So what about the other great women wrestlers?

[Trill Co$by]

So in terms of women wrestlers that people of the IWC seem to love, the common three talked about are Lita, Trish, and Victoria... and honestly, I will agree that they were very great at what they did, but what about the other divas from their time that were equally as great but never get any recognition?

What about people like Jazz, Ivori, and Molly Holly? I mean sure there are more talented women from their time, but these three were often right up there with Trish, Lita, and Victoria back in the day and at their highest points, were feuding with one of those divas.

Jazz was probably the most powerful of the divas in that time, save for Chyna but then again, she had since been gone. Not only that, but her actual in-ring ability was far greater than a lot of mid-card males back then. Her matches were often longer than matches usually given to divas, and she was able to display some talent.

Then there's Ivori... probably a bit controversial to some, but she really did have a time in the spotlight where she meant something. There was once a time when Ivori was the crown jewel of the diva's division and was part of one of WWE's most forgotten but great stables, Right to Censor. Her gracefulness in the ring was a lot better than any women's wrestler out there today, and I seriously do believe that... No matter how great MsChif, Sara Del Rey, and (IMO) Madison Rayne are.

And last but not least, there's Molly Holly. Probably one of the most recognizable divas in the Lita/Trish Era because she was the one who was pretty much the Triple H to their Austin & Rock or the Angle to their HHH & Rock. She was relevant and was able continuously BE relevant during that era, and was responsible for a lot of great moments... like such

[YOUTUBE]GnYJkIJBRsQ[/YOUTUBE]

Don't get me wrong, I love Trish, Lita, and Victoria for what they've done for the old women's division, but to ignore other women who've also helped is a bit obscure to me... especially since there are plenty of them who had times where they were left with carrying said division, and did so.

 

[This Is My Name Thank You]

I got to agree with you Straight Line Stitch (awesome band too) that those three women were pretty good at there times.

I thought Jazz was awesome an actually was scared of her in a way. When she use to do her leg drop i thought she made Hogans look silly. She'd get about 5 feet in the air an BAM!! over. She had ME status in my eyes but the E was focused on Trish an the rest of them.

Ivory was good an not the best in ring at the time but she is far better then the current divas. Least she does more moves then yellin like KK. She was a good choice for RTC an i actually enjoyed that group. All though i dont remember to much her though.

Molly Holly was amazing an her MOLLY GO ROUND was the sickest move i ever witnessed at the time. It was an OH SHIT!!! move to me. She was talanted with her fueds an i think personally better then lita in the ring an should of been her in the top 3 of the divas. Until which im not 100% sure of this due to this it being a while but she lost all her push forward when she lost that hair match an became bald. (pretty sure it was her, against who idr)

SO yes i say these 3 divas were just as good if not better then the Lita, Trish, an Victoria at the times. Hell wish they were in the E now to destroy all the horrible divas as in Alicia Fox, Bellas, Eve, an Rosa, basically all of em besides Beth Phoneix.

 

[wrestler36]

I agree all these women were great talents and were the unsung heroes of the diva era. To be fair, though, the era of Molly, Jazz, Ivory, etc had their own version of 'cheerleaders.' While those girls were showcasing the art of wrestling, Torrie, Stacy, Dawn Marie, etc were more eyecandy mainstays.

Side note: I just listened to Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling Podcast and he interviews Beth Phoenix in Ep 53. She tells a great story of how Beth found out at OVW that Molly Holly prepaid a majority for her wrestling training. Molly's reasoning was that Macho Man gave her numerous opportunities to learn and be successful and it was her way of 'paying it forward.' Sorry I don't have the exact time, but it is EP. 53. http://www.tsmradio.com/coltcabana/

 

[Tharper16]

Yes those three were good but lets not forget the divas that started it off for the diva's divsion like Auldra Blayze who was the trish stratus of her time. And lets not forget the one and only sunny who what basically the first pretty girl diva in wwe then came debra who by all means knew what to show off. and then we had the power house diva Sable who was along side chyna. But i love all these divas but i would say the two greatest divas ever is faboulas moonlah and Trish Stratus

 

[Klown_Karnage]

First off, thank you for the shout out to some of the undermentioned greats of the wrestling world. Both Jazz and Ivory were excellent. Molly Holly is a personal favorite of mine.

The things I remember about Molly is that she was constantly testing the borders between what divas were and were not allowed to do. She was the one constantly kicking down walls. Her hardcore title win was one, but the one I remember most is her hair match. No divas were doing that sort of thing at that time. I also enjoyed her part in the kind of "Romeo and Juliet" angle when she and Little Spike Dudly hooked up. As a Shakespeare geek, that angle spoke to me, but even then, she was not the demure type, not by a long shot.

I think that the time of these divas did have something to do with it. I've been watching some earlier episodes of WWE programming (particularly when it was still WWF) and I have to admit that the divas of that day tended to get far more screen time both for promos and for decent matches. There was an excellent promo between Sable and Jackie in which Marc Merro was out there the whole time but didn't say a word. Nowadays, it's more than likely that the male wrestler (any male wrestler) would be doing the majority of the talking. In terms of matches, the WWE has really weakened the diva division over time so that it's very difficult to find an Ivory or a Molly Holly, not because the current divas are incapable but because the WWE refuses to allow them to go at full force.

