As 2009 winds to a close, so does the first decade of noughties. Over the past ten years, we’ve seen women come and ago in the big two [WWE and TNA]; they’ve captured titles, they’ve fought blood, sweat and tears and they’ve earned our respect. So as the decade, as well as the year, comes to a close, we are pleased to announce the first ever Woman of the Decade Award to be voted for by you.
The Diva Dirt team has shortlisted 16 women who have competed for either WWE or TNA over the past ten years, who we feel have made the biggest impact. Criteria includes title wins, fanbase, work in the ring, mainstream success and more. These 16 women, we feel, have defined the WWE women’s division and TNA Knockouts division for some part of this decade.
Over the next four weeks, their fate is in your hands — 16 women will be cut down to just one when we crown our winner on January 1st. Every week for the next four weeks, we’re going to be cutting half of the women until one is left standing. We begin with 16, cut that down to 8, then 4, then 2 and then crown our winner.
Find out who they are and how to vote after the cut:
Angelina Love
Company: TNA
Dates: October 2007 – September 2009
In two short years Angelina Love became one of the hottest properties in the Knockouts division and was arguably, one of the best heels in the entire company — not just amongst the women. Love realised her dream of becoming Knockouts Champion in April 2009.
Awesome Kong
Company: TNA
Dates: October 2007 – present
A woman like no other, Kong has brought a new and distinct style to women’s wrestling on national television. A monster heel in the vein of the ‘big men’ of the industry, Kong is a TNA mainstay and has held the Knockouts Title two times.
Beth Phoenix
Company: WWE
Dates: May 2006 – present
The Glamazon is one of the newer breeds of Diva, but her ability harkens back to the days of Victoria and Jazz. One of the brightest talents of the past few years and foil to the WWE’s current top babyfaces, Melina and Mickie James. A two time Women’s Champion.
Candice Michelle
Company: WWE
Dates: Late 2004 – May 2009
The Go Daddy Girl was a shoe-in to be WWE’s next great Diva following the departure of Trish Stratus. Her momentous rise from eye candy to wrestler saw her win the Women’s Championship in 2007. Candice will always be known as the first Diva Search contestant to make a big impact on the women’s division.
Gail Kim
Company: WWE, TNA
Dates: June 2003 – November 2004 (WWE), September 2005 – August 2008 (TNA), March 2009 – present (WWE)
The first ever TNA Knockouts Champion, Gail Kim was a pioneer for TNA’s women’s division and had one of the best women’s feuds of the decade with Awesome Kong. Kim is also the first woman to have held the WWE Women’s and TNA Knockouts Championship.
Lilian Garcia
Company: WWE
Dates: August 1999 – September 2009
The voice of the WWE, Lilian Garcia became WWE’s first Decade Diva and retired earlier this year.
Lita
Company: WWE
Dates: February 2000 – November 2006
The antithesis of the word ‘Diva’, Lita was a unique female wrestler and role model to young women. Lita was best known for her career-long rivalry with Trish Stratus and retired a four time Women’s Champion at Survivor Series in 2006.
Melina
Company: WWE
Dates: April 2005 – present
Starting out as a bitchy heel manager, Melina has transformed into one of the WWE’s top Divas and is a three time Women’s Champion and current Divas Champion. Known for her unique moveset and banshee-like scream.
Michelle McCool
Company: WWE
Dates: November 2004 – present
A former Diva Search contestant, Michelle McCool has become one of the company’s most senior Divas. Crowned the first ever Divas Champion, Michelle went onto make history again by winning the Women’s Championship in June 2009, making her the first Diva to hold both belts.
Mickie James
Company: WWE
Dates: October 2005 – present
The most popular WWE Diva of current times, Mickie James is a four time Women’s Champion and a former Divas Champion. Her unique and much celebrated debut feud with Trish Stratus solidified her as a top Diva and now she is the foremost Diva in the WWE.
Molly Holly
Company: WWE
Dates: November 2000 – April 2005
Molly Holly is one of the most celebrated female wrestlers of our time. Her incredible work is now used as training footage to teach upcoming WWE Divas. She’s a two time Women’s Champion.
Stacy Keibler
Company: WWE
Dates: June 2001 – early 2006
As one of the most popular Divas in WWE, the leggy Stacy Keibler wowed fans. Though not known entirely for her wrestling skills, her popularity is still present today. Breaking away from WWE, Stacy was the runner up on the second season of Dancing with the Stars.
