WWE star Charlotte Flair is giving Ronda Rousey her flowers. In a powerful new essay for The Players’ Tribune, Flair reflected on the evolution of women’s wrestling in WWE and made it clear that Rousey’s influence was a turning point in the company’s treatment of female performers.
Flair acknowledged that while the “Women’s Evolution” had many factors, Rousey’s star power in the UFC made a major difference in how WWE began to position women.
“I don’t think Ronda gets enough credit for WWE putting women in the main event. A lot of things about the women’s revolution might be true, but this is definitely true: Ronda being a main-event draw in UFC changed everything. I know that for a fact,” Flair wrote.
Flair believes Rousey’s crossover appeal pushed WWE to view women as main-eventers, particularly when it came to WrestleMania.
“But in terms of WWE looking at women as potentially WrestleMania-level main-eventers, you can trust me on this 100%: There’s before Ronda Rousey… and then there’s after. And I wish people would talk about that more and give Ronda her due.”
Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, and Becky Lynch made history at WrestleMania 35, headlining the event in the first-ever women’s WrestleMania main event. While Rousey has since stepped away from wrestling and is currently focused on her upcoming Netflix biopic, Flair continues to compete at the top level.
She’s currently preparing for WWE Evolution 2, where she will team with Alexa Bliss in a Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. The match was officially announced during the July 4th edition of SmackDown.
