Stephanie McMahon says the fans started WWE's women's revolution.
At Wrestlemania 32, Charlotte Flair won the newly created Women's championship. This was the signifier the WWE's "Diva's division" was becoming the "Women's division" and the "Diva" moniker would be dropped all together. In an interview with Fortune, Stephanie McMahon discussed the evolution of how women were presented in WWE.
"We have what's called 'the women's revolution' in our business. That's how we hashtag it. What happened was: we had branded our women's division, women have always been a part of our show but they were not necessarily seen on par with the men. They were the managers, they were the valets, they were the eye candy," said McMahon.
After one particularly match, the change to division was accelerated according to McMahon.
"While there was a number of us fighting to have our women represented differently. It was determined that's not what our audience wanted, until one key pivotal moment," said McMahon. "There was a match that took place that lasted all of thirty seconds, which was not uncommon with our women. Our fan base, both male and female, started a hashtag called 'Give Divas A Chance' and it trended worldwide for three days," she continued.
The match she's referring to was Paige & Emma vs. The Bella Twins on a February 2015 episode of WWE Raw.
McMahon said the fans asked for more athleticism, better storylines, and better character development for the women on WWE's rosters. McMahon claimed the demand became so "loud and strong" it caught the attention of Vince McMahon and this led to the decision to rebrand the division and to create a new championship.
The rest of the interview can be seen on Fortune.com.
