Strongest Women in Pro-Wrestling

[Nikkolas]

So I'm sure everyone knows Chyna and I bet a lot of people here know Beth Phoenix too. (I don't keep up with modern wrestling myself) Sadly they are a rare breed in the big leagues. Even when a modern female wrestler isn't terrible in the ring, they're often more athletic than anything because the insecure majority want women with curvy bodies, not rippling muscles.

Anyway, in my many years on the internet I've seen plenty of topics asking "who's the strongest wrestler?" (the answer is probably Mark Henry or Bill Kazmaier) However I've seen very little discussion about the mightiest ladies of wrestling.

So, good people of the forum, who do you think are the strongest gals ever to enter the squared circle? I'm looking for more of a list and not just a #1.

And I'll be honest about the fact I'm more interested in North American stuff than Japanese. I don't mind if you list strong Japanese women though.

Anybody remember Asya?
http://i.imgur.com/i1GSe.jpg

I wonder if she'd rank high up there.

 

[theBec2101]

First I would like to say, I pretty sure Kane at one time was the strongest wrestler backstage.

But anyway I would have to go with Chyna. She looked bigger then some of the dudes in WWE. I also think that in the older day and in japen women wrestlers are not as big they are small and just in really good shape and toned and now they are just models who didnt make it yet.

5-Bull Nakano -she had size and strength aswell. To bad is really wasnt the era of mixing up the genders more to see how she really would of done.

4-ODB -not only is she thick, but she is in a mix tag team and handles her own and throws some of the guys around.

3-Kharma/Kong -she #3 because I know she stronge but when your that big you should be. Kinda like Big Show.

2-Beth Phoenix -kinda like ODB but doesnt have the weight behind her as much.

1-Chyna -Needles to say when she first appeared I was like who is that dude.

 

[Lowdown]

Without a doubt, I have to say that its Nicole Bass. To this day I'm not sure if she was male or female, but she made Chyna look like Trish Stratus, and I'm talking about when Chyna herself looked butch. Used to see Nicole in muscle mags in the late 90's, and she was scary jacked. Sucked balls as a wrestler, but had way more muscle than Chyna.

 

[Pedigree1]

I also gotta go with Nicole Bass! She wasnt all that good in the ring at all but jacked as all hell! She made Chyna look like trish stratus (Thank you lowdown for that mention)! She was tall as i recall and very well put together! But i gotta say i do have a crush on Beth Phoenix

 

[Kingofwrestling16]

Kharma hands DOWN! She is the toughest and strongest diva i think there ever was. She is the best there was, best there is, the best there ever will be.

 

[Bernkastel]

For what there is documentation for Chyna was the strongest female pro wrestler on paper. I remember reading some of the stats she had in her prime, before the plastic surgery and alcohol abuse, a 350+ pound bench press, a 600+ pound squat, and a 650+ pound dead lift.

I'm sure Nicole Bass was also on par, as I found documentation of a 325 pound bench press for her. She was also taller and heavier than Chyna, but may not have been necessarily stronger.

I'd put Kia Stevens up there, but I doubt she was as powerful as Chyna or Nicole Bass.

People don't realize that bodies like Beth Phoneix or Natayla's were quite common years ago. Even women like Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus, Victoria, Sable, and most of the others around that time were all flaunting well built and well toned bodies. Hell, even Stacey Keibler was boasting a 500 pound leg press at one point.

To answer the question of the thread, the top three read like this...

1. Chyna [as per feats]
2. Nicole Bass
3. Kia Stevens/Awesome Kong/Kharma
4. Everyone else...

For every Beth Phoenix you name, you'll find a Sara Del Rey, Asya, Melissa Coates, or Linda Miles/Shaniqua on the same level of strength.

 

[asiatic7]

"Excuse me MISTER!!" - Commissioner Shawn Michaels to Nicole Bass... remember that?

Anyway, I have to agree with the Bull Nakano and Chyna references, Kharma as well. I don't know if my entry is the strongest, but Miss Jackie is one of the strongest and toughest I've ever seen. I seen her manhandle a fat racist asshole fan that kept taunting her. By the way that fat racist asshole was a man!
The man kept taunting her from ringside and made the mistake of putting his hands on Jackie and ended up getting spheared, grounded and pounded. It must take a lot of strength to knock down what appeared to be a 350 to 400 lb. man. It took Jeff Jarrett and a few officials to pry Jackie off this dude. If that's not strong, I don't know what is...

Let me correct myself. The fat dude tackled Jackie, but he still caught an ass whooping nonetheless!

 

[kokoBawesome]

i dont have an answer but i wanna give an honerable mention to Jazz. In the era of trish and Lita she came in and added even more legitimacy to womens wrestling. she was a house of muscle, not the biggest fan, but she grew on me alot over the time she was around.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I'd probably go with Chyna - before she decided to "go Diva" in 1999. She was huge when she first came into the WWF. Her biceps were bigger than a lot of the guys.

