If there’s one aspect of my writing that has remained constant since starting coverage for PCU, it’s been my reverence for the current Women’s division. Up until recently (and I haven’t been alone in this), I’ve lamented the usage of the term “diva” to describe not only the whole division, but also the women competitors therein. In the past couple of years, really going back to around 2012, the women’s division has grown in leaps and bounds, with new promising talent mixing with some established vets who are refining as time goes on. This year at Wrestlemania, we saw one of my happiest moments as a wrestling fan: the establishment of the WWE Women’s Championship.

I’m going to take a very brief trip down WWE/F history in terms of the women’s division, so if I neglect anything, be aware that I know that an entire dissertation could be written on the subject. After the early years of Fabulous Moolah’s nearly 3 decade title run and champions such as Wendi Richter, the belt became defunct. The early to mid 90s saw an all too brief reemergence in a stronger women’s division than we give credit to, with the likes of Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano in the early 90s (which saw Blayze famously throw the belt in the trash on an episode of WCW Nitro). Soon after, however, we entered a pretty rough patch for women in wrestling in general. While the attitude era was a renaissance for wrestling viewership heralded by the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, women were routinely relegated to eye candy. That said, there were some peaks, and while women like Sable were certainly prominent for sex appeal, she was more then able to hold her own in the ring.

The big transition for women’s wrestling didn’t really occur until the mid 2000s, where we saw Trish Stratus and Lita rise as the figureheads of the women’s locker room. The two had one of the seminal feuds in WWE Women’s Championship history, famously having a match for the title as a main event of Raw; being the first women to do so. From that point on, the division stayed a mix of an early 90s style and moments of brilliance with the likes of those two, as well as Mickie James, Victoria, Natalya, and others. That said, the whole division struggled with its place on the card; many times seeming like an afterthought. That is by no fault of the wrestlers themselves, but there was just a total lack of understanding on how to book these wrestlers. A huge issue (at least to me) was the branding of the entire division as “Divas”, and the connotations that go along with that. In 2010, we even saw the Divas Championship, one of the worst designs in title belt history (established after the brand split), take over the Women’s title. I want to stress that the women in the WWE made the best of the “Diva” title as they could. It’s just starting from the bottom when coming into the story with that moniker.  In time, however, that would begin to change.

The real change in the tide for women in WWE started with the rise of AJ Lee. She won the title from Kaitlyn, who was a fairly efficient worker in her own right, and the title gained a popularity it had been lacking for some time. Lee was such a gifted in ring worker, and really all around character, that it was hard for audiences not to be drawn to her. In addition, her reign saw a stepping up of the game from the rest of the division, which saw the quality in wrestlers like the Bella twins become significantly higher. The key to a great champion is whether or not they can make their opponents look strong – and that’s exactly what Lee did. In time, with the rise of NXT, we saw women have extremely high quality wrestling matches, which reached a technical level not truly seen in the division. Starting with the likes of Paige and Emma, and leading to the now fan favorites (or top heels) with Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bailey, Women’s wrestling in WWE and NXT has never been stronger.

Now, the championship moment came just this past April, where legend Lita introduced the triple threat match at Wrestlemania between Charlotte, Lynch, and Banks for the new WWE Women’s title. Lita’s introduction made it clear that the “Women’s Revolution” was working, and the title now has a sense of prestige that it’s deserved since day one. They aren’t Divas anymore; they are wrestlers on the card, just like their male counterparts. In that vein, the time to shoehorn in the women’s match between a major match and the main event on the card is over; these wrestlers demanded that spotlight with their superb in-ring work and compelling storylines, and there’s no looking back. To me, this is the most important Championship moment in years, arguably since the Punk run in 2011.

All of that being said, there’s still a lot of work before the Divas Revolution can be deemed an unabashed success. I (and I know many others) would love to see a Women’s match be the main event of a PPV. Also, there’s no reason to think that the titles traditionally held by men cannot be held by women as well. Think about Sasha or Becky as the IC champ. When you look at the division, you have one of the company’s strongest heels in Charlotte, much in the vein of her father, Ric Flair. Also, Sasha Banks is a special talent. The mix of in-ring storytelling and all around charisma is on Rock levels, and WWE would be remiss to not push that talent to the moon. Also (and this is finally coming to fruition), there just needs to be more than one women’s feud happening. While the title battles are great, there’s no reason to think that there isn’t a viable undercard with the strength of the current women’s roster.

The future is incredibly bright. With Bailey still waiting to be called up, and wrestlers like the “strong styled” Asuka and Nia Jax making waves in NXT, there’s no reason to think the quality will falter. As a fan, I can’t help but be excited, month in and month out, as the women’s matches prove to be some of the best.