10 Times WWE Turned Trash Into Treasure

2. The Women's Revolution

Becky Lynch Ronda Rousey
WWE.com

It seemed simple.

Debut the Four Horsewomen as a stable, after Bayley and Sasha Banks earned one another's respect, as October 2015 draws to a close. Together with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, they invade RAW with a mission statement to eradicate the Divas era. Don't #GiveDivasAChance; #GiveWomenAChance. Four selected Divas, p*ssed beyond belief at the gall of these women, challenge them to a traditional Survivor Series Match. Poor Bayley is the only Horsewoman eliminated. This rankles with Charlotte Flair, who designates herself leader, which rankles with everybody, everything falls apart, and the stage is set for a Fatal Four-Way 'Mania match to determine the first-ever Women's Champion.

That's a good plan...but it needs more Stephanie McMahon!

Instead, the benevolent Billion Dollar Princess had the (style and) grace to allow these women to incongruously and without explanation form groups based on their ethnicity, resulting in anonymous and confusing multi-women matches. Mercifully, WWE put a swift end to this bizarre development, and to put over the notion that women were equal to men, booked them like their male counterparts.

Two awesome televised matches ushered in the sea change: the brutal Falls Count Anywhere clash between Banks and Charlotte on the November 28, 2016 RAW, and the babyface vs. heel masterclass Women's Title bout between Charlotte and Bayley on the February 13, 2017 RAW.

Previously, the women were shunted to the death slot on pay-per-view. But now, the Revolution was indeed televised.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!