411’s WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars (#20-11) Report

-Welcome back as we continue along with this countdown. As a reminder by the WWE’s own rule for this list is they are only looking at women from The Modern Era (1993-present). Now, we get into the Top 20 and this is where the list will get interesting to see how they separate the top tier.

-Sarah Schreiber is our host!

20: Natalya
-SmackDown Women’s Champion; WWE Divas Champion

-The BOAT kicks off our climb through the Top 20. Nattie comes from a wrestling dynasty and made her WWE debut in 2008. Nattie won the Divas Title from Lay-Cool with the Sharpshooter and she has been a mainstay of the division ever since. Divas of Doom! She has a number of firsts including competing in the first Women’s Table Match, Money in the Bank Match, and Royal Rumble. In 2019 she won the first women’s match ever held in Saudi Arabia. Outside the ring she also became one of the casts members of Total Divas and she will go down as one of the most respected women in the company.

19: AJ Lee
-3 Time Divas Champion; FCW Divas Champion

-Too low for me, but it’s not my list. AJ Lee got her WWE start in FCW and then competed on NXT Season 3. AJ was the diva who was all about video games and comic books instead of high heels and lipstick. You can see why so many male wrestling fans loved her. She was soon paired with Daniel Bryan and they were fantastic together. AJ then went crazy and started slapping and making out with Kane, Bryan, Cena, Punk, Ziggler. Punk: “I sort of dig crazy chicks.” I guess so! The AJ/Daniel wedding segment is still great as watching them fighting the urge to break into laughter when listening to Slick is something else. That led to AJ becoming the RAW GM before getting back in the ring where in 2013 she won The Divas Championship. AJ then dominated the division for 295 days before finally losing it to Paige. AJ is great and you could argue she is the one that kick started what would become The Divas Revolution. I miss AJ and I still hope we get a surprise Rumble appearance one day.

18: Shayna Baszler
-2 Time NXT Women’s Champion; 2 Time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion

-See, I would have AJ Lee above Shayna because Shayna has just started building her resume. Shayna made her WWE debut with the Mae Young Classic. She steamrolled her first 4 opponents before losing in the finals. Next she took NXT by storm as she basically assumed the Asuka role as the ass kicking machine that dominated the division. She won the NXT Women’s Title from Ember Moon and then became the first women to win the NXT Title for a second time. After NXT she debuted on the Main Roster at The Royal Rumble and seemed like the clear favorite, but I guess Charlotte needed it more. No matter as Baszler punched her ticket to Mania by eliminating everyone by herself in an Elimination Chamber match. Shayna took on Becky at Mania and lost, which seemed odd at the time. She has recovered a bit though through the team with Nia and their run as Tag Champions. At some point you would think they will give her a run with one of the 2 main championships.

17: Paige
-2 Time Divas Champion; NXT Women’s Champion

-This is a tough one as the injury bug caught up to her and she has never gotten the chance to put out a full resume. Paige was the anti-diva as she broke the mold for what fans were used to seeing from The Divas division. Paige became the first NXT Diva’s Champion and defended her title on the first NXT Special: Arrival. The night after Mania XXX she debuted on RAW and ended AJ Lee’s record run as Divas Champion. Fun moment! Crazy to think she was only 21 years old when she debuted and won The Title that night. Her and AJ would trade the title through the summer and Paige was able to get one Mania in before injuries wrecked her career. The WWE used her as a manager for a bit and then the SmackDown GM, but sadly she never found traction again. She was always fun on Backstage though, but that was sadly cancelled just after The Pandemic hit.

16: Sable
-WWE Women’s Champion; 2 Time Slammy Award Winner

-Well, there goes the idea from some in the comments that she would be Top 10. Sable came into the WWE with her husband, Marc Mero, in 1996 and she quickly stole the spotlight from him. Mero: “These people came to see me wrestle and not you take those clothes off.” Man, that was an easy way to get over as a heel in The Attitude Era. Unless you were watching at the time it is hard to explain how popular Sable was in the late 90s. Sable knocked off Jackie for the Women’s Title at Survivor Series 1998. She also crossed over into TV, movies and even Playboy. They make sure to mention she was the biggest female start of the Attitude Era. I was more of a Sunny fan as you seemingly had to choose sides, but I can’t argue that Sable eclipsed her.

