At WWE’s upcoming SmackDown LIVE PPV, we will see the first ever women’s Money In The Bank Ladder match take place. The match will see Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Tamina, Natalya and Carmella collide for the chance to win a contract for a SmackDown Women’s Championship match. And while it has all the makings to be an amazing match — given the talent in the ring — its significance to the company is about so much more than just the match itself.
Let’s take a look at why having a female-led Money In The Bank Ladder match is a genius idea.
It Gives The Women’s Championship The Importance It Deserves
For years, we have seen countless WWE Superstars collide in various contests in order to win a championship match. Whether it be the Royal Rumble or a Money In The Bank Ladder match, the significance of the WWE Championship was always made clear. However, the same could not be said about the Women’s Championship.
Whether you’re from the eras which saw the likes of Chyna, Lita, Trish Stratus or Melina collide over the Women’s Championship or the one which saw the Bellas and AJ Lee feuding over the Divas Championship, there just wasn’t enough prominence placed upon the female title.
Furthermore, the fact that women competitors never wrestled for the WWE Championship suggests that they weren’t eligible for that belt. While there have been mild exceptions — most notably Chyna’s appearance in the Royal Rumble as well as her winning of the Intercontinental Championship — the Women’s Championship was portrayed as the peak of women’s division. Yet it just wasn’t treated with the same amount of respect.
The presence of a women’s Money In The Bank Ladder match is finally the company’s chance to show that the SmackDown Women’s Championship holds the same significance to the female competitors as any World Championship holds to the male superstars. After all these years, it’s finally WWE’s chance to put the female division on the same level as the male division by equally recognizing the prestige of both their respective championships.
It Will Pave The Way For More Extreme Match Types
If you had told me a few years ago that WWE would be having women compete in Iron Man matches and Kendo-Stick-On-A-Pole matches, I wouldn’t have believed you. Since 2010, female roster and division was kind of flailing with the vast majority of the audience disinterested in the matches — and it had nothing to do with the talent in the ring, it was down to the fact that the division wasn’t made to feel importance. And thus, fan reactions reflected this.
However, the powers-that-be did a great job reinvigorating the female division when they unleashed the Divas Revolution. Seeing the NXT females colliding with the WWE divas livened things up and paved the way for the current success that the female superstars are experiencing.
Moreover, this success led to WWE finally taking risks with the division, dropping the diva tag and experimenting with more extreme matches. The company was finally starting to realise the potential in the athletes. And because of this, we have seen the likes of Charlotte and Sasha Banks involved in Iron Man matches and even a Hell In A Cell match. This would have been unheard of before, and now it’s a normal thing. Furthermore, we have also seen Tables matches and Object-On-A-Pole matches take place with female superstars. And the Money In The Bank Ladder match is just another step towards the conclusion that the former divas can pull off a great match in any environment — extreme or not.
We will soon reach a day when the likes of a women’s Steel Cage match or No DQ match aren’t that unheard of. And thanks to the upcoming Money In The Bank Ladder match, that day may be closer than we think.
WWE have come a long way with their female superstars. In a few years, they have managed to turn the disinterested audience into a legion of supportive fans — and the reason for this, is down to the fact that they are treating the division with the respect it deserves. The Money In The Bank Ladder match proves that the company is happy to continue taking risks with the women competitors as well as acknowledging the fact that each brand’s respective Women’s Championship is just as important to the women as the World Championship is to the male superstars.
Are you excited for the Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder match? Let us know in the comments below!
