Expert Poll - Who's the next big star of the WWE Women's division?

Denise Salcedo - Instinct Culture and Fightful

Denise Salcedo is a TV host and producer with her own YouTube channel. Instinct Culture is a platform designed to talk about all realms of pop culture including pro wrestling. In addition to her channel, you can also hear her weekly on the post-RAW podcast for Fightful alongside Sean Ross Sapp.

Denise has interviewed several huge stars in the wrestling industry, both on her channel and on the red carpet. I was really excited when she agreed to take part in today's survey, and she certainly had a lot to say about three women rising through the ranks in WWE.

Thoughts on Liv Morgan:

"Liv Morgan’s recent makeover has felt very disconnected, which is unfortunate since many fans were curious about the new route her character would take. After the confusing vignettes and random return that led to nowhere, it seems Liv Morgan is still trying to find her place on the main roster.

"Nonetheless, just because her return has been stale, she has a tremendous amount of potential and can fill a void missing in the Women’s Division.

"In-ring wise Liv Morgan has been consistent, her match with Natalya at Wrestlemania 36 was a reminder that she has what it takes to be a top contender. Obviously, Natalya is the perfect opponent for women that aren’t as developed yet, and we’ve seen her work with plenty of girls, and I would say Liv Morgan held her own and was one of the most impressive.

"I think that Liv Morgan could go back to her original alternative look when she was with The Riott Squad but with a new spin.

"My reasoning behind that is that it worked for her, it came across as authentically her, and the most over stars in WWE are usually themselves times 10. I think Liv Morgan can connect with fans the way Lita and AJ Lee did before her if given more character depth and a larger spotlight."

Thoughts on Sonya Deville:

"Shortly after her time in Tough Enough and NXT, Sonya Deville was fast-tracked to the main roster. However, for the better portion of her inception into the big leagues, she was easily forgotten about and roamed about Monday Night RAW, usually in the shadows of the other women that were rising into superstardom at a faster pace.

"It took a while for Sonya to be part of a major storyline that spotlighted her strengths. Sonya’s character was as an MMA fighter, however, once WWE brought in Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey, it diminished Sonya’s character.

"Now fast forward to this year, Sonya has been featured a lot more on SmackDown, has dropped the MMA fighter persona and most recently impressed viewers with her passionate promo on SmackDown. This is one of the first times, definitely the strongest, that Sonya’s skills have been highlighted. The WWE Universe now has a reason to like her, or dislike her versus just knowing of her."

Don't forget about the faster-rising star in the company:

"The WWE Women’s Division is easily the strongest in pro wrestling. There are many women that haven’t had their moment yet, but the potential is there. There are so many possible matchups, and it’s only in WWE’s recent history that the women’s matches have outshined a lot of the men’s. With that being said, Rhea Ripley is one of the women I think can easily be at the very top someday.

An obvious choice simply because she has had one of the best transformations, she went from being a clone of Charlotte Flair to a badass version of the first Rhea Ripley. She looks the part, she works the part and has already begun building what can possibly be a great career."

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Thank you to all the journalists who participated in this survey.