Former WWE Women's Champion Melina comments on the Women's Revolution in wrestling
Former WWE Women's champion Melina recently discussed how equal opportunities for women came to be in sports like boxing decades before the Women's Revolution in wrestling.
The 43-year old is best known for her time in WWE in the 2000s. She can also put forth a claim to being the face of the division after Trish Stratus and Lita retired. She made her most recent appearance in the company at the Royal Rumble earlier this year.
In a recent interview with Wrestlingpurists.com , Melina shared her thoughts on how the Women's Revolution in wrestling came very late, but is still very welcome.
"In the 90s, Boxing took women and they started moving them up in the card and I thought in my mind, being an avid Boxing watcher, when Women started being presented there, then you started seeing women in the Olympics more, showcased on the TV stations, women were doing more stuff in the 90s and it was so amazing, like “oh my God I wanna be that!” I wanted to be that. Then you get into wrestling and it’s like “Oh. We’re not doing much”. Then it took 20 years for then to finally do something." [h/t Wrestle Purists]
WWE turned the introduction of several women from NXT to the main roster in 2015 into a storyline, calling it the "Divas' Revolution" (later renamed to "Women's Revolution"). These NXT call-ups were 3/4th of the famous Four Horsewomen - Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks.
Melina comments on the reaction she recieved at this year's Royal Rumble in WWE
Melina surprised the WWE Universe by entering this year's Women's Royal Rumble. She was the #2 entrant in the 30-person match. Despite being eliminated fairly quickly by #1 Sasha Banks, she received a massive pop and a great reaction from the fans in St. Louis.
still can't believe Melina was in The Royal Rumble 🥹 https://t.co/ttT4DQaLSL
When questioned about the fan reaction at the Rumble during the same interview, she opened up about struggling from mental health issues in the past, and how overcoming that to reappear in front of those fans made the feeling even better.
“Im glad that because through depression and whatnot, I’m glad I survived through life to experience that. It was a beautiful thing.” [h/t Wrestle Purists]
Melina is still an active wrestler. Despite the fact that a full-time WWE return seems unlikely now, she is still fondly remembered by fans of the Ruthless Aggression Era.