Wrestlezone Hall of Fame: Winter 2014, Group 1.

[LSN80]

Welcome to the Wrestlezone class of 2014, Winter edition of the Hall of Fame! In this first group, you'll have the distinct honor of choosing the first woman to join the likes of Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Lou Thesz, amongst others! While the Hall of Fame may sometimes seem a popularity contest, remember to vote for, in this case, the woman you find most deserving. The polls will be open for ten days to allow you to vote in the first candidate into the Winter of 2014 Hall of Fame, and the first woman as well!

Trish Stratus​

Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013, the record-setting seven time Women's Champion from Canada looks to add Wrestlezone Hall of Famer to her resume as well! Trish Stratus spent only close to seven years as a full-time competitor with the WWE, joining them in the spring of 2000 and leaving in the fall of 2006, but Trish is considered by many to be the greatest Diva of all-time.

Trish began her career as a valet for Test and Albert, and at Fully Loaded 2000, she made her in-ring debut, teaming with Test and Albert against the Hardy Boys and the woman who would be her greatest rival, Lita. Trish was pinned by Lita and lost the match for her team, but as a green fitness model who had come to WWE with no prior wrestling experience, Trish showed great promise in the match. Following this, Trish began a storyline affair with Vince McMahon that culminated at Wrestlemania 17, where Trish turned on Vince, and began her full-time run as a wrestler. Only months later at Survivor Series 2001, Trish was the upset winner of a Six-Pack Challenge for the Women's Championship, defeating Ivory, Jazz, Lita, Jacqueline and Molly to become the Women's Champion for the first time. After losing the title to Jazz following a four month reign , Trish became one of the few women ever to win the Hardcore Championship when she defeated Justin Credible. While she lost the title on the same night due to the 24/7 rule with regards to title defenses of the Hardcore Belt, Trish was one of the only Divas to ever hold the belt.

Following this, Trish focused her career on the Women's championship, with each championship reign being more impressive then the last. After being a face during the her first four runs with the title, Trish turned heel in a memorable angle involving Christian and Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XX. Subsequently, she won her 5th and 6th titles as a heel, including defeating Lita once again for her 6th championship at New Year's Revolution 2005. Upon winning the title, Trish proceeded to have the longest championship run of any "Diva", holding the title from New Years Revolution 2005 to Wrestlemania 22, which was in April 2006. She also turned face during this run in September 2005, saving 2005 Diva Search winner Ashley from a beatdown at the hands of Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, and Victoria. She held the championship until Wrestlemania 22, where after holding the title for 14 months, she lost it to Mickie James.

In August 2006, Stratus officially announced her retirement to WWE employees, and it was worked into a storyline where then-Women's Champion Lita had "spoiled" Trish making the announcement to the fans. So at Unforgiven 2006, Trish challenged Lita, in her last match, in her hometown of Toronto, to one last match for the Women's Championship. Trish was successful in this match, using Bret Hart's Sharpshooter to make Lita submit, and in the process, win her record-setting 7th Women's Championship.


From fitness model to Diva of the Decade, there was little Trish didn't accomplish inside the ring. She was a seven time Women's Champion, which remains a record, and is one of only 5 women ever to win the Hardcore Championship. Following her retirement, she returned to the WWE for a stint as a trainer on Tough Enough. Though fans would have liked to have seen it for longer, Trish provided plenty of 'Stratusfaction' during her seven year career as a WWE Diva, and has returned for a few matches since, showing that her new career as a Yoga Instructor hasn't slowed her in the slightest.
Will the new mom, 7-time Women's champion, and 2013 WWE Hall of Famer be able to add Wrestlezone Hall of Famer to her list of credentials as well?

