Celebrating Lita From Team Extreme To Rated-R

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we celebrate Lita, a pioneer of women’s wrestling.

What’s Lita’s legacy in pro wrestling?

Chad Gelfand: Lita is one of the most influential wrestlers of all time when you look at the modern-day stars she influenced such as AJ Lee and Bayley, and how they’ve rolled that road that Lita paved further and have become some of the most influential women wrestlers of their own generation. Lita was the first time I had seen women do high-flying moves and high-risk spots.

Juan Bautista: Lita broke the mold of what a woman wrestler could be. She wasn’t cookie cutter. She had this punk rock look and was doing flips that only the luchadores could do.

John Corrigan: At a time when women’s wrestling was primarily comprised of bra and panties and gravy bowl matches, Lita proved that the ladies could do more. Well, not as much as she could, cause she was a badass doing moonsaults and hurricanranas to the floor. With her punk rock appearance, daredevil spirit and that strategically placed thong, Lita was an original.

Steven Jackson: Lita was the first cool tomboy in wrestling. She slotted perfectly into Team Extreme, and her matches in the women’s division showed females they could take risk.

Jack Goodwillie: The most versatile woman of her time, and one of the two or three most influential women’s wrestlers for this era. Even had she not turned heel and aligned herself with Edge, she would still be seen as an extremely influential character on the modern women’s wrestling landscape. Because she did, she entered rarified air as one of the all-time greats. Ironically, Trish Stratus was this way as well; a more than capable face or heel who, if dropped into today’s wrestling world, could still handle the top of the card.

What’s your favorite Lita match?

Gelfand: Lita and Trish Stratus main eventing Raw in 2004. That was the defining feud of that era of women’s wrestling and they finally earned that prestigious spot. They also got over 10 minutes, which was virtually unheard of for women in WWE at that time. Even though there was a scary suicide dive spot with Lita narrowly avoiding serious injury, the match delivered and showed everyone what they were capable of in-ring.

Bautista: Lita vs. Trish Stratus on Raw in 2004.

Corrigan: Aside from being historic, Lita vs. Trish Stratus on Raw was a damn good match. Plus, Lita finally got the win over her arch nemesis.

Jackson: I really enjoyed the match Lita had with Trish Stratus at Unforgiven 2006. It was a culmination of an era-long feud, as well as a fantastic back-and-forth contest.

Goodwillie: Because there was such a dearth of women who could measure up to Lita in the ring during her era, I don’t really think of matches when I think of her career. Instead, I think of moments outside the ring with Edge and specific sports and moments from matches, but rarely full matches. Still, it’d be tough to single out any other match than her Raw main event with Trish Stratus, a match that measured up in the ring and really showed where women’s wrestling could one day get to with regularity with a little commitment.

What’s your favorite Lita moment?

Gelfand: On a 2000 SmackDown, there was a top rope hurricanrana that Lita hit on Dean Malenko that had to be one of the highest velocity versions of that move I’ve ever seen.

Bautista: When she sealed a kiss with Edge that cemented her heel turn.

Corrigan: Not her swansong at Survivor Series 2006, that’s for sure. Although the Live Sex Celebration was fun, I loved Lita beating Stephanie McMahon for the Women’s Championship in the summer of 2000.

Jackson: Lita’s best moment was definitely going into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

Goodwillie: The live sex celebration definitely piqued my interest as a young fan. How could it not? It was provocative, which is exactly what the angle set out to do. On the flip side, her involvement in the TLC II was a special moment, so if she were to be remembered for anything, it would have to be that. Of course, there’s also her women’s championship victory in the Raw main event, as well as the time she took a stiff powerbomb from Eddie Guerrero on the outside of the ring.

If she was in her prime today, which promotion would be the best fit for Lita?

Gelfand: Lita would have her best matches in WWE with Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley and Bianca Belair to work with, but in AEW, Lita in her prime would probably be AEW Women’s Champion and have a lengthy reign with Britt Baker being her main adversary.

Bautista: Impact or AEW. The talent level is great.

Corrigan: WWE. Lita would fit right in with the crop of talent from the women’s revolution, yet she’d still stand out from the pack.

Jackson: Impact Wrestling. The women’s division in Impact is great and having Lita in the mix would add another fun layer.

Goodwillie: Great question. It’s still tough to say anything other than WWE because we saw how that played out: very well. However, there are fundamental differences between WWE today and 15 years ago, and the changes the company has undergone, while positive for women’s wrestling, would probably hinder her in the long run. The women, as we’ve seen with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, are not immune to bad booking and abhorrent creative and it’s reasonable to think Lita would fall victim eventually. For that reason, it has to be AEW or Impact, and of the two I’d actually lean Impact. She’d be a great foil to Deonna Purrazzo, and it’s a tiny bit closer to the sports entertainment type of presentation where we’ve seen her thrive in the past.