Which female has had the biggest impact in WWE?

[waylonmercy]

If you were to name 1 wrestler who's had the biggest impact in female wrestling who would it be?

Moolah?
Trish Stratus?
Medusa?
Sable?
Sunny?
Mickie James?

I hope this topic isn't too broad.

 

[Darth Krawlie]

Chyna. She's the only one who's created any sort of crossover appeal and interest.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

good question and with the exception of mickie james these women have all had profound impacts on the wrestling business. I'm almost hard pressed to choose just one. You have Moolah who really opened the door for female wrestlers and made it possible for women wrestlers to be seen as entertaining. Without her, we probably wouldn't have the others. Trish Stratus brought it back though. Sunny and Sable both brought to the forefront just how beautiful the divas are, but it was Trish who made the women wrestlers popular again. She brought the same credibility moolah did to a modern audience. She was both sexy and strong. Medusa set the stage for a Trish Stratus to happen. She was also that combination of sexy and tough. I think if i had to pick one i'd say it was Trish who had the biggest impact on female wrestlers. She was both a diva and a legitimate competitor, but more importantly she could draw viewers on her own. She had her own fan base that would tune in for an entire match not just a ****ty segment. Moolah opened the door but Trish broke it down.

 

[gameChanger]

As ugly as she is, I would also have to say Chyna. She was the only woman to ever hold the intercontinental championship and the only women wrestler to compete in the Royal Rumble and considering no diva has never and probably will never come close to those accomplishment again... how could she not have made the biggest impact. No one else the original poster mentioned above is worthy beside maybe Moolah.

 

[gregfj2]

Unfortunately Chyna. But before she left then I already hated her image of whining to Eddie. If that was her assigned part to play then too bad. Loved Trish for sex appeal but must credit Lita for actual wrestling. Original 'Hardy' stlye of no fear at least gave her a chance against any man. I feel these 3 set the bar for current Divas: be hot, be strong, or be good. Gail Kim is my FAVORITE cheesecake, but Beth & Natalya are the closest IMO to the total package right now. Taylor Wilde I love you!!! (She attended WWE tryout so I'm still on topic. Testify!)

Plus I forgot about Jericho's before & after footage of Stephanie's 'impact' on WWE. Sorry!

 

[NSL]

Moolah had the longest reign, and made the belt relevant, so I can people choosing her. The real answer though, is Wendi Richter. She's the only face to headline shows that wasn't named Hulk Hogan in the 80's, and made the division relevant. She had the big match at WrestleMania, and even had a decent feud with Moolah, even if it didn't carry to the ring all the time.

After those two, no one. Without Moolah, there's probably no Richter. Without Richter, there's no way in hell there's a Lita or Trish. As we know them anyway.

 

[gameChanger]

You have Moolah who really opened the door for female wrestlers and made it possible for women wrestlers to be seen as entertaining. Without her, we probably wouldn't have the others.

I only agree with you on this point.

Sunny and Sable both brought to the forefront just how beautiful the divas are,

They weren't divas back then... valet's the word.

but it was Trish who made the women wrestlers popular again. She brought the same credibility moolah did to a modern audience. She was both sexy and strong.

I guess Lita gets no honorable mention here... oooookay then.

Medusa set the stage for a Trish Stratus to happen. She was also that combination of sexy and tough.

No... since Lita debuted first she set the stage for Lita to happen. I don't remeber Trish suicide diving through the ropes and using a moonsault as a finisher.

I think if i had to pick one i'd say it was Trish who had the biggest impact on female wrestlers. She was both a diva and a legitimate competitor, but more importantly she could draw viewers on her own. She had her own fan base that would tune in for an entire match not just a ****ty segment.

I have to respectfully disagree... you'll see why in my previous post but beyond that Lita was a better wrestler who took more chances and if anyone was a legit contender it has her. And about the fan base thing... lita had that and arguablly more of one than Trish. And until the very end of her career, Lita was more spot monkey than **** while Trish since day one, pandered to the crowd in a ****ty way.

Moolah opened the door but Trish broke it down.