Stephanie McMahon
Company: WWE
Dates: 1999 – present
Stephanie McMahon’s iconic on-screen character has done it all; become Women’s Champion, married Triple H, feuded with Trish Stratus, been a General Manager — the lot.
Tara
Company: WWE, TNA
Dates: July 2002 – January 2009 (WWE), May 2009 – present (TNA)
The former Victoria is one of the hardest working women in pro wrestling today. A true veteran and living legend, Tara has been a two time Women’s Champion in WWE. In 2009, her career was rejuvenated by joining TNA where she has already won the Knockouts Title.
Torrie Wilson
Company: WWE
Dates: June 2001 – May 2008
Along with Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson is recognised as one of the most popular Divas in recent years. Wilson’s girl next door looks made her the female face of SmackDown, where she had a memorable feud with Dawn Marie and later Sable. She also represented WWE in Playboy and FHM.
Trish Stratus
Company: WWE
Dates: March 2000 – September 2006
Where to begin? The most popular Diva in history, 7 time Women’s Champion and three time WWE Babe of the Year. Trish Stratus is notable for her feuds with Lita, Victoria and Mickie James. Since leaving WWE, Trish has made cameos — she hosted Raw earlier this year.
So now you’ve read up on all the women, there’s only one thing left to do… VOTE!
Company: TNA
Dates: October 2007 – September 2009
In two short years Angelina Love became one of the hottest properties in the Knockouts division and was arguably, one of the best heels in the entire company — not just amongst the women. Love realised her dream of becoming Knockouts Champion in April 2009.
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61 Comments
i vote awesome kong,
although she hasn’t been my favourite wrestler of all time i do beleive that she has been an incredible knockout. she is a complete monster and dominated the division like no female wrestler has before. she has shown that you don’t need to be model like to be a huge success in womens wrestling and deserves my vote.
VOTE AWESOME KONG:D!
Very hard choice with this one.
Lita gets my vote though <3
I voted for Lita, just because she’s one of the best female wrestlers ever and because she really was popular, even though sometimes she was popular for the bad reasons. Lets face it. No one has made a mark like Lita, especially because her actual real life was used in storylines, and even though that angered me, it surely made Lita even more well known than she already was.
trish 4ever
I voted Trish Stratus. Although not the best (technical) wrestler of the golden era, and definately somewhat overrated, she has been an inspiration to a lot of female wrestlers of the current generation. Without Trish, (and Lita + Molly), a lot of the current indy wrestlers wouldn’t have entered the wrestling industry.
Eww Trish. Lita gets my vote.
I voted Lita, In the decade Lita did more for women’s wrestling than any of the others and she doesn’t get the credit that she rightfully deserves. In more main events than any other female she has countless “First Time Evers” and truly was a pioneer. Without Lita things would have been very different.
Tara gets my vote. She might not have gotten the acclaim she deserved while in the WWE, she still was more entertaining and gave better matches than other Divas that did. I know when she hits the ring the matches will always be good. Tara is the next Moolah and will still be hitting Widow’s Peaks at the age of 80.
I vote LITA, she brought womens wrestling to the forefront of the WWE, her popularity rivalled that of Stone Cold at the time and she was one of the most Unique females to step foot in a WWE ring. While I love Trish to bits, without Lita there really would be no Trish, Molly, Jacqueline, Victoria, the list goes on. No woman has main evented Raw more than Lita and been involved in more High profile storylines aside from Steph Mcmahon, Trish deserves her due too though. In another two years Melina will be on the same level as Trish im guessing,
Dammit, I’m biased and did vote Candice. But had she not won the belt in 07 and paved the way for DS girls to get titles, we wouldn’t have our Maryse’s or our Kelly’s getting such exposure in the ring (which by the way, those types of women are the future of the WWE and future champions. Besides Trish and Sable, not many women who made the transition from eye candy to wrestler got the belt (and I don’t include the attitude era, it was complete shit but Sable did make an impact). I know alot of people don’t like her but she really did bust her ass two years ago to try and make a point. Unfortunately it didn’t go as well as it could have but she at least broke in for the other ladies.
I wouldn’t say she deserves to win this at all, but everyone will be voting for everyone else anyways.
why isn’t Roxxi on the list,she got her head shaved and busted herself numerous of times for TNA,she next to Gail kim,defined the knockouts division,without her,the knockouts division wouldn’t have been a success
how did lillian garcia and stacy kiebler make the list,they didn’t do anything for womens wrestling
i vote for trish stratus
Candice Michelle :D
I voted TARA – her ability, her passion and her lengthy career make her the obvious choice for me!! Trish & Lita are my favorites, but the fact Tara has been an in-ring performer (and an awesome one at that) gives her the edge!!
rkoyou ur always complaining jesus christ u little kid
you forgot chyna!! she was in the wwf in this time frame….99-01
oops i meant the fact that tara is STILL an in-ring performer, and has been so good for so long!
