Before any of WWE’s female Superstars ever headlined a pay-per-view, there were a handful who had headlined a Monday Night RAW or an NXT: Takeover event.
The first time a women’s match headlined Monday Night RAW was in August 2000 when Lita defeated Stephanie McMahon for the Women’s Championship. The second, was in 2004 when Lita once again challenged for the Women’s Championship, this time against Trish Stratus.
When the “Women’s Revolution” began in WWE, it came about in large part because of the female talent in WWE’s developmental brand, NXT.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in 2015, the NXT Women’s Championship match between Sasha Banks and Bayley was seen as the co-headlining match along with the NXT Championship bout between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens.
However, at NXT Takeover: Respect, Sasha Banks vs. Bayley was billed as the headliner as they competed in the first ever women’s 30-minute Iron Man match. This match was also the first women’s clash to headline a major WWE event.
It was only when the NXT female talent transitioned from NXT to the main roster that the WWE women’s division started to be treated differently. In 2016, WWE introduced new Women’s Championship’s and the women were finally able to headline a main roster PPV for the first time in history.
Since then there have been many female Superstars who have been involved in the main event of a PPV, however, only a select a few have done so on more than one occasion.
Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler, who at the time was the NXT Women’s Champion, first headlined a main roster PPV in November 2019 as she defeated RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title, Champions Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series.
Her second main event came at the 2020 Elimination Chamber event when she won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match which guaranteed the winner a RAW Women’s championship match at WrestleMania 36. The match also featured Liv Morgan, Asuka, Natalya, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan. Baszler single-handedly eliminated each of her opponents to win and earn her shot at the RAW Women’s championship.
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey made history as she competed in the headline match at 2018 PPV, Evolution, when she successfully defended her RAW Women’s Championship against Nikki Bella. Evolution was a historic event for WWE as it was the first ever all-women’s PPV.
Rousey again made WWE history in 2019 when alongside Becky Lynch and Charlotte, the trio became the first women to wrestle in the main event at WrestleMania. On the show, Rousey defended her RAW Women’s Championship in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat Match which also saw the Smackdown Women’s Championship on the line.
Sasha Banks
In 2016 Sasha Banks, along with Charlotte Flair, made history by being the female Superstars to main event a WWE PPV as the pair faced off at Hell In A Cell, in the first ever women’s Hell In A Cell match. Sasha Banks’ Raw Women’s Championship was also on the lline.
Banks picked up another record when she headlined Night One of WrestleMania 37, as she defended her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair. This match was not only historic for being just the second time a women’s match would headline a WrestleMania but also because it was the first time that two Black female Superstars faced at WrestleMania.
Asuka
At the 2018 TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV Asuka headlined the PPV against Charlotte and Becky Lynch in the first ever women’s TLC match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. Asuka was victorious and claimed her first SmackDown Women’s crown in the process.
A year later at the 2019 TLC PPV, Asuka and Kairi Sane, known as the Kabuki Warriors successfully defended their Women’s Tag Team Championships against Charlotte and Becky Lynch in a TLC match in the headline spot.
Asuka would also headline Elimination Chamber 2020 as she battled against Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan in an Elimination Chamber match, where the winner would earn a RAW Women’s Championship match.
Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch’s first PPV headliner came at the 2018 TLC PPV when she unsuccessfully defended her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair and Asuka, in the first ever WWE Women’s TLC match.
Lynch would make history, along with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey, by being the first female Superstars to headline a WrestleMania. Flair would defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship while Rousey defended her RAW Women’s Championship in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat Match. Lynch would emerge victorious and walk out of WrestleMania 35 as a double champion.
As the RAW Women’s Champion Lynch would compete in the Survivor Series 2019 PPV headliner match when she faced NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler and Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title Championship Triple Threat Match.
At the 2019 TLC PPV, Lynch teamed with Charlotte Flair as the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) defended their Women’s Tag Team Championships. Lynch and Flair failed to capture the Women’s Tag Titles.
Charlotte Flair
In 2016, Flair made history when she competed against Sasha Banks in the first women’s PPV main event, in the first ever WWE women’s Hell In A Cell match at the 2016 Hell In A Cell PPV. Flair defeated Banks to win the RAW Women’s Championship.
At the 2018 TLC PPV, Flair, Lynch and Asuka headlined the event with the Smackdown Women’s Championship was on the line in a TLC match.
At the 2019 TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs PPV Flair, teaming with Becky Lynch, headlined the PPV against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) in the first ever WWE women’s tag team TLC match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Flair and Lynch failed to win the titles.
Flair made history once again when she, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch were the first female Superstars to compete in the main event of WrestleMania. Flair would defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship while Rousey would defend her RAW Women’s Championship in a Winner Takes All Triple Threat Match for the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championships at WrestleMania 35.
Honourable Mention
30 female Superstars headlined the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble PPV as the event saw the first ever WWE Women’s Royal Rumble match. The match featured several legendary Superstars such as Trish Stratus, Lita and Mickie James as well as current stars Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. Asuka won the match, which earned her a WrestleMania championship match. Ronda Rousey also debuted in WWE after the match and confronted Asuka, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.