No... actually Moolah opened the door and Chyna broke it down. Trish was Chyna's replacement and because she's hot and could somewhat wrestle she was the easy choice going forward.

 

[cwheathman]

This will be an odd answer, but I think it has been Mickie James. Until Mickie came along, Trish had no one solid to feud with. Let's face it, most of her matches at WM were horrid because she was wrestling a Playboy playmate. This changed with Mickie James. In my opinion, there match at WM almost stole the show. You could literally hear the fans give Mickie a Stone v Brett Hart moment when they suddenly began cheering for Mickie and booing Trish. It set the mood for the main event later that night.

 

[JBK2008]

I would have to say Chyna for sure. She set the bar for the WWE divas and no disrespect to older divas living and deceased, but she was the real crossover diva and she was the first female wrestler to hold a male championship.

 

[Beards17]

well i think the diva with the biggest impact would have to be chyna, though i totally forgot about her until i read some of the responses. Right now it would have to be mickie james because the fans love her the most. she is mos def the new trish stratus and she is one tough broad. Beth phoenix is big and strong but she blew it with that santino crap. i dont care for her at all. Candice michelle would have been one of the best divas ever if damn ol beth phoenix didnt ruin her career. i mean did any notice how good candice got once she set her sights on the women championship. I sat there and though "who trained this girl" and sure enough it was arn anderson. I mean shes was talented, waste of good talent. But sad to say chyna then mickie james. trish was good but mickie is defiently much better

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I'm gonna say Lita. I know that the question is who had the biggest impact, and while I do agree that it would be Chyna and Trish Stratus, I think Lita is the more unique and innovative of the three. She had a style of wrestling unseen at the time and not really seen now. She was so entertaining in the ring, and not bad on the mic either. A female doing a moonsault was unheard of or very rear back in the early 2000's and Lita was the one who made it cool, for others like Kelly Kelly and Victoria/Tara to do it. Lita is my answer!

 

[X]

Some people are making some odd choices here. Moolah? Great woman. Biggest impact on the WWE? I don't think so. Do you see female wrestlers like Moolah anymore? No way. Remember, we aren't talking about the best female wrestler the WWE has had, or even the best female employee the WWE has. We're talking about who has had the biggest impact.

Now, with the exceptions of Linda and Stephanie McMahon, I think it's obvious that no one has had a larger impact on the WWE than Sunny and Sable. The two of them debuted in the WWF just around the same time, really at the perfect time. Attitude was just starting, and having attractive women come out to the ring really was a pretty new idea if you can get your head around that concept. Seriously, did you see those old valets from the 80s? Beastly. Don't even get me started on the actual wrestlers. Sunny and Sable came around at the perfect time, and became massively popular. Sunny was there first, but Sable took off, probably more than any other woman in WWE history. Her issue of Playboy was one of the highest selling in Playboy's history, she was HUUUUUUUUUUUGELY over with the fans.

Sable would probably have to be my choice here for the biggest impact, because she was the spark that lead to Vince McMahon realizing that he could make a shit load of money off of a beautiful woman. Before the rise of Sable, the woman's division in the WWE was a sad, sad joke for many years. It was defended what, five times in the WWE from the late 80s to the mid 90s? There was very little if any TV time given to female wrestlers. Then along came Sable, and changed everything. Seriously, the WWE had female wrestlers on both Raw and Smackdown, and commits atleast one segment/match per show to them, and has been doing it for a decade now. That's unheard of in the WWE's history, where the women's division had long been miniscule at best, if it even existed.

Sable obviously isn't one of the best female workers, but the impact she had on the WWE and Vince was without a doubt the largest. Without Sable, we don't have two Women's titles in thet WWE right now, simple as that. She awoke Vince to the realization that the "diva's" could make him some serious fuckin' cash.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

I have to be honest: this can go one of three ways. If you are looking for the person that made women's wrestling, you look no further than the Fabulous Moolah. If you want to look at the 21st Century's standard for women's wrestling, even if she wasn't the better wrestler over Lita, you have to give the nod to Trish Stratus. Moolah was a pioneer and a legend in her time, making women's wrestling somewhat respectable. Trish Stratus proved to us that women can look hot enough to make jaws drop (I'm staying PG on this comment) and yet can be athletic. Trish, unlike some of Vince's latest "T&A/Hooters Rejects," actually took the time to learn how to wrestle. She was and always will be the idol of what a woman wrestler should be.

