Until 1984, American women's wrestling had, unfortunately, been a bit of a sideshow until Vince McMahon tried to emulate Japan's success. The first push for women's wrestling was a match between Wendi Richter and Fabulous Moolah, where, with Cyndi Lauper as her in-canon manager, Richter took the title, kicking off a massive marketing push.

Wendi Richter's reign didn't click long-term, and Vince McMahon pitted her against Penny Mitchell as the masked Spider Lady on November 25, 1985. However, the Fabulous Moolah replaced the Spider Lady, holding Richter down for an unexpected three-count and ending Richter's title reign and WWF career.

During the summer of 1987, a new wave of talent — including Japan's Jumping Bomb Angels Noriyo Tateno and Itzuki Yamazaki — came to the forefront. In the first-ever Survivor Series, a 10-woman elimination tag match with the best WWF women wrestlers of that time brought about big crowd reactions for an athletic, action-packed night.