Last year, the term “Divas Revolution” came about. This year, it turned into the “Women’s Evolution”. We are currently in the post-revolution period, where history continues to be made.
Just this past Hell In A Cell, the women made history, when Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks, became the first women to step inside Hell In A Cell, and they also were the first women to even Main event a Pay-Per-View.
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The Four Horsewomen have been tearing it up since 2013 and have been the central pieces of the division wherever they went, be it on NXT, Raw, or Smackdown Live. Currently, 3 of the 4 Horsewomen are on Raw and are the most prominent characters of their division.
Becky Lynch is the face of the Smackdown Live Women’s Division, a role she thrives in.
Horsewomen aside, things began to change much before. Not long before them, it was Emma and Paige who started making waves in NXT. However, while NXT did help boost and revolutionise how women are viewed in WWE, each generation had women who stood out and had great dance partners who helped cement their legacy.
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Here are 5 women of WWE who had some of the best storylines.
#5 Sensational Sherri
Sherri Martel or Sensational Sherri is one of the most iconic figures in Women’s wrestling history. She made her debut in July 1984, where she defeated The Fabulous Moolah in her very first match to become the WWF Women’s Champion.
Martell went on to hold the championship for a full fifteen months before dropping it to Rockin’ Robin. As a wrestler, she feuded with the likes of several high profile names such as The Fabulous Moolah, Luna Vachon, Rockin’ Robin, Velvet McIntyre, defenseetc.
She even captained a team in Survivor Series 1987, where she took on The Fabulous Moolah’s team in an unsuccessful effort.
As a manager, she most famously managed “Macho Man” Randy Savage, before turning on him, after his loss in a retirement match at Wrestlemania VII to The Ultimate Warrior. This led to Miss Elizabeth coming from the crowd to save Savage, thus ending Sherri’s pairing with Savage and his reunion in the storyline with Elizabeth.
She managed “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, The Honky Tonk Man, Shawn Michaels, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Harlem Heat, and so much more. She was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2006.
Here is her defence against Rockin’ Robin:
Here is the Survivor Series match where her team faced off against Team Moolah
#4 Mickie James
Mickie James is a five-time Women’s Champion and a one-time Divas Champion. Mickie James came in during the end of one era in Women’s wrestling in WWE. She debuted in 2005 and was involved in perhaps her most famous storyline till date, being the lunatic fangirl of Trish Stratus, an angle that hinted at lesbianism.
She won the Women’s Championship from Trish Stratus, in what is considered to be one of the finest Women’s matches in Wrestlemania history, at Wrestlemania 22. 2006 was the year that saw both Trish Stratus and Lita retired, and James became the focal point of the women’s division.
She had a rivalry with Lita for months, with the two facing off in a bunch of stipulation matches, and it all eventually led to her being Lita’s final opponent, as she defeated her in Survivor Series that year, in Lita’s retirement match.
Following that feud, she feuded with Melina, where the duo had the first ever Women’s Falls Count Anywhere in WWE history. In the next couple of years, the division transformed into the Divas division. She feuded with Beth Phoenix for a bit as well, where the two exchanged the Women’s Championship back and forth.
After Wrestlemania 25, James feuded with Maryse for the Divas Championship, after which she had a feud with Michelle McCool and Layla on Smackdown, which resulted in the infamous “Piggy James” skit, in which she was mocked for her supposed weight. You can watch that segment here.
James was always considered to be one of the finest workers of the women’s division, especially during the time when they were looking away from in-ring ability. Here is her historic match with Trish Stratus at Wrestlemania 22.
#3 Lita
Lita is a legend of the business, a WWE Hall Of Famer and one of the most well-respected veterans in women’s wrestling history.
She, along with Trish Stratus are considered the two key stars of what was called “The Golden Era Of Women’s Wrestling”. She was an integral part of The Attitude Era, and what is important for a superstar to have, is good dance partners. Her most famous rivalry is with Trish Stratus.
The two battled for over 5 years, exchanging the Women’s Championship back and forth several times.