Didn’t ‘forget’ anyone.
If i narrowed it down to three people i would go with Trish, Tara and Melina for this award, though i find it very hard to narrow it down to one i am going to try……..
Trish: because of all of her past dedication and proving that models can become wrestlers, also because all of her achievements with and without wwe. She also to me sums up the word ‘Diva’ and as i say ‘Trish is diva’
Tara (Victoria): because not only did she start off her wwe career with such impact to this day she has continued to do so, Tara in my mind played the best psycho i have ever seen played by male or female as she really got into her character, also Tara has taken part in some epic matches such as chicago street fights, hardcore matches, cage matches, six sides of steel and no doubt she will continue to do so, and also Tara this year has showed real effort as she went from a jobber to all new wwe divas to jumping to tna and really getting to show what she can do. And though it was a short reign she captured the knockouts title and i hope we will be seeing a second reign sometime soon.
Melina: No doubt is she todays best diva in he wwe (or tna for me) Melina shows such enthusiasm in the ring and displays this in her excitement with the huge smile she wears everytime she steps out to the ring, Melina has also captured titles many times through this year and no doubt has stepped up her game since she returned, no doubt i see Melina as the top wwe diva in the wwe right now and she can in my eyes only improve.
However i can only pick one, so my vote goes to…….
TARA :) x
In terms of impact made over the entire decade, Trish Stratus is definitely number one, followed by Lita. Neither one is my personal favorite, but their popularity opened the doors for the higher profile that women’s wrestling has today. They weren’t the absolute best in terms of skill, but no one made a bigger overall impression.
Though there is still a long way to go, female wrestlers were not taken as seriously before these two rose to fame in WWE as they are now. It could also be argued that without them there would be no TNA Knockouts division, Shimmer, ChickFight, JAPW Women’s division, WSU or other serious women’s promotions. For the same reasons, Chyna should also be on this list (though she primarily wrestled men, she did change perceptions about women as athletes and as wrestlers).
Where is KellyKelly and Miss Maria names?? They belong on this list to, Kelly has Been with wwe since 2006 and Maria 2004 and there names and faces are more recognizable then some of these divas and Knockouts on this list and when they enter the ring crowds go crazy. If you have Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Stacy Kiebler on this list then you should have included Kelly Kelly and Maria, in my opinion :)
I voted Gail Kim, both Lita and Trish are both worthy of the award however they’ve been recieving attention for how long now? I mean they did accomplish a lot in the past decade, but we need to think about what we have now instead of what we had then. If you think about it Gail Kim was the first to win both the Womens and Knockouts Championships, unlike Tara she will have an oppoertunity to get the Divas title, meaning she could win every major women’s singles title in WWE and TNA. People have supported her over the years, whilst she’s not won the title seven times, she does have a charisma and skill that matches up to the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita, she continues to be a competitor that can impress despite often being left in the shadows. Plus she’s more worthy of it than Stacy or Torrie, who should be honoured for their entertainment skills, but this is wrestling, not Miss Universe.
TheHartDynasty: K2 and Maria are Torrie like, but they still have some work to do until they’re able to be in a list like this, in my opinion. Especially since they didn’t have remarkable feuds, like Torrie did ( with Sable and Dawn).
About Chyna not being in the list: lets face it…she was great, but her most remarkable time was before the year 2000, which means that her accomplishments were mostly in other decade.
However, I kinda think that Jacqueline should be on this list. She was strong and she held titles not only in the womens division, but also titles that were from the male division. And if Candice is in here, Christy also should be here. Yes, Candice was way better than her, but Christy was the first one to win a Diva Search and was one of the first former Divas of WWE to enter TNA. Besides she…like Torrie, was also in Playboy and was involved in feuds with a few of the Divas that are in that list.
Gail Kim, Lita, Trish Stratus and Victoria/Tara btw Looking Glass agree Stacy and Torrie should not be included there were more known for boobs and butt not Cross bodies and Clothslines!!!
Still about Jacqueline: She was also ranked 249 in PWI top 500 in 2003, being the first female wrestler to enter this list.
