100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
89. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 2015)
Spoiler alert: This is one of two clashes between Bayley and Sasha Banks on the list. There's a good reason for that too. Together, these real-life mates helped to reshape what was expected from women's wrestling in WWE. They were key facets in the earliest moments of the "women's revolution", and they helped drag the company away from dire "Diva" conversation towards something with more substance.
On TV, Stephanie McMahon took a lot of credit for helping the women's game evolve, but it was actually workers like Bayley, Sasha, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair who needed the bulk of the praise. Others like Natalya, AJ Lee, Paige and Nikki Bella (oh yes) need some of the shine themselves. Everyone did their best to contribute and shift the goalposts for an entire locker room of overlooked, hardworking ladies.
NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn would quickly become a tentpole occasion for young girls and women everywhere who dreamed of having top matches on WWE's platform. Bayley and Sasha inspired countless people by putting on an 18 minute clinic that showcased their chemistry. Was it their greatest achievement? Maybe to some, but another bout between them will receive gushing praise higher up. You can rest assured of that!
Seeing Becky and Charlotte come out to embrace their peers and signify that the women's wrestling tide was turning also ruled. This match genuinely did so much to convince wrestling fans and office staff alike that women deserved more than they'd been getting. Best of all, there was no need for token gestures or back patting - these women were having killer matches irrespective of genders.