Lita and Trish’s rivalry began when the feud of The Hardy Boyz against T&A (Test & Albert) took place, where Trish was the manager for the latter. For an initial bit after that, especially during the Invasion angle of 2001, she was aligned with Trish against The Alliance’s Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson.
She initially came to light as the manager of The Hardy Boyz. She was also paired up in an on-screen romance with Christian, Kane, and lastly Edge, where she was the centrepiece and basis of a blood feud between Edge and Matt Hardy back in 2005.
Aside from the famous stars, she partnered with, her list of rivals apart from Trish Stratus include, Stephanie McMahon (who she beat to win her first Women’s Championship), Jacqueline, Ivory, Molly Holly, Victoria, Chyna, and Jazz, among others. She even fought for the Light Heavyweight Championship against Dean Malenko.
Lita and Trish were the first-ever women to main event an episode of Raw, a match which saw Lita win the Women’s Championship for the second time. This was the only time women main evented Raw until October 3rd, 2016, when Sasha Banks challenged Charlotte in the main event of Raw for the Raw Women’ s Championship.
You can watch Lita and Trish make history here:
#2 Sasha Banks
Even though The Boss is just about 4 years into her entire WWE career, she has already achieved and surpassed a majority of the women of the past. Sasha Banks can also thank the timing of everything, as she is a focal point of a time period, where fans and backstage officials alike are pushing the women and giving them more and more opportunities.
The Boss is on the list primarily due to her NXT feuds as well, which shaped the Women’s Division.
She is a former NXT Women’s Champion, being the third one. In NXT, she aligned herself with Summer Rae, Charlotte, and even Becky Lynch at one point. Her initial bit began when she was feuding with Paige and even Emma was thrown into the mix.
However, her main wars in her nearly 3-year NXT run was with the Four Horsewomen, where she feuded with Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky Lynch. She won the title in a Fatal-Four-Way match at NXT Takeover: Rival, which featured all 4 horsewomen battling it out.
After that, she feuded with Becky Lynch at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, one of the most critically acclaimed women’s matches in WWE till date.
Her peak at NXT came in her match against Bayley at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Sasha was already on the main roster at this point, but that did not stop her from having what is widely considered the greatest women’s match in WWE history till date. That night saw her drop the NXT Women’s Championship to Bayley.
She had her rematch against Bayley at NXT Takeover: Respect, which saw the first ever Women’s 30-minute Iron Man Match, and also saw the first time ever that women Main evented a WWE special. The match, as one can imagine, garnered immense praise from fans and critics alike.
While Sasha had a slow start on the main roster, her real featuring began on the Road to Wrestlemania, where she faced off against Charlotte and Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania 32 for the WWE Women’ s Championship, a match which many considered to be the show-stealer.
She has since become a two-time Raw Women’ s Championship, winning both times against Charlotte on Raw, the second of which was the main event of Raw.
Her epic rivalry with Charlotte came to a peak at Hell In A Cell, where the duo made history by being the first women to ever step inside Hell In A Cell, and also the first women to ever main event a WWE Pay-Per-View.
The greatest part of all of this is that she is yet to hit her peak. Sasha’s entire body of work in WWE is available on the WWE Network.
#1 Chyna
Although Chyna’s WWE tenure was only four years, there were few short tenures which were so impactful. Chyna stood out because of her unique look, and her strength that had her go head to head with the men. She is most known for her time with DX, where she was aligned with the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac, Road Dogg, etc.
The amount of history Chyna made was mind boggling. She was the only woman to become an Intercontinental Champion, the first women to enter the Royal Rumble, the first woman to participate in the King Of The Ring tournament, and the first woman to become Number One contender for the WWF Championship (a spot she lost to Mankind).
Among her first feuds with women, she feuded with Ivory for the WWF Women’s Championship, which she won in a squash match at Wrestlemania X7. She even briefly feuded with Trish Stratus and Lita, where she set the bar for Women’s wrestling.
Chyna transcended her division and became an icon of pro wrestling. She has paved the way for not only the women who immediately followed her but the women after that today. She is missed dearly by her family, friends, and fans. RIP Chyna.
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