Ana_Nattie_rules yeah i guess your right but i was just basing it on Ring Skills not feuds are things of that matter, i think all of these ladies were known for the feuds they had, but out of this list it just seemed like Torrie, Candice and Stacy stuck out like a sore thumb in the wrestling aspect of things. Also i am certain that Maria and Kelly will never have feuds like these women had and won’t be able to live up to there expectation just becasue of the way wwe works now.
Yeah, I also think like that. Its really hard to have good feuds in the womens division, especially in WWE. Since they are PG now, they can’t use more shocking storylines anymore. (The last shocking storyline involving a diva was the Burchills incest, and it was really tasteless…fortunately it was dropped xD)
As with everything of this nature, people are always going to have their opinions on who should and shouldn’t be included. But if you have a favourite that is nominated, put your weight behind them and vote!
really Melanie? making me choose between 7 of my fave’s? haha xD
i’m gonna vote Lita because she really made a name for herself without her looks, and she was the first diva i ever saw <33!
Melanie: Yeah, I understand. Even if Jacqueline was on the list, I would still vote for Lita. The first Wrestling thing I ever saw was Lita running away from Kane and Trish making fun of her and thanks to her I gained interest in the WWE and searched about the history and former wrestlers of that time.
For me, it’s between Tara, Awesome Kong, Molly Holly and Gail Kim. I’m voting Molly tho…
Of course we all know who’ll win, Lita or Trish, the true queens of overratedness!
Mickie James
OMG People are so clueless about wrestling. i mean come on. Trish Stratus is and was a bad wrestler. She didnt deserve so much titles. Molly Holly is the best Female wrestler in WWE ever. She is just as good as japanese wrestlers. But my vote goes to Lita because she as the reason Female wrestlers are more recognized and she was a extreme diva who wasnt scared from injuries.
I voted McCool because I’m biased as hell. ;)
Amare135 yeah dude Trish was more of a face and body and the more and more popular she got the more and more titles wwe gave her, Molly Holly is very underated as well and Lita is by far the best diva and pro wrestler of are generation she raised the bar for wrestling, she was part of the legendary Hardy boys crew which changed the face of the WWE and what is stood for, but many people seem to forget that just because she wasn’t as hot as Trish, so I vote more for Lita but more then likely trish will win just because of all those titles.
Lita and Trish had the most impact but I think they will have more awards to come for them!! Lol!
I voted for Candice…reason because when Lita and Trish left I thought I was done with womens wrestling but then I saw new faces trying hard to get a place and she quite shock me to be honest. No She didn’t became the best ever but she gained my respect!
kelly kelly! y? b/c shes improved alot!!!!!!!!!! too bad she isnt on the list.
To rephrase Lincoln, you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time. Sheesh. It’s pretty obvious the Diva Dirt team took their time and put effort into who got nominated. Everyone’s got their own opinion but it’s not worth complaining about this or that not getting nominated.
Personally I voted for Lita. I can remember watching her for the first time accompanying Essa Rios to his match. I’d been watching WWE since March 1999, so I was used to seeing rather carbon copy women (although I was and still am a huge fan of Tori, Ivory, Jackie and Luna). Here was this gorgeous red headed woman with a massive tattoo on her shoulder – wow!
Then she did a Moonsault. Absolutely flawless. I fell in love with her and with women’s wrestling even more. She was fearless, she showed me women could do stuff the guys did, and just as well, and wasn’t afraid to get injured (hell, she kept fighting Ivory at Survivor Series after getting the nastiest gash on her face, with blood running into her eyes – now that’s a woman!!!). For the longest time I dressed like her, wore my hair like her, I even got it dyed her shade of red. She really opened my eyes to what women could do in the ring when given the chance. She came first, not Trish, and while the women I listed above did what they could to keep the so-called women’s division alive after Sable left, Lita really re-ignited interest in the division until they had to bring back the belt. She did SO much for the division and was someone women could admire, who got in the company based on her ability, not her looks or her T&A.
The thing with Adam soured me, as well as what the WWE did to her character in the years before she left, but now I’m a fan again and realize what a big contribution she did for women’s wrestling in the ‘E. The company will never recognize what she’s done, but at least her fans at Diva Dirt can by voting her Woman of the Decade!
My vote actually went to Stephanie because, like the description said, she’s done it all, survived it all and looked great doing it. She can take vicious bumps with the guys, scrap it up with the girls, be a heel one minute, face the next and still maintain her constant attitude. I think it’s commendable that she tried the wrestling route, didn’t necessarily succeed in it a whole lot, but just keeps going. And personally, I know I mark out like hell whenever I hear her music hit because she is pure entertainment.
