WWE Evolution Were the women of Night Pro Wrestling deserved?

WWE Evolution began with an explosion and ended with a thunderous applause the same Sunday night, but the first event of the all-women's women's card promotion began some time ago. In a match played at the Zayed Sports City Tennis Stadium in Abu Dhabi last December, former female champions Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks became the first female wrestlers to face WWE in the Middle East. East. During their match, the crowd – how many of the crowd and how long has been the subject of an argument – sang the song "It's a hope".

McMahon's marketing machine will later use this song – the WWE substitutes will then be re-assigned to the "That's a change", more rhetorically useful – to justify its otherwise unjustifiable entanglement with the ## 147 ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 39, Saudi Arabia. But it debuted as a slogan for the promotion of the ongoing women's revolution at WWE. With the addition of Ronda Rousey and the growing popularity of promotion superstars, including those of NXT, the company has seized an opportunity not to miss – not be an "agent of change" or inspire hope, but earn money the best performers of the promotion, many of whom are currently women. Stephanie McMahon promised to take the women's revolution and transform it into Evolution, and she was at the edge of the ring, announcing the event, as it materialized. It's not just decades of hard work (or, lord, Stephanie McMahon's committed feminism) that has brought WWE women to this point, it's the tangible medium of the WWE universe. The fans bought more goods from the wrestlers, they asked for longer matches and, most famous in 2015, they asked the world of #GiveDivasaChance.

For example, in a sold-out Nassau Coliseum, 50 WWE women have proven that it's not just men who feel comfortable slapping with steel chairs, or who can make a show that destroys absolutely a room. The cynicism of promotion has never been so far: the appearance of the logo for Jewel of the crownThe next WWE event in Saudi Arabia sparked enthusiasm for the crowd, but the show itself was undeniable.

The first game of the night, which featured Trish Stratus and Lita in the Hall of Fame, Alicia Fox and Mickie James, set the stage. Alexa Bliss, who was originally expected to face Trish and Lita, was present at the ring because she was removed at the last minute due to concerns about a concussion. Fox did not really replace Bliss's five feet of fury, but Stratus and James delighted fans by reviving their old rivalry. The two men took turns to throw themselves one on the other in the ring and exchanged elbows. But that's Lita, the 43-year-old retired superstar, who stole the show with a perilous jump of the top rope on both Fox and James. The match was overflowing with acrobatics and ended with stratusfaction-Trish pinned Mickie on behalf of three and reminded the costumes behind the curtain that being a mother did not necessarily have to be the end of a wrestling career.

And then: chaos. Twenty women entered the ring to participate in a royal battle that would give the last woman remaining in the ring a championship opportunity. The ring was filled by members of WWE's current formation – The IIconics, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, and Zelina Vega – as well as icons such as Molly Holly, Alundra Blaze and former Divas champion Kelly Kelly, who have all started the sport evolution. With 20 women trying to get out, the scene was like a madhouse. But in the midst of this madness, Tamina and Nia Jax, who are real-life cousins, took a moment to pay homage to their cousin Roman Reigns, who announced last week that he was pulling out of ring while he was being treated for a recurrence of leukemia. by signing Reigns huuu-ahhh yell. They honored her more by working together to eliminate half of the women remaining in the ring. Finally, the match is played between Nia and Ember Moon. They were working to overtake the rope when, surprisingly, Zelina Vega came out of nowhere and pushed the two girls to the edge of the ring, without getting out completely. This last part is important: while Bae-ga was celebrating what she thought was a victory, Nia came from behind, lifted her up and threw her away – yes, threw she – to Tamina, who was returning to the locker room. We still do not know if having a grown-up woman thrown in the face will affect Tamina in the future, but other results were faster: Nia quickly helped Ember claim his victory and win the title.

The remaining matches were exciting and technically reliable. The Riott troupe was defeated by the strange trio of Bailey, Natalya and Sasha Banks; Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to finish the final of the Mae Young Classic; Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship. A special mention goes to Jessamyn Duke, who kicked Kairi to make this last win possible. Jessamyn's audience during the match added to the speculation that the four riders – Jessamyn, Shayna, Marina Shafir and Ronda Rousey – are coming together and will make their debut in the main formation today.

The long-awaited Last Woman Standing match between Smackdown champion Becky Lynch and her former best friend and (I'll be delighted) the polarizing case of the historic Charlotte Flair legacy has threatened to overshadow the entire series. The two women hit each other with what they could find. Literally: Becky bent over Charlotte's back with a steel chair relentlessly, Charlotte rocked over Becky and passed it across a table, and Becky then returned the favor by hitting Charlotte on a ladder. They fought in a match with the same intensity and the same violence in combat as any man at any table, ladder or chair, and they did it with twice as much Glitter for about half the salary of an AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan. The fact that women have their own shows does not change the fact that WWE is disorganized with women – for the money, but not just for that – of course. But it was a big match, which ended when Becky blew Charlotte off the table.

There is no time to lose from the top of the game before Raw Women's champion Ronda Rousey takes on the longest defending Divas champion, Nikki Bella. It's the same Nikki Bella who literally broke her neck a few years ago and is competing again, and the same Ronda Rousey who changed the face of the UFC. As expected, Ronda trained Nikki in the ring for most of the match. But Nikki, who showed very little rust, did not fall easily. She has done everything for this one, including Twin Magic, when her twin sister Brie, for lack of a better term, helps her cheat. It was in vain – Ronda submitted Nikki with his arm emblem and retained the title of champion – but it was normal that three hours of lighted female fight ends with a small demonstration of sorority.

The night itself was always going to be importantas well as the culmination of decades of blood, sweat and tears springing from the underestimated bodies of the WWE Women's List. Women who were managers, valets, pillow fighters and divas were the suffragettes of their industry. They continued to fight by injury, embarrassment and motherhood until they arrived at that moment. While this makes sense, it's equally important that Evolution was also incredibly good. There was not a single man around to absorb the brilliance that women so richly deserved to prove that the show they were riding was strong enough to fend for themselves. Evolution That's all the fans were hoping for, but it was less a WWE giveaway than a test to determine if single women could bear the brunt of the brand. The short answer is yes. The longest answer is "yes, duh."