Stephanie McMahon wrote the following for The Players Tribune:
For three straight days, during February of 2015, #GiveDivasAChance was a trending topic.
Three. Straight. Days.
The message from our fan base around the world during those 72 hours was resounding: They wanted to see our female performers in more prominent storylines, with deeper character development, and they wanted to see them compete in longer matches. This sentiment resonated so strongly throughout WWE that our Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon responded with a tweet of his own, “We hear you, keep watching #GiveDivasAChance.”
“Divas” is how WWE branded our female performers starting in 2008, in an effort to give them a more prominent role. As a point of reference, our male performers are known as Superstars. It was so successful, it led to the creation of a WWE reality show, Total Divas, and launched the careers of those who have become household names, like the Bella Twins, Natalya, Paige, Alicia Fox and Eva Marie.
Now, fast forward to Monday Night RAW on July 13, 2015. That night, when my music, “Welcome to the Queendom,” hit the arena, I strode to the ring with my shoulders back and head held high (versus my character’s normal villainous strut) because I knew I was about to make a historic announcement.
I began by speaking about the revolution around women in sports, referencing Ronda Rousey’s breakthrough success as the first UFC women’s champion, Venus and Serena Williams’ overwhelming popularity transcending tennis and the United States Women’s National Team’s World Cup-clinching victory garnering more viewers than any other soccer game in history. I made it clear that our female performers were going to have that same opportunity in WWE.
This “movement” became known as the Divas Revolution, and the truth is, it began long before I made that announcement. I simply had the privilege of bringing it to life by introducing to WWE’s main roster three of the four women who had been stealing the show as a part of our third brand, NXT, with their unrivaled athleticism, their ability to captivate the audience and their undeniable charisma. As I said their names, the crowd erupted and jumped to their feet. They were Charlotte, the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair; the “Irish lass kicker” Becky Lynch; and “The Boss” Sasha Banks.
These were the same three women who competed tonight in front of a record crowd of more than 100,000 at our biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, in a triple threat match for the championship.
Only, they didn’t compete for the Divas Championship. Instead, they competed for the Women’s Championship. This blockbuster announcement was made, as a surprise to our audience, tonight at WrestleMania by WWE Hall of Famer Lita.
Lita made reference to all of the pioneers who have led the way for this transition, including “The Great” Mae Young, Fabulous Moolah, Wendi Richter, Sensational Sherri, Trish Stratus and recent Hall of Fame inductee Jacqueline. She spoke of her pride in the Divas Division, the evolution of the Women’s Division, and then she revealed the physical symbol of this transition: a brand new WWE Women’s Championship belt with the same aesthetics as the male WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. This title belt represents the pinnacle of achievement in pro wrestling — and shows that in WWE, it isn’t about gender, race or ethnicity. It is simply about being the best at what you do.
The role of women in WWE has continued to evolve. For the first time in WWE history, Sasha Banks and Bayley became the first women to main event an NXT pay-per-view, and they tore the house down. In fact, their match the month before at NXT TakeOver was voted “match of the year” by our fan base. And earlier tonight, at WrestleMania, Charlotte, Sasha and Becky competed in a triple threat match, which ultimately saw Charlotte leave as the champion.
Our female performers are world-class athletes, actors, public speakers and philanthropists. They’re role models, inspiring and empowering women and girls to be confident and strong. They dedicate themselves to WWE, achieve great success and earn the same respect as their male counterparts.
Therefore, from this point forward, all of our performers – male and female – will be known as “Superstars.”
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April 4, 2016
A Redefining Moment
WWE Network Reaches Record 1.82 Million Subscribers
WWE today announced that its digital subscription service, WWE Network, reached a record 1.82 million total subscribers following last night’s WrestleMania®, the most viewed WrestleMania in history. This is a 39% increase from March 30, 2015, the day after WrestleMania last year.
“History was made last night with both a record-setting crowd at AT&T Stadium and more households than ever before watching WrestleMania on WWE Network,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “WWE Network continues to drive transformative growth for our company.”
“Results today further demonstrate the power of our brand, illustrate our potential to drive long-term growth and provide evidence that we are effectively executing our multi-platform content strategy,” said George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer...More?
