WrestleMania 42 will shine a spotlight on WWE’s women’s division as Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer and Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill lead the charge in two high-stakes championship matches.
The foursome showcase the evolution of women’s wrestling. And they aren’t the only women competing at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium — in total, there are four WrestleMania women’s matches that will be spread out over the two-day event. The other two matches are AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch and a four-way tag team match for the women’s tag team titles. By comparison, the inaugural WrestleMania included only one women’s bout, with just four matches featuring women over the next 12 WrestleMania events combined.
With WrestleMania 42 on the horizon (April 18 and 19 on ESPN Unlimited), let’s take a look back at how WWE women’s wrestling reached today’s elite level, exploring its different eras through WrestleMania.
The Early Years (1985-1996)
The WWE women’s championship was on the line at WrestleMania I. Wendi Richter defeated Leilani Kai to win the title. However, the match focused less on the in-ring action and more on the involvement of pop star sensation Cyndi Lauper as Richter’s manager. While Lauper’s involvement certainly brought eyes to the event, the match was brief, lasting just over six minutes.
The women’s championship match at WrestleMania II was even less of a priority when the Fabulous Moolah defeated Velvet McIntyre in under 90 seconds.
The women’s championship was absent from the next seven WrestleManias until divisional trailblazer Alundra Blayze reestablished its presence at WrestleMania X by defeating Kai — though the match ran just over three minutes. Luna Vachon was also featured at that event in a mixed tag team match, marking the first time two women competed in separate matches at the same WrestleMania.
The Attitude Era (1997-2002)
After another three years without a women’s match at WrestleMania, WWE struck gold with Sable. She rapidly gained fan support and emerged as one of the roster’s biggest stars, earning consecutive WrestleMania matches. At WrestleMania XIV in 1998, she teamed with her then-husband Marc Mero to defeat Goldust and Vachon, before defending her WWE Women’s Championship against Tori the next year.
Even so, women’s wrestling remained a limited part of the show each year. Then came Chyna, a true pioneer for women in the industry.
Chyna shattered barriers and redefined women’s wrestling. She competed against male superstars, becoming a two-time Intercontinental champion. At WrestleMania 2000, Chyna made history as the first woman to compete in a match exclusively against men.
The following year’s WrestleMania in 2001 saw Chyna defend the WWE Women’s Championship against Lita, who was also a key figure, along with Trish Stratus, in taking the women’s division to the next level.
The Advancement Era (2003-2007)
In late 2004, Stratus and Lita further progressed women’s wrestling. In December 2004, they made history, competing in the first women’s singles match to close an episode of “Raw.” The WWE Women’s Championship was on the line, which Lita won for the second time. The match helped lay the groundwork for the biggest women’s wrestling match of all time (more on that later).
The opportunity that followed represented a key moment in the division’s path to the top of WrestleMania cards, as Stratus helped establish a new star in 2005-06.
In late 2005, Mickie James debuted on the WWE roster, portraying an obsessive fan of then-WWE Women’s champion Stratus. It led to a championship match at WrestleMania 22.
The match wasn’t significant solely because of its quality, but because it gave James the platform to fully unveil a character with real substance, one that drew a genuine reaction from fans. It was more than just a match; it was a moment of character development for the division.
The Divas Era (2008-2014)
In 2008, WWE introduced the Divas Championship as a second women’s title. Though it appeared it would open new doors for audience engagement, it didn’t unfold that way. The titles were merged in 2010 and the division received less emphasis.
The first women’s match at WrestleMania after the creation of the Divas Championship was a Playboy Bunny Lumberjill Match. The following year, at WrestleMania 25, the only women’s match on the card was a “Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal” — which, notably, was won by a man (Santino Marella playing the Santina version of his character).
In fact, the Divas Championship wouldn’t be defended at WrestleMania until 2014 — nearly six years after its introduction — when Lee successfully retained the title in the “Vickie Guerrero Invitational.”
While the WrestleMania-level impact of the Divas Era didn’t materialize, this era did help establish stars, including Lee, Paige, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and the Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki), who became WWE Hall of Famers.
The Women’s Evolution (2015-present)
To call 2015 a turning point for the WWE women’s division would be an understatement, as it marked the beginning of a new era.
Fresh from WWE’s revamped developmental system, NXT, a new generation of women superstars emerged, seizing the opportunity to redefine the division.
Paige, the inaugural NXT women’s champion, helped connect the acclaimed developmental roster with the main roster on “Raw” and “SmackDown.”
In July 2015, three key figures of this new era — Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks — made their main roster debuts on the same night. Then, the following year’s WrestleMania in Dallas was a game-changing moment. The Divas Championship was retired, and the new WWE Women’s Championship was born. Flair, Banks and Lynch battled in a triple-threat match at WrestleMania 32 to determine the inaugural champion — a match Flair won. The match ran more than 16 minutes, topping the previous longest women’s WrestleMania bout by nearly five minutes.
The momentum continued at WrestleMania 33, where nearly 30 minutes of women’s wrestling was showcased in three high-profile matches. The division now featured both Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships. Bayley, a cornerstone of the modern era, retained the Raw title, while Naomi celebrated a hometown victory, capturing the SmackDown Championship in Orlando, Florida. WrestleMania 33 also provided fans with a memorable moment, as John Cena teamed with then-girlfriend Nikki Bella to defeat The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag match. After defeating The Miz and Maryse, Cena dropped to one knee in the middle of the ring and proposed to Bella.
The already rising women’s division was set for a monumental boost two years later at WrestleMania 35 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Lynch, by then the most popular performer on the roster, regardless of gender, led the charge toward that year’s WrestleMania against Flair and Ronda Rousey. Together, the trio made history, competing in the first-ever women’s WrestleMania main event — more than 14 years after Stratus and Lita headlined “Raw” for the first time.
Women’s wrestling had firmly cemented itself as a centerpiece of WWE programming. WrestleMania 36 featured four women’s matches on the main card and WrestleMania 37 mirrored that, featuring a main event between Bianca Belair and Banks. Between WrestleManias 36 and 41, the division consistently delivered, with at least three women’s matches on every card.
That brings us to WrestleMania 42, which provides another chance for the women to take center stage.