Lita​

Amy Christine Dumas, better known as Lita, is the third inductee into the upcoming 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Class. Lita, who retired in the Winter of 2006, is a former four time Women's Champion. One of those championship wins was the December of 2004 main event against Trish Stratus, where another was the August 2000 Raw against Stephanie McMahon. In doing so, Lita became the only Diva in WWE history to main event Raw twice, and as a result, to win the Women's Championship twice in the Raw main event. The versatile Lita went from being one of the most popular women's wrestlers of all-time while teaming with Matt and Jeff Hardy as part of Team Xtreme, to one of the most reviled Divas ever as the valet for Edge. It was that versatility in character along with her high-flying moveset that made Lita very much the John Cena of the Women's Division: Love her or hate her, she always drew a reaction.

Lita debuted on WWE television in February of 2000, managing the little-known Essa Rios. After sustaining abuse at his hands, she was saved by the Hardy brothers, Matt and Jeff, with Matt being her real-life boyfriend. Together, they formed Team X-Treme, where Lita became the only Diva ever to become involved in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. She became known for her risque wardrobe as much as she did her high-flying antics, wearing low-cut pants with fully exposed thongs. And although she beat a virtual non-wrestler in Stephanie McMahon to win her first Women's Championship, it was the first ever Bra and Panties match that saw her defend her title successfully for the first time, against Trish Stratus. The two would go on to be the others greatest rivals in WWE, trading victories and the championship with each other on several occasions. In all, Lita was a four-time Women's Champion, and produced some of the most memorable moments in Raw history. Some of those included her marriage to Kane, her feuds with Matt Hardy and Kane both alongside Edge, and her "retirement match" against Mickie James, complete with subsequent humiliation by Cryme Tyme after she lost the title in her final match.

If not for her injuries, including breaking her neck in 2002 while filming a guest spot for the TV show Dark Angel, Lita may have achieved even more success then she already did. It was a testament to her greatness that after retiring in 2006 as a villian, and a ****ish one at that, she received a thunderous ovation when she returned for Old School Raw in 2012, defeating Heath Slater in her first match in six years. Lita truly drew a reaction however she was aligned, showing both her commitment and success with the character she was given. Lita will enter the WWE Hall of Fame in less than 2 months, but will she add Wrestlezone Hall of Famer to her list of accomplishments first?

The Fabulous Moolah​

Mary Lillian Ellison, better known as the Fabulous Moolah, is considered by many to be the greatest women's wrestler of all-time. Moolah crossed boundaries from wrestler to celebrity, taking her long championship runs and turning them into opportunities to befriend the biggest celebrities of her day. Moolah began her career as a valet in the late 40's and early 50's, most prominently with Buddy Rodgers, but it was as a wrestler and trainer that Moolah had her most success. Her first championship win came in 1956, and but for a few small stretches, she held the title for the majority of the next 30 years.

Known for her aggressive ring style, Moolah's first championship win came against Judy Grable in 1956, and she held the title for almost 10 years in her first reign. Moolah used the prestige of her first win and the length of her reign to strike up friendships with the likes of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, two of the most prominent musicians of their day. In doing so, Moolah helped bring women's wrestling into a mainstream scene it had not yet seen in the past. She lost the title in 1964 to June Byers, but upon Byers retirement almost immediately following the match, Moolah was recognized as the champion by Vince McMahon Sr. upon Byers retirement.

Moolah was a pioneer of wrestling for women, as in the 1970's, she became the first woman allowed to wrestle at Madison Square Garden, and was instrumental in helping to lift the ban on Women's wrestling in the state of New York in 1972. In doing so, she began demonstrating feats of strength shown previous only by men. When Moolah lost the belt to Wendi Richter in 1984, she was promoted by the WWF as having held the Women's Championship for the previous 28 years, a record not only in wrestling, but in any sport.

