WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment, is the world’s largest wrestling company, with over 200 wrestlers currently active, including women. While women did not always have the opportunity to fight, they have fought for years to have their place in the WWE.
The beginning of the WWE
WWE started as part of another organization called the CWC, or Capitol Wrestling Corporation, back in 1953 by Jess McMahon and his son, Vince McMahon. The official WWE website comments on the importance of this.
"If Mr. McMahon hadn’t taken over the family business from his father, this timeline would not exist. His purchase of Capitol Wrestling marks the beginning of a revolution. Mr. McMahon builds on the regional success of his father’s company, with soon-to-be household names such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, turning WWE into a national powerhouse," the website said.
The business quickly started gaining popularity, and by 1983 Vince McMahon had completely taken over his father’s business, converting it to the WWE it is today. That was also the first year women were allowed in the ring.
Although this was a step in the right direction, women’s introduction to the WWE was not taken seriously. The women were not seen as wrestlers or athletes, but were merely objectified for male entertainment.
Conner Townsend, a former wrestler and MMA fighter, shared how he saw the mistreatment of women in the earlier days of WWE.
“When women first entered the ring, they were treated like sex objects. Their talent wasn’t valued at all. They were pretty much just chosen as swimsuit models out of a catalog. They were treated very poorly and their talent was not appreciated,” Townsend said.
These women were referred to as “divas” or “superstars” because they were not taken seriously enough to be called wrestlers. This was an idea created and perpetuated by the owner, Jess McMahon. Women were limited to only one match per event, and they were seen as entertainment for men rather than athletes.
As people know, WWE matches are scripted and the hits and outcomes are all decided before the fight happens. However, when women first began having matches, every move they made was calculated and micromanaged so they would not appear as talented as the men.
“There was an example of two women, Michelle McCool and Victoria Varon, having a really good fight in 2009, and they were told to go back out and perform worse so they wouldn’t over-shadow the men’s wrestling match that was to follow,” Townsend said.
Women's rise
A true turning point for women in the WWE was the introduction of the “Four Horsewomen," a team of four women, which included Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley Martinez in 2012.
Before these wrestlers entered the ring, the only female wrestlers were the divas and superstars. Although they were technically wrestling, they did not have true characters or storylines outside of supporting and entertaining the male wrestlers.
The Four Horsewomen changed this, coming in with deeply developed characters and storylines. Not only did this separate them from the diva era, but it got fans to care about their characters, bringing more popularity to women’s wrestling.
Since then, women have only continued the fight for equality. Today, some of the most popular wrestlers are women, such as Rhea Ripley, Biana Belair and Iyo Sky, the current Women’s World Champion.
In addition to the growing number of women in the WWE and their character development, they also fought to even have screen time. Whereas in the beginning they were limited to one match per event, women now have the same number of matches as men.
For the second time in WWE history, there will be an all-women’s pay-per-view wrestling event in October, giving women their own space for an event only for their matches. This event is called "Evolution." They had a match like this in 2018, and have brought it back for the first time this year.
Importance of women in wrestling
There has been so much progress towards equality since the introduction of women’s wrestling, but there are always more ways to improve.
For example, although men and women have an equal amount of matches, women’s fights tend to be the opening events, while men’s fights remain the main events. Also, as the WWE travels across the world, women also face lots of discrimination in foreign countries, such as Saudi Arabia and their strict dress code.
The fight for equality extends past professional wrestling, as young girls who are entering the wrestling world in junior high and high school are facing some of these same issues.
Rylee Gust was a female wrestler at Springboro High School, making her the only girl on the team. She ran into many difficulties because of this, facing challenges that her male teammates did not have to.
“I was held to a different standard than my teammates. I totally had to have my A game on 100% of the time. No bathroom breaks or anything because if I did anything wrong I was punished more than the boys,” Gust said.
Female wrestlers are the closest they have been to equality in the WWE, having main events such as the Elimination Chamber and upcoming events at WrestleMania 2025. It is important that women continue to fight and use their voice to hold their place in the industry.
“I’d encourage other young women to join because it builds so much physical and mental strength. I think people need to open their eyes and realize that we, as women, have created this sport, and honestly we made it popular again, in my opinion. Wrestling completely changed my life,” Gust said.
For so long, women have been restricted on what they do or what their interests are. So many women in the past have fought to give young girls the opportunity to choose their own path, including wrestling, and that has shaped what the WWE company is today.