I voted for MELINA! Not b cuz she is my favorite but b cuz Melina came back this year and brought her A-Game as a babyface. B4 Melina got injured she was still kicking ass and showing why she is the A-List Divas and when she returned she did the samething. What more can you ask for.
In my opinion all these divas listed are the best they all brought there A-game to the wwe no matter if they jobbed half there carrer , had the most title regins , or had none at all. In a way they all brought something to the wwe. Maybe thats why the divas listed now are the ones we can vote for b cuz they brought something to the wwe something that the divas who arent listed coudnt…
I mean honestly Maria & Kelly Kelly not trying to bash here…but what did they do for the WWE ?.
Besides get beat up backstage and look pretty….
Torrie Wilson…belive it or not but this lady made me watch wwe closley and pay ppvs’ to watch her!!
Lita.
My vote goes to LITA. I know that she was never the best when it comes to executing moves, she was never the best behind the mic and a lot of people have come to revile her for her affair with Adam Copeland. But like I said, Amy Dumas has changed sports entertainment for women simply by choosing to be in it. Love her or hate her, she has always had that non-conforming persona that strikes you and compels you to challenge the norm. And considering how much she was willing to put herself through just for her craft, I’d say the WWE screwed her big time. In the end, there was a sense of defeat what she went out the way she did. They showed women to be somewhat one-dimensional with her character. But that was merely a bad dream compared to what she was before she fell out of grace – an inspiration.
Of course some people are going to say “ah she looked like a man, she was fat, she was sloppy” and perhaps that is true. But that doesn’t change the fact that she has contributed much to pro-wrestling. She did revolutionize the business. And she will not be forgotten for that. :)
And just so I’m clear, no. Lita is not my favorite. I like her but MsChif and Molly Holly will always be at the top of my list. However, we are supposed to award the Woman of the Decade. This is beyond what I like and it should be looked at from a different perspective. Ergo, as I’ve said – my vote goes to LITA.
I vote Lita…Melina…and Tara. ( I love the three but Melina is my favorite diva ever).
melina and trish :)
Trish Stratus. Because she became a huge name for WWE, she was extremely popular with men and women, she always stayed true to herself and she showed that a blonde model can become a top wrestler and star aswell – she broke moulds and stereotypes. She isn’t a former Diva of the Decade and 7 time Womens Champion for nothing, ya know.
Lita!!!!! All the way, Pioneer of Womens Wrestling as we know it, I remember her debut so clearly. I had been forced to watched Terri, BB, Ivory, Tori, Jackie, and Kat run around slapping eachother for the whole of 99, Lita was so refreshing!! The most entertaining and fearless female of the time!!
I love Gail Kim and there are a lot of AMAZING female wrestlers on both rosters (which are incredibly under used ie NATALYA AND GAIL KIM) but my vote goes to Lita!!
Why is Lillian on here in all seriousness LOL!!! Gail Kim for Divas Champ 2010!!!
Lita totally got my vote. She revolutionized womens wrestling in a HUGE way. She has main evented Monday Night Raw on THREE Different occasions and winning the women’s championship on two out of the three. Lita may not have the record for the most women’s title reigns but she deserves to be the Decade Diva. She was the first woman in the WWE to take high risks like she did, she also got in the ring with the men when it was necessary. Lita also had a lot of first time moments as she was one of the first divas to main event raw, first to participate in a womens steel cage match, and also to challenge for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Lita was the most popular divas of her time, nailing the roles of babyface and heel both. Some people forget that Lita helped divas like Trish and Mickie get to the level that they got to. The womens division during the attitude era was at an all time low until Lita made it to WWE. She turned the whole women’s division around and should be named as the Decade Diva.
Looking Glass:
Gail Kim will not be able to win every major womens belt as she can’t become one half of the knockouts tag champs. so there goes that excuse to vote for her!
im stunned t hat noone is voting Awesome Kong- she is an incredible force to womens wrestling.. without her womens wrestling wouldnt be have as exciting as it is today.
Honestly, I don’t see how anyone can vote for someone outside of Trish. Her entire WWE run, give or take a couple of months because of injury, was consistent. She did what she was booked to do. There was never rumors of her complaining about how she was booked. There was never rumors of her slacking off because she was “unhappy”. There was never rumors of how she owed her spot to nepotism.
She worked her buns off for everything she got in her WWE career. Was everything she did nice and pretty? Of course not. However, it’s not like she brushes the bad stuff off like it never happened.