Former WWE Superstar says Vince McMahon used to punish divas by putting them in gimmick matches

Vince McMahon used to punish women's wrestlers by putting them in gimmick matches, according to the former WWE Women's Champion.

Vince McMahon was not an easy man to impress as he focused more on a wrestler's appearance rather than their in-ring skills. After he retired from the company, several former Superstars made their way back to the company under the new management.

Melina, who worked with the company for several years, started her career during the Ruthless Aggression Era. During that time, it was common for divas to have gimmick matches. In a recent interview with WrestlePurists, she revealed that McMahon used to punish divas by putting them in gimmick matches:

"We’d kind of come together, and then it’s like okay, pick your spots, and we’d get punished. Our punishment was, ‘Hey, here’s a lingerie match right after you did something extraordinary,’ or here’s like, I don’t know, a swimsuit match. They would do stuff like that to kind of see what we’d do. It’s like okay, what are they gonna throw at us at this point? I turned it into, in my kind, I turned it into like a game. Like okay, let’s see what they’re gonna have us do now. [Laughs]. Okay, they wanna see our reaction to this.” [H/T - ITR]

After working with the company for over half a decade, Melina was released from her contract. However, she has maintained good relations with WWE and has made several sporadic appearances over the years.

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Melina appeared at Royal Rumble 2022 under Vince McMahon's regime

Earlier this year, Vince McMahon was preparing for major surprises and returns during the Royal Rumble. McMahon had celebrity matches and a returning Stone Cold Steve Austin for WrestleMania 38.

The road to WrestleMania started with the Royal Rumble with several roadblocks around it. One of the blessings in disguise was the amount of surprise returns in the men's and women's matches.

In the Women's Royal Rumble match, Melina returned to the company to make a special appearance as she faced off against Sasha Banks. Unfortunately, she was immediately eliminated by Banks, who then performed a full-leg split to mock the former women's champion.

The night ended when former UFC Champions Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar won their respective rumble matches. It was McMahon's final WrestleMania production before his retirement in the month of July.

Who do you want to see make a surprise return at Royal Rumble 2023? Sound off in the comment section.