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.
– Click here for profiles on all 16 women
EDIT: Your Woman of the Decade is…
Yes indeed, your Woman of the Decade is Lita! The 4-time Women’s Champion helped revolutionise women’s wrestling in the WWE with her unique wrestling style and looks. Far from the ‘cookie cutter’ representation of the WWE Divas, Lita was the anti-Diva for many fans and perhaps this explains her popularity with fans to this day. Her punk-rock attitude and style set her apart from the other Divas while she was also daring in the ring. During her time in WWE, Lita formed alliances with The Hardy Boys, Edge and Kane while also competing in the first ever Divas steel cage match and main eventing Raw with Trish Stratus. After 7 years, Lita retired at Survivor Series in 2006.
And with more than 5000 votes cast throughout the past 4 weeks, Lita beats 15 other women to become your Woman of the Decade.
In the final round, Lita edged out fellow finalist Trish Stratus with 56% of the vote.
So there you have it. The search is over. You have crowned Lita as your most influential Diva or Knockout of the past 10 years — your Woman of the Decade!