Women’s Wrestling Mount Rushmore

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we give our picks for the Women’s Wrestling Mount Rushmore.

Calvin Gibbon

My George Washington would be Luna Vachon. This may come as a surprise to some, but if you take a look back and watch Luna as a valet, but more importantly as a competitor, you’d see that she stands out from the rest. While not beautiful in the traditional sense, her appearance captured the imagination. While she was never a WWE Women’s Champion, her outspokenness about how women were portrayed as just eye candy in the WWE/F during the height of the Attitude Era makes her one the earliest women to call for a women’s revolution in professional wrestling.

My Thomas Jefferson would be Trish Stratus. An easy choice, mind you, but definitely an important one. Without question, Trish Stratus is a women’s wrestling success story. She began to train and compete on live TV week after week. While her earlier matches weren’t great, you’d be amazed if you saw those matches and later found out that she became one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. Trish is a seven-time Women’s Champion and one of the biggest inspirations for many of the women who are wrestling today.

My Theodore Roosevelt would be Eve Torres. As a Diva Search winner, the expectations for her in-ring work were not high. At first, she wasn’t even allowed to wrestle and only competed in the various costume contests and pillow fights. Eve underwent training at OVW where she trained under Dave Finlay. When she finally was given the chance to break into the Divas wrestling division, she did so with gusto. Eve was the first three-time Diva’s Champion. If she had been brought up in the WWE today, there’s no question she would have thrived in any of today’s modern women’s divisions.

My Abraham Lincoln would be AJ Lee. A dirty name around WWE these days, mainly because of her hubby CM Punk, but while WWE is currently turning a blind eye to her accomplishments, that doesn’t mean that the fans will. One night on RAW, AJ Lee sent out one tweet that started the firestorm of fan support that gave birth to the Women’s Revolution. But if that’s not enough, AJ Lee was just all-around awesome in the ring and on the microphone. She’s also one of the most successful Diva’s champions of all time. How can you top that?

David Gibb

Mildred Burke

If not for the success of Mildred Burke as a box office draw, we might not be talking about a Mount Rushmore of women’s wrestling at all. Burke wrestled men before the word “intergender” even existed, became the first recognized NWA Women’s World Champion, and fought to make sexist promoters treat female wrestlers with respect. While her voice was largely silenced by the bad actors of the day, Burke’s place in history is rightfully being recognized 30 years after her death.

Sherri Martel

The first person recommended to both Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff by Jesse Ventura, Sherri Martel was the strongest and most identifiable female presence in wrestling during an era when the world of the squared circle seemed to be 98%+ male. Even though the talent pool and environment did not allow for Sherri to have the in-ring career she might’ve enjoyed in today’s world, she was a force of nature who refused to allow her femininity to be portrayed as a handicap and always provided promos, ringside antics and energy that enhanced the characters of the male wrestlers she was paired with and made their matches seem more important.

Charlotte

Like it or not, WWE’s embrace of women’s main events is undeniably connected to the entrance of Charlotte Flair into the professional wrestling world. Whether you hate her for her name or love her for her work, you have to admit that the taller-than-AJ-Styles Flair helped the WWE see that a woman could be a singular wrestling star. Just when it seemed like her in-ring performances had slipped into being “great WWE main event matches(TM),” she rediscovered her inner fire and seems poised to continue her run of era-defining excellence into the second half of her career.

Becky Lynch

THE MAN is the first woman to be the top singles star in WWE. She has injected much-needed life into WWE television in the era of over-saturation and reignited the Women’s Revolution, just as it seemed poised to run out of steam. While the gains of the last two years never would’ve been possible without a star like Charlotte, they would never have been fulfilled without a talent like Becky Lynch.

Steven Jackson

Sensational Sherri

Sherri was one of the most prolific female wrestlers of her generation. Dangerous, but sexy. Technically sound and charismatic, she was a star wherever she went and brought out the best in everyone she wrestled and managed.

Gail Kim

The landscape of women’s wrestling around the world today owes a huge debt to the work of women like Gail Kim. Combining her striking looks with unparalleled technical ability, Gail inspired a generation as part of the trailblazing TNA Knockouts Division

Sara Del Ray

While Sara Del Ray hasn’t wrestled publicly in years, looking back at her career on the independent circuit, anyone can see just how much of an influence she has had behind the scenes in WWE. The unsung heroine of women’s wrestling, Sara brought Joshi strong-style traditions and the diva philosophy together perfectly. Every match Sara had was/is a pleasure to watch

Meiko Satomura

While the name Meiko Satomura was one I had seen many times on the internet, it was only during the 2016 CHIKARA King of Trios, I really saw the brilliance of Satomura. While western wrestling fans were suffering with bra and panties matches, mudbath brawls and bikini contest catfights, Satomura was leading the way in redefining Joshi wrestling, with her peers in Sendai Girls and STARDOM. We wouldn’t be seeing a lot of what we see today without the influence of Satomura, and if you take anything from this list of mine, if you haven’t done so already, watch Meiko Satomura!

