Trish Stratus, Stephanie McMahon, Sable, Ivory, Jazz, Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, are some of the popular female wrestlers I can recall of those days. They were well-built & really attractive. Stephanie McMahon was my favourite. She was gorgeous & damm hot 🔥. Matches involving female wrestlers were equally exciting. You rightly said they'd galvanize male fans especially kids. But watching them was a bit awkward for us. Especially with family members around. I would change the channel or watch them when no one was around. Female wrestlers were very unpredictable. They would start kissing in between or some would start undressing. Screens were blurred or channels would change to avoid the awkwardness.
They were also female wrestlers like Chyna and Jazz who were more manly and would even compete against the top male wrestlers. Especially Chyna had a good run and even defeated Triple H and some of the male wrestlers.