One Messy WrestleMania Match Was A First In WWE History

Across the 40-year history of WWE WrestleMania, women have performed in the show's main event just twice — once in 2019 and again at the first two-night WrestleMania in 2021. Reaching that first milestone at WWE WrestleMania 35 took decades of work from dozens of women in multiple fields, with former UFC star Ronda Rousey and WWE mainstays Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair becoming the first to make it happen. However, the road getting there was bumpy, and the match itself didn't go exactly according to plan.

Though it's unclear if a Triple Threat main event at WrestleMania was the plan at the time, the build to the match began the previous year, with Lynch turning on Flair at WWE SummerSlam 2018. The two feuded for several months, with Lynch dominating Flair before preparing to defend the title against Rousey at WWE Survivor Series. That match didn't end up happening, as Lynch suffered a concussion and a broken nose during the build-up to Survivor Series.

It may have forced WWE to change its plans, but Lynch's injury wound up working in her favor. Footage of the wrestler invading "WWE Raw" and calling out her future opponent while dealing with a severe bloody nose helped elevate Lynch to the next level of pro wrestling stardom. Flair went on to replace Lynch in the Survivor Series match, and the bout ended with a disqualification due to Flair's use of weapons. When Lynch returned to action the following month, Rousey interfered in a three-way title match, causing Lynch to drop the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to Asuka and further escalating the feud.

Following WWE TLC 2018, Lynch attempted to win the title back from Asuka but failed. She did, however, win that year's Women's Royal Rumble, and instead of challenging Asuka once again, Lynch decided to go after Rousey and the WWE Raw Women's Championship. For a short time, it looked as though WrestleMania would include a singles match between Lynch and Rousey, but Vince McMahon made his onscreen return to re-introduce Flair into the program while "removing" Lynch by suspending her.

The following weeks saw Lynch fight her way back into the WrestleMania title match, and Flair captured the Smackdown Women's Championship from Asuka, making the WrestleMania bout for both titles. It was then announced in late March 2019 that the women would make history as the main event of WrestleMania 35.

When the match had finally come and gone, it's safe to say it didn't go as everyone involved had hoped. By the time the main event came on, it was midnight in New Jersey, and the crowd was at the tail end of an incredibly long show. The reactions weren't as strong as the wrestlers would've liked, and the disappointment was compounded by a finish that saw the referee begin counting to three before Rousey's shoulders were down.

Rousey later called the main event "slapped together" and shared her belief that the three women should've been capable of putting on a great match instead of something merely passable. Nonetheless, it served as a key moment in the history of women's wrestling in WWE and helped further Lynch's ascent into one of the industry's top stars.