The Women's Division; "Then, Now, Forever"
Wrestling, also known as Sports entertainment, Over the years, has been dominated by the juggernaut company WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) but by men overall. As there have been men that have forever changed the industry, so have women. Through grit, perseverance, fearlessness, and determination, there have been women who have made their presence known in the face of adversity and have established a legacy for future generations of women to follow behind them. “Then, Now, Forever” (WWE)
Whether
one follows the events and culture within this industry, to truly
understand why women had such an impact, one must understand the
timeline of events and attitudes that existed. For example, how women
first got the opportunity to participate. In the documentary Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar, one
of the first successfully documented female wrestlers in the United
States, Ella Waldek, were interviewed. In this interview, Waldek stated
that female wrestlers first originated in carnivals during the 1940s.
They were used as an alternative “sideshow” when those in the main show
were unavailable. Those that these women were with consisted of sideshow
entertainers with the medical condition Dwarfism. When female wrestlers
did perform, they wrestled against men. To withstand physical force
from a man was a way to showcase something unusual. When the Draft
occurred for World War Two, there was a shortage of men for the women to
wrestle. As a result of the numerous men drafted, women had to wrestle
among themselves. During this time, this gave women the opportunity to
truly demonstrate their skills without being overshadowed by the men
they wrestled previously.
Below,
I included a timeline consisting of events, contributions of female
wrestlers, and brief explanations as to why their accomplishments and-or
contributions were as impactful as they were within the WWE.
1983 – Lillian Ellison (better known as "The Fabulous Moolah" was the first woman to hold the Championship title. This title, won in 1956 while wrestling within a local circuit (independent wrestling promotions that varied from state to state within the USA) before the WWE ever came to be. Moolah purchased the right to the belt in 1983, making a title available specifically for the division for women. She was then dubbed the first woman to hold a WWE title. In the late 1980s, she opened up her wrestling camp to teach other women how to wrestle; the amount of wrestling training camps open to women during this time were close to none.
1985 -
Elizabeth Ann Hulette, better known as “Miss Elizabeth", became the
first female manager directly involved in the storylines between male
wrestlers. Although never wrestling, she is said to have been one of the
factors of Macho Man Randy Savage success.
1999 –
Jacqueline DeLois Moore (known as Jacqueline in WWE) becomes the first
African American woman to hold the Championship for Women. In this same
year, Joan Marie Laurer (known as Chyna in WWE) is the first woman to
participate in a Royal Rumble. A Royal Rumble would usually solely
consist of the entirety of the male roster. In a Royal Rumble, wrestlers
enter the ring one by one in ten-minute increments.
2000 – Amy Christine Dumas, better known as “Lita”, debuts and is the first female wrestler to implement high-flying tactics such as 'Moonsaults' (backflips off the top rope)
2008 An alternative Championship belt, created for the women's division, called the “Divas” title in 2008. During this time, matches for women were taken seriously by neither the company nor the audience. Most viewers saw the matches as an intermission, whether watching it live or on t.v. The creation of this belt coined the term “Diva” when referring to a female wrestler. The design of the new championship further emphasized the condescending attitude most people had towards the female wrestlers of this time.
2016 - The Divas title was retired. It became an insult to refer to the women within the division as “Divas”. “The women would now be called Superstars --- not Divas -- putting them on equal footing with the men” (Forbes). A new title is created and designed to replace the Divas belt.
Simultaneously, it is announced that first time in history, a women's division match will be the main event at what is to be the Superbowl of wrestling; Wrestlemania.
(Pictured from left to right) Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (Sasha Banks), Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (Charlotte Flair), and Rebecca Quin (Becky Lynch)
2018- The first Women only Battle Royal was one of the numerous matches held within the first all Women’s pay-per-view
2019 – For the first time in history, female wrestlers have a match at Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium in Saudi Arabia; a country that for many years has maintained an image as being “one of the most repressive countries in the world for women” (BBC). The women that participated in this match were Natalie Katherine Neidhart-Wilson (known as Natalya in WWE) and Macey Estrella-Kadlec (known as Lacey Evans in WWE). This pay-per-view event was titled "Crown Jewel".
Footnote: There
has been controversy surrounding Moolah's contributions to the women
division. Following her death, allegations from women that she trained
arose, stating that she was notorious for pocketing the money and
forcing them to provide sexual services to male wrestlers and promoters
to continue receiving training from her. Although I did exclude these
allegations in this writing, that is not to say that I support all how
she contributed. Moolah's allegations, from women she trained, and
others that knew her, can be watched in this episode of Dark Side of the
Ring, one of the many episodes of an ongoing documentary series about
various wrestlers and their lesser-known controversies.
Dark Side of the Ring Season 1 Episode 6 - The Fabulous Moolah
Sources Cited:
“The Fabulous Moolah.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 July 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabulous_Moolah.
“Saudi Arabia Hosts Its First WWE Women's Wrestling Match.” BBC News, BBC, 31 Oct. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50248949.
“Nwa World Women's Championship.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 July 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_World_Women%27s_Championship.
“Wwe Women's Championship.” WWE, www.wwe.com/titlehistory/wwe-womens-championship.
Ott, Tim. “Inside 'Macho Man' Randy Savage and Miss ELIZABETH'S Real-Life Relationship.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 June 2021, www.biography.com/news/macho-man-randy-savage-miss-elizabeth-relationship.
“Lita.” WWE, www.wwe.com/superstars/lita.
Whitmore, Slate. “Bianca Belair Became Only the SIXTH Black WWE Women's Champion at WRESTLEMANIA 37.” The Colloquial, 10 May 2021, thecolloquial.com/bianca-belair-became-black-womens-champion-wrestlemania/.
“Wwe Divas Championship.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 July 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Divas_Championship.
Dosh, Kristi. “WWE's Women's Evolution Goes Far beyond the FIRST-EVER All-Women's PAY-PER-VIEW Event.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 Oct. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2018/10/26/wwes-womens-evolution-goes-far-beyond-the-first-ever-all-womens-pay-per-view-event/?sh=29051b322780.
“WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal.” Wikiwand, www.wikiwand.com/en/WrestleMania_Women%27s_Battle_Royal.
Leitman, Ruth, director. Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling. Koch Lorber Films, 2004.
Comments