A la TIME’s Person of the Year list, Diva Dirt has compiled a countdown of the women we feel have best embodied the zeitgeist of the year in women’s wrestling. To compile this list, the Diva Dirt team have tracked the headlines here at Diva Dirt over the past 12 months, followed the lively fan debate on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, considered the impact that the women have made within the industry, and taken into account personal achievements as well. More information on the Women of the Year list here.
KHARMA
Lightning in a Bottle
In 2011, one woman captured the imaginations of fans, wrestlers and critics everywhere — her name was Kharma.
Though she was only in the company for five weeks before shockingly announcing her pregnancy live on Raw, for those five weeks, the entire wrestling world was abuzz about the former Awesome Kong and her arrival in WWE. Kharma broke the stereotypical image of what it meant to be a “Diva”, and for a period, ignited interest from all fans, including ones who usually didn’t watch the Divas segments, as they sat on the edge of their seats to see what destruction Kharma would bring that week.
She was unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the Divas division and during her short time in the WWE, quickly grew a cult-like following. In fact, WWE’s treatment of Kharma was unlike anything we’ve seen in the last several years. For the first time perhaps since Trish Stratus‘ retirement, WWE invested in a female character so fully, promoting her debut for several weeks with intriguing vignettes and promoting Kharma’s big announcement in her final appearance several times during the Raw broadcast.
The euphoria surrounding Kharma for those five weeks proved what a one-of-a-kind performer she is. Her short time in WWE was like catching lightning in a bottle. It remains to be seen, however, if she’ll return to the WWE post-pregnancy. As they say, lightning rarely strikes in the same place twice, but for our sake, let’s hope that this time it does.
PREVIOUSLY:
– The Women of the Year 2011: Jenny Sjodin (#17)
