Was there ever any question about this? Seriously, when’s the last time a rivalry transcended wrestling the way this one did?
Quite simply, these two women made history. Lots of history, at that.
Beginning all the way back in the Spring, Charlotte and Sasha Banks were featured (alongside Becky Lynch) on all of the Wrestlemania promotional material. Before the show, the WWE announced that the Divas Championship was no more, eradicating the butterfly, tramp stamp-esque belt from the program for good. It seemed as though the Divas Revolution had culminated in real change.
A banner hung outside of AT&T Stadium with all of their likenesses on it, and for good reason. The triple threat itself was easily the best match of Wrestlemania 32, after being booked as one of the shows main events. To this day, it remains in conversations as one of the top 10-15 greatest matches of the year. Charlotte walked out of Dallas with the new Women’s Championship.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge9BwWKfDG0]
Later in the summer, on an episode of Raw, the two had one of the best matches of the year. An emotional Banks won her first Women’s Championship, much to the delight of the fans. This, of course, set up the big rematch at Summerslam.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EOhZQzB4Ko]
Bayley was added into the mix for a nice triple threat match at Clash of Champions, but Charlotte walked away with the Women’s Championship in tow. Then, the two competed in easily the most important wrestling match of the year: the main event at Hell in a Cell.
It marked the first time two women had main evented a main roster WWE show, but it also marked the first time two women had ever competed in the Hell in a Cell match itself. Banks and Charlotte left it all in the ring in a match that will never be forgotten.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkG6PxmZ6V4]
Now, they’ve added a strong Falls Count Anywhere match to their case for WWE’s top program, and will undoubtedly steal the show in a 30-minute Iron Woman Match at Roadblock. Though that match has yet to take place at the time of this writing, the two have already put together a body of work that far surpasses anything else WWE has booked this year.
The rivalry has produced some of the best wrestling we’ve seen in years. Period. These are two elite athletes that have rare chemistry. They’ve also brought back the element of pure sport to the WWE. When these two lock up, it feels like a true test of wills.
But, there’s also the dynamic that Charlotte’s father, Ric Flair, has added to the program. Ric has been used to both get Charlotte over as a menacing narcissist and get Banks over as the example of doing things the right way. It’s become a classic tale of two competitors in their prime, battling over the top spot.
But, for all that they’ve done in elevating women’s wrestling, you could reasonably make an argument that these two are the most important women’s wrestlers in WWE history.
Detractors will say the program was hindered a bit by Sasha’s frequent injuries or the “hot potato” flip-flopping of the Women’s Championship. In hindsight, Sasha’s injuries actually kept the program fresh. The two weren’t at each other’s throats for weeks on end. Had that been the case, we’d probably be exhausted of the rivalry by now. As for the “hot potato” booking, it’s the perfect way to demonstrate that these are two elite rivals, capable of beating each other on any given night. It’s like when The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin swapped the title so much during the Attitude Era. It didn’t make the title mean less, it just showed that the two were so close in class that picking a winner was a veritable coinflip. That’s the case with Banks and Charlotte.
Bottom line – look at all they’ve accomplished this year:
Rid the WWE of the term ‘divas:’ check
Steal the show at Wrestlemania: check
Main event Monday Night Raw: check
First women’s Hell in a Cell: check
Main event a pay-per-view: check
Multiple ‘Match of the Year’ contenders: check
Elevate the Women’s Championship to Raw’s #1 title: check
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aADefwXZ30]
For the first time that I can recall, the women’s division is truly just as important as the men’s. That’s unprecedented progress. These two ladies have raised the bar for everyone, not just the women. We’ll look back on this one day like the Flair-Steamboat or Hart-Michaels programs, as some of the best wrestling matches we’ve ever witnessed.
Pure wrestling. Pure storytelling. Pure perfection.
Check back in on the rest of the list:
WWE’s Top Rivalries of 2016 – Honorable Mentions
WWE’s Top Rivalries of 2016 – #5 – No One Will Do It For You
WWE’s Top Rivalries of 2016 – #4 – The Bloodline vs. The Boys
WWE’s Top Rivalries of 2016 – #3 – Fight Forever
WWE’s Top Rivalries of 2016 – #2 – Beat Up John Cena
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, Contributor to FanSided’s Bama Hammer, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo, @Bama_Hammer
Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork
