6 Ways To Save The Women's Evolution

When you Google "female wrestlers", the first suggestion is a Wikipedia link to “WWE Diva”, accompanied by the compelling fact that since 1999, seven WWE Divas have appeared on the cover of Playboy Magazine. Fascinating. But completely redundant.

This past week, Sexy Star became the first luchadora to capture the Lucha Underground Heavyweight Championship, the promotion's major men's title up until this point. In a grueling battle at Aztec Warfare III, Sexy Star faced off with Mil Muertez to the finish, in a story book battle of endurance, determination, and overcoming the odds. In her words post-match, Sexy articulated the feeling that women's wrestling should now and forever set out to create: "Every woman is sexy, and every woman is a star."

Women in wrestling are well on their way to building an entirely new attitude towards equality, from the inside out, and looking in from a mainstream perspective. But it didn't happen overnight in the form of the 'Divas Revolution', as WWE might have you believe. Women built this from the ground up, and it's been a long time coming.

The real 'Women's Evolution' is not the manufactured spin-off rendered from the decrepit publicity machine that was the 'Diva's Revolution'. Women are more that a marketing scheme. Women are changing the game. They are redefining what the sport of professional wrestling is, from the ground up.

Take note, WWE. Here's 6 ways to save the Women's Evolution.

I realise I've contradicted myself hugely in this heading, but there's a difference between the 'Women's Evolution', and the evolution of women's wrestling.

Sasha Banks and Charlotte main-evented the most recent WWE pay-per-view Hell in a Cell, but it all felt a little rushed. This is not to take away from the turn-around at the top of the card, and the clear attitudinal shift in the last year alone. While you won't catch anyone boasting about a 'bra and panties' match from WWE these days, you most definitely will find that representation doesn't accurately match the manifestation delivered to the masses in the form of empty gestures and 'triple main events'.

The 'Women's Evolution' hype slogan died shortly after the WrestleMania 32 Triple Threat match and the unveiling of the new Women's Championship. At a push, you could say Sasha tried to drag it's sorry bones on the way to her first title win on Raw.

The term 'Women's Evolution' is a phrase which the WWE has become in itself, the dry and lifeless remains of a stale branding strategy. The fact it still comes up in conversation of current events serves as nothing short of empty promotion, a desperate and meaningless effort to cling to the tail-end of the momentum created by the NXT women.