Before the Women’s revolution became a catchphrase in the WWE, there was one Diva who defied the odds night after night with her daredevil move set.
Amy Dumas aka Lita was so widely popular during the first half of her tenure with the WWE due to her alignment with the fan favourite ‘Team Xtreme’ faction and was equally hated during the latter half due to her affair with Edge.
However, under no circumstances were questions raised about Lita’s in ring prowess and she paved the way for the likes of Charlotte and Sasha Banks by main eventing an episode of Monday Night Raw alongside Trish Stratus at a time when a female performer doing so was unthinkable.
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This edition of ‘This day..’ takes a look at Lita’s debut in the WWE. Also, find out what the Miz and Pedro Morales accomplished on this day.
#1 Lita debuts – 8th February 2000
Lita revolutionised women’s wrestling in the WWE and it was on February 8, 2000, that she made her first appearance with the company. On a Sunday Night Heat taping, Gillberg was scheduled to defend his Light Heavyweight Championship against Essa Rios.
Rios would be accompanied to the ring by his valet – Lita. Rios would win the title that night, but it would be Lita whose star would shine bright in the company.
Incidentally, neither Rios, who would wrestle under the name of Aguila and Papi Chulo in Mexico nor Lita, who had wrestled as Angelica in ECW prior to joining the WWE, knew of their WWE ring names before their debut match.
Lita would mimic Rios’ moves on his opponents after he had executed them, but it was after her breakup with him that she truly became a Superstar. She would align with the Hardy Boyz and the trio would become known as ‘Team Xtreme’.
She would change her appearance, switching to baggy jeans and make a name for herself in TLC matches. She would have a real life fallout with her then-boyfriend Matt Hardy owing to her affair with Hardy’s close friend Edge – a scandal that would see her alienated in the WWE locker room and would draw massive heat from the fans.
She would win the Women’s Championship four times before her retirement in 2007. Lita was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame seven years later.
#2 The Miz beats DX – 8th February 2010
Most of the WWE fans hate the Miz. In fact, with his cocky persona and in your face attitude, it is not difficult to do so. But no one can deny the fact that the Cleveland native worked really hard for his success.
From being ridiculed by the fans who preferred Daniel Puder to him during his Tough Enough days and fluffing his lines on his SmackDown debut to getting eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Hornswoggle – The Miz has surely paid his dues.
He did have his moments, though, as Vince McMahon put his faith in him during the early 2010s. Miz would capture the United States title, the Money in the Bank briefcase and then win the WWE Championship, going on to successfully defend it against John Cena at Wrestlemania.
A forgotten accolade of the Miz from this period occurred on an episode of Raw on 8th February 2010. Degeneration X would defend their Unified tag team titles in a triple threat match against the Straight Edge Society and the Miz & the Big Show.
In an angle to build up his feud with the Undertaker for the ensuing Wrestlemania, there was dissension in DX as Shawn Michaels turned on his partner Triple H and the Miz would pounce. The A-lister would shove Michaels into Triple H and swiftly rollup HBK to win the tag team titles for him and the Big Show.
It showed the company's faith in the Miz that he was able to pin Michaels and take away the tag titles from DX. The Miz would grow in confidence from then on, culminating his rise to the top with a Skull crushing finale to Randy Orton a year later to capture the WWE Championship.
#3 Pedro Morales wins the WWE Championship – 8th February 1971
The best know Puerto Rican wrestler and the first ever Latino World Heavyweight Champion, Pedro Morales is a true wrestling legend. In a career spanning 28 years, Morales would capture the WWF title, US title, Intercontinental title and the Tag team titles. He would be the first man to complete the famed Triple Crown (World title, IC title and tag team title) in the WWE.
Morales would make his World Wide Wrestling Federation – now WWE – debut in November 1970. On 7th January, he would capture the United States title from Freddie Blassie. A month later, on 8th February, he would beat Ivan Koloff to capture the WWWF Heavyweight Championship.
Morales’ reign would last for three years, a remarkable 1027 days, before he dropped the title to Stan Stasiak.
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