The 90s were a great decade for wrestling with many new stars getting a chance to shine. Women became a bigger part of the industry with the female rosters growing in WWE, WCW and ECW. The need for variety allowed the ladies to get a chance to showcase their presence from wrestling matches to storylines to exhibition attractions.
Some names stand out strong when discussing the time like Chyna, Sunny and Sable. However, many others get lost in the shuffle and don’t receive the appreciation deserved for their work. Faces from the time connected with the audience. Heels were able to get strong heat during their time upsetting the fans. Find out which women deserve more credit as underrated faces and heels from the 90s.
10 Heel: Missy Hyatt
The rise of Missy Hyatt saw her becoming one of the first women in wrestling to have a consistent role from the ‘80s into the ‘90s. Hyatt thrived at her best when playing a heel managing some of the heel male wrestlers in WCW.
The Nasty Boys and The Barbarian benefited from having Missy at their side cutting the promos for them. Hyatt would have been a far bigger star if she was part of WWE during the Attitude Era when Sable and Sunny took off to new heights.
9 Face: Debra
WWE and WCW both utilized Debra as a manager throughout the ‘90s. Debra initially joined WCW to manage Steve “Mongo” McMichael before turning on him to form a new alliance with Jeff Jarrett. The move to WWE for Jarrett saw him talking them into hiring Debra as well when she wanted a change.
Their act needed a change as Debra thrived more playing the face character despite managing a heel. Jarrett leaving WWE again just helped Debra get a bigger role on the show from an in-ring competitor to the on-screen wife of Stone Cold, often receiving huge cheers from the fan base.
8 Heel: Bull Nakano
The women’s division in the New Generation Era of WWE was overlooked due to only a handful of wrestlers getting spots on the roster. Bull Nakano was highly successful in Japan for over a decade before coming to WWE.
Alundra Blayze was the top face Women’s Champion and needed new rivals. Nakano was arguably the best challenger eventually winning the title and holding it for five months. WWE rarely spotlighted the women which caused her run to be less than memorable.
7 Face: Tori
The athletic ability of Tori made her more competent than many other women on the roster in the Attitude Era. Tori debuted as a super fan of Sable before getting established as a face character in the women’s division.
The biggest storyline for Tori in the ‘90s came as the love interest of Kane. WWE was trying to add more layers to Kane as a face instead of the overplayed silent monster. Tori helped Kane show more depth even though she did turn on him to join D-Generation X when the decades changed.
6 Heel: Woman
Nancy Benoit is often underrated when looking back at her achievements in wrestling. The character of Woman allowed her to shine in both WCW and ECW playing the heel valet. Fans of ECW will remember her with The Sandman when they tormented new face Tommy Dreamer.
WCW would utilize Woman in a new role when she joined the Four Horsemen along with Miss Elizabeth. Even though Elizabeth was the bigger name, Woman was the one interfering in matches and cutting promos.
5 Face: Beulah McGillicutty
The addition of Beulah McGillicutty added another layer to the all-time great ECW rivalry of Tommy Dreamer vs Raven. Beulah initially debuted as a heel aligning with Raven after Dreamer broke her heart when they were all kids.
The eventual turn would see McGillicutty become a face and the love interest of Dreamer. Fiction imitated reality here as the two fell in love and are still married with a family today. The success of Beulah made her the top face female character in ECW’s history.
4 Heel: Francine
ECW started to add more women on the roster as Paul Heyman realized changes were needed to stay ahead of the industry. Francine found her calling when turning heel on The Pitbulls to become the manager of top heel Shane Douglas.
The duo found huge success together as Francine was the missing piece that put Douglas over the top as a heel. Francine had another strong run managing Justin Credible to the ECW Championship from the heel side when betraying Tommy Dreamer.
3 Face: Terri Runnels
WWE hired Terri Runnels as the real-life wife of Dustin Rhodes with them replicating that for the characters of Marlena and Goldust. The fan support of Goldust grew when Marlena was introduced as his manager on the face side of things.
Chyna debuting by attacking Terri’s character added to the appeal of Chyna since fans cared about her well-being. WWE found success with Runnels as both a face and heel, but she did her best from the face side of things.
2 Heel: Luna Vachon
Few women in wrestling history are as underrated as Luna Vachon. The passion for wrestling came from early in her life as the Vachon family had a presence in the industry. WWE signed Luna in the early ‘90s to unite with Bam Bam Bigelow.
The duo found success together as intimidating heels making fans buy into the act. Vachon had a rivalry with Alundra Blayze for the Women’s Championship, but she never won the title. Even Sable benefited from Luna feuding with her when making the move from manager to wrestler in the Attitude Era.
1 Face: Kimberly Page
Kimberly Page became the top female face for most of WCW’s rise. An argument can be made Kimberly was WCW’s version of Sunny or Sable, but she didn't receive nearly the same amount of marketing from WCW. WCW utilized Kimberly as a manager of The Booty Man at first to minimal success.
DDP turning face allowed Kimberly to work closer with her husband in a feud against Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth and the rest of the New World Order. Kimberly got over huge with the fans from her managing run to the role as leader of the Nitro Girls. The departure from the wrestling business at the end of WCW saw her legacy getting forgotten without a WWE stint.