Chad Gelfand

I’m going to preference my Women’s Mount Rushmore by saying that I’m not as familiar with women’s wrestling outside of the U.S., so I’m going to stick with women’s wrestlers who’ve wrestled in WWE.

In fact I’m not just going with wrestlers from WWE, I’m going with the Four Horsewomen. In the short time they’ve been with WWE, they’ve revolutionized the business and taken women’s wrestling to a new stratosphere.

Becky Lynch: “The Man” has been one of the most popular wrestlers in the business over the past year and has a connection to her fan base that many others can’t match.

Sasha Banks: “The Boss” can have a great match with anyone, from Charlotte to Bayley to Ronda Rousey to Becky Lynch to even Nia Jax. Banks has shown she can wrestle anyone and get the best out of them.

Charlotte: “The Queen” has been on top of the women’s division almost her entire NXT and WWE career. Being a multiple time Women’s Champion and main eventing the first women’s PPV, Charlotte has already put together a hall of fame career.

Bayley: “The Hugger” has seemed to get the short end of the stick for some of her WWE main roster run, but she’s accomplished a ton as well. Bayley was the face of NXT and her run with the brand helped turn NXT from just a developmental territory to a legitimate third brand, in large part due to her epic feud with fellow Four Horsewoman, Sasha Banks.

John Corrigan

Mildred Burke

Replaced by the Fabulous Moolah in WWE’s revisionist history, Mildred Burke was the biggest women’s wrestling star in the 20th century. For two decades, she had a stranglehold on the NWA Women’s Championship, and held her own against the men before intergender wrestling was in vogue. Her marriage and basically exile from the industry should be featured in the second season of Dark Side of the Ring.

Sherri Martel

She truly was sensational. “Scary Sherri,” as Brutus Beefcake used to say, paved the way for women to be managers in WWE. Sure, Miss Elizabeth was there first, but Sherri actually got involved in the action and delivered on the mic. She was instrumental in the Macho King character and reconciliation with Liz, as well as Shawn Michaels’ rise as the Heartbreak Kid. Plus, “Sexy Kurt.”

Chyna

I can’t believe I’m the only one to include her on the Women’s Mount Rushmore. The universal outrage over her being excluded from the WWE Hall of Fame only to finally go in posthumously illustrates how influential the Ninth Wonder of the World was to professional wrestling.

Trish Stratus

I agree with Goodwillie that Lita and Trish are interchangeable on this list. While Lita certainly brought a punk rock spunk to wrestling, influencing an entire generation with her lucha libre flavor, Trish resurrected women’s wrestling on a mainstream level during the 2000s. She navigated through the tits and ass era by showing just enough sex appeal to attract horny teens like myself, but also honed her craft to the point that women’s wrestling was viewed with the same credibility as the men’s. And yes, while TNA certainly deserves credit for being ahead of the curve of the Women’s Revolution, by the time it finally introduced its Knockouts Championship, Trish had already been retired for a year!

Neal Wagner

Mae Young

She would be the embodiment of the past. Mae Young was always held in high regard from all of her peers and was a beloved character during the Attitude Era.

Trish Stratus

Stratusfaction Guaranteed. The multi-time Women’s Champion began a revolution of women’s wrestling in WWF/E. She went from the bottom of bikini contests and making out with the owner to main eventing Raw and stealing the show on pay-per-views.

Lita

The anti-diva during the Attitude Era. She was easily the best athlete of women during that time and she had no problem mixing it up with the men on a regular basis. Her rivalry with Trish was Rock/Austin for women’s wrestling.

Charlotte Flair

She had the biggest shoes to fill of anybody in wrestling history. The daughter of Ric Flair started in NXT and within months of the main roster was already Women’s Champion. Charlotte quickly began main eventing Raw, SmackDown, PPVs, Hell in a Cell and even stole the show in her WrestleMania debut. Her legacy is likely to surpass her father’s before she even hits her prime.

Sam Gladen

Natty Neidhart: The first female graduate of the Hart Dungeon and one of the longest tenured superstars on the roster both male and female, Natty has taken her role of putting over young new talent in stride while still putting out fantastic matches on a regular basis.

Lita: The high flying phenom that made people serious about women’s wrestling in a time of bra and panties matches. She also made history by being part of the first all-female main event on Raw.

Beth Phoenix: Chyna 2.0 with way more upside, the powerhouse of women’s wrestling proved that strength could still look good.

Paige: The foremother of the Women’s Revolution. Paige brought legitimate grappling to a women’s division seen as an afterthought and allowed legitimately talented wrestlers the room to grow as performers.

Juan Bautista

Mildred Burke

A pioneer of women’s wrestling, she became the first women’s world champion by winning the NWA Women’s World Champion in 1937.