Many of us today remember Moolah for her comedic antics alongside Mae Young, but Moolah was so much more than that. She was the most dominant female wrestler of all-time, and between the NWA and the WWF/E, she held the Women's Championship 6 times, a record bested only by Trish Stratus in 2006. In fact, Moolah became the oldest woman to ever win the Women's Championship, a record that will likely not be broken. At No Mercy 1999, she defeated Ivory to win the Women's Championship at the age of 76. She passed away 8 years later from a blood clot due to a shoulder replacement at the age of 84. Still, her legacy as one of the greatest female wrestlers of all-time lives on, and has a chance to do so here. A 1995 inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, Moolah has the opportunity to add Wrestlezone Hall of Famer to her list of accolades here as well.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

No disrespect to Trish Stratus or Lita at all because they've both had a huge impact on women's wrestling, but in terms of overall accomplishment and impact, Fabulous Moolah blows the competition away. Quite honestly, if you vote against Moolah here, you'd either have to be insane or have no idea who she is.

The fact of the matter is simple: Over the course of 10,710 days (or 28 years), Moolah did not hold the Women's Championship for a grand total of 60 days. Even after her ground-breaking dominance of the women's division, she went on to hold the championship for another 608 days after that, or over a year and a half. That's an ASTONISHING feat that has yet to be matched by ANY wrestler, male or female.

Even without her title reigns, she's still had a significant impact on the sport. In 1972, Moolah became the first woman ever to wrestle in Madison Square Garden, the biggest wrestling site in the world during that period. She also helped remove the ban on women's wrestling in the state of New York too, which was at the time considered THE wrestling hotspot.

We also need to take into account her longevity in the wrestling business. She debuted in 1949, and entered semi-retirement at around 1988. That's nearly 40 years of her being an active in-ring competitor, which outside of a handful of guys like Terry Funk, outmatches anyone else out there, especially Trish and Lita

Lita and Trish are both excellent, and I'll have no qualms about them receiving an induction into the Hall of Fame eventually. But to put them in before The Fabulous Moolah, who is the only women that can be even be considered to be close to the previous inductees is beyond absurd.

Vote Moolah.

 

[LSN80]

If you want to vote Moolah, that's fine. She's an absolute pioneer who's partly responsible for the success Lita and Trish would later have. Still, that's nothing to be held against either modern day woman.

I voted for Lita, and I feel strongly about it. She generated massive heat as a heel in 2005-2006, and was extremely over as a face before that. She was successful in everything she did as a woman in the wrestling business, including wrestling men. Her involvement in the TLC matches of the early 2000's doing hurricanrana's on the men were some of the highlights of the matches.

Lita main-evented two Raw's, being the first and only woman ever to do so, beating Stephanie and Trish both for woman's titles to absolute eruptions from the crowd.

[YOUTUBE]2yRmpA5Wc88[/YOUTUBE]
The crowd erupted as Rock counted three. For those thinking it was just due to Rock's involvement that people cared about a woman.....

[YOUTUBE]JYVX5SBfBGU[/YOUTUBE]
It was in front of her home crowd, but so what? In this day and time where women's wrestling means little, I've seen the hometown girl get little to no reaction at all. WWE rolled the ball and had two women main event Raw, and it paid off in a major way.

Lita was a great face due to her crowd-pleasing, high-flying skill, and an even better heel due to her mic skills and alignment with Edge. All three women are deserving, but none moreso then Lita.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

Just thought I'd generate some discussion here to make things more interesting. LSN is exempt from the oblivious/insane criteria for voting against Moolah I posted earlier btw because I know LSN isn't.

If you want to vote Moolah, that's fine. She's an absolute pioneer who's partly responsible for the success Lita and Trish would later have. Still, that's nothing to be held against either modern day woman.

You'd be right, but that doesn't make Moolah an inferior choice to the modern women either.

I voted for Lita, and I feel strongly about it. She generated massive heat as a heel in 2005-2006, and was extremely over as a face before that. She was successful in everything she did as a woman in the wrestling business, including wrestling men. Her involvement in the TLC matches of the early 2000's doing hurricanrana's on the men were some of the highlights of the matches.

Lita wasn't even close to Moolah's consistency of being the top diva; in fact Trish was mostly on par with Lita throughout their stints, whilst Moolah was a dominant force in women's wrestling for the good majority of her nearly 40 year career. Lita and Trish had a 6 year stint with WWE in total, with a good portion of that being out of with a neck injury in Lita's case.

