killeroflegends

This is my list of who I believe are the top 10 women wrestlers I have seen in my ten years, and beyond, of being a wrestling fan. It is based on wrestling ability, charisma, beauty, and pretty much everything a fan sees every time these ladies go out there to entertain, with the huge exception of booking. Booking is just how the companies decide to treat their wrestlers. Some get what they deserve, some get less, and some get more than their worth. I am not judging by how they are booked (title reigns, victories, etc.), since it would be too obvious that Trish Stratus would be number one on that list.

1. ??? The top person on my list will get her own article for herself on another day. There is one clear name that is obviously missing from this list. Can you figure it out?

2.  Lita. A ton of respect for her. First thing that I like about her is that she did not get over by the typical slutty diva antics. Yes, there was the whole Edge/Matt/Lita thing, but that came after she was already popular and wasn’t really meant to get her over, but just to turn controversy into cash. Lita got the fans on her side early by being an extreme risk-taker unlike many of the other divas the fans were used to. Alongside Esse Rios, Lita frequently got involved in matches and proved she can pull of some beautiful moves, and take some moves from the guys as well. Pairing her with The Hardy Boyz only propelled her further as a face. And it was with Lita that the Women’s Division really started to improve, not Trish.  Another thing that I like about Lita is that she came back from her injuries and didn’t give up. She was a great risk-taker, but also good at actual wrestling moves. Lita did do a good job of using her body when needed to fire up the crowd, or reinforce the “slut” gimmick when she was a heel. If there is any weakness I see in Lita, it is her mic skills. It isn’t that she is horrible at making promos, but that it often sounds like she is mumbling, and that can hurt a lot of promos. It is only a small matter to me, and it doesn’t hurt the respect I have for Lita. She has had a great run in the WWE, even when injured. When she couldn’t perform in the ring, she was a commentator or she was Edge’s valet. That pairing of Edge and Lita just seemed to make both look awesome based on how they interacted with the other. It had to take a good heelish character from Lita and she was willing to do that. She did it well. As for being a color commentator, of course it takes knowledge of the business and charisma to pull it off, and Lita was successful to me again in that respect. So whether it be inside the ring or out, Lita proved that she can be versatile and work around adversity to be a part of the show in a rewarding way.

3.  Victoria. A great diva that is fading away. Victoria came to the WWE with a great psycho gimmick, my second favorite psycho from a diva. The only complaints I have about that early gimmick is that it was based on jealousy towards Trish, which has been done to death, and that it just ended without much notice. But Victoria proved she can be a good heel and has the ring psychology. Her mic skills aren’t too outstanding for me, but still not totally horrible. Her ring work is why I respect her so much. Her demeanor in the ring is perfect for a heel. But she also made a good, fan-friendly face. She is a veteran, after all. She can pull off some great power moves, and I love the Widow’s Peak. She can even do some good high-risk moves, including the moonsault. And as you can see by the pic, she can look hot. But you also have to consider that Victoria is getting up there in age. Can her body continue to handle good matches for a few more years? Her beauty will surely fade, and WWE may replace her in time, sadly. But until then, Victoria is still tough, a very solid wrestler, and deserves one more title run. She is my favorite generic heel diva.

4.  Trish Stratus.I sometimes rank her as #3, but only because I may overvalue her improvement, like many others, or fall into the trap of her dream booking. But Trish wasn’t that great to me as far as actual talent went. She was overrated. She will forever be remembered as the eye-candy diva who improved herself tremendously, and WWE bookers took it from there. She is a hot blonde and WWE has used hot blondes before her and will seek them out after. All that doesn’t mean I found Trish to be exceptionally beautiful, but just another blonde fish in the sea. Charisma-wise, I was never drawn to Trish either. After she turned herself around and improved, she took on this serious character, especially during her face run. The charisma she had before her improvement was based mainly on slutty interactions and using her beauty to get over, and even after there were still traces of it, but her serious attitude just wasn’t a draw for me. She didn’t work the crowd well enough and was making it seem like this was serious business. It is the entertainment business, a good worker knows how to work the crowd when she first comes out and then treat the match seriously, for respect of the quality of the show and the opponent. Trish usually gave a robotic point to nothing in particular when she came out and did very little else to work the crowd. In mic skills, her often robotic charisma showed itself again. It was like the stuff doesn’t come natural to her and she has to struggle to find the role to play. The best example of this is the segment she had on the Raw 15th anniversary last year with Jillian and Lita. I don’t know if Trish was trying to mock Jillian or what, but Trish was acting like an annoying valley girl. That is not Jillian’s gimmick. I don’t know what she was trying to do. Trish is definitely at her charismatic best when she is doing those traditional diva slut angles. Trish did improve. Does that mean she is the greatest female wrestling-wise? No. Charisma does impact your ring work, and I am already not a big supporter of Trish in her overall charisma. She pulled off some good moves here and there, a very good mix, but I can’t find a true area of specialty for her. She wasn’t super in the high-risk department, pure-mat wrestling, martial arts, or any other style I can name. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It just would have given me something to better associate her with in the ring. But overall, Trish gets points for being the hot blonde diva that improved and at least tried her best at what she had to do.

5.  Chyna.Everything Beth Phoenix should be. Chyna wasn’t involved in diva feuds early on, instead she was mixing it up with some of the top male superstars. She had good matches with the guys that were not rooted in comedy, or where the men had to break their backs to make her look credible. She dominated other divas, but I would have liked to see how she would put them over also. I liked her usually-tough attitude, and her charisma was good, but may have been hurt overall by that tough attitude. Other than that, I have to say that I did find her hot, especially in that attire she wore.

6.  Gail Kim. WWE should be kicking themselves for ever letting her go, and TNA should dish out the money to try to keep her. She was sloppy in WWE, but improved a lot, still got released, but found a great spot in TNA. I have to respect this sexy Asian for that improvement. She has a nice mix of wrestling skills, seemingly specializing in pure wrestling, submissions (which I like), and is a good risk-taker. The only thing that holds her back is her lack of a powerful charisma. Baring your breasts does not equal actual charisma. Charisma would help her stand out even more in the ring, and help her promos and mic skills.

7.  Melina. The Sexy Paparazzi Princess. She has a lot of good qualities. I love her sexy swagger. I don’t like her sexy, aggressive, bitchy attitude, but I can see how it helps to get her over. She has good ring psychology, work ethic, sells very well, knows how to work a good match, and has a sexy charisma. Her promos aren’t always great, especially during her time with Nitro, and she tends to rely on that sexiness too much at times, especially in some of her moves, but she is a diva who seems to improve. Her offense seems to rely too much on brawling and not actual wrestling, but beyond that and her too aggressive character, I like her. She is a great diva.

8.  Stephanie McMahon. I loved her since she turned heel. She was arrogant, threw her weight around, annoying, and did everything else to make the audience hate her and see her get what she deserves. And she took it too. She got Rock Bottomed multiple times, Stunnered twice, Pedigreed, and a lot more. She gets a lot of my respect for that. She had good charisma. The only thing that holds her back is her wrestling ability. She wasn’t super-sloppy, but if her ability was even better, she would have been unstoppable.

9.  Tammy Sytch (Sunny). The Original Charismatic Diva. She was hot and was dripping charisma that came from that hotness. She knew how to work a crowd like no woman before her. It is too bad she never developed any real wrestling skills.

10.  Stacy Keibler. Beautiful woman, sweet, charisma based on sexiness and cuteness, on the path to improvement, but in the end, many like her.

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