Biggest Drawing Diva?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Which Diva do you think made the most money for WWE?

I think it's a tough call between Sable, Elizabeth, Lita, Chyna and Trish. A lot of people may not realize it, but Sunny brought a lot of great publicity to the WWF at a time when they needed some recognition.

I think i'll give the edge to Sable, she was plastered on every piece of merchandise available, had two very successful Playboy covers and the ratings for her segments were always high.

However, if we're talking about wrestling tickets alone, I think we've got to say Wendi Richter..

 

[The Butcher]

This is a tougher question than it seems. Sunny shouldn't be an "other." She's probably high on the list. Chyna is probably up there too. Elizabeth should be an "other." Lita and Trish had success, longevity, and merchandise.

 

[Bernkastel]

The answer is Trish Stratus. No other women had as many high profile feuds as she did, put more people over, or generated the type of excitement she did. If fans claimed they cared about women's wrestling from 1999 to 2005 more than any other era, that's solely because of that woman. That easily makes her the biggest draw the company has ever seen.

Lita and Sable were close, and Sunny was closer to Torrie Wilson's "Oh titties, must buy sexy poster!" drawing level. The difference between Lita and Trish became apparent after Trish left. WWE had to strap her with Edge in order to squeeze any last bit of relevance her name still had to offer. Chyna was just... no.

 

[closet_fan]

I voted Chyna for the simple fact that there was always a chance she'd actually wrestle a guy and could literally kick the guy's ass. Echelon, maybe she is a joke now, but the Chyna of back then was really good.

I don't know why Miss Elizabeth gets so much hype. She was very bland and boring. Barely spoke and was almost robotic. Good looking yes. I even had the infamous poster of her showing cleavage at the bottom, but she wasn't all that great.

She wasn't exactly someone a girl could look up to because she always played the damsel in distress part instead of getting in someone's face like Sensational Sherri did.

 

[Bossblood]

Torrie Wilson said she stated she was the highest paid Diva of all time in a Playboy article but I don't know how that would translate into gross profit. That was also several years ago.

 

[Bernkastel]

I voted Chyna for the simple fact that there was always a chance she'd actually wrestle a guy and could literally kick the guy's ass. Echelon, maybe she is a joke now, but the Chyna of back then was really good.

I don't know why Miss Elizabeth gets so much hype. She was very bland and boring. Barely spoke and was almost robotic. Good looking yes. I even had the infamous poster of her showing cleavage at the bottom, but she wasn't all that great.

She wasn't exactly someone a girl could look up to because she always played the damsel in distress part instead of getting in someone's face like Sensational Sherri did.

No see wasn't. She was a mid carder at best. Allot of fans liked to hype her up because she regularly competed in the men's division. But that meant that she didn't have the clemency that other women normally had [because the division as a whole didn't draw] because she wasn't a normal competitor - and WWE never booked her as such. She was nothing more than a sideshow attraction.

Even the inter-gender matches that Trish and Lita participated in drew more attention than anything she ever did.

 

[MTL722]

I dont even know why theres a debate. Trish Stratus is hands down the biggest drawing diva in WWE history. She was drop dead gorgeous, she could wrestle, she had feuds that mattered, and she won the WOMENS championship 7 times. I stress "womens" championship because ever since it became the Divas title the division has been a complete joke

Sable got ratings, Chyna broke boundaries (only female IC champion), and Lita was far more popular than people give her credit for. The pop she got at Raw 1000 proves that point

However, I have one problem with this poll. Miss Elizabeth was not and should not be considered a diva. She was a valet and nothing more. To my knowledge she never competed in the ring and was simply a woman that was involved in wrestling, not a competitor

 

[lil bitch Kid]

Hmmmmm, let's say, none of the above. The 'diva' that drew the most money for WWE/F was the Fabulous Moolah. Which Diva ever main eventers house shows? Moolah. Yes, it was a very different time, but to debate this properly, you can't just go with the ones that you know.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I voted for Trish also, based on:
- Trish and Lita actually main evented a RAW.
- She has the most Women's titles reigns
- She has the second most combined reigns (only behind Moolah, different era)
- She was the face of Women's wrestling in an era where it felt like it actually meant something
- She was great as both a heel and a face
- She was beyond sexy, and didn't need to pose for Playboy to be relevant
- She was involved in major main event storylines as well (with Triple H, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Chris Jericho, etc)
- Most casual fans still have a crush on her

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I hear Kharma can paint & draw pretty well. Get it?

