The world of professional wrestling has grown tremendously over the years and there have been many who have lived their life through these changes. One such man to have witnessed this transition is Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock. While he has a humongous life outside of the WWE arena, the Great One is well-versed in the things of the Stamford-based promotion.
Dwayne Johnson recently made an appearance on Kevin Hart‘s show, ‘Hart to Heart’. Airing on Peacock, the show provided deeper insights into the lives of the two Jumanji stars. One particular trait that caught the fans’ attention was the evolution that women’s wrestling went through post the Attitude Era.
Going back to the days of his Attitude Era, The Rock said that while the men were at the top of the division of the Attitude Era, the women stars had a hard time. “That world today is much more inclusive, much more respectful, much more really creating and delivering efforts to make sure that all the females…they are aware,” said the Rock, bringing out the brutality of the management back then.
The Rock’s daughter, Ava Raine has followed in her father’s footsteps and entered into the world of professional wrestling. While he is happy to see her become the first fourth-generation wrestler in the family, the father in him is scared of the toughness that pro wrestling puts one into. However, things have been a lot better than the Attitude Era for the stars, especially the women.
How has women’s wrestling evolved from the time The Rock was a full-time wrestler?
The WWE Universe has seen a massive evolution of women inside the squared circle in the last three decades. Back in the late 90s, there had been very few women who too didn’t get into any sort of hardcore feuds. Most of the women in the division were involved in catfights, petty arguments, and risque attire. However, things slightly began to change after Trish Stratus entered the picture in 2000.
Soon, women started getting involved in big storylines giving them a greater appearance time, the feeble moves also turned into skillful antics and the audience started getting interested. Soon stars like Nikki Bella, Natalya, and Lita took charge of the division and were able to enhance both the looks as well as performances of the women’s division.
WWE never witnessed a downfall in the women’s division since then, many stars such as Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Becky Lynch carried the legacy of the division forward. Their hard work compelled the management as well as the audience to consider them as capable as any other man on the main roster.
Today, the women in WWE are exactly opposite to what they were when The Rock was a full-timer. They have now stepped into all the formats which had been reserved for men earlier. Be it the Royal Rumble or the WrestleMania, women of today stand shoulder to shoulder with the men. It was just hours back that Triple H claimed to put both the men and the women of the division at par.