Last night's 2021 instalment of Hell in a Cell didn't just deliver an evening of action, but cemented itself in WWE history.

The annual event hosted the showdown between some fierce rivalries that have been bubbling since the start of the year. In the final pay-per-view showing from the ThunderDome, WWE made women's wrestling history as Hell in a Cell 2021 became the first mixed-gender PPV to feature more women's bouts than men's.

SmackDown and RAW Championship title fights featuring Bianca Belair vs Bayley, and Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair, headlined the stacked card for the women's side of the event. Alexa Bliss vs Shayna Baszler and Mandy Rose vs Natalya made up the rest of the list as the four women's fights outweighed the three men's.

Ripley and Belair retained their respective titles while Bliss got the better of Baszler and Natalya defeated Rose in the pre-show fight.

The rise of women's wrestling

The first Hell in a Cell event to feature female wrestlers was in 2016, when Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks to win her third RAW Women's Championship title. Bayley also featured on the card, taking on Dana Brooke in a singles match.

Leading up to this record-breaking year, female wrestlers have been increasingly integrated into the Hell in a Cell series. Superstars like Flair, Bayley, and Banks have helped propel women's wrestling into the spotlight. 

As the countdown to SummerSlam ticks down, we can only expect to see more intense rivalries and blockbuster bouts from these WWE icons pushing to break the glass ceiling.