Okay but seriously since your asking what DIVA drew the most, hands down, Trish Stratus. While Elizabeth was a break out beauty & fantastic valet, Sable brought true sex appeal to WWE television & Chyna broke boundries as a competitor, it was Trish who truely revolutionized being a WWE Diva. She was the complete package of looks, figure, brains, talent, charisma & pure wrestling technique. She is the model of what WWE trys to achieve today in their Divas Division.

As far as what female wrestler goes that is easily Fabulous Moolah. As stated previously she headlined house shows, was a major figure in 80's WWE programming & The Rock N' Wrestling Connection, She was one of only two females to ever be turned into a WWF cartoon unless your also counting clay-mation Chyna in Celebrity Deathmatch & if I'm not mistaken she has headlined MSG with Wendi Richter, which besides Wendi herself, I don't think any female can say they have done in wrestling or sports entertainment.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I've always found Trish overrated. She didn't hit her stride as a wrestler to me until 2003. Even if I had to choose just between Trish and Lita, I would choose Lita because she was mega-over especially in 2000. Most people don't realize how over Sable was even during the Attitude Era. I just don't think the peak of Trish's popularity was ever as high as Lita's, Sable's, and even Sunny's to be quite honest.

Sable
Lita
Sunny
Trish
Whoever

 

[mlp420]

Yeah, Trish has this. She was in more high profile angles than any female I can remember. The feud with Lita/Kane in 04, the fued with Stephanie in 01, and the fued with Christian/Jericho in 03-04. I also recall her being frequently mentioned as one of the WWE's top merchandise sellers during that time period.

Edit: Sable in '98 was more over than Trish was at her peak, but she had so little talent WWE never did much with her outside of the usual eye candy stuff. That, and the fact that the Womens division was pretty crappy during the attitude era's peak.

 

[Bernkastel]

Hmmmmm, let's say, none of the above. The 'diva' that drew the most money for WWE/F was the Fabulous Moolah. Which Diva ever main eventers house shows? Moolah. Yes, it was a very different time, but to debate this properly, you can't just go with the ones that you know.

Moolah was never a big draw. At the 1984 Brawl to end it All PPV the women's match was actually the main event, and was billed as Moolah's first big title defense in WWF kayfabe. The show steadily lost ratings going into the final hour prior to the WWF title match - which drew the most. The next year at the War to Settle the Score PPV the women's match and the WWF title match were billed as a double main event together. Again the women's match lost ratings and the men's match gained ratings. Same thing happened at Wrestlemania 1. All of these matches heavily featured Moolah.

Because of this women's matches were regulated down to mid tier billing.

 

[GameOver]

hmm well since you said Diva, none of those were technically Diva's they were female wrestlers that looked good, well i don't see Sable/Chyna as hot, they were all puppies and nothing else

But if we are gonna take WOmen in general as Diva's across the generations
Fabulous Moolah is technically the biggest draw of any women in history she was the face of the women's division and the NWA/WWWF/WWF womens champion 4 times between 1956 -1986 for a combined total of 10,750 her reigns being 3651, 2862, 2113, 947, 527, 380 days suck on that Punk .

She was also the WWF womens champ for 220 days in 1985 as The Spider Lady.

Her and Mae Young have to be the two most well known female wrestlers in WWF history more so Mae Young as the comedy sidekick.

as for Biggest Draw of all time Moolah would have to get the nod just cause of her longetivty in the main event for women.

Trish was in the biggest draw era for WWF tho so one could argue she was the biggest draw, this was a time when women's wrestling was marketed heavily and they had creative behind them and the women could handle there own both on the mic and performing in the ring but Moolah had 100 times the longevity

 

[GameOver]

Torrie Wilson said she stated she was the highest paid Diva of all time in a Playboy article but I don't know how that would translate into gross profit. That was also several years ago.

Torrie was the hottest diva for me I'd vote for her in that respect, she certainly always got the nods in the fan vote competitions including from me.

 

[Jaffa]

People talk about how great Trish was she did this and she did that but if all of you haven't forgotten for such a top draw she was only in the company for 6 years and spent a reason portion of that time around a year on the shelf or not competing. Moolah did mainevent house shows PPV's and television so lets go on the argument that yes Moolah did indeed drop viewers yes but I'm guessing Trish vs Lita in the RAW mainevent probably didn't gain any viewers see where I am going with this. Moolah also held the title for about 3 times the amount of years Trish was in the WWE.

Even though she is a revolting **** and now does porn Chyna in my opinion is very underrated as a competitor. Talk about Trish once again being in high profile angles with Jericho and Christian Chyna and Jericho feuded over the IC title and she even beat Jeff Jarrett for the title as well as pinning Trish herself for title.

