The WWE will go where no pro wrestling league has gone before on Sunday night in Long Island.
Taking place at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, WWE Evolution will be the first all-women pay-per-view event in wrestling history.
Streaming live on WWE Network and available on PPV, WWE Evolution comes on the heels of the entertainment company rolling out inaugural events like the first Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s Elimination Chamber earlier this year.
“Because of all of you, men and women using your voices for change, we are able to provide the platform to show the world that women can do anything and be anything they want to be,” Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon said when the event was announced.
Featuring female superstars from the past and present, WWE Evolution is hoping to pin down a captive audience and pave the way for McMahon and her father Vince to roll even more women-centric programming into the ring in the future.
Let’s get ready to rumble by meeting eight of Evolution’s combatants and finding out what they’ll be doing come Sunday night in Uniondale.
Stage name: Ronda Rousey
Real name: Ronda Jean Rousey
Who she’ll be fighting: Rousey will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Nikki Bella. It’s an interesting match as Bella is a “Diva” era wrestler whereas Rousey is obviously a legit competitor thanks to her experience in the UFC.
Stage name: Nikki Bella
Real name: Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace
Who she’ll be fighting: Bella will be fighting Rousey in a bid to take the Raw Women’s Championship belt. A previous supporter of Rousey, Bella turned heel on her after Rousey fought in a tag-team match alongside the Bella Twins in September.
Stage name: Becky Lynch
Real name: Rebecca Quin
Who she’ll be fighting: Lynch will battle Rick Flair’s daughter Charlotte in the first-ever Last Woman Standing match. The two have faced off twice recently with one match ending with Lynch intentionally getting herself disqualified and the other in a double count-out.
Stage name: Charlotte Flair
Real name: Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr
Who she’ll be fighting: Flair will take on Lynch in their third fight in recent months. A Last Woman Standing match can’t be won with a submission and will only stop when one fighter is unable to get to their feet before the count of 10.
Stage name: Trish Stratus
Real name: Patricia Anne Stratigeas
Who she’ll be fighting: Stratus will be battling Alexa Bliss and Mickie James along with her partner Lita. Originally set to be a pair of single matches between Bliss and Status and Lita against James, all the trash-talking led the WWE to combine the single bouts into one tag-team fight.
Stage name: Lita
Real name: Amy Dumas
Who she’ll be fighting: Along with Stratus, Lita will take on Bliss and James. This match is interesting for Lita as she only fights part time after being a full-time WWE star from 2000 to 2006.
Stage name: Alexa Bliss
Real name: Alexa Kaufman
Who she’ll be fighting: Bliss and her partner will take on Stratus and Lita. They’ll be hoping to avoid coming down with a case of “Stratusfaction.”
Stage name: Mickie James
Real name: Mickie Laree James
Who she’ll be fighting: James will be taking on Stratus and Lita along with her partner Bliss. The blockbuster tag-team contest seems like a stellar way for the WWE to combine its pair of marquee single matches.
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