But who had the biggest impact? The answer is Chyna. She comes into the WWE and makes an impact on her first appearance. You have to put this in perspective. Before Chyna, Triple H was seen as somewhat of a whimp. The WWE was trying to make Hunter more of a threat. They tried to have Mr. Hughes behind Hunter Hearst Helmsley (at the time) to make him look tougher. When that failed, they turned to Chyna, who was the X-Factor that Triple H needed... a unique commodity that drew as much attention into the ring as it drew outside of the ring. The fact that Chyna out-bench pressed Triple H at one point shows you what her work ethic was at the time. Also, you need to consider this: she was one of the main members of the original DX, the first woman to enter both the Royal Rumble and the King of the Ring, the first woman to be the number one contender to the WWE Title at one point (even though it only lasted for one taping), the first woman to hold the Intercontinental Title (3x).... and lastly, she was part of what I think was one of the most hilarious gimmicks in 2000 WWE: Latino Heat and Mamacita. That gimmick helped establish Eddie's future with WWE and showed a different side of Chyna. Eddie and Chyna were great together during that time.

While I have respect for most of the REAL women wrestlers in WWE's history, my vote for biggest impact goes to The Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna.

 

[X]

See, I keep seeing these responses saying that Chyna has had the biggest impact. How? Has there ever been another female wrestler like Chyna in the WWE since her departure? No. What do you see? Mostly models and attractive female "divas" now. They sure as hell didn't get those ideas from how they marketed Chyna, it came from how they marketed Sable.

 

[Henry Hill]

How can anyone not say Sunny? She was the "original" diva. Sure Moolah and Richter came first, and Alundra Blayze/Madusa had a big moment as well. But the current archetype of the WWe's divas is modeled after one woman: Tammy "Sunny" Sytch. She brought the larger than life sex appeal and girl next door smile and made it as the largest female star of her era, until Sable came along. I truly think without Sunny there would be no "divas" still just women's wrestlers or "superstars," so i give the nod to Sunny.

 

[BernacK6]

The Diva who will have the biggest impact is the one who finally acknowledges that the rest of them suck. That'd have to be either Michelle McCool or Beth Phoenix (maybe even Natalya). Once Beth gets the Divas title around here waist and Michelle holds onto hers once this BRUTAL feud with Melina ends, they should unify these belts and fade away. The Divas started as valets, and they all should have stayed that way.

When it is all said and done, the leaps and bounds the TNA Knockouts have taken women's wrestling to will be who makes the greatest impact in women's wrestling. They are 20X better than any of the Divas not mentioned above (Beth, Michelle, Natalya), and are good enough to warrant the creation of a TAG BELT!!!! TNA Knockouts are better than WWE Divas any day of the week.

 

[JJYanks121]

I'm with Xfearbefore. You had the low point in WWE women's wrestling when Alundra Blaze/Medusa went to WCW and threw the women's title belt in the trash. In order to revive that division and make people actually want to watch it, it was going to take a special woman. That woman was Sable. Like most women who have garnered great success, she started out as a valet and gained notoriety for her looks, and boy did she. First WWE diva in playboy, and like fear said, she force WWE's hand and made it a given that she and other sexy women needed to be on tv EVERY week. Because of her popularity, the WWE took a chance and created the new women's title belt. She won the first match over Jacqueline if I remember correctly and the rest is history. Every diva since has to have a combination of beauty and toughness. Remember the Sable bomb? She got it done and created that division when there wasn't much competition. As time went on, more female competitors emerged, but it was Sable who gave a rebirth and an entirely new image to women's wrestling.

I have to disagree on Chyne because while she had a great impact in terms of breaking down walls, no one else has done what she's done so it's not like she "led the way" for other female competitors. While Chyna was wrestling the boys, Sable was getting that women's division going. To me, there is no other answer. And anyone who says Lita, Trish, or Mickie, or anyone after 2000 has to remember that none of them would be in the position they are or were in if it wasn't for Sable.