 

[Pedigree1]

wow tougher question than i thought this would be! But in reality its trish stratus. Elizabeth IMO was the first bombshell. RIP she just was beautiful inside and out and i loved her smile! But Trish was not beautiful(Damnit i wish she did a playboy shoot wish the rumors were true butthey were not) Anyway Trish brought beauty,brains, athleticism and eveything else. I miss T&A and im not talking about Test and Albert. Trish is the ultimate goal for any future diva to reach. IMO she was the divas division the best of the bunch! Trish is the benchmark still to this day!

 

[VencomHardcore]

For ANYONE to Judge MOOLAH based on a TV rating is the epitome of crazy. As someone who watched wrestling LIVE during the Territory Days, I can tell you that MOOLAH was a draw. And she drew money.

She Popped Territories on the level of Abdullah but didn't get the same pay because she was a woman. She was used in many house shows and territories that were NOT on TV. So for anyone to think that one or two shows someone demonstrates her drawing power , has a very limited understanding of success. Her's was her staying power.

She lived in an era where she had to live in her car, change in bathrooms and drive hundreds of miles by herself. She paved the way for Trish.

I say Trish was a greater draw during the modern era of wrestling just because she had the WWE Machine. Moolah didn't. She did it the hard way. And Moolah trained many female talents of her day. Something WWE never really acknowledged.

Trish is the Greatest Diva of All Time. Moolah is the Greatest Wrestler and Draw because she wrestled longer and represented the WWE in other promotions as well as her territory work.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I'd say the highest grossing woman in WWF/E history was Chyna. She was a 3-time I-C champion, she was part of one of the top factions in wrestling history and she was getting mainstream press coverage. However, because she usually wrestled men, some might argue that she was a "superstar", not a "diva".

Second would be Trish. She had the full weight of the WWF/E hype machine behind her even before she started wrestling. She was a total package - looks, charisma, promo ability and she learned to wrestle pretty well. I know a lot of people think Trish was just a pretty face who had to be spoon-fed in the ring, but I'm not one of them.

Lita was over with the crowd big-time and Team Xtreme were huge in the early 2000's, but her career derailed when she broke her neck in 2002. She was still popular when she returned, but it wasn't the same. She wasn't used much in 2004, she got hurt again in January 2005 and her affair with Edge turned her into a pariah for the last year-plus of her career.

Sable was HUGE in 1998, but she was gone only a year later. She burned very bright, but only for a short time.

Elizabeth was never anything but Randy Savage's arm candy. He would have drawn just as well with or without her.

Bossblood, according to the report that got leaked a few years back regarding what WWE stars got paid in 2005, Torrie Wilson was far from the highest-paid Diva. She and Stacy Keibler were both making about $180,000 a year. By comparison, Victoria made $275,000, Lita made $286,000 (less than what she should have made because she was out with a torn ACL for much of that year) and Trish made about $680,000 PLUS she got a percentage of her merchandise sales.

 

[GameOver]

People talk about how great Trish was she did this and she did that but if all of you haven't forgotten for such a top draw she was only in the company for 6 years and spent a reason portion of that time around a year on the shelf or not competing. Moolah did mainevent house shows PPV's and television so lets go on the argument that yes Moolah did indeed drop viewers yes but I'm guessing Trish vs Lita in the RAW mainevent probably didn't gain any viewers see where I am going with this. Moolah also held the title for about 3 times the amount of years Trish was in the WWE.

Even though she is a revolting **** and now does porn Chyna in my opinion is very underrated as a competitor. Talk about Trish once again being in high profile angles with Jericho and Christian Chyna and Jericho feuded over the IC title and she even beat Jeff Jarrett for the title as well as pinning Trish herself for title.

so
Stone Cold was only in WWF for 7yrs full time and 2 yrs or so on and off and he was the second biggest draw of all time next to Hogan

The Rock was only around for 7yrs and he was a huge attraction on the level of any great past present or future.

Name one other women that was at the top in the title hunt for 5yrs straight other then Moolah and in a time when women's wrestling had some amazing talent . the rest of your statement i agree with but Trish did an amazing job for her size and was the best of the best post 80's WWF had to offer IMO.

But my pick is still Moolah tho as i said none of those are Diva's, they are fighting Women and Elizabeth was never a Diva, she was a lady..

 

[Bernkastel]

For ANYONE to Judge MOOLAH based on a TV rating is the epitome of crazy. As someone who watched wrestling LIVE during the Territory Days, I can tell you that MOOLAH was a draw. And she drew money.

