Craig Wilson, Kenneth Richardson, Brian Damage and Jamie Lithgow

Ladies have been a staple of WWE television for decades. We have seen some incredibly talented in-ring performers, stunning managers and valets as well as ring announcers and backstage interviewers.

With the debut of E!’s ‘Total Divas’ it seems a topical time to look at some of the most important women from WWE’s past and this week Craig, Kenneth, Brian and Jamie share their Top Five Women in WWE History.

Craig

Honorary mentions:

Lita – few expected Essa Rios’ valet to amount to much but what a fantastic in-ring performer she was and just missed out on this Top Five. She’s a sure fire inclusion in the WWE Hall of Fame so I’m sure that will make up for not making this list.

Sensational Sherri – another mainstay through the 80s into the early 90s in the WWE. An important performer and very talented in-ring performer but didn’t have the appeal or importance of Miss Elizabeth so lost out to her. She, too, has passed away.

5 Alundra Blayze

After being dormant for server years, the WWE opted to bring back the women’s championship in the early 90s. They also decided to cast Alundra Blayze as the face of the division and she would go on to face the intimidating Bull Nakano and Bertha Faye.

However, the most infamous moment of her career took place after the left the company – whilst still champion – and showed up on Nitro and dumped the title belt in a bin live on TV.

4 Miss Elizabeth

The “First lady of professional wrestling”, Miss Elizabeth had a hugely prominent role on WWF television through the 80s boom. She was involved in many of the biggest angles and moments of that time from her part in the break-up of The Mega Powers that led to Savage v Hogan at Wrestlemania 5 or her emotional reunion with The Macho King two years later.

Sadly, like too many of those from the 80s period, she passed away far too early aged just 42.

3 Sable

Sable would make a list of top five most over people from the Attitude Era which is remarkable all things considered. Especially when you consider how short her run with the company actually was. Just how over was she? Well, the Playboy with her on the cover was one of the highest selling copies of all time.

Although departing on good terms in 2004, Mrs Brock Lesnar has rarely featured in wrestling and chooses to spend more time with her family.

2 Sunny

The first diva, she changed the way that women were portrayed in the WWE. There was barely a role she didn’t cover; manager, valet, interviewer, announcer or commentator. She virtually always overshadowed the men she managed as the crowd took to her better than her charges.

In what’s becoming a recurring theme, it quickly fell apart for her too. Drug use led to her being released right at the start of The Attitude Era, something she has struggled with since. A real shame.

1 The Fabulous Moolah

No list of women in wrestling can be complete without a mention for Moolah. She was the very first WWE Women’s champion and despite being 60, she appeared at the very first Wrestlemania. A legendary career that took place long before the debut of Wrestlemania and the 80s boom period.

That said, she did make a return in the late 90s in a largely comedic role. Still, she did win the title again at the age of 76. Rightly has a place in the Hall of Fame – first woman to be inducted – but sadly passed away in 2007.

Brian

5 Madusa Miceli

No doubt Madusa needs to be on this list for a number of reasons. The first being is that she technically never lost the WWE’s Womens Title. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision for her to walk out of the WWE with the title and throw it in a trash can on WCW Nitro. Especially seeing how Eric Bischoff never really kick started a real women’s division in WCW for any long period of time. However, in her day, Madusa was a gifted, tough wrestler who was in my view, one of the first women to not only be talented, but beautiful as well.

4 Sherri Martel

The late Sherri Martel could do it all…manage, wrestle, whatever and do it well. A true talent and a wrestling lifer. She had success whatever promotion she was a part of whether it was the AWA, WCW or the WWE.

3 Amy Dumas

She was an innovator in the women’s division with her high spots and willingness to take risks other women of her era simply wouldn’t do.

2 Trish Stratus

Without question one of the all time greats and the WWE recognized her as such as being a women to retire as WWE Women’s champion.