 

[Nikkolas]

For what there is documentation for Chyna was the strongest female pro wrestler on paper. I remember reading some of the stats she had in her prime, before the plastic surgery and alcohol abuse, a 350+ pound bench press, a 600+ pound squat, and a 650+ pound dead lift.

I'm sure Nicole Bass was also on par, as I found documentation of a 325 pound bench press for her. She was also taller and heavier than Chyna, but may not have been necessarily stronger.

I'd put Kia Stevens up there, but I doubt she was as powerful as Chyna or Nicole Bass.

People don't realize that bodies like Beth Phoneix or Natayla's were quite common years ago. Even women like Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus, Victoria, Sable, and most of the others around that time were all flaunting well built and well toned bodies. Hell, even Stacey Keibler was boasting a 500 pound leg press at one point.

To answer the question of the thread, the top three read like this...

1. Chyna [as per feats]
2. Nicole Bass
3. Kia Stevens/Awesome Kong/Kharma
4. Everyone else...

For every Beth Phoenix you name, you'll find a Sara Del Rey, Asya, Melissa Coates, or Linda Miles/Shaniqua on the same level of strength.

I'm not sure what you mean in this part.

I'd probably go with Chyna - before she decided to "go Diva" in 1999. She was huge when she first came into the WWF. Her biceps were bigger than a lot of the guys.

Same could be said for Asya's thighs. Love those things...

But yeah, seems like Chyna and Bass are the top contenders. I had forgotten all about Nicole until this thread.

 

[Bernkastel]

I'm not sure what you mean in this part.

They're all about the same size and probably have reletively the same amount of strength.

It's hard to pin point the strongest women pro wrestlers because, despite many of the strongest being former bodybuilders and powerlifters, their aren't allot of lifting stats available.

From what I've found Chyna and Nicole Bass are the strongest two based on stats.

 

[Nikkolas]

Ah,, I see what you mean.

Well, there's always their in-ring feats to consider. Obviously they are somewhat assisted but something like Chyna gorilla pressing Eddie easily seems legit enough.
Back in WCW I think Asya hit a Hanging Vertical Suplex on him as well. Impressive since she's way lighter than Chyna.

Unfortunately the only other female wrestling power feats I know of is Sable powerbombing Marc Mero. She's clearly not in the running for the strongest ever but it was still impressive.

 

[Bernkastel]

Ah,, I see what you mean.

Well, there's always their in-ring feats to consider. Obviously they are somewhat assisted but something like Chyna gorilla pressing Eddie easily seems legit enough.
Back in WCW I think Asya hit a Hanging Vertical Suplex on him as well. Impressive since she's way lighter than Chyna.

Unfortunately the only other female wrestling power feats I know of is Sable powerbombing Marc Mero. She's clearly not in the running for the strongest ever but it was still impressive.

In ring feats are incredibly misleading as one superstar may be booked to look really strong at one point, but may be booked to look really weak at another.

Canon consistency doesn't exist in pro wrestling unless it is relevent to a storyline.

That's why I go by actual stats.

 

[Nikkolas]

Well it's not like we're talking about how Sting can slam Vader at one time but crumples under the weight of Sid the next. If Wrestler A can gorilla press Wrestler B, I think it's a solid enough showing for Wrestler A's strength, regardless of the storyline. (look at Johnny Stamboli pressing Rikishi for example)

You're right that stats are preferable. Someone like Scott Norton or Brian "Crush" Adams were physically stronger than most of the supposed superstrong characters in wrestling but I don't think that in-ring showings should be discounted. F5'ing or Jackhammering Paul Wight is incredible, no matter how you slice it.

 

[Bernkastel]

Well it's not like we're talking about how Sting can slam Vader at one time but crumples under the weight of Sid the next. If Wrestler A can gorilla press Wrestler B, I think it's a solid enough showing for Wrestler A's strength, regardless of the storyline. (look at Johnny Stamboli pressing Rikishi for example)

You're right that stats are preferable. Someone like Scott Norton or Brian "Crush" Adams were physically stronger than most of the supposed superstrong characters in wrestling but I don't think that in-ring showings should be discounted. F5'ing or Jackhammering Paul Wight is incredible, no matter how you slice it.

Again that's misleading; there have been plenty of male superstars that have been just stupidly strong. John Cena is a freak of nature being only about 240. Jonny Stamboli was just as big, and equally as stong. He was able to military press both Umaga and Rikishi, and by his own claim pressed the Big Show at a house show. Brock Lesnar's strength is well documented, but by his own claim insists that Kane is just as strong.

Throw in guys like Batista, Bobby Lashley, Big Show, Nathan Jones and older guys like Hulk Hogan, Andre, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, The Warlord, Tony Atlas, and Ted Arcidi and suddenly you wouldn't know where to begin to rate people.