Sure, the TLC moments were good fun, and she got very good reactions from the audience, but you honestly can't put her in the same league as Moolah. Good spots don't earn you much brownie points against the likes of Moolah.

Lita main-evented two Raw's, being the first and only woman ever to do so, beating Stephanie and Trish both for woman's titles to absolute eruptions from the crowd.

[YOUTUBE]2yRmpA5Wc88[/YOUTUBE]
The crowd erupted as Rock counted three. For those thinking it was just due to Rock's involvement that people cared about a woman.....

[YOUTUBE]JYVX5SBfBGU[/YOUTUBE]
It was in front of her home crowd, but so what? In this day and time where women's wrestling means little, I've seen the hometown girl get little to no reaction at all. WWE rolled the ball and had two women main event Raw, and it paid off in a major way.

There's nearly no doubt that the audience popped as hard as they did because of their dislike of Stephanie, and their admiration of The Rock in the first example because Lita was simply not as big as she was four years later. Note that the first TLC had yet to have occurred at that point so she didn't have that going for her yet. Was that match a catalyst to her getting over? Possibly. But it wasn't a testament that she herself was over at the time when the other factors are to be taken into account.

Main-eventing Raw was a big deal at the time, and yes, Lita was indeed over. But even though she was over in her hometown during a main event doesn't mean that she should ever be considered to be on the level of Moolah, who dominated women's wrestling for 28 long years, as opposed to Lita's 4 we'll say.

Lita was a great face due to her crowd-pleasing, high-flying skill, and an even better heel due to her mic skills and alignment with Edge. All three women are deserving, but none moreso then Lita.

Think of it this way: Inducting Lita and Trish is like inducting Chris Jericho or Kane. They do deserve it eventually, but not straight after guys like Hogan, Flair, HBK and Thesz. The only woman that comes close to the level that they reached is Moolah.

 

[Slash-LN]

Honestly I voted Moolah because I could only pick one and she was one of the first that showed how popular a women's wrestler could be.

Strong cases can be made for any of the three involved. If I had looked at the results before I voted I would have given Lita a vote because I think she's being overlooked. She was really unique to the WWF when she first came in with Essa and was really interesting to watch. Transitioning over to Team Extreme brought her more attention and her winning the Women's title was huge. I still wish we would have seen team extreme Lita vs Gail Kim when Gail first came in.

Trish was remarkable in that she was just a pretty face when she came in and she worked hard to become a good women's wrestler. Along with Lita she actually made people care somewhat about women's wrestling.

I don't think you can go wrong by voting for any of them to be honest.

 

[Randy Orton's Head Blood]

Why you can't really go wrong voting for either, as Slash says, Moolah is probably the best choice of the 3. Lita & Trish are great, but in the end, Moolah set the way in popularity & with Mae Young, the two of these ladies set the bar up there in terms of female wrestling.
I think we should all vote Moolah, because as "legendary" as the other two may be, one of them only feels right.

 

[Pedigree1]

I admit i didn't even hesitate when it came to this! No disrespect to Trish and Lita,but i voted for Moolah! Moolah,is and always will be a pioneer in womens wrestling. I am not old enough to remember her being in the prime of her career,but when she beat Judy Gable,and set off a damn there 30 year reign,pretty impressive.

Its safe to say,without the existence of Moolah,womens wrestling in general may not be here. Most of us do remember her,for comedic actions but she was a unstoppable force in her day. One of the few,pioneers to wrestle for Vince Sr and Vince Jr.

She had a very aggressive in-ring style,and was brutally strong. A true Icon and Pioneer its an easy choice for me. RIP Mary Lillian Ellison you deserve to be in the WZ HOF! Without you,IMO we wouldn't have womens wrestling

 

[Con T.]

I think we're all doing that thing again, where we overvalue the worth/legacy of a wrestler, based on word of mouth/ whoever Gelgarin voted for. Moolah is indeed important, but you sure as shit wouldn't have known it when she was wrestling.

