige laid the groundwork for the women's revolution.
In July 2015, the sports-entertainment world was taken by storm as Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch introduced to WWE the revolution designed to forever change the perception of women in professional wrestling.
Though those three women would steal the headlines and reap the rewards, partaking in a grand WrestleMania 32 match that was one of the marquee bouts at the April 2016 show, it was Paige who laid the groundwork for the movement and has been left to watch from the shadows as others seize opportunities that essentially belong to her.
From her days in NXT to her main roster successes, Paige has repeatedly proven herself as an elite talent in women's wrestling. Whether she was working inexperienced newcomers or veterans of the mat game, she demonstrated an ability to have a good match with anyone programmed against her.
Now, as she begins to reemerge from irrelevance, relive these ten matches that prove just how underrated and underutilized she has been thus far in WWE's so-called 'Women's Revolution'.
10. Paige Vs. Bayley - NXT (5 August 2013)
There was a time when Bayley was not the lovable lead babyface that she is today.
Way back in 2013, she was a determined newcomer, desperate to make a name for herself. Her opponent on the 5 August episode of NXT was Paige, the women's champion. It would have been easy for the titleholder to dominate the match, to completely overshadow her opponent and stand tall, her star power never more apparent.
But she did not. She let the aggressive new competitor get her offense in. She was giving, selfless - the epitome of a champion. Bumping around for Bayley, she made the future titleholder look like a wrestler capable of one day supplanting her.
Paige's ability to put over the offense of her opponents has long been one of her strengths. Whether it was making Nikki Bella's move set look convincing or lending credibility to Naomi's unorthodox arsenal, she has always succeeded in making her opponents look better than they either were or deserved to.
That was most certainly the case way back in 2013 during a match most forget but one that demonstrated just how far that vital element of Paige's game had come.