On April 20th, 2025, professional wrestlers Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Iyo Sky competed at Wrestlemania 41 in a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s Championship. While the result of this contest may have been staged, the emotional and professional stakes were very much real for all three combatants.
Women’s professional wrestling has a surprisingly long and winding history, one too lengthy to fully unpack within a single blog post. From the neon drenched 1980s promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, to the sex appeal laden women’s matches of 1990s WWF , to the slick sports stylized contests of today’s WWE, women have always had a vital role to play in the world of pro wrestling. Yet, for far too long female wrestlers, regardless of their in ring abilities, were valued for their looks and their looks alone.
Consider the previously discussed Iyo Sky. Standing at a mere 5’1″, Sky punches well above her weight class, revered by fans for her unrivaled quickness and incredibly realistic “selling” of opponents moves. Sky would be an asset to any wrestling promotion, yet when it came time for Sky to make her much anticipated jump to WWE in 2017, company brass had concerns over her lack of a more “conventional” aesthetic. Fortunately for Sky and the many athlete-first female wrestlers that would follow, several forces within the WWE were beginning to turn a new leaf on women’s wrestling.
Original Author: Diego Serrano
CC: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iyo _Sky,_WrestleMania_XL_%28cropped%29.jpg
Iyo Sky making her entrance as world champion.
First, among WWE’s developmental wing NXT, attitudes surrounding women’s wrestling were changing rapidly. Specifically, NXT head of creative and former wrestler, Paul “Triple H” Levesque saw athletics focused women’s wrestling as a way to set his wing of the company apart from WWE’s flagship shows. Thus, Levesque aggressively pursued and featured talent like Sky to the rave reviews of NXT’s fans.
Becky Lynch in the midst of her much acclaimed 2018 run.
Original Author: Carter Sterling
CC:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Becky_Lynch_2024.jpg
Second, women’s wrestlers were downright killing it; garnering fan reactions that simple forced WWE’s hand. Take Becky Lynch, a wrestler who became the single most popular star in wrestling by (pardon my french) being a giant asshole to all of her opponents. In an era where female wrestlers carried connotations of docility, Lynch through those norms out the window, performing with a style closer to the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson than female wrestlers of old.
Now did Lynch’s success turn the WWE’s gender politics around in one fell swoop? Certainly not, I would contend that it has actually gone much further in its pursuit of gender equality than other sports. While WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark and Camryn Taylor are routinely mocked by NBA fans for not being able to beat male players in a 1 on 1, similar preconceptions are not so common among the WWE community. Whether its altruism or just an unfettered desire for good wrestling, WWE fans have by and large accepted this women’s wrestling renaissance with open arms.
Now let’s be clear about one thing, scantily clad muscular bodies of all genders will always be a part of professional wrestling. However, in the 2026 the gender politics of WWE are more nuanced than they’ve ever been.
Original Author: Diego Serrano
CC: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liv_Morgan_RR25_%281%29.jpg
Is it so bad if wrestlers like Liv Morgan own their attractiveness and use it to develop their own storylines? Does this sex-positive approach compliment or diminish wrestlers like Becky Lynch who’ve always chosen to perform in less revealing attire?
These are all fair questions, questions which I am in no position to answer, but the fact that we can even consider them is a triumph. Gone are the days of perverted bosses dictating every article of clothing and character choice attached to the WWE’s female wrestlers.
To circle all the way around, I’d like to call back to Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Iyo Sky’s recent championship match. What I neglected to mention earlier is that this contest went on to be considered one of the very best contests of 2025, not just by younger fans, but by many of the same stuffy male critics that held the women of the WWE back in the first place.
Make no mistake, the WWE is still far from a feminist utopia, but on April 20th 2025, fans and wrestlers alike could hardly tell. Especially Iyo Sky, as she celebrated to the deafening cheers of Allegiant Stadium after defending her championship in glorious fashion.
Featured Image Credit:
Original Author: Diego Serrano
CC: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhea_Ripley,_April_2024.jpg
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
