10 Wrestling Firsts That Happened Earlier Than You Think
1. The First Ever All-Women's Pay-Per-View
When Stephanie McMahon announced the upcoming WWE Evolution pay-per-view back in July 2018, she literally referred to it as "the first ever all-women's pay-per-view."
That's verbatim. Had she added "in WWE history" to it, she'd be correct, but in their expressed form, Stephanie's words are complete nonsense.
The list of female-only wrestling shows is hundreds - maybe thousands - long. Promotions like SHIMMER, SHINE, and the glut of Japanese joshi companies to come and go over the decades make a mockery of McMahon's assertion. World Wonder Ring Stardom have alright held nine events that could be described as pay-per-views in 2018 alone, and they are but a single example in a vast ocean of all-women's shows.
None of these shows are on the same scale as Evolution, but All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling's major productions most certainly were. Their Dream Slam 1 event is widely regarded as one of the most exciting Japanese shows of all time. A card populated by some of the greatest female wrestlers ever drew 16,500 to the Yokohama Arena in 1993, with the likes of Manami Toyata, Aja Kong, and Akira Hokuto earning nought by superlatives for their efforts.