10 Times WWE Put Its Talent In Impossible Positions

2. The General Treatment Of Female Talent For So Long

For the longest time, WWE treated its women's division as an afterthought. To piggyback off of WrestleMania X8, that 2002 iteration of the Granddaddy of Them All featured a total of 12 matches, yet only one of them was a women's match. Even then, that match was afforded just six minutes on a four-hour show.

This all came to a head on the 23 February 2015 episode of Raw, where Paige and Emma teamed to take on the Bella Twins in a 'contest' that lasted just 30 seconds and consisted of a kick to the gut and a Bella Buster.

From the time the Women's Championship had been reactivated in September 1998 - Jacqueline Moore defeating Sable to become the new Women's Champ in a match that didn't even last three minutes - WWE had mistreated its female talent for 17 years by the time of that February '15 Raw.

During those years, how were the ladies of the day ever expected to make the most of their abilities when they were only afforded two minutes for a match - and that's only if they were lucky enough to be on a card, period.

Thankfully, Paige and Emma vs. the Bellas saw the #GiveDivasAChance start up on Twitter from disgruntled fans and wrestlers. And while there's still some way to go for true parity between male and female WWE talents, these last six years have at least moved things in the right direction.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.