While some of the buzz surrounding WWE Evolution revolved around the women getting the chance to prove themselves as equals to the men, I never viewed it that way. Women’s wrestling had already proven that long ago, as All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling put on incredible matches for decades and its a legacy that promotions like Shimmer and SHINE have carried on. Even in major North American promotions, stars such as Awesome Kong, Trish Stratus, Gail Kim, and Lita had proven that women can put on barnburners if given the opportunity
However, WWE Evolution did serve a huge reminder to even the daftest of viewers that women wrestlers are equals to their male counterparts. While much of the show ranged from entertaining to fine, one match delivered in every aspect of professional wrestling. From great technical wrestling to the scathing brutalism that defines the entertainment, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair delivered all that fans come to expect from a top-notch in-ring product with a great storyline on top of it.
In what clearly should have been the main event, both Becky and Charlotte further cemented that women can have a match that equals to the best of what men can do. In fact, what was seen at WWE Evolution surpassed the majority of what male stars have been able to do in 2018. The build to many matches on the card were shaky at best, but this particular feud for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship had a heated buildup that focused upon two former friends clashing for gold. The company made the right choice to make it a centerpiece for the show, and the two delivered spectacularly.
Despite being the first time women had competed in a last woman standing match in WWE, it was clear that both competitors and their agent had studied the great matches that came before them. Their were some fantastic spots that had been seen before (such as covering Charlotte in chairs and everything else around the commentary desk in order to make her getting up all the more shocking), but they were still effective due to the great story that the match was telling.
In fact, I don’t think there’s a single match on the main roster that has been more captivating than what Lynch and Flair put on last night. It may have been their first attempt at that particular stipulation, but they delivered in a major way. The only one-on-one matches under the WWE banner that really come close are relegated to either NXT (Johnny Gargano put on classics against Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and Tommaso Ciampa) or 205 Live (as the trio of Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and Buddy Murphy have put on some underrated gems). Nothing on any of the main pay-per-views have really come close to getting me this invested in the outcome of a match.
So, while Lynch and Flair merely reaffirmed what people should’ve already known, it’s still an important statement. The women’s movement in WWE is here to stay, and it will continue to captivate in and out of the ring.
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