How the WWE Four Horsewomen changed women’s wrestling

Divas No More

When Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks were brought up to the main roster from NXT the women were still being referred to as “Divas” and the championship sported a large purple butterfly on the front of it. As much as things were shifting at NXT thanks in large part to the Four Horsewomen, the main roster had yet to catch up. That was all going to change at WrestleMania 32 when Banks, Flair and Lynch would battle it out for the newly-minted WWE Women’s Championship.

During the kickoff show Hall of Famer and former Women’s Champion Lita unveiled the new belt along with the announcement that the Divas would now be called “Superstars” just like their male counterparts. It was another step towards equality but what happened later that night solidified the fact that these women were every bit as good as the men and they deserved to be recognized as such.

"“We all had similar ambitions. We’re all very different people and we all love this business. We all come from such different walks of life, but we just had an ambition and a drive and just wanted to do well.” — Becky Lynch, ESPN.COM"

A triple threat match has a lot more moving parts than a one-on-one encounter. In order to keep the match in motion and have each athlete highlighted they need to be in sync with one another. This is where the Horsewomen shine brightest. Having been battled-tested against each other in NXT let them hone their skillsets. So when the time came to perform on the Grandest Stage they each played to their strengths.

After moonsaults, frog splashes and exploder suplexes were delivered to a crescendo of audience adulation the smoke cleared and Flair remained champion. The Divas Championship would be retired and Flair would hoist the first-ever WWE Women’s Championship (not to be confused with the WWF Women’s Championship) over her head to signify a long-needed change taking place.