Every WWE WrestleMania Women's Match - Ranked From Worst To Best

5. AJ Lee & Paige Vs The Bella Twins (WrestleMania 31)

Mickie James Trish Stratus
WWE.com

The last 'Divas' match in WrestleMania history, the tag team match between The Bella Twins and the self-styled 'Freaks and Geeks' duo of Paige and AJ Lee was Lee's final pay-per-view and a fitting farewell to the darkest days of the female league.

Positioned against the conformity of Nikki and Brie, Paige and AJ cast themselves as defenders of the audience against the unrealistic expectations the twins espoused.

But the bigger story was that the women were finally given an actual wrestling match predominantly on talent alone, without the distraction of every other member of the roster surrounding the ring in condescending cheerleader roles or a demeaning stipulation employed strictly to titillate.

The Bellas took the bulk of the contest through dominating Paige in-ring whilst assaulting AJ Lee before she could tag in.

Lee's eventual hot tag saw the tide turn, with AJ snaring Nikki in the 'Black Widow' after Paige hurled Brie into the steel steps.

As the tearful babyfaces celebrated, it felt oddly transcendent for the division, and would foreshadow the sweeping changes shortly afoot.

Contributor
Contributor

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