During a recent interview with ESPN.com, Stephanie McMahon discussed the “Divas Revolution”, WWE NXT and how far it’s come so far, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks and more. Here are some highlights:
On Introducing The Divas Revolution: “I had an opportunity to go to the ring and bring to light on ‘Monday Night Raw’ the ‘Divas Revolution,’ which was based on the fan response,” Stephanie McMahon said. “I talked about what was happening in the world with the evolution of women in sports from Ronda Rousey in the UFC to Serena Williams winning Wimbledon to the U.S. women’s soccer team. There was this revolution happening and I said I want this revolution to happen here in WWE. So I introduced Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to the main roster and everyone in the arena knew exactly who they were. They stood on their feet and the ovation was deafening. It was pretty obvious to anybody watching that these women were game-changers and that’s exactly what they’ve been.”
On the growth in women’s wrestling: “We started slowly but surely featuring our female [talent] a little bit more prominently,” Stephanie McMahon said. “All you had to do was look at what was happening in NXT with the ‘Four Horsewomen’ of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks and what they were doing and how they were elevating women’s wrestling. It was to the point that the fans were chanting, ‘This is wrestling!’ and ‘Women’s wresting!’ Our fans were saying so loudly and so clearly that this is what we want. This is amazing and we want more.”
On Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks succeeding at WrestleMania 32: “They absolutely deserved to be there and there wasn’t that much of a conversation at all because they had earned their place there,” Stephanie McMahon said. “They had one of the greatest matches that I’ve seen in a long time at WrestleMania. It was really an emotional and compelling story.”
On WWE NXT and how far it’s come: “NXT is truly Paul’s baby and his vision and he treats the men and women performers exactly the same,” Stephanie McMahon said. “The female performers are given the same amount of time and the same opportunity as the male performers and I think it’s that opportunity that has allowed these women to really hone their craft. Professional wresting is like performance art. It truly is. You’re taking the crowd on a ride, on an emotional roller coaster. It is a craft that takes time to perfect and I think the advantage of NXT is they are given that time to do just that.”
