WWE Evolution, the first all-women`s PPV in the company`s history, will air live on the WWE Network on October 28. It`s a landmark occasion. Female performers, once considered by some fans as the `bathroom break` portion of the show, will now carry an entire production on their own. And the main event--a title match between Raw Women`s Champion Ronda Rousey and Nikki Bella, is a sort of meta-commentary on the Women`s Evolution, and how the division will continue progressing forward.The Bellas Twins debuted on the main roster in 2008, and they functioned as models and valets nearly as much as in-ring competitors. Their appearance and their twin gimmick, rather than their in-ring skill, kept them on TV. But in their defense, they were neither an exception nor a special case; they were emblematic of the way that most women wrestlers were promoted a decade ago. The Bellas were the ideal representatives for the era they dominated. And they were a far cry from the mud wrestling, bra and panties, lingerie, and Playboy shenanigans just a few years prior.Progress is incremental, and the Bellas Twins were a necessary prelude to the current, modern era. They were sexy but not debased. They were passable ring workers, even if they weren`t great ones, and they featured in the sort of 5-minute matches that the #GiveDivasAChance movement was built on. And when Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte Flair debuted on Raw, the Bellas took steps to raise their game. Nikki, in particular, evolved into a solid competitor before a serious neck injury sidelined her.But transitional, intermediary steps to change are rarely celebrated; it`s the people who definitively break the mold that get the hype, even if the smaller transitions are necessary to make that break possible.Nikki and Brie position themselves as underrated pioneers in the Women`s Evolution. But even if that`s true, they`ll never have the same critical acclaim as Lynch, Flair, Banks, and Bayley, who served as a storyline ...
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