10 Biggest Moments In WWE Women’s Wrestling History
The Long And Winding Road
It would have been nice - albeit unexpected - for Stephanie McMahon to announce the first ever Women's Royal Rumble as a storyline solution to civil unrest on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live! caused by the recent arrival of Absolution and The Riott Squad on the respective brands.
Obsessed as they are these days with telling you they're making history before they've just gone and actually done it, WWE are now so self-aware that they value the plaudits of their equitable decision-making as much as the end result. It's an extension of McMahon's infamous 'Philanthropy is the future of marketing' endorsement tweet in 2015. Stretching the Royal Rumble out to the women's division is far from charitable, but in clawing desperately as they always have done for blanket mainstream approval, WWE's see-through seizing of positive headlines outweighs any motivation to tell captivating stories.
More's the pity too. Whilst not in the rudest health creatively just now, both brands boast a wealth of diverse and youthful talents that will only improve through putting in the time on the live broadcasts. Quantity currently out-strips quality, but Rumble season is the time where numbers are of paramount priority.
Occasionally of their own doing but as much down to the persistence of the performers, WWE have actually played host to a number of historical checkpoints in the slow stroll to equal rights between men and women on the main roster. Like the Rumble proclamation itself, these shouldn't be lost to WWE's latest transparent attention grab.
10. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
With almost as much mainstream attention as Hulk Hogan and Mr T garnered in the showbiz build-up to the inaugural WrestleMania, Wendi Richter was the female icon for the show as she prepared to tackle Women's Champion Leilani Kai in a rematch from their controversial clash at 1984's Brawl To End It All.
Embroiled in the MTV/Rock 'N' Wrestling movement, Richter was the muscle behind singing sensation Cyndi Lauper's fearless moxie as she raged on Rowdy Roddy Piper and the other overblown villains of the day.
The semi-main event of the first ever 'Show Of Shows' and one of the only other matches with a hot storyline leading in to the iconic Madison Square Garden supercard, Richter and Champion Kai's match was bouyed by the incredible heat generated by the entranced New York crowd.
The match was decidedly below average, but a contest's quality had barely mattered ever mattered less. Soundtracked by Lauper's blockbuster 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' hit, the sight of the pair's wild celebratory dance remains one of the original 'WrestleMania Moments'.