WrestleMania 39 is in the rearview mirror, and while some criticized WWE for not putting a women’s match in the main event on either night of the blockbuster event, WWE Hall of Famer Madusa doesn’t believe any of the women’s matches on the show could have carried that spot.
Speaking in an interview with WrestlingNews.co’s Steve Fall, Madusa explained that while she wants women to be equally represented in the company, she believes it’s important for a WrestleMania main event to have fantastic storytelling behind it.
“It’s not that I’m going to take Triple H‘s side, but women want equality and women want what everyone else has, and because rightfully so in a world and where we’re at. However, I’m going to go back to where you have to prove that you can do that spot. So people and women and everybody feel that, ‘Hey, we’ve earned this spot. We need to main event’, or ‘Hey, straight from the Royal Rumble, we get a spot.'”
Continuing, the Hall of Famer explained that she doesn’t believe any women’s matches at WrestleMania 39 were up to carrying the main event of the show, even the highly-praised bout between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
“But you gotta ask yourself this question and everybody out there. ‘Is a match or a storyline strong enough to carry a main event at WrestleMania?’ So on the defense of women, we’re only as good as a group. You yourself as a wrestler and your training and your ability to deliver. Number two, I’m only as good as the ring because if that ring ain’t put together and it falls apart and I’m wrestling, my match goes to crap.
“Number three, I’m only as good as the creative writers and what the storyline they give me. Number four, their social media and how they market you. You are a package. You’re a total package and you rely not just on yourself all the time 100% to deliver, but these other three people, and it’s very F’ing important. I cannot stress enough, I would love to see women carry a whole card at WrestleMania, but we’re not there (yet). We’re not.
“You’re gonna tell me as soon as we can have women stories that are creative enough to make sense, and women that can deliver all of that stuff, because there is many, many talented women that could and that deserve longer times and more input and whatnot, but it’s got to have that believability and you’ve got to have that support with the company you work with.
“I know they say they do, they’re given them that platform, and they get all of this stuff, but that whole Bloodline, that whole match, it was Cody Rhodes, and I’m sorry, but it was so good, and I can’t think of one woman’s match during WrestleMania that would have carried WrestleMania. I have to take his (Triple H’s) side and I’m a woman. If I think it’s right, I’m going to say it. Is it what it is. Those are my feelings. Those are my facts.” (h/t WrestlingNews.co)
Ric Flair Believes Rhea Ripley And Charlotte Flair Should Have Main Evented WrestleMania 39
Fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair disagrees with Madusa and believes that the bout between Flair and Ripley should have been the main event of night one as it’s “tradition” for a singles world title match to main event the show. Speaking on a recent episode of To Be the Man, he had this to say:
“We’re talking about what I think should personally happen in the promotion. There’s no way that Sami and KO and The Usos would go on after Ashley [Charlotte Flair] and Rhea, no way. Only in the WWE. [Conrad Thompson says that he thinks that The Usos vs. KO and Sami had the better story] That’s not the point. We’re talking about a single Championship from a girl that won the Royal Rumble. Why are we just breaking tradition just for one [night], for what? Why are we breaking tradition for one night?” (h/t Inside the Ropes)