The REAL Reason Charlotte Flair Just Won The SmackDown Women’s Title

The Rock Hogan Chicago
WWE.com

We remember huge, iconic visuals. We don’t really remember that Hollywood Hulk Hogan attempted to murder the Rock via truck ahead of WrestleMania X8. The lasting, legacy-shaping visual of that programme remains the intense, magic pre-match stare-down, for it framed both wrestlers as living legends. We don’t really remember Debra’s clumsy, soap opera role in the Rock Vs. Austin feud of 2001; we remember the blood, the heat, the handshake with the devil. We remember the classic match and the audacious, defining closing image.

The potential closing image of WrestleMania 35 feels cutely engineered—but we won’t remember this feeling of cynical unease years from now. We will remember the real reason for all of this; we will remember the sight of the Four Horsewomen, each holding aloft every Championship in one hand, as the other is formed into the four-fingered salute. We will remember WrestleMania 35 as the night on which women’s wrestling definitively ascended to legitimacy. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley will all benefit from its iconic glow.

And, if WWE goes full WWE in another chaotic summer, that one, eternal visual will restore them. When you watch Hulk Hogan slam André the Giant, you don’t think “Hey, there’s a racist lifting up a man suffering badly from acromegaly.” You think of distilled pro wrestling magic.

But has WWE even killed off the SmackDown Women’s division, if in fact both divisions aren’t unified following WrestleMania?

CONT'D...(4 of 5)

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!