Former WWE Champion Big E has turned critical of how older-age women’s wrestling is treated.
The recently concluded WWE Backlash 2025 PPV was main-evented by Randy Orton and John Cena, both of whom are respectively aged 45 and 48. Both the stalwarts have maintained their legacy at the top of the table for the past two decades. Similarly to them, several other older male stars have maintained their stardom and popularity even at much older ages. However, the same cannot be said for women’s wrestling.
Often, women who surpass a certain age or fall under the ‘older age’ category as compared to their younger competitors tend to lose out on their spot or stardom. On the same Backlash match card, Lyra Valkyria, 28, defeated Becky Lynch, 38, to retain her Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
Speaking on the Backlash pre-show, former World Champion Big E voiced his concerns over how older-age women’s wrestling is treated, and how it should be celebrated equally to their male counterparts.
“So much of the narrative is, is this a passing of the torch moment? Becky talks a lot about age and the way we talk about age with women and the way we talk about age with the men. For a lot of women who are in their late 30s it’s, ‘Oh, are you winding down? Are you ready to get out?’ It feels like 75% of the male side is 38, 39, 40, 45. Let’s give the women the same honor and same grace as well.”
H/t Fightful
The Backlash matchcard featured only one women’s match, while the entire WrestleMania 41 match card had four women’s matches spread across the two nights.
Similar To Big E, WWE Veteran Natalya Had Voiced Her Concerns Over The Women’s Division Booking
“Here’s my thing, and it kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier. I was talking to my mom, I talk to my mom about everything, and I was saying sometimes it’s so easy, especially nowadays, we all have a platform. If you’re on Twitter, you’re on Instagram, you’re on TikTok, you’re on social media, you have a platform. That’s the cool thing about this day and age is that everybody has a voice.
It is so easy. It would be so easy for me to go on social media and be like, ‘I’m mad about this, and I’m mad about that, and I should have this and I should have that.’ I would have loved to have been the first-ever Women’s IC Champion. I would have loved that. For me, and this is the big thing is that there just has to be the right story. I think everybody wants everything now, we’re living in a world of instant gratification where we want everything right now.
So there’s always going to be times where people feel like we should have this, and the Women’s Division should do that, and that there should be this. I do think that booking a weekly TV show, it’s not easy, especially because there’s lots of things that happen behind the scenes that people just don’t know about. Somebody gets hurt, or somebody can’t make it or this isn’t where we’re going for the big picture.
Of course I would love to do more in WWE, but I also want there to be the right story. Especially being somebody that has been in WWE for 18 years, I would love to do more, but I also understand that timing is everything, so I have faith that the right story will come. And actually, I feel like we’re right around the corner from some big announcements being made, especially with what I’m doing, I’m leaving you guys on such a cliff-hanger, those stories will come to fruition.”
In other news: This new WWE star could be set for a name change.
Additionally, a WWE Hall of Famer has called for a major change in The Bloodline.