Anyways, that's just my opinion.

 

[Razakel]

The fact that nobody ever mentions Bull fn' Nakano is a crime against humanity. She has always been one of my favorite wrestlers regardless of gender.The cage match she had with Aja kong was just insane.If anybody ever gets a chance you should check it out on Youtube...and also :

This move is just badass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQdRRAM33b8

 

[Aaronliveshere]

My favorite women's wrestler was Mickey James when she first started out in the WWE. She could wrestle and had a personality. The crazy psycho bitch who was sex crazed with Trish. After her, the divas all started becoming cookie cutter barbi dolls.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I loved that whole era, because these women were female superstars, not just some no-talent bimbos whose only attribute was their looks. During that time period, Trish was the most marketable and therefore, the one everything revolved around. Lita was just as over, but her "tomboy alterna-chick" persona wasn't as marketable to a mass audience as Trish. Victoria was probably the best combo of looks, ringwork and promo skills among the ladies, but WWE dropped the ball with her from 2005 until she left.

Jazz was a great wrestler and a tough, no-nonsense badass, but each time they gave her the women's title, she got hurt, which probably got her branded as injury-prone and led to her barely being used later on.

Ivory was the bridge between the Sable era and the Trish era, but she was in her late-30's when she joined and even though she had it all, her age worked against her. Jacqueline was very similar - good talent, but she was in her mid-30's and had a reputation as a stiff worker in the ring.

Then there's Molly. Fantastic in-ring, but she was a victim of one of the cruelest angles in wrestling history: the "junk in your trunk" storyline. Having the entire roster calling her "fat-ass" week in and week out destroyed her. Even though she was arguably the best pure wrestler in the company, most fans didn't realize it because Trish, Jerry Lawler, much the rest of the company AND the crowds were too busy laughing at her. It's because of this storyline that I still think she made a big mistake at WrestleMania 20. I understand her reasons for doing what she did and I repsect her for doing it, but she could not survive another public humiliation angle.

Once they started the Diva Searches in 2004, it was the beginning of the end.

 

[SickJames]

I loved them all, Trish and Lita are still the best, but those 3 are great too. I liked some others over them though. Ivory was one I was very high on

I loved the fact that you always got so many Divas in and out, faces who could fight, were pretty, were both

I miss Tori though since ppl dont bring her up much. She was awesome too, a member of D- Generation X and she had awesome hardcore matches!

specifically one backstage comes to mind

I'll also have to say Sable, she had good matches, I liked her shit she did throughout her whole career, I sure wish we couldve seen a Sable vs Trish match I actually cant remember if that happened in her last run with WWE in 2003 about, but I hope it did, I'm gonna go check

 

[d_henderson1810]

Yes those three were good but lets not forget the divas that started it off for the diva's divsion like Auldra Blayze who was the trish stratus of her time. And lets not forget the one and only sunny who what basically the first pretty girl diva in wwe then came debra who by all means knew what to show off. and then we had the power house diva Sable who was along side chyna. But i love all these divas but i would say the two greatest divas ever is faboulas moonlah and Trish Stratus

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I know who I am going to mention never wrestled, but in terms of popularity at the time, few surpassed Miss Elizabeth. I know that "Macho Man" Randy Savage was hugely over anyway, but having Elizabeth by his side didn't hurt. She had style, played the damsel in distress well, and was gorgeous. Many guys at the time wished they had a girl on their arm like Elizabeth. It is just unfortunate that she took her own life. She will be missed!

PS I believe that when they induct Randy "Macho Man" Savage into the WWE HoF, they should induct Elizabeth in as well the same year. It would be very fitting!

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought of Molly Holly, Ivory and Jazz as 3 of the underappreciated divas from the WWE roster over the past 10-12 years. All 3 of them were very capable in the ring, and showed that being a successful womens wrestler was not all about flashing your cleavage and participating in sexy gimmick matches, although Ivory and Molly were both gorgeous.

All 3 of them played a huge role in making the WWE Women's division mean something during their time with the company and its a shame that they get overshadowed by some of the other women, who may have been slightly better and more attractive but would never have had the success they did without people like Molly and Jazz playing the heel to Trish and Lita's face, or wrestlers like Ivory having those great matches with the likes of Tori (who was another very good women's wrestler).

I am going to be in the majority and say that Victoria/Tara (obviously), Trish and Lita were my favourite womens wrestlers, as they had the combination of looks and in-ring talent, but I was also a big fan of Molly and Ivory whos good looks were often ignored due to their gimmicks, and you do not find many women with the strength and power of Jazz, she was great in her role.

Gail Kim is another who has never really been appreciated in the WWE, and its a shame that she has gone now before ever really getting a chance, which is a disgrace when you know just how good she is. I expect she will end up back in TNA, where she gets treated in the way she deserves. Kim is pure talent, and I will look forward to seeing her go up against Mickie James, Tara and Angelina Love once again.