That's why we use stats... Mark Henry... a near 1000 pound dead lift, and could clean and jerk over 500 pounds. He could clean and jerk 180 pounds with one arm, and he was benching almost 600 pounds IN HIGH SCHOOL.

No other pro wrestler has proven capable of matching those stats, despite what they've done in kayfabe.

 

[Nikkolas]

No one is disputing Mark is insanely strong. I myself started the thread by acknowledging he probably was the strongest pro-wrestler ever.

You were talking about the absence of stats for most of the powerful female wrestlers and so I offered an alternative with looking at their in-ring feats. Yes, maybe a lot of female talent didn't get to show how truly strong they were in kayfabe but if we have nothing else to go by, there's no reason to assume one way or the other.

Unless we can get someone like Beth Phoenix's stats, I just thought to keep the thread alive by pointing out the impressive things the women have done in their matches. I don't think that's a bad thing or misleading at all.

 

[Nikkolas]

For example:
[youtube]s_JpO1pcmWs[/youtube]

It's not how much she can bench but it does show her strength.

 

[GameOver]

1) Nicole Bass - as others said they though Chyna was a dude, Nicole was a roid freak and she had a male voice, remember seeing her in a bra and pantie match (shudder)

2) Awesome Kong - no doubt she could go toe to toe with the bigger guys

3) Bull Nakano - she woulda easily dominated the women and if they had let them at the time no doubt coulda gone toe to toe with all but the largest guys

4) Chyna - Trained with men and proved in ring she could slam, suplex them amongst other things and with women she made it look easy. First women to compete in a Royal Rumble and win the IC Title too.

All of them could give guys a run for there money
Beth is strong no doubt but you can tell she struggles to lift women let alone men, she's not in the same league and mostly it's show.

 

[Nikkolas]

Beth is strong no doubt but you can tell she struggles to lift women let alone men, she's not in the same league and mostly it's show.

To be fair to Beth, that seems to be because the WWE wants to downplay her strength.
[youtube]9NxRpQYDU8U[/youtube]

She's certainly behind Chyna and the others though.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

For example:
[youtube]s_JpO1pcmWs[/youtube]

It's not how much she can bench but it does show her strength.

It doesn't really showcase her strength that much. Granted it does take quite a bit to pull that move off, but it's mostly her balancing Eddie. Eddie helped her do all the lifting.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Again that's misleading; there have been plenty of male superstars that have been just stupidly strong. John Cena is a freak of nature being only about 240. Jonny Stamboli was just as big, and equally as stong. He was able to military press both Umaga and Rikishi, and by his own claim pressed the Big Show at a house show. Brock Lesnar's strength is well documented, but by his own claim insists that Kane is just as strong.

Throw in guys like Batista, Bobby Lashley, Big Show, Nathan Jones and older guys like Hulk Hogan, Andre, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, The Warlord, Tony Atlas, and Ted Arcidi and suddenly you wouldn't know where to begin to rate people.

That's why we use stats... Mark Henry... a near 1000 pound dead lift, and could clean and jerk over 500 pounds. He could clean and jerk 180 pounds with one arm, and he was benching almost 600 pounds IN HIGH SCHOOL.

No other pro wrestler has proven capable of matching those stats, despite what they've done in kayfabe.

People see huge physiques and immediately assume the person is a powerhouse. To people like Batista or Mason Ryan, strength is a byproduct to the training they do. Not that those guys aren't powerhouses, but they're no where near as strong as they appear.

But as far as wrestlers proven via stats. Ted Arcidi held the world bench press record until 1993 at 705lbs. This is actual video proof of his stat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltmqcFfa_H8

 

[Nikkolas]

It doesn't really showcase her strength that much. Granted it does take quite a bit to pull that move off, but it's mostly her balancing Eddie. Eddie helped her do all the lifting.

And the five or six seconds she held him in the air? I mean, he was upside down and I don't think he could do much apart from balance. It was her strength keeping him up there.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

And the five or six seconds she held him in the air? I mean, he was upside down and I don't think he could do much apart from balance. It was her strength keeping him up there.

Most of the strength holding him there was in balancing him. She had a lot of the weight distributed on to her back and shoulders. If she was squatting him she'd have to feel more of the weight.

She was a strong broad, don't get me wrong. But come on. she wasn't lifting him there.

 

[EastCoastFan]

I'm not sure what you mean in this part.


To clarify, in 1999, Chyna streamlined her physique and shed about 20 pounds of muscle to make herself look more feminine. Compare Chyna 1997 to Chyna 1999 and you can see a noticeable difference.

 

[HBsam31]

I am going with Chyna and Nicole Bass simply because I am a stat nut. I agree with the poster that said in ring actions can be misleading. I would however have liked to see Kharma and Aysa do some of the weightlifting Chyna did just to compare their stats to hers. I am sure they could hang with the two I stated in a strength competition.