April 20, 2020: RAW is Women's Wrestling

April 20, 2020

4/20 is a day that celebrates people getting high. 4/20/2020 will be remembered for something...bigger. For the first time in the history of Monday Night Raw, the longest-running weekly episodic show in television history, had five women's matches. Yes, I said...FIVE WOMEN'S MATCHES. There have been times in the past where we would barely get even ONE women's match on Raw, and when we did those matches would last a cup of coffee and not be respected by the WWE Universe. Times have clearly changed where fans now seem to look forward to what the women do moreso than tmany of the men. What's crazy about this historical evening is WWE Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch wasn't even there. But in the end, as much as The Man was missed, it didn't matter as folks were pleasenly suprised by what we got in what turned out to be the most female-heavy Raw of all time.

The first women's match of the evening was Shayna Baszler vs NXT upstart Indi Hartwell. Side note about Indi: she literally became a wrestler because she was inspired by the legendary encounter between Bayley and Sasha Banks for the NXT Women's Championship at the first NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. If any one match inspires you to become a wrestler, it's definitely that one. Fresh off her qualifying match last week for the Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match on May 10th on the WWE Network, Shayna would end up winning very decisively and punishing the everlivng hell out of Indi after the match, including breaking her arm with a ladder. OUCH!

The next women's match would be a rematch from the previous Raw: Kairi Sane vs Nia Jax. Nia beat Kairi the previous week to qualify for this year's Women's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and Kairi wanted payback. Kairi tried her best but Nia was too much once again as Nia soundly defeated Kairi for the 2nd week in a row, building momentum for Money in the Bank in a couple of weeks.

The third women's match would end up being (to me) the most competitive and personal of the five that took place: Liv Morgan vs Ruby Riott. WWE did a good job setting up this match, speaking on the history of the Riott Squad, which also included Sarah Logan, who was released along with many others due to the coronavirus pandemic yet was mentioned a LOT on the program despite the release. Liv and Ruby held nothing back in a very back and forth encounter that saw Liv beat Ruby in a physical showdown. In my honest opinion, Liv has ridiculous upside about her and could be a massive star in the women's division down the line.

The fourth match of the night was a non-title bout between NXT Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and Kayden Carter. I'm glad WWE commentators made it clear that the first NXT match for Charlotte in an NXT arena will be against Mia Yim rather than having Charlotte vs Mia Yim right away, and obviously we will be getting Charlotte vs Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship down the line. Kayden held her own, but like everyone else before her...she bowed down to The Queen. Charlotte is on a different level right now as far as confidence goes, and she knows it.

And just when we thought "well..that's it for women's wrestling tonight" because no one expected to have that many women's wrestling matches...SUPRISE! We get one final women's match: Bianca Belair vs Santana Garrett. This was a nice way to end the night for the women in the ring with someone who I KNOW is gonna be huge for WWE in Bianca and someone who COULD be big in WWE if the cards are played right in Santana. Santana showed why she is highly respected in the indies but Bianca proved why she's the EST of WWE, showing off her combination of strengh, speed, agility, and overall confidence that you just can't teach. Either you have it or you don't, and Bianca has IT!

In addition to those matches, I have to give a shoutout to Asuka, Zelina Vega, Lana, and Charly Caruso who left their prints on this female-heavy RAW in their own right, especially Zelina. For women's wrestling fans, outside of no Raw Women's Champion, you couldn't have asked for a better night. While WWE has done a lot of questionable things when it comes to their women's wrestling past (and you can argue present as well) and during this quarantine period, this is something that women's wresting fans and fans of wrestling as a whole can look back on and go "This was a special night." And it was. Take a bow, women's wrestling fans. On April 20, 2020, the biggest weekly show in professional wrestling history belonged to you.

My thoughts on Trish Stratus

Me meeting Trish for the first time at Wrestlemania 30 Axxess 

Pro wrestling has been part of my life for so long. In fact, it's hard for me to think of a time when pro wrestling HASN'T been part of my life. I've been a fan since the days of the Monday Night War and Attitude Era (when it was WWF (now WWE), WCW, and ECW). I grew up a traditionalist, liking the faces (good guys) and hating the heels (bad guys). At the time, I didn't know it was scripted (I refuse to call it fake) at the time, and I didn't care. I just found it on TV and found myself enjoying it. I wish more fans would just sit back and enjoy it, but that's another story for another time. What I want to talk about...or more spefically WHO I want to talk about is a woman that I instantly became a fan of 20 years ago: a woman by the name of Trish Stratus.

On March 19,2000, on Sunday Night Heat, Test (R.I.P) faces off against Gangrel. No one remembers the match itself, but instead remembers who showed up DURING the match. Sporting a pink skirt, top, and cowboy hat with a black trench coat and black boots, Trish introduced herself to the wrestling world for the first time and grabbed people's attention without saying a word. She would leave with Test after his victory. Folks would see Trish again during Prince Albert's match with Joey Abs of the Mean Street Posse. She would have a different attire, sporting a blue top and skirt but have the same trenchcoat and boots but no cowboy hat. Again, she made her presence felt without saying a word as Prince Albert won despite the entire Mean Street Posse at ringside for backup. But can you blame them for being distracted by Trish's beauty, though?! NOPE! You catch her WWE debut here and see for yourself how her mere presence captivated the wrestling world (Credit to WWE.com for the video) https://www.wwe.com/videos/trish-stratus-debuts-sunday-night-heat-march-19-2000

Trish's debut looks (credit to WWE.com)

At that point, Trish was the hottest woman I've ever seen in my life. Crazy beautiful and a body that video game creators WISHED they could create, you couldn't ask for anything better from a woman. And the thing is...she could have had a great career just by her looks alone. But the more I followed her career, it was clear as day she wants to be more than a woman with great looks. She wanted to be a respectable wrestler and performer in a world that was ruled by men. She evolved as a wrestler and performer and in turn, I evolved as a fan of hers. I watched a girl become a woman right before my eyes, and I was rooting for her to succeed. I got excited seeing her not just because of her beauty, but because I knew she was going to fight her heart out for the fans. She wanted the world to see her as a wrestler, and boy she did she succeed! A 7x WWE Women's Champion, a one-time WWE Hardcore champion, Diva of the Decade, youngest female WWE Hall-of-Fame ever, first female Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Award winner, and future George/Lou Threz Professional Wrestling Hall-of-Famer (first female to receive the Lou Thesz Award, BTW). She helped changed the stigma regarding how women are looked at when it comes to being serious athletes.

She helped changed the world forever by challenging our viewpoints in many ways, and along the way she helped changed ME in how I viewed women in athletic settings, and for that I'm forever thankful for that. For what it's worth, if anyone asked me who I feel is the greatest female performer in wrestling history, I will gladly respond with the words TRISH STRATUS. Thank you for everything you have meant to women's wrestling, wrestling as a whole, and women in sports as a whole. The fight for respect for women in sports still continues but the battles are being won because you helped make it happen.