1 Fabulous Moolah

One tough broad…Nuff said
Kenneth

5 Jaguar Yokota

If there is any wrestler more responsible than Japan’s modern joshi era than Jaguar Yokota, show me, because I can’t find one. Megumi Kudo, Combat Toyota, Kyoko Inuoe, all trained by her. Hell, look at her match with Devil Masami and tell me she doesn’t belong on this list.

4 Luna Vachon

The daughter of Butcher and niece of Mad Dog, her family history laid the ground work for the great wrestler she become and the groundwork she would lay for those that came after her.

3 Trish Stratus

If Sable started the era of the modern diva, Trish Stratus definitely perfected it. Along with Lita, Trish Stratus paved the way, for better or worse, the females we see today.

2 Miss Elizabeth

There isn’t much to be said that hasn’t been said about elizibeth already. Wrestlings version of Grace Kelly, this woman put forth nothing but class and beauty and set the gold standard for every valet in the industry.

1 The Fabulous Moolah

The pioneer, the gold standard, the ultimate. Other than holding the title a record 27 YEARS, this woman set the bar for every female in the industry today.

Jamie:

Honorary mentions:

The Sensational Sherri, Sunny, Molly Holly and the whole Japanese women’s wrestling industry. I don’t have a deep enough knowledge to include any one performer, but some of the matches I have seen from these promotions over the years have been lightyears ahead of anything from America.

5 Miss Elizabeth

‘The First Lady of Wrestling’. When I was a kid this always confused me, because surely there were women before here, right? Believe it or not I’ve only made the first lady/president’s wife connection fairly recently. Yes, I am that slow. She’s on my list because, despite being a largely inanimate dolly bird, she was central to many of the storylines from my childhood. She supplied the blueprint from which so many others were cloned.

4 Sable

Directly descended from my number 5 pick, Sable was also a largely inanimate dolly bird at one point. However, she makes my list for being able to break away from this stereotype. She built upon what Sunny had achieved to explode as a character in her own right during The Attitude Era. In 1998 Sable was big business. Granted the role of women in the wrestling industry hadn’t evolved much at this time, but after ditching Marc Mero she became that rare commodity (at that time); a successful female performer without a man by her side.

3 Trish Stratus

Again the evolution continues. At one point Trish could be thought of as a direct replacement for Sable, but then she evolved into so much more. She was always the focus of attention, initially as a valet and then as a wrestler in her own right. She is probably the blueprint for todays “Divas”, Trish was the original. She came in from a modelling background, like so many do, and worked hard to become a successful wrestler, thus earning the respect of the fans and her peers.

2 Mae Young

She’s 90 and still listed as merely “semi-retired”! Mae doesn’t make the list for wrestling in 9 separate decades (allegedly, not sure how that works mind you) nor does she make the list for her lengthy career and many titles. The reason I’ve picked Mae is because at the age of 78 she allowed Buh-Buh Ray Dudley (now Bully Ray) to powerbomb her off the stage and through a table. This is probably her most iconic bump, but there were many more. The week previous to this spot Buh-Buh performed a similar spot on her, only in the ring and not off the stage. You have to respect this woman, she’s game for anything, fair play to you Mae.

1 The Fabulous Moolah

Could I have picked anyone else?! The length of her career is second only to Mae Young, but Moolah’s shone far brighter. She wasn’t just a female wrestler for ages, she was the top female wrestler in the world for ages. For at least 30 years she controlled the NWA Woman’s World Championship. After that she played a pivotal role for WWE during the Rock n’ Wrestling era. More recently most will know her for her friendship with Mae Young. Oh, and like Mae, Moolah doesn’t mind taking a bump either. At the age of 71 she allowed Jeff Jarrett to smash a guitar over her head. Plus, on top of all that she is reported to be as hard as they come. In her prime there wasn’t a female (or even male) who would want to mess with The Fabulous Moolah.

All previous Top Five articles can be found here.