WrestleMania's last ever "Divas" match between The Bella Twins and the Paige/AJ Lee duo was a fitting farewell to the darkest days of the female league. Nikki and Brie's conformity served as the avatars for the unrealistic expectations of women for an entire generation - the babyface victory was scored as much with an eye on the brighter days ahead.
Lee's retirement came one night later, but she'd at long last pushed through an agenda she was for a while the only advocate of - women were finally given an actual wrestling match based on talent alone, without the distraction of every other member of the roster surrounding the ring in condescending cheerleader roles or as part demeaning stipulation there strictly to titillate.
The match didn't have a great deal to it - the main roster 'Women's Revolution' moved glacially in comparison to the action on NXT - but the tearful babyface celebration spoke to the changes in the air.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
