When I was a kid, I never took much interest in pro wrestling. Sure, I made my older brother’s Hulk Hogan action figures go on dates with my Barbies; and used a toy wrestling ring as a king size mattress. I know there are some people who did this too. Wrestling to me wasn’t anything I looked forward to as a little girl and that’s fine, it just wasn’t my thing.
…Until I started dating the biggest wrestling fan in the world: my boyfriend. At first, I still didn’t show any interest. I would just push it to the side and just knew that it was his thing, just like how let’s say, makeup, is my thing. One day though, I decided to give it a try because I’ve noticed how much attention he actually paid to all my makeup gurus on YouTube and would address them by their names. (He learned so much about contouring that anytime we’re at Sephora, he can spot that someone needs to blend more. Way to go, babe!) That being said, we watched the John Cena vs CM Punk WWE Championship main event from the Money in the Bank 2011 pay-per-view that honestly got me hooked. Even for non-wrestling fans, I highly recommend this match. I started to watch, learn more, and check out the old stuff I missed when I was a kid, too.
However, it was the women wrestlers that I was interested in, as well. All I would mostly see as the main attractions were the males. I’m looking at you, Cena (still love you, though!). Be that as it may, males still have more attractions; But 2016-2017 is the first year to have a major pay-per-view main evented by a women’s match. Not to mention the two major WWE television shows, Raw and SmackDown, feature women in the main event on an irregular basis. It may not seem like much, but this is a huge step, among many others, in women’s wrestling.
I personally find it amazing that women finally have the chance to compete on a realistic level of pro wrestling, instead of being placed into purely misogynistic matches that involve evening gown matches, mud wrestling matches, and bra and panties matches…major yikes. I know Vince McMahon has done great things for wrestling and his company, but this is just straight up wrong. Sorry, not sorry. When you really think of it, the women in those types of matches were not looked at as wrestlers. They were clearly seen as just models and entertainment for the male eye. That’s a bit problematic. Even the WWE Diva Search that was around the mid-2000’s has ended, which shows how much more seriously these women are being taken for. Thankfully, during this time, the women aren’t treated as something sexual or anything else derogatory like back then. Please, no more bra and panty wrestling, let these women show people who’s boss, and start giving them more camera time. They deserve it, pick up the pace WWE, it’s 2017. I don’t doubt that women will one day main event at WrestleMania, that’s an exciting and hopeful thought. Make it happen, McMahon.
For the sake of fangirling, this is my favorite wrestler, Asuka. Asuka solidified her career in Japan before making herself an even bigger star in WWE. With a strong undefeated streak lasting over two years, a lengthy championship run, and a stiff-as-hell arsenal of kicks and elbows, she has strong-armed her way into the WWE mainstream by performing not as just a woman, but as a professional wrestler.