 

[Dave]

I would have said Chyna if it were not for her wrestling in the men's division for most of her career with WWF/E.

Right now, I would probably say Trish Stratus. She will always be relevant when it come to WWE and wrestling in general. She is beautiful and could wrestle too. What more do you need from a Diva? Nothing. Yeah, Trish Stratus was a great Diva and is probably the only Diva that I am excited to see return at any point. Her stint as Raw GM was good and she got a good pop, probably because it was in Canada but nevertheless. Chyna or Trish definitely.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The real answer though, is Wendi Richter.

That's an interesting choice, although we again need to call up the definition of "most influential." Wendy herself didn't display that much personality or charisma; it's more that she was the vehicle for all the lunacy that exploded around her, with Cyndi Lauper, Lou Albano, Hulk Hogan & friends. I always wondered what happened to make Wendy disappear so suddenly from WWE. One minute she was the reigning female; next minute she was gone.

For the most influential female (non-wrestler) I pick Elizabeth. She was the first "manager" to display genuine ladylike behavior in wrestling, even as the Mega-Powers were exploding around her. I loved watching her; she was so vulnerable. What a gal!

For the most influential wrestler, I'd choose Sensational Sherri. She played a complete lunatic and chaos followed her every move. She had terrific programs with Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage and Harlem Heat while still taking time to deal with hordes of women, from Elizabeth to Luna Vachon.

She was around for longer than you think and her influence was felt far and wide.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Well, this thread screams FalKon doesn't it? I can't believe I wasn't the first to post. Anywho, there are quite a few women that could be considered for their impact to the WWE as being the biggest & all have some aspect towards what they brang to the ring. Firstly, I must say that Chyna did not do anything for the business who will be like Batista when he retires. Sure, they won a few titles & had a good run, but nothing technically came out of it. All Chyna did was win male championships, which I believe off the top of my head both Jaqueline [Crusierweight title] & Molly Holly [Hardcore Title] did. For me, this really comes down to two choices, Trish Stratus & Mickie James.

Trish Stratus was only a fitness model that signed a contract with the WWE because of this reason & began her journey to the top like any other wrestler, at the very bottom. She has been given the accolades "Diva Of The Decade," the most championships runs with the womens title & received a Hardcore Title run at one point. She has also been listed PWI's female of the year on four separted occasions. During the later half of her career, she basically was the driving force of the division who was one of the only girls on the roster to receive male-type reactions. She had good matches with the likes of Lita & Mickie James with a solid performance.

Mickie James started through the wrestling ranks from the very start, being trained before entering the business. She gave up a lot to get to the WWE, even as far as posing for pornish type magazines & photos to fund herself. She is currently the diva's champion as well as four time womens champion, being the second women to hold both titles. She received the award of PWI's female of the year in 2009 & a positioning in recent lists [like 2008 list making her #4] even though she has not done that much to deserve such a title. Her portrayal of a psycho was something unique that helped fans to stay interested in the division & gained major heat. Now, she is the most respected diva they have & garners a solid crowd reaction. Even in times of short hiatus', the crowd will still give her the same ovation as she didn't even leave. Currently, she is one of the driving females in the division & possibly the leader of the group where she is exceeding a roster with more talented individuals than Trish Stratus' run.

As of right now, Trish Stratus has had the biggest impact. In a few more years time, I guarantee that will switch to Mickie James if she keeps up her tremendous work she has put into the division.

 

[AJAnder]

If you were to name 1 wrestler who's had the biggest impact in female wrestling who would it be?

Moolah?
Trish Stratus?
Medusa?
Sable?
Sunny?
Mickie James?

I hope this topic isn't too broad.

Well, if you want to start with biggest impact woman wise I'd have to say Sunny. She was WWF/E's first true diva.

Woman wrestling wise I'd have to go with (in my generation) Trish Stratus. Looking ahead now I see Natalya stepping up if she is given a chance and Beth Pheonix both being the next generation of woman wresting forget the diva part I am talking serious woman who can step up given the chance. I also have been somewhat in favor of Mickie James too.

