killeroflegends

There are various ways for a wrestler to reach “legendary” status. Making history is definitely part of the formula. Is she the first to accomplish something? Did she set a record for the length of a title reign or number of title reigns? Is she undefeated in some way? All of these are various ways a wrestler can make history. Mick Foley was the first ever WWE/F Hardcore Champion. How did that influence his overall hardcore legacy? Ric Flair is billed as a 16-time World Champion. Can he ever make an appearance on Raw without that being mentioned at least once? The Undertaker is undefeated at Wrestlemania. That is a record that every WWE fan must know. I did not mention any divas, I realize that. With Michelle McCool making history again not too long ago, I decided to say more about this topic. I am going to list some of the pieces of history some of the WWE divas have made. This is not a complete list of anything. I am just picking and choosing to illustrate a point.

Michelle McCool: First Diva’s Champion; First And Only Woman To Have Held Both The Women’s Championship And Diva’s Championship.

Mickie James: First And Only Woman To Win Her First Women’s Championship At Her Wrestlemania Debut; Shortest Women’s Title Reign In The WWE.

Maryse: Longest Diva’s Championship Reign Ever.

Gail Kim: First And Only Woman To Win The Women’s Championship In Her Debut Match On Raw; First TNA Knockout’s Champion.

Candice Michelle: First Participant In The WWE “Diva Search” To Win The Women’s Championship.

Chyna: First And Only Woman To Win The Intercontinental Championship; First And Only Woman To Compete In The Royal Rumble And King Of The Ring Tournament; Never Defeated For Women’s Championship.

Stephanie McMahon: First And Only Woman To Compete For The WWE Undisputed Championship; First General Manager Of Smackdown.

Trish Stratus: Most WWE Women’s Championship Reigns (7); Retired As Women’s Champion. 

I am sure fans have their own tidbits I am missing for the women I listed here. I know there are women I should have listed as well, such as Sherri Martel and Fabulous Moolah. I admit that I am leaving points out, but I was not trying to make a complete list, as I said before. I want to keep the topic I am going into as specific to just the WWE as possible.

History has been made by the divas of the past, but also by certain current women. How important are some of these bits to the WWE itself? What will they push? What will they pretend never happened? It may sound foolish, but keep in mind that Jerry “The King” Lawler has held many titles in his wrestling career. The WWE does not bring that up much. For one thing, the WWE tends to ignore some accomplishments wrestlers have made in other wrestling promotions. Take the example of Gail Kim. Aside from getting a huge push when she started out on Raw, which saw her win the title on her first night, she is the first woman to hold the TNA Knockout’s Championship. If it needs to be said, she was the first woman, therefor, to have held both the WWE Women’s Championship and TNA Knockout’s Championship. But does the WWE ever mention that? Her success in TNA was a factor in her getting rehired by the WWE and her initial push, but it is not a success the WWE will advertise.

Then there are some pieces of history that may sound impressive at first, but are not really worth that much if you analyze further. Maryse, the second Diva’s Champion and first heel to win the title, has held that title longer than anyone else. Her competition? Michelle McCool’s reign of about five months. Maryse has held it for about seven months. However, she was out of action due to an injury for quite a while. The title was never defended. If my memory is correct, she has only had four televised title defenses in her reign. An impressive reign in terms of time as Diva’s Champion, but nothing too spectacular in terms of quality. Besides that, it can be overshadowed rather easily when another woman has a longer reign. It may happen. Nevertheless, still something the WWE may bring up in passing to add some credibility to Maryse and her reign.

I mentioned that “longest reigning” records can be overshadowed, and technically “most reigns” records as well. Is making history through being the first to do something really unsinkable? In my mind, it really depends on what the record supposedly is. Candice Michelle is the first “Diva Search” participant to win the Women’s Championship. Too wordy to actually stand for anything impressive? What do I mean? What if this was the first woman to win the Women’s Championship on a Tuesday during a stormy night with Charles Robinson as ref? Does a lot of that information really add to the accomplishment? Going back to Candice, I personally believe that it is an accomplishment to be proud of. The women involved in that contest were mainly models. Wrestling came second, but Candice proved that one can improve enough to earn a wrestling title. Some may look at the history Candice made and shrug it off. I am just acknowledging a reason why they may do that. In their eyes, Candice may not have been the first to really accomplish anything that great.

