Former WWE Women’s Champion Lita, real name Amy Dumas, has won the fans’ recognition as the Greatest Raw Diva Ever.
In a poll commissioned by Diva Dirt to celebrate the 1,000th episode of Raw, visitors narrowed down 32 women, each who the Diva Dirt staff had helped shape Raw’s near-two decades on air, to just one.
Dumas, who retired in 2006, beat fellow icon and career-long parallel, Trish Stratus, in the finals of the tournament, garnering 59% of the vote.
Diva Dirt can reveal that prior to the grand final, Lita and Trish topped the polls in each of the previous rounds, exchanging the top spot in every round. But when it came down to the final head-to-head, the still-rabid Lita fanbase managed to create a comfortable distance between the pair.
Over 16,000 votes were cast over the course of the tournament.
Dumas, who debuted with WWE in 2000, is widely recognized as one of the most influential females in WWE history with four WWE Women’s Championship reigns and key storylines on the flagship show,.
During her time with WWE, Lita became an instant fan favorite with her daredevil moves, her unique sense of style, and her personality, which differed from a lot of the other Divas presented at the time. As well as achievements in the ring, Lita also grew a kinship with a segment of the audience few other women in the company could rally — young girls. Forming a key portion of Lita’s fanbase, the four-time champion became a pin-up hero for many teenage girls (including current Diva, AJ) who seemed to relate to Dumas’ more tomboy-ish personality compared to the other Divas, many of whom were presented as feminine, sexual and catered more to the male audience.
Lita won three of her four championships on Raw, two of which were in the coveted main event of the show — a segment rarely adorned with Divas. Lita’s 2000 title win over Stephanie McMahon closed the show, as did her 2004 win over Trish Stratus, a match revered to this day. In 2006, Lita defeated Mickie James for her third win on an August episode of Raw.
As well as her title history, Lita was part of some of the most captivating storylines on Raw; her career-long love-hate relationship with Stratus is arguably the greatest Divas feud in history, while the explosive triangle between Lita, Matt Hardy and Edge was water-cooler TV.
With title wins, main events, a pregnancy (er, and a miscarriage), weddings, and a live sex celebration… Lita is your Greatest Raw Diva Ever.