 

[Chill]

In my opinion you have to go back a few years in order to find the female who has had the biggest impact on WWE, it's certainly not any of the current crop. One woman who had a huge impact was the Fabulous Moolah who has to be considered seeing she dominated the woman's division for all those years.

Others include the likes of Miss Elizabeth, Sherri, Sunny, Sable, Chyna, Stephanie McMahon (maybe not a good woman's wrestler but she did have a huge impact during the Attitude Era and beyond), Lita. There is no doubt those on that list all made an impact on the WWE but I would have to say Trish Stratus is the female who has had the biggest impact, yes she may have been a piss poor wrestler at the start of her career but over time she transformed herself into one of the best which helped her earn 7 women's championships I believe.

Add to that the fact that Trish had all the great looks that the WWE typically look for and Miss Stratus was on to a winner. I can't think of a woman who improved as much as Trish whether it be in the ring or on the mic and it was great to watch her transformation from an incompetent performer into, arguably, the best of her generation. So for me, it would be Trish Stratus.

Out of today's crop of Divas I would say that Mickie James is the only one who stands a chance of one day being considered the diva to have had the biggest impact on the WWE. Melina would be a close second...

 

[GeminiJ13]

Well, without the Fabulous Moolah, there would be none of these chicks.Moolah was widely recognized as the only womens champion, and held that belt for years. In the past Trish is the pinnacle of all divas, 7x Womens Champion, thats hard to argue. But, Chyna has had the biggest impact on wrestling. Probably is something that wont be done again, I dont see Beth Pheonix winning the IC title. Then again, when you have Jeff Jarrett as your IC champ anybody else would be better, even a woman. I dont know what Jarrett thought he deserved the WcW title, let alone any title in the WWE and the TNA title (which he booked himself to win). He is just a dipshit from Tennessee who thinks he is better than he is. The lack of midcard talent definately had something to do with Chyna winning the IC title. Nontheless, Moolah was the pioneer, Trish is the best diva, but Chyna did something that may never be done again by being able to compete with men. Dont forget that Sable helped by powerbombing her husband on tv to pretty good ratings, she may have very well got the ball rolling for Chyna.IMO Kelly Kelly is gonna be terrific in the ring. She has a gymnist background and trains very well, plus is one of the hottest women on the face of the earth.

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

Tough call, but since the thread is which female has had the biggest impact and not female wrestler, I'm gonna say......

Miss Elizabeth.

Wrestler though? I'd say Rockin' Robin......no I'm just kidding.

I don't know, I'd say Moolah, but the women's division wasn't nearly as big as it is now.

Chyna never really made an impact on women's wrestling, more so towards mens wrestling.

I'd say either Lita, or Sensational Sherri..........Sherri was then what Beth Phoenix and Marise are now. Great in-ring, on the mic, and beautiful. Lita's only fault was her mic skills sucked, IMO.

 

[tsull2121]

Reading some of these replies, i'm glad that competitors like moolah and wendi richter are getting nods and respect.. chyna too.. i had forgotten that she was in the rumble. i can guarantee you that NO WOMAN will ever hold the I-C title again OR compete in teh rumble... chyna was a once in a lifetime character that joanie laurer played to the hilt... bull nakano brought a LOT more to the table than she was allowed to show as well as bertha faye who was FEARED throughout puerto rico, the carribbean, canada AND japan as monster ripper, madouchebag miceli breathed new life into the division, and jacqueline was the first black woman to hold the world title.. but for me, the nod goes to SUNNY.

WHY?!?! easy.. .and its for the SAME REASON that she SHOULD be in the hall of fame... she is theONLY manager to guide three CONSECUTIVE teams to the tag team titles.. and by consecutive, thats exactly what i mean. she took the smoking gunns, the body donnas and the godwinns to the tag titles... in that order! she guided the gunns to the belt, then jumped to the body donnas and guided them to the title victory over the gunns, then jumed to the godwinns and led THEM to the title victory over the body donnas!!

no manager... not captain lou, bobby heenan, jj dillon, jimmy hart or mr fuji has EVER accomplished that feat.