Moolah was so important, that wrestling promotions would often deactivate their women's divisions/championships for decades on end. Moolah is a 28 year champion, of course. What's never mentioned is that nearly half of that reign comes from her NWA title reign, and doesn't count any of the women that actually beat Moolah from 1966 to 1984. Everyone heard 28 years, and automatically assumes she was actually the women's champion during that entire time period, which, lulz.

You know when women's wrestling actually mattered, and was more than a sideshow attraction? During the 2000s, during the era of Trish and Lita. And since Lita is far out of the running, I'll go ahead and vote Trish, for a couple of reasons;

A. From all of the tape available, Moolah was bollocks in the ring. Even in her prime, I'd be hard pressed to say Lita and Trish weren't better workers.

B. Trish and Lita were compelling enough characters, that they actually main evented a Raw. No other woman (Moolah included) can make that claim, and no one else ever will.) Trish and Lita were respectable draws, during the height of a pretty big wrestling boom. Moolah was a draw in her own right, I suppose, but I find what Trish and Lita did for women's wrestling more important.

C. Not Moolah's fault, but different eras, different people to help you get over. Moolah was, for a lot of people, the only fish in the pond. Trish and Lita had to deal with some great women's characters (Victoria, Mickie) and still be head and shoulders above them all.

I think that's more than enough, here.

 

[Dan Severn's Moustache]

I thought of an analogy pertaining to this whole triangle of votes going on. My three favourite bands of all time are Queen, Metallica and Iron Maiden. I love all 3 of these bands to death. But when it comes to deciding which one is the greatest in terms of impact, Queen snatches it. A contest between Metallica and Maiden only would be far more debatable, but Queen should win rather comfortably at the end of the day. It's somewhat similar here (I don't really love any of these 3 to death though (OK, maybe Trish)) in the fact that whilst Trish and Lita have both had a big impact on women's wrestling in their own right, I think Moolah has ultimately done a lot more.

@Haiku:

You do raise some valid points in your post, such as Moolah not being the best in the ring, which does translate to not having as many memorable matches as Lita and Trish did (although her match with Wendi Richter where she drops the title is quite a big one I can say off the top of my head).

Also, I did say Moolah had multiple runs with the championship during that 28 year period, but 2 months without the title in that period is still very impressive.

But whilst main-eventing a Raw was a very big deal at the time, it could easily be argued that Moolah being the first woman to wrestle in Madison Square Garden in 1972, as well as being a strong force in lifting the ban on women's wrestling in the state of New York is just as iconic, if not more iconic than main-eventing Raw during a relatively dormant period in WWE history. Sure, that Raw easily had more people watching than Moolah's match did, but Moolah's accomplishment opened the gates for women's wrestling to become more popular and recognized. Main-eventing an episode of Raw and putting on a solid match whilst doing something unique is excellent, but not enough to surpass being both the first woman to ever wrestle in THE wrestling location at the time and helping to lift the ban placed on it in the first place.

Aye, Trish and Lita were head and shoulders above the likes of Victoria and Mickie James, and Moolah was much larger than the other women during her era, but there's still some worth bringing up, like Donna Christanello, Sue Green and of course, Wendi Richter.

I'll be the very first to admit that I'm not very informed on the period of history when Moolah competed, and Trish and Lita have had more of an impact on me personally, but Moolah's dominance of a division has yet to be matched by anyone, male or female. Her longevity also trumps nearly everybody else also. I can see that both Trish and Lita are big, but it's really like inducting someone like Chris Jericho or Kane into the WZ Hall of Fame like I mentioned earlier in the thread. Both of these guys are great, but not on the levels of Hulk Hogan, Lou Thesz, HBK and Flair.

 

[Bernkastel]

I've stayed out of this one, simply because the right wrestler was winning. But since it is still close I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Here's a rough list of whom I consider the top female wrestlers in history compiling copious amounts of research.

