FanPost

The significance of the feud between Sasha Banks & Charlotte Flair

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It felt as though it was just yesterday I was watching Sasha and Charlotte in NXT battling for the title, two unknowns in the wrestling world vying to make a name for themselves and their little brand NXT. There were some rough spots (this was developmental after all), but it was pretty easy to tell from watching their matches they would do something special in WWE.

On Raw, that's come to fruition. What we've just witnessed on Monday (Nov. 28) will send a ripple throughout the wrestling world for years to come.

A lion's share of the credit goes to the two wonderful performers, Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair. Their matches were exactly what was needed to fully break that "bathroom break" mentality and "Divas" stereotype. Whether it was the moonsault from Charlotte, the vicious strikes and holds from Sasha, or the passion both displayed, audiences were glued to their matches. This is a positive sign.

If what Evolve booker Gabe Sapolsky said is true, that wrestling schools are filled with more women than ever, the impact is already being made. Now the glass ceiling has been shattered. The stereotypes are no longer true.

Women don't have to just be some part of the show anymore; they can be main-eventers as well.

For all the "Sashas" in the world, the little girls who always dreamed about being wrestlers (even going so far as to writing letters about it at 10 years old), it just provides them with a little more motivation. For the "Charlottes", the people who kinda stumbled into wrestling by chance, it provides them with opportunities as well. They see women main-eventing Raw and pay-per-view (PPV) events and they think to themselves, "Hey. If they can do it, I can do it too."

Critics can say women don't belong in the main event, but it's going to fall on deaf ears. They can say women can't physically handle the challenge, but they'll be in the minority. They can even say women will never be as good as or better than the men, but they'll be in the wrong. That's real progress.

And because it's happening on the biggest stage for the largest company in wrestling, everybody is getting the opportunity to see it. While the real revolution started down in NXT (when exactly is up for debate. Some say it started with Paige/Emma, others will point to Charlotte/Natalya or Charlotte/Sasha... but most will agree that it took flight with Sasha/Bayley), the main roster is viewed by thousands of people live and millions of people on TV.

For the 90s kids like myself who just missed out on the Trish and Lita days and grew up in the "Divas" era, this is all so surreal. For the lapsed fans just getting back into the fold, women main-eventing WWE programming and wrestling with such physicality is a jarring shock to their system.

I'm not gonna lie: If you would've told me three or four years ago that I'd see women main event a WWE PPV, I would've laughed and said "Not in a million years."

And yet here we are.

Someone had a dream, and they finally made it.

While WWE kinda beat us over the head with it, this feud is historic.

I hope they can see that people will care about women's wrestling if it's good and continue to give the women opportunities to prove themselves.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.