Alundra Blayze

One of the last great women’s wrestlers before the dark ages of being delegated to being eye candy. She was a multi-time women’s champion and played a key role in the early days of the Monday Night Wars by dumping the WWF Women’s Title in the trash.

Chyna

If she got in the business 20 years earlier or 20 years later, Chyna would have experienced more longevity than just a couple years. She’s the only woman to win the Women’s Championship, Intercontinental Championship, enter the Royal Rumble and King of the Ring tournament in wrestling history.

Bull Nakano

Nakano experienced success in All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling and in CMLL, by becoming its first Women’s Champion and having a title reign in what then was the WWF. She also has a unique milestone in being part of NJPW and WCW’s historic event in North Korea, which holds the all-time pro wrestling attendance record.

Jenna Leigh

I went round and round with the obvious elephant in the room: Moolah. As much as I dislike the things she’s done, her place in history is secure.

Next up, “Sensational” Sherri Martel deserves a place. She was more than “just a valet” and more than “a lady wrestler” in a time where that didn’t mean a whole lot. Sherri showed that you could be sexual. You could show aggression. If you want something, TAKE IT – just like she stepped up and TOOK her very own place in women’s wrestling history.

Next, the amazing Trish Stratus deserves acknowledgement. She didn’t come into the business at a great time for women, but alas, even as eye candy – even after an angle that called for her to strip down, then bark like a dog – she still got the last laugh. In similar fashion, people underestimated her talents. But here she is, a WWE Hall of Famer taking her rightful place on the Women’s Mount Rushmore.

The final place may be the one I changed the most because I’m overjoyed to say that we have several women who could all fit into this fourth and final space. It’s here that I want to give Lita, the Jumping Bomb Angels, Ivory, Molly Holly, AJ Lee, Jazz, Jacqueline, and truly so many more, but the fourth Mt. Rushmore spot goes to Debra “Madusa” Miceli. Her career trajectory mirrors that of many of the men who are already in the HOF or are clearly well on their way; like Chris Jericho. Honing her craft nationwide, then worldwide, in Japan and elsewhere, “Made in the USA” Madusa is my final Mt. Rushmore lady!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMKL-qZZTbE

Jack Goodwillie

Sensational Sherri

This list actually came together a lot easier than I thought it would. Yeah, Sensational Sherri was really more known as a manager than a wrestler, but she actually spent a whole decade as an active wrestler and even held the WWF Women’s Championship for over a year. Of course, her managerial career followed and that’s what ultimately put her on the map, but she’s really on here for her pure talent and history as a trailblazer more than anything. She would go as far as to bump for the male wrestlers, and there really wasn’t anything she shied away from, come to think of it. Without Sherri, there’s none of the other people I’m about to mention and there’s certainly no “Man.” (sadface)

Trish Stratus

Nobody could have realized it at the time, but Trish Stratus essentially took the women’s wrestling of old (where the women were really more workers than bikini models) and fused it with an Attitude Era-like sex appeal to sort of create the women’s wrestling landscape as we know it today. If you’re going to get over as a women’s wrestler in 2018, being able to have a good match is 100-percent essential, though there’s also a reality of having to appeal to a predominantly male demographic. Trish Stratus could do both of these things AND perform well in segments. She’s very much interchangeable with Lita, who offered up all of the same attributes, but Trish had the longer run on top and I would dare say that without her, there’s no bridge to the women’s wrestling we know today.

Awesome Kong

I actually had half a paragraph typed up for Chyna here, but as I was stating a lot of her achievements and contributions out loud, it’s important to remember that Chyna did not work well with other women. She defended the Women’s Championship one time at WrestleMania against Ivory and the match was a total abomination. But I would say Awesome Kong took the Chyna formula and did so much more with it in TNA. As Trish Stratus’ time in WWE began to wind down, Awesome Kong was kicking ass in TNA. TNA, if you remember, was for a long time the place to go for top-notch women’s wrestling with its Knockouts Division. Kong was a big reason for that and her feud with The Beautiful People is to this day one of the top women’s feuds of all time. By the time she got her shot in WWE as Kharma, Kong’s body had begun to break down and she had a looming desire to start a family, much like we’re seeing with Ronda “Plans for my Uterus” Rousey. Her impact, pun intended, has definitely had a lasting effect, though.

Becky Lynch

Oh boy. Once again, I had half a paragraph typed up for Charlotte here, but getting back to my Sensational Sherri answer, maybe this list was a little tougher than I thought after all! Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte is the gold standard for what all women’s wrestlers should aspire for. She comes off like such a star every time she’s on camera. But make no mistake, Becky Lynch and her story epitomizes the hard work it takes to get to where she is now. I fell in love with the idea of Becky as someone who can lead a women’s division back on NXT Takeover: Unstoppable, but never had any idea there’d be this grassroots campaign and character shift to where she’s now on the verge of becoming the most over women’s wrestler EVER. Remember AJ Lee? Vickie Guerrero? Stephanie McMahon? When Becky Lynch beat Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania, she surpassed them all.