1.) Trish Stratus
3.) Mildred Burke
3.) Manami Toyota
4.) Fabulous Moolah
5.) Megumi Kudo
6.) Lita
7.) Awesome Kong
8.) Aja Kong
9.) ODB

After this it gets difficult. There are many other female wrestlers that were popular both past and present, but not all were consistent or even all that impactful. Most have one standout accomplishment that can be tied back to one of the ladies I listed.

The choices were Trish, Lita, or Moolah. Of those three Trish is easily the most logical choice for the following reasons: drawing power, influence, and consistency.

You could argue that Lita was just as popular as Trish, but was she really? Lita first hit her stride in 2000 when she won the title from Steph with the Rock's help but was never able to capitalize on that popularity. WWE couldn't even justify putting her over Chyna, who was booked as a terrible champion. It wasn't until Trish won the title in 2002 did the "boom period" of the women's division begin. And Trish was the architect. Look here...

http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=18

Trish versus Jazz
Trish versus Molly
Trish versus Victoria
Trish versus Gail Kim
Trish versus Lita
Trish vs Mickie James...

There's a reason why Trish was featured so heavily during that time period and is a record seven time champion. And it was because she was a super popular baby face and a mega hated heel. Literally like the Hogan of women. It was because of her feud with Trish that Lita's popularity hit the final apex that it did. And after Trish retired Lita star power DID NOT have the same affect on the division because she wasn't as polarizing.

Trish was even able to get many male superstars over...

Case in point...

Spoiler

[youtube]i9jC2R4jR2w[/youtube]

A 500 pound behemoth manhandling and then crushing a woman a fifth his size would have been booed out of the building. But not here, why? Because Trish was so good at playing a character that the audience was able to see past her gender. Past the fact that she was a woman. All they saw was a good guy or a bad guy. Lita certainly couldn't do that, and neither could Moolah for that matter. In fact, there very few women could do that.

Trish has Lita beat in both drawing power and consistency, influence, and accolades. And the poll reflects that most people understand that.

Now onto Moolah.

There's no denying her influence as a wrestler, but her popularity and relevance dropped significantly during the 80's. The Brawl for All and the War to Settle the Score PPV's were the height of her main stream relevance for sure - giving that she really didn't defend the title that much before hand. Like a hand full of times in 30 years. And Moolah established the fact that women wrestlers didn't draw next to their male counterparts. Moolah was given the same billings as men like Hogan and the fans just didn't buy it.

Notice that after The Brawl to End it all women wrestlers never once main evented a major WWE show until Lita and Step did on RAW fifteen years later. The biggest factor involved was that the WWE did not have any polarizing female talents in the 80's - Moolah was no Lou Thesz, she was no Bruno, and she was certainly no Hogan. However Trish was. Maybe not to their exact level, but people cared about her. Arguably more than any other woman. Without Trish there would not have been a women's wrestling boom in the early 00's. Moolah may have pioneered women's wrestling in WWF, but she most certainly didn't place it on the map.

Moolah's last relevant run as a major competitor was a relative flop compared to what she achieved prior. And even compared to other old school talents I'd take Mildred Burke over Moolah every single time. Without Burke, Moolah wouldn't have had a career as Burke helped lay the foundation for Moolah and others [not just in America but Japan too] to stand on. And unlike Moolah, Burke was a consistent draw her whole career. If Trish was like a female Hogan, and Lita was like a female Austin, that would have made Burke like a female Thesz. Moolah would have been like a female Buddy Rodgers.

Of the three choices Trish is obviously the most logical to be the first inductee into the WZ Hall of Fame. The next woman to go in should probably be Burke.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Trish Stratus 100% deserves this. She became the standard that every single diva that followed has been compared to. 7 time WWE Women's Champion (more than any other) including a reign that lasted 448 days. Top tier in the ring as well as on the mic among divas, and attractive too. Any time the question of the greatest female wrestler is asked, she's one of the first names you hear. The greatest diva of all time is going into our Hall of Fame and I couldn't be happier.