WWE Officially Announces WrestleMania 32 Sets All-Time Attendance Record, Stephanie McMahon Comments, More
WWE has issued the following:
WRESTLEMANIA® SETS ALL-TIME ATTENDANCE RECORD
DALLAS, TEXAS – April 3, 2016 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) announced tonight that WrestleMania 32 set a new attendance record of 101,763, as fans from all 50 states and 35 countries converged on AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The previous WWE attendance record was at WrestleMania 3 in 1987, where 93,173 fans filled the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit.
WrestleMania 32 also became the highest grossing live event in WWE history as the annual pop-culture extravaganza grossed $17.3 million. Last year’s WrestleMania 31 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California previously held WWE’s record for gross revenue at $12.6 million.
“On behalf of the Dallas Cowboys organization, we congratulate WWE on their historic achievement,” said Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson. “WrestleMania was an incredible spectacle like none other, and we look forward to hosting it again at AT&T Stadium.”
“We are thrilled that we made history tonight at WrestleMania, further cementing its place as one of the top sports and entertainment events in the world,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “We thank our fans, the Dallas Cowboys and the entire Jones family for their overwhelming support.”
WrestleMania 33 takes place on Sunday, April 2, 2017 from the Orlando Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Ticket information will be announced later this year.
Top Ten All-Time Attendance Records at WrestleMania:
101,763: WrestleMania 32, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, April 3, 2016
93,173: WrestleMania 3, Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan, March 29, 1987
80,676: WrestleMania 29, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, April 7, 2013
80,103: WrestleMania 23, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan, April 1, 2007
78,363: WrestleMania 28, Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida, April 1, 2012
76,976: WrestleMania 31, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California, March 29, 2015
75,167: WrestleMania 30, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA, April 6, 2014
74,635: WrestleMania 24, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida, March 30, 2008
72,744: WrestleMania 25, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas, April 5, 2009
72,219: WrestleMania 26, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, March 28, 2010
April 3, 2016
New WWE Women's Championship Belt
WOW! Say hello to the brand-new @WWE #WomensChampionship presented by @AmyDumas at #WrestleMania! #WMKickoff pic.twitter.com/CxSKnQkRDz
— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2016
Backstage News on the NXT Deals Signed by Ciampa and Gargano, Speculation on Bobby Roode and Kota Ibushi Deals, Manny Andrade, More
As we noted over the weekend, WWE has officially signed Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano to NXT deals. The two had been appearing on NXT TV for several months prior to being signed.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Ciampa and Gargano are actually signed to WWE NXT touring contracts, which differ from regular WWE developmental deals. The two will not be based in Orlando and will not be required to work out at the WWE Performance Center, but neither of them are allowed to work the indy scene.
With regards to Bobby Roode and Kota Ibushi, Meltzer speculates Bobby Roode will be offered a similar deal to that of Ciampa and Gargano, while Kota Ibushi could end up with a regular deal like the one offered to Shinsuke Nakamura. Ibushi’s deal would likely be for less money, however.
In related news, there appears to be some second-guessing with regards to experienced talents like Rich Swann and Biff Busick, as the two are doing developmental tasks like drills and ring crew work. This may have something to do with the type of deals Gargano and Ciampa signed, although that has yet to be confirmed.
The Swann/Busick argument could be made for an experienced talent like Manny Andrade, fka La Sombra, but he has yet to learn the US style of wrestling at the Performance Center.
Sting Officially Announces His Retirement
During tonight’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Sting officially announced he is retiring from professional wrestling. Sting added he is proud to be ending his career in WWE, and although he is finished with wrestling, this is not goodbye.
April 2, 2016
WWE Launches Legacy Hall Of Fame
As seen at the Hall of Fame tonight, WWE launched a new wing - the WWE Legacy Hall of Fame. The 2016 inductees are Ed "The Strangler" Lewis, Lou Thesz, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Mildred Burke, Pat O'Connor and "Sailor" Art Thomas
Another Global Cruiserweight Participant Revealed
Team Vision Dojo has tweeted that luchador Lince Dorado will be a participant in the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series.
WWE Signs Two Talents to NXT Deals
Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano were officially signed to WWE NXT this week, according to PWInsider. The two have been working on limited deals for several months now. They worked a match at the NXT TV tapings during Axxess today.
