WWE News: Drew McIntyre praises women's wrestling saying 'You don't want to follow a women's match'
What's the story?
The 'Women's Evolution' in professional wrestling has effected all avenues of the sport from wrestlers, to commentators to referees.
Drew McIntyre, whose match last night at Fastlane followed the showdown between Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair recently said that 'you don't want to follow a women's match' when speaking to Sportsnet Starting Lineup. Fightful.com carried transcripts of the interview.
In case you didn't know . . .
Over the last few years, women's matches have experienced both firsts (Royal Rumble matches, Money in the Bank, Hell in a Cell) and its own PPV (Evolution).
Since McIntyre's return to WWE has coincided with women finally getting treatment somewhat more comparable to men then ever before, McIntyre has enjoyed seeing the ladies get better opportunities than they had in the past.
The heart of the matter
McIntyre has spent time over the last five years in Impact, WWE and NXT. Through his time on all shows/brands, he's witnessed firsthand some of the qualities that women have always brought to the table.
"The girls were in short segments and not exactly the most....they weren't able to show their skills. And there's always been some very skilled women around, they just weren't able to get that opportunity. It frustrated me and it really frustrated them."
He started to really take notice of just how far women's wrestling has come when he spent some time away from WWE.
"When I was away from the company, I was around a lot of talented women. I was watching them and was like, 'Wow, these girls are better than most of the guys.' Finally, when the women's evolution happened and the girls started to get opportunities, they really started killing it. Back in the day, it used to be a case of, if you were on after the girls it was a great spot because the crowd will have came down and they were ready for a serious match. These days, you don't want to be after the girls because they are going to kill it and you're gonna have to follow them."
Although the match last night between Lynch and Flair might not have reached the level of their showdown at Evolution and at TLC and SummerSlam, it was based more on the story of Lynch making it to WrestleMania rather than pulling out outrageous moves.
What's next?
Hopefully, another version of Evolution is going to happen because it would be a step back to only have the PPV once.
The women have been bringing it for years, but the showcase and booking has certainly improved over the last five years.
Another huge step, and possibly the biggest one yet, might occur at WrestleMania 35 if Mr. McMahon decides to let Ronda Rousey defend the Raw Women's Title against both Flair and Lynch.