It seems like yesterday that it was July 13th 2015. I was coming off a house show the previous day, where I took my nephew and scored front row tickets (purely luck). It was his reward for making all A honor roll for the school year. But on this day, it was one of my good friends and I that were making the trek to Philips Arena for Raw.
If you have ever been to a live TV event, the experience is like no other. I think one of the underrated moments of the day is waiting in line to get inside the arena. The general buzz and the energetic atmosphere is alluring and addicting at the same time. From the popular chants to the annoying but tolerable “WOO” that echoes throughout the CNN Center, the excitement is rather contagious.
But at this particular one, there was a bigger buzz going around.
I met some friends from Facebook for the first time, and as we all visited, someone in front of us exclaimed that Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks were at Philips. He held out his phone for us to see, all three women were photographed in the underground parking area, the news site confirmed that they were at the arena.
The pessimist in me was thinking “oh no, they’re teasing us”. Funny enough I was contemplating on wearing my Sasha Banks shirt to the show only to settle on my Hounds of Justice shirt instead. I had that same mindset, “nah there’s no way she will be on Raw”.
Banks was enjoying her first and only reign as NXT Women’s Champion, and just two months prior she and Lynch stole the show at Takeover: Unstoppable. Flair had been competing at live events on and off for some time, so her debut was on the horizon.
This Raw was the closest I have been to the ring seat wise. I was in the 3rd row and I spent way too much money on this ticket that I purchased from StubHub. I even thought to myself if this Raw was a letdown I would never get floor seats again.
So Team Bella comes out along with Paige, Stephanie McMahon. I can’t tell you how fast my heart was beating because McMahon’s presence justified that these three of the Horsewomen were indeed about to debut. Our section was turned up and turned out because everyone knew that things were about to change.
The crowd response was electric for Flair, Lynch and Banks. Everything that had been building up for years, it was solidified in that moment. Everyone knew from that moment that it was game over for the former WWE Women’s Division. From NXT bubbling over, the quality of matches that NXT was doing, the #GiveDivasaChance, all of those. This moment was the payoff for years of wanting better for the WWE Women’s Division.
The Divas Revolution was born and it has evolved into a Women’s Evolution five years later. I watched the debuts for the first time Sunday since attending that night, and just thinking of all the things these women have accomplished, I was crying tears of joy. Hell in a Cell, Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, Wrestlemania main event – prior to this it was just a dream. Now it is reality, it is history and it was long overdue.
This took place months before I stared to write. So when I got my start, I knew that I always wanted to stand up for our women of wrestling and place a focus on them. Five years later, it is a full circle moment for me. It was a goal of mine to write for Diva Dirt, and now that I am here sharing my experience of the Divas Revolution, in which changed the game for WWE, I really cannot put it into words. It’s truly amazing and a wonderful blessing.
Overall I remember just feeling the moment and being a fan. In retrospect, I always felt like that I was meant to see this in person. This iconic moment will live with me forever. That gamble from StubHub paid off. I don’t dare to try doing that since then, luck was definitely on my side at that time.
It really was the perfect day from meeting new, lifelong friends to the incredible show all talents put on. And of course, the iconic birth of the Women’s Evolution. The only regret I have from that day was I should’ve worn my Sasha Banks shirt to the show.
