Melina was making history before it was cool for women in WWE to make history.
In June 2008 at WWE One Night Stand, Melina battled Beth Phoenix in the first-ever Women's "I Quit" bout. There was no title on the line, it was a bout between two women who didn't like each other and wanted to humiliate their opponent by forcing them to say "I quit." Unlike today, WWE didn't go full-bore in promoting the match as "first-ever" or "making history."
Speaking to Ring The Belle, Melina discussed her "I Quit" match and how WWE makes "moments" mean less by continuing to do them.
"To have the opportunity in an era where people were ridiculing Divas, that's when I knew that I worked hard for this moment. I knew that they trusted us that we were that good to be handed a moment like this and make history like that. You can't take that away," said Melina. "I see the girls and they have cage matches and all that stuff. It's exciting, but at the same time, I'm proud of what we did. If you can tell a story within the ring without needing assisted tools like that...it's great to have those moments, but if you do them all the time, then it doesn't mean anything. The match itself doesn't mean anything. You use that instead of actually telling a story."
WWE will make history once again on Oct. 28 with the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view WWE Evolution. Along with all titles being on the line, the first-ever Last Woman Standing bout will take place between Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch.
