10 Best Matches From The First Five Years Of WWE’s Women’s Evolution

In July 2015, NXT Champion Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte (Flair) were all called up from the black-and-gold brand in what was both a hard reset and new beginning for women's wrestling on WWE's main roster.

Reset because numerous women had tried and failed to reverse the inherent baked-in biases of a male dominated industry for decades. New beginning because the company had spotted a branding opportunity that could potentially shield their prior embarrassments.

Months before this, #GiveDivasAChance trended for days after WWE afforded a tag team match between The Bella Twins and Paige and Emma all of 30 seconds of a three hour Raw. On the verge of total humiliation, Vince McMahon's twitter account implored fans to "Keep Watching" off the back of it, before turning to the division the prodigal son-in-law had helped shape on the developmental brand.

There, a genuine revolution had grown from a spark to a raging inferno, with the three aforementioned call-ups and fourth Horsewomen Bayley setting new quality standards for women's wrestling in North America.

TakeOver: Brooklyn's battle between 'The Hugger' and 'The Boss' was the Hart/Austin of its own time. It represented the euphoric evocative peak of the moment whilst lighting the way for everything else to follow. NXT consistently reshaped and reimagined the division, while WWE at long last provided overdue platform to standout graduates, instantly iconic matches and revolutionary new signees...

It didn't seem possible that this was Ronda Rousey's second televised match and sixth overall. Burning the g*ddamn building down in her Raw Women's Championship clash with Nia Jax, the former UFC star exhibited timing, instinct and performance panache so far beyond her experience that it was as though MMA had been the original sidestep from Sports Entertainment.

This - again, pay-per-view match number two - highlighted how she'd already mastered the importance of utilising the space between moves. Flipping the script from her dominant debut against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Rousey had to sell peril here, and in doing so gave the divisive Jax her best ever main roster singles match. 'The Irresistible Force' ran through the 'World's Most Dangerous Woman' ahead of leaving her a crumpled mess with a wicked powerbomb, but all the assaults were enhanced Rousey's inch-perfect facial expressions and the believable physical struggle in the face of the damage absorbed.

Rousey (as evidenced by other entries in this list) was a great listener and a fast learner, going on to have one of the great rookie/single year runs in company history. At such an early point in her career this clashwas as much about retaining her integrity as somebody not to be f*cked with. Alexa Bliss' electrifying Money In The Bank cash-in on Jax midway through the match did just that, foreshadowing the mauling she'd eventually receive when the energy bars were even.