10 Things You Learn Binge Watching WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era
8. Better Women’s Wrestling Than You Remember?
It's easy to generalise the pre-“Women’s Revolution” days as awful, but that’s unfair to some of the talent working hard to get noticed. Trish Stratus came into her own in-ring during the "Ruthless Aggression" days, Lita was always good for a few high spots, and others like Mickie James, Beth Phoenix and Victoria all had matches worth watching on TV and PPV.
Sure, WWE favoured eye candy over technical skills, but that’s even more of a compliment to the women who pushed through such presentation to give more. Balancing what management wanted "Divas" to look like with proper, rugged pro wrestling content fans could enjoy must've been tough. The good news? More women than you might remember managed it.
Icons.
The entire era closed with a cracker between Phoenix and Melina at One Night Stand 2008. Their, "I Quit" effort was atypical of the time. The same could be said of super-early bouts like Trish vs. Victoria at Survivor Series 2002 as well. That pushed the bar higher for women's wrestling in the fed.