Nowadays it would be crazy to judge drawing ability based on TV ratings alone, but back in the mid 80's they didn't have the internet or TiVo. Ratings were pretty much the only way to tell what was selling and what wasn't. Women's wrestling wasn't a draw in the territorial days, the Golden era, or even the mid 90's. It wasn't until the Attitude era that fans began to take notice.

She Popped Territories on the level of Abdullah but didn't get the same pay because she was a woman.

True, but at the same time there wasn't allot of genuine competition for her so bookers just gave her a flat rate for an appearance. There's a genuine reason why WWE ignores allot of her history as woman's champion.

She was used in many house shows and territories that were NOT on TV. So for anyone to think that one or two shows someone demonstrates her drawing power , has a very limited understanding of success. Her's was her staying power.

These weren't just one or two shows. These were major PPV's which showcased the best talents at the time. In one of those PPV's she got billed over Hulk Hogan, and another she was billed as his drawing equal - there's little wonder why her matches lost ratings.

She lived in an era where she had to live in her car, change in bathrooms and drive hundreds of miles by herself. She paved the way for Trish.

True, but that doesn't have anything to do with drawing ability as Moolah owed her whole career to women like Mildred Burke - who was actually a much better mainstay territorial draw than she was.

I say Trish was a greater draw during the modern era of wrestling just because she had the WWE Machine. Moolah didn't. She did it the hard way. And Moolah trained many female talents of her day. Something WWE never really acknowledged.

Training is one thing, but putting over others is another. There were several women that owed the success of their characters to the rub they got from Trish. Among these are Victoria, Molly, Jazz, Mickie James, and even Lita to an extent.

Trish is the Greatest Diva of All Time. Moolah is the Greatest Wrestler and Draw because she wrestled longer and represented the WWE in other promotions as well as her territory work.

Superstar = Performer = Diva = Wrestler... all the same thing.

 

[HBsam31]

I immediately wanted to vote Trish, but Moolah has to be given consideration as well. Sunny is being grossly underestimated here and so is Sable. Sable was not around very long so I don't think she could be considered a long term draw. Sunny on the other had was getting movie star notice. She was at at one time the most searched female personality on the internet. The internet was still new at the time, and yes a lot of it had to do with guys wanted to see her half naked, but still drawing is drawing. I would venture to say if there was no Sable or Sunny there would have been no Tirsh, but I suppose if there was no Moolah there would have been no Sable or Sunny. Based off of making the most money for the WWE I would have to say Moolah just based off her longevity.

 

[USMNT]

Long term and just 'biggest drawing' give two different answers.

Sable generated significantly more revenue in her short run than any other diva when calculated over the same time period. Sable was a cash cow for WWE and has been said as the ONLY female cash cow in WWE history.

Now, a big reason for that is her Playboy issue did HUGE business and WWE got a cut of that. But, drawing money is drawing money.

 

[Shalashaska]

There's a case to be made for all of these names, they all had huge success in different ways.

Sable was a megastar in the late nineties. Every dude knew sable, even non wrestling fans.

Trish built a reputation as possibly the hottest and most talented female every in WWE, as did Sunny in the decade before, and both of them managed to branch out into the casual audience like Sable.

Lita just exploded with her alternative, high flying chick deal and took the Hardys, who were already over as hell, into the realm of super stardom among the fans.

Chyna started as kind of just a spectacle but became a phenom in the eyes of the fans of the day to the point she was competing for male titles and winning.

Fabulous Moolah was a major draw for a long time, was beloved and paved the way for the other women on the list.

And Miss Elizabeth is Miss Elizabeth, the First Lady of Wrestling and forever beloved by those who got to see her.

Its difficult to say who exactly drew more money, fans, interest etc. if they did a chick Hall of Fame they'd all be in.

 

[Con T.]

The answer is Trish Stratus. No other women had as many high profile feuds as she did, put more people over, or generated the type of excitement she did. If fans claimed they cared about women's wrestling from 1999 to 2005 more than any other era, that's solely because of that woman. That easily makes her the biggest draw the company has ever seen.

This is the correct answer, if we're talking about as a draw by herself. Trish and Lita are actually the only women to ever main event a Raw, and while not exactly in the Attitude Era, they did so in a pretty successful era for the WWE. Lita and Trish are actually responsible for the fans caring about divas for what was the renaissance, if you will, age for the girls.

Elizabeth, you could argue, was the biggest draw, if you accept that she was an object in an angle. The Mega Power angle was built on the jealousy of Savage, in how he felt Hogan lusted after Liz. She never got physically involved, but as a piece of angle, Elizabeth could be an answer.

Still, Trish is correct