15: Molly Holly
-2 Time WWE Women’s Champion; WWE Hardcore Champion

-2021 Hall of Famer Molly Holly! Molly got her start in WCW as part of Savage’s entourage where she was known as Miss Madness. Soon after she debuted in the WWE as a cousin of Crash and Bob Holly. Yes! Molly and Spike romance! The crowd ate that up with a spoon and it even got Steve Austin involved. Molly dumped Spike and took on the persona of Might Molly, sidekick to Hurricane Helms. From there Molly became a heel because she was pure and wholesome. Yeah, the Attitude Era was just a different time. At King of The Ring 2002 she beat Trish for the Women’s Championship. They cover Mania XX where she lost a match where she had to have her head shaved. I believe it was stated that she came up with the idea as a way to get on the card. Molly is great!

14: Victoria
-2 Time WWE Women’s Champion; Competed in First WWE Women’s Steel Cage Match

-Another one from that era that was ahead of her time as she would have had some bangers with the current roster. She started out as a bodybuilder and fitness model before getting to the WWE and immediately was put in a feud with Trish Stratus. They had a kick ass Hardcore Match at Survivor Series that the crowd didn’t know how to respond to at the time, but would be over huge today. Next they had the first Divas Chicago Street Fight and then she had the first Women’s Steel Cage match against Lita. Basically, Victoria is a bad ass! At Mania XX she defended her Title and then shaved Molly Holly’s head. She announced her retirement in 2009, but returned in 2020 as a Royal Rumble surprise entrant and it was wonderful!

13: Alexa Bliss
-3 Time RAW Women’s Champion; 2 Time SmackDown Women’s Champion; 2 Time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion

-We are getting into the heavy hitters now as they didn’t even list Money in The Bank winner in her accomplishment line. Alexa seemingly came out of nowhere as she never got to do much in NXT. She was drafted to SmackDown and within months knocked off Lynch to win the SmackDown Women’s Champion. She then moved to RAW and became the first woman to win each brand’s championship. She also competed in the first Elimination Chamber Match and successfully defender her Championship. As I mentioned she also became Miss Money in the Bank and then padded her resume with a Tag Title run with Cross. She also hosted WrestleMania and they work in her snapping her fingers to bring out Hulk Hogan. Apparently she is also the first woman to have a talk show segment in the WWE. Huh, I guess that is right. In a cool touch the video package gets all wonky and we move on to her current run with The Fiend. As I have said from the start I am a sucker for that storyline and I am sticking with it until the end.

12: Mickie James
-5 Time WWE Women’s Champion; WWE Divas Champion

-Mickie joined the WWE in 2003 when she debuted in OVW. In 2005 she debuted on RAW as an obsessed fan of Trish Stratus and their feud was awesome. Their match at Mania 22 was the best women’s match I had seen in the WWE in quite some time. Mickie was the supposed heel, but that Chicago crowd was 100% behind her. The pop for her winning the Women’s Title is rather impressive. That was the first of 6 reigns as a Champion in the WWE. She left (TNA) before returning in 2016 and her match with Asuka at Takeover showed she could still go in the ring. It also have Asuka a legit challenger as James looked like a threat.

11: Beth Phoenix
-3 Time WWE Women’s Champon; WWE Divas Champion; WWE Hall of Famer

-I would have sworn she would be Top 10, but she will have to settle for the 11th spot. Beth was a breath of fresh air in the WWE as she was something different for the division at the time. She debuted on RAW in 2006 when an injured Trish brought her to RAW to take on Mickie James. I vaguely remember that run. An injury sent her back to OVW and she competed in the first Women’s Ladder Match while down there. I want to see that match now! She made the jump back to the main roster where she started collecting Championships and formed an unlikely, but fun pairing with Santino Marella. GLAMARELLA! Beth then took her spot in the WWE Hall of Fame and has made a few appearances at The Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. She is now a member of the NXT announce team as well.

-So, we have one episode left and the process of elimination means our top 10 should be: Rousey, Charlotte, Banks, Lynch, Bayley, Asuka, Chyna, Lita, Trish, and Blayze. We will see next time in what order. Thanks for reading!