What do you think of when you hear the words 'pro wrestling'? Two men fighting in low-cut lycra? Choke-slams? Chants for someone to ' give 'em the chair'?
Well, such male domination in the sport might soon be over as, for the first time last night, two female wrestlers – Sasha Banks and Charlotte – fought in the main event at the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) pay-per-view (PPV) contest, Hell in a Cell (HIAC).
'Right, so what does this mean?' I hear you ask.
Well, the headline match is traditionally the match the WWE predicts will sell the most tickets – bearing in mind the WWE's streaming service (WWE Network subscriptions) is the fifth most subscribed in the US.
Such landmark exposure for female wrestlers to be the main attraction for WWE would have been unheard of years ago.
Given that nearly 40 per cent of WWE's audience is female, such focus on female pro wrestling matches shows that female competitors are finally getting the representation they rightfully deserve on screen, having formerly been allocated what's know as the 'death sport' in WWE (the match after a marquee men's match and before the main event – basically when everyone in the arena wants to pop to the loo).
What's more is the fact that female wrestlers are no longer being viewed as a bit of eye candy for male viewers.
Since the WWE was founded in 1979, female wrestlers have been hired on their appearance (rather than their wrestling prowess), often scouted from model agencies, dressed in bras and pants, scheduled to fight in matches lasting less than a minute and called 'Divas', while their male colleagues were deemed 'Superstars'.
Anyone else smell the stench of sexism?
But, thankfully, times have changed thanks to the support of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, iconic matches between the likes of Charlotte and Nataya Neidhart and the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance, which trended on Twitter in 2015 to campaign for the NXT Women's Championship to be put on the main roster of fights.
As a result, pro-wrestlers such as Charlotte, Banks and Lynch ended up wrestling each other at WrestleMania 32 in April, in a match that lasted there times as long as the 'Divas' matches in WrestleMania 31, and finally prompted the WWE to end the use of the term 'Divas'.
While we won't claim to be the biggest WWE fans in the world, one thing we are supporters of is gender equality.
Go get 'em, ladies.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