There is no denying Chyna’s place in history. Many of her accomplishments broke ground. A woman competing and thriving so heavily against the men? Those were “firsts” that really packed a punch. She left the WWE in a rather controversial fashion, and so never lost the Women’s Championship she had won months before. By those turn of events, she was an undefeated Women’s Champion. Something to be proud of?

Not all the accomplishments have to add up to leaving a lasting impression in the ring. They can sometimes add up to leaving an impression in terms of character and power. Look at Stephanie McMahon. Yes, she won the Women’s Championship and held it for a while. She was never a great wrestler, however. She kept the title mainly due to her connections, speaking in terms of kayfabe. That is what Stephanie will be remembered for, her character’s power. Competed for the Undisputed Championship? First female GM? She brought back the U.S. Championship. This, as well as more, are definitely historic points. Do they give her credibility as a wrestler? Not really. They give her credibility and noteriety as a woman with power in the wrestling business itself. Many people say Stephanie McMahon is their favorite diva. The fact that she has made history to some degree does not hurt to support that, even if she is not the grandest wrestler. Still, I do believe she is the first and only woman to pin The Rock.

Trish Stratus. Any contemporary fan knows she is a legend. She has made history. She set a record for the most WWE Women’s Championship reigns. She held the Hardcore Championship. She even competed for the tag titles, with The Rock as her partner. Similarly to Chyna, she left the WWE as an undefeated Women’s Champion. She won her seventh and final title in her retirement match. That reign never ended due to Trish getting defeated. Her record number of title reigns may one day be broken, but her great retirement may never be topped. There are a lot of other things that add to her high status, but that is all I am going into now.

Michelle McCool is really on an accelerated path when it comes to making history. She did it two years in a row. No one can top what she has done. She is the first to do two great things. She also has her minor accomplishments, such as that diva contest she won on Smackdown last year, but all that is nothing compared to the big deal. Does the WWE acknowledge her accomplishments in making a place in history for herself? Do fish swim? I already pointed out the recent article the WWE put out about McCool’s many accomplishments. As long as she is in the WWE, and a diva to be pushed, her accomplishments will never be forgotten. Her name will be remembered.

Mickie James, supposedly, was the one who was to be a challenge in Michelle McCool’s recent race to history. Mickie fans do not need to worry. She has made history already in the WWE. She has the shortest Women’s Championship reign on record. It seems likely that it was due to a ref’s botch that she won the title in France that day at all, which then led to her sudden loss of the title. Still, it is acknowledged as her third reign. Is that history to be proud of? How about a football team in the NFL that never won a game in an entire season? Is that good? Mickie’s short reign is not exactly the same, but it is still not something many would be proud of. Neither is it something the WWE will promote. Some might see it as insulting her. She is also the first and only woman to win her first Women’s Championship at her Wrestlemania debut. Is that something the WWE stresses? No. Does it seem too wordy, like Candice’s accomplishment I mentioned before. It may be good for trivia, but what value does it have as a piece of great history? Mickie also had an undefeated streak on Heat, which ended a few weeks before Wrestlemania in 2008. Even if she remained undefeated, is that the kind of streak that is impressive? Heat is not Wrestlemania. Mickie has yet to take a loss at Survivor Series, but that is not a huge piece of history either. If the WWE pushed it as a streak to be kept alive, that may help it. Mickie is also winner of both of the Cyber Sunday Halloween Costume Contests, but the fans voted her there, not the WWE, and it does not directly influence wrestling. I know very well that Mickie did some great things in wrestling promotions outside the WWE, including TNA, but the WWE would not acknowledge that to add to Mickie’s status anyway, much like Gail Kim. It is for the fans who care to know on their own. Nevertheless, through all the mess, Mickie James has made history.

Making history is definitely worth something in the careers of wrestlers. I just analyzed it in terms of making history through accomplishments, whether doing something for the first time, holding a title(s) numerous times or a for a very long time, or having an impressive undefeated streak or record. It is also definitely possible to make history through memorable actions or scenarios. The Rock, without even mentioning his wrestling accomplishments, has had a lot of historic moments with people like Mick Foley, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and so on. A lot of the love for DX is not based really on the history they made through wrestling accomplishments, but on the crazy stunts they pulled. That definitely adds to a wrestler’s legacy. Again, I did not go there tonight. There is a lot that goes into creating a great career. As time goes on, I may talk more about it.

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