D1 - Lita versus Paige

[Dave]

Day 1 of the inaugral WrestleZone International Cup begins with tag team matches that pit Team U.S.A against Team R.O.W in randomly assigned matches. Who will gain the early advantage in the Cup and who will let their team down? Let the debate begin!

Boards are open for 1 day for discussion and then polling will begin in 24 hours. Polling lasts for 48 hours afterwards. The winning team gets the point. In the event of a draw, teams will half a point each.

 

[Dave]

This is a tough one for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, Paige hasn't really had enough time to forge a legacy in wrestling. In fact, if yu were to ask people about her today, she would be slated for the things she is doing outside of the ring.

Secondly, Lita was around in the Attitude Era, where wrestling for women was viewed as a joke. Apart from her, Chyna and Trish, there was nothing to the division except lingerie models throwing mud at each other and stripping off.

That said, Lita was always the stand out star behind Trish Stratus and her place in history will always be remembered. Was she terrific in the ring? Not really but she was better than most. Paige, on the other hand, is a terrific wretler and one of the very few women who brought about the women's revolution in the WWE. I firmly believe that without her, we might not be where we are today. When you try to put all of the shit she has done in the past year to the back of your mind, I don't think there is any doubt that she is a better wrestler than Lita is.

That said, she is very young and hasn't proved herself consistently yet. It's a tough call but I think I have to go with Paige. In a one-off match, like this is, I think she would pull it together enough to get past Lita.

 

[Bernkastel]

Lita was a far bigger star than Paige has proven to be. Not only was she a successful champion, but she was a successful valet too. And she wasn't the type to stand on the outside and look pretty. She mixed it up in the ring. She took her fair share of beatings. Remember when Austin beat her half to death with a chair? Her list of memorable angles and feuds could fill a list a mile long. She being kidnapped and impregnated by Kane was still more memorable than anything Paige ever did, and I'm sure most fans would like to forget about that.

What do fans remember? She was a trailblazer. She was the first woman to main event a televised show. Twice. She was the first woman to ever compete inside a steel cage. She was one of the first women to use a high risk in ring style. She opened up doors for women like Paige, and took women's wrestling it to new heights, but did Paige do the same? Not really. Paige simply took the reigns from AJ Lee. The division was already hot. And now the talent pool is as deep as it was since Lita was in her prime, and Paige is no where to be found. And really, she's not missed. Paige doesn't bring anything new to the table that Charlotte, Sasha, Becky, and Alexa don't already. Lita was still unique even when compared to the likes of Trish, Victoria, Molly, Jackie, Jazz, Beth, Mickie, and Melina.

For me this is a no brainer. Lita wins.

 

[ShinChan]

I'll post more later but was division already hot before Paige arrived? I can remember just one "diva" to be good at that time and that was AJ Lee. So how come division was hot before the arrival of Paige?

The division is hot now. Not then. When divas matches were breaks for most of the people. Paige had a big role in changing that.

 

[Bernkastel]

I'll post more later but was division already hot before Paige arrived? I can remember just one "diva" to be good at that time and that was AJ Lee. So how come division was hot before the arrival of Paige?

The division is hot now. Not then. When divas matches were breaks for most of the people. Paige had a big role in changing that.

AJ Lee and Kaitlyn had a hot rivalry before Paige arrived. Paige gained immediate credibility through her matches with AJ. If anything AJ should be the one to take the most credit for breathing that life back into the division. From there, I'd argue that Paige really didn't add anything new.

 

[ShinChan]

Both AJ Lee and Paige needed each other. Not just Paige. AJ couldn't do it alone. Just like Paige won't have. Paige did add a lot of new. Anti-Diva was her only. Plus, division wasn't hot when Paige debuted. Just a day before, all divas had a forgettable match at Wrestlemania of all shows.