“People used to use the girls’ match for a bathroom break. Now people are buying tickets to sit and watch the girls’ match.”

Sasha Banks now known as Mercedes Moné—is a professional wrestler who became one of the defining figures of WWE’s Women’s Evolution. Known for her technical ability, charisma, and high-profile matches, Banks helped push women’s wrestling into territory it had rarely occupied before. She competed in historic matches, including WWE’s first women’s Iron Man and Hell in a Cell matches, and became one of the inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions alongside Bayley.

Ten years ago, Sasha Banks said those words while reflecting on her journey toward WrestleMania 32—the same WrestleMania that became my first exposure to professional wrestling. At the time, her statement sounded almost like a prediction. Today, it feels more like a challenge: if women’s wrestling has come this far, why are women still expected to prove that they belong?

For decades, women in professional wrestling have had to fight for more than championships. They have fought for screen time, respect, meaningful storylines, longer matches, and the right to be seen as wrestlers first. Calling their matches a “bathroom break” was only one symptom of a much larger problem.

The history of women’s wrestling is not simply a story of progress. It is also a history of discrimination, sexualization, unequal opportunities, and women repeatedly forcing an industry to recognize their value.

Pre-Modern Era: The Foundation

The problem was that being present did not necessarily mean being valued.

Women’s matches were often treated as secondary attractions, with limited opportunities and expectations that performers should meet a particular standard of femininity and appearance. Wrestlers such as The Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, and Wendi Richter became important figures in establishing women’s wrestling, but their careers also reflected an industry where women had to navigate power structures that rarely gave them the same opportunities as men.

This era laid the foundation, but it also established the expectations that future generations would have to fight against. Women were allowed in the ring; they simply were not always allowed to belong there on equal terms.

The Divas Era

Then came the Divas Era, when WWE increasingly marketed women around appearance, sexuality, and entertainment rather than their abilities as wrestlers. Short matches and gimmicks centered on women’s bodies became common, reinforcing the idea that the division was more about being a “Diva” than being a serious competitor.

Yet the era cannot be defined solely by its limitations. Trish Stratus, Lita, Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Michelle McCool, Gail Kim, and AJ Lee were among those who continued proving that women could be compelling performers and legitimate wrestlers despite the system surrounding them. That contradiction defined the era: women were often reduced to their appearance, yet they kept proving they were capable of more.

By 2015, fans were demanding change. The #GiveDivasAChance movement, sparked by criticism of WWE’s treatment of its women’s division, became a visible call for longer, more meaningful matches and greater respect for female wrestlers. WWE eventually answered, setting the stage for what would become the Women’s Evolution.

The Women’s Evolution

The Women’s Evolution changed everything. Or at least, that was the promise.

Beginning in 2015, WWE began moving away from the “Divas” identity and toward presenting women as athletes and wrestlers. The Divas Championship was replaced by the Women’s Championship. Women received longer and more competitive matches. The first Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s Elimination Chamber soon followed. Women eventually received their own pay-per-view in Evolution.

And then came WrestleMania.

Women were no longer simply opening the show or filling time between major matches. At WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey main-evented WWE’s biggest event—a position traditionally reserved for the company’s biggest stars and most important storylines. After decades of women being treated as secondary attractions, placing them at the center of WrestleMania was more than a milestone; it was a statement that women’s wrestling could command the same attention and significance as the men’s division.

Sasha Banks embodied that shift. During the Women’s Evolution, she became part of a series of historic milestones, from WWE’s first women’s Iron Man and Hell in a Cell matches to the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and Women’s Tag Team Championship. These were not simply “firsts” to add to a résumé. They showed that women could carry the same demanding matches, major events, and championship stories that had long been associated with men.

Yet these milestones also raise a question: if women had already proven they could make history, why did they still have to fight to have that history treated as equally important?

Sasha Banks and Naomi’s 2022 walkout became one of the clearest controversies surrounding that question. Just weeks after becoming WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 38, the pair reportedly grew frustrated with the direction of their title reign and the treatment of the championship. In May 2022, they walked out of WWE programming rather than participate in a scheduled match, with WWE later stating that they felt their roles as tag team champions were not being respected.

The walkout did not immediately mean they had left WWE. The company suspended both wrestlers and stripped them of the titles, and the two were absent from WWE programming for several months. They eventually returned later in 2022, but their return was short-lived: Banks and Naomi departed WWE later that year, beginning new chapters in their careers outside the company.

Regardless of where one stands on their decision to walk out, the incident raised an important question about the Women's Evolution: if women’s tag team wrestling had finally been given its own championship, should that championship not receive the same investment and importance as the other titles?

That incident raises a larger question: what does it mean to create a women’s division if its championships are not given the same importance as those in the men’s division? WWE’s major men’s championships have long been positioned as the highest achievements a wrestler can pursue, carrying significant attention and prestige. The women’s tag team division, however, has faced periods of inconsistent booking and limited storylines. A championship can exist on paper, but its value depends on how seriously it is treated.

For a division that was supposed to represent the progress of women’s wrestling, that distinction matters. If the women’s championships are not given comparable importance, then the Women’s Evolution risks becoming more of a label than a genuine change in how women are valued.

For me, this is where Sasha’s story becomes especially important.

She had already helped prove that women could main-event, wrestle Iron Man matches, compete inside Hell in a Cell, headline major shows, and become inaugural tag team champions.

Yet even someone who had helped build the Women’s Evolution could still reach a point where she felt that the division was not being given the respect it deserved.

The Modern Elite Era

Today, women’s wrestling looks almost unrecognizable compared with the Divas Era. Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Iyo Sky, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Liv Morgan, and countless others have become major stars, receiving opportunities that previous generations had to fight to earn. Women can now headline major events and occupy the same space as the men’s division, but greater visibility does not automatically mean equality.

Questions about booking, championship credibility, representation, creative direction, and opportunities still surround women’s wrestling. The controversies may have changed, but they have not disappeared. Progress should not be mistaken for perfection; it simply means that the fight has moved forward.

That progress can also be seen beyond WWE. Mercedes Moné, formerly Sasha Banks, has continued pushing the boundaries of women’s wrestling across different promotions, competing internationally and holding championships across multiple companies. Her career demonstrates that women’s wrestling does not become valuable simply because a major promotion declares it so. The performers themselves give those matches and championships their meaning, prestige, and value.

That is why the phrase “bathroom break” feels increasingly outdated. Women were never the bathroom break—the industry simply spent decades treating them like one. Ten years after Sasha Banks spoke about audiences buying tickets to watch women’s matches, the question is no longer whether women can draw an audience. 

They already have. The question is whether the wrestling industry will continue giving them the opportunities, respect, and creative freedom they have spent decades proving they deserve.