Former WWE Women's Champion Says Vince McMahon Did Not Like Women's Wresting

There's no denying that women's wrestling in WWE has never been better. The quality of the matches and the talent of the competitors have reached an unprecedented high. However, this may have never been the plan.

According to former Women's Champion Gail Kim, WWE, specifically, Vince McMahon never had an interest in creating a strong women's division. Kim spoke to Sporting News specifically on this subject:

"My honest opinion, and this is only my opinion and I don't know this as fact, I just think Vince McMahon did not like women's wrestling. With this whole revolution that happened in WWE this past couple of years, it's because of the fans."

To Kim, Vince caved to a movement rather than starting one:

"Remember they were saying 'Give Divas a Chance' that it got to the point where Vince is like OK, I'm going to give them a chance. It was really truly Hunter [Triple H] who created all these great girls in NXT. It wasn't Vince. It's almost like, thank God Hunter did it so that Vince could see the reaction that these girls were getting in NXT."

Superstars like Charlotte and Sasha Banks have been hits on the main roster. They've main event shows and even participated in a Hell in a Cell match last year. For Kim though, this concept was simply out of the question in her time in WWE:

"When I was there, they really didn't want us to do things. Even to do a superplex off the top rope, you had to keep it quiet until it happened and hopefully get approval from the agent. He would say do it and I'll take the heat for it. It was just insane to me."

WWE clearly was just a different company back then. In 2017, women's wrestling has provided some of the best moment of the year, including the Women's Money in the Bank match. Clearly, the women's division is on a different path than it once was:

"To me, I always just feel like why would you hire a talent and not use them to the best of their ability? That's the confusing part for me and that was the most frustrating part for me. But I just chalked it up to I was in that company at the wrong time."

Kim's opinion is a valid one. It's no secret how women in WWE were dismissed as athletes and treated more like eye candy. Instead of triple threat matches at WrestleMania, there were lingerie matches or mud wrestling competitions. Even if it was slow moving, WWE has come a long way from their sexist history. It's rare when something in the entertainment industry ages well, and WWE is no exception. In the end, we can be thankful for their willingness (although apparently reluctant) to evolve.