5 Superstars That REALLY Started The WWE Women's Revolution

This week on Raw Emma continued to claim that she is the one who started the Women's Revolution that continues to take WWE by storm. The Australian Superstar has been the focus of a number of hashtags recently, most of which were created by her humble self, all claiming that she should either be given a chance on Raw or that she was the revolutionary woman that led the way for WWE's current female roster. One specific episode of Raw, Emma took on Mickie James, and if the Aussie lost she would no longer be allowed to claim that she started the revolution. Unfortunately for us, James was unsuccessful in her attempts to silence Emma, and the inaccurate bragging continued. Emma may very well have played a part in the Women's Revolution, but here are five females who have played a bigger one.

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5. Stephanie McMahon

You probably won't want to admit it, but Stephanie McMahon has had a big part to play in getting WWE's women to where they are today. On screen, it was Stephanie who brought in many of the Superstars from NXT and started the original three teams of three battling with each other, PCB, Team BAD and Team Bella. You may point out, as I mentioned, that was all within the realms of WWE television, but don't fool yourselves. Stephanie wasn't just out there introducing those teams and describing it as a revolution because her father and her husband told her to. The boss's daughter is an extremely powerful figure within WWE and likely continues to do all that she can to make sure women are given every opportunity that they deserve in the company.

4. AJ Lee

As much as we love how far the women of WWE have come, and the sheer amount of talent across all three brands, one thing really pains us. While she was a successful superstar in her own right, it's sad that AJ Lee is missing out on it all. Lee did an awful lot for women's wrestling in WWE before the revolution had even begun, yet now she isn't around to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Lee wrestled in WWE during the dying days of females being hired because of their looks. She could out wrestle anyone else on the roster and that was why she was Divas' Champion three times with all her reigns totaling over a year with the title. Hopefully, she won't stay retired from professional wrestling as that is a return that would only strengthen an already incredible women's division.

3. Nikki Bella

We can almost feel some of you rolling your eyes at this one. Most would probably lump Nikki Bella in with a small group of current WWE female Superstars who represent a bygone era in the company. On some levels that most certainly has an element of truth to it, but on others, Nikki has to be seen as a proponent of the women's movement in wrestling. As Bella pointed out during a recent interview, it was somewhat ironically the reality TV show Total Divas that got a new generation of women watching wrestling. Like her fiancee John Cena, Nikki is ever present in the world outside of WWE, and that is just one way she has contributed to the plight of women's wrestling. Without an influx of fans wanting to watch women wrestle, there would be no revolution.

On top of that, she's upped her game in recent years, improving astronomically from when she first entered the ring.

2. Paige

Much like AJ Lee, former Divas' Champion Paige is also currently absent from a women's roster that she effectively helped build. The reason Emma claims she started the Women's Revolution is probably because she battled Paige in the final of a tournament to crown the first ever NXT Women's Champion. Well, Emma didn't win that match, Paige did. The British Superstar then went on to do so much more. Much like Asuka recently, Paige relinquished that NXT Championship in order to pursue her career on the main roster. In fact, she's the only woman to ever hold that belt and the Divas' title at the same time, and probably always will be the only one now the latter is defunct. Paige was a female wrestler like we had never seen in WWE before, and here's to hoping that her run with the company isn't over yet.

1. The Four Horsewomen

Let's be honest, if we had split this group up for the purposes of this list then there would have only been one slot left for anyone else. No one has shaped the women's roster quite like there four women. All of them are unique and all of them have contributed to raising the bar for women's wrestling in some way. Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair, in particular, have done more for women's wrestling in WWE than any other competitors. The feuding pair became the first females to ever headline a pay-per-view as well as being the first to compete inside a Hell In A Cell at the same time. That same pair stole the show alongside Becky Lynch in their Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 32. Plus let's not forget the incredible series of matches Bayley and Banks had in NXT that really signified the start of fans seeing women's matches as more than just a breather in an otherwise stacked card.