Eleri‘s pick: Lita returns, saves Trish
Before we get started, I just want to let you all know that I mark out like crazy every single time I see that Lita Bomb. I loved it. The crowd loved it. Lita delivered it like a boss. It was perfect. And moving on…
Lita had been out of action for well over a year with a broken neck, sustained outside the ring, while working on a TV show. In her absence, Trish emerged as the most recognized face in the women’s division, and no doubt the most popular. While I love Trish, I really do, I missed Lita like crazy, which is why I absolutely bloody loved it when Lita returned, surprisingly, to rescue her long-time nemesis from the evil clutches of Molly Holly and Gail Kim. (Ha, remember the good old days?)
Trish was getting her butt handed to her in a pretty brutal way, and suddenly the crowd started cheering and looking up to the ramp, and lo and behold, it’s LITA! She rushed the ring, made short work of Molly Holly with an intense DDT, then followed up with that Lita Bomb on Gail Kim! Seriously love it.
It was an incredible return, and one that feels really emotional for me. I think it’s rare that we connect with wrestlers on really deep, emotional levels because of the characters they play. You can relate with the character, but not the person underneath a lot of the time, and it’s easy to confuse what’s real with what’s a character (John Cena, anyone?). While it’s the worst way to do it, I always find that returns from potentially career-ending injuries just get me right there, you know? They make me connect. The ladies and gentlemen of the WWE do all they do for themselves, but they do it for us too, every single time they step in the ring.
So Lita’s return just really gets to me and it will always be one of my very favourite moments from her. I’m so appreciative for every single thing she ever did in WWE. She was a true treasure there, and is so deserving of the Hall of Fame honour.
