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On Monday, the WWE kicked off the announcements of this year’s Hall of Fame class. The first inductee will be none other than “The Icon” Sting. After all of his accomplishments, it’s a well-deserved recognition. But let’s be for real: all of us Diva fans out there are more eagerly anticipating the announcement of this year’s female inductee.
Unfortunately, the WWE usually limits the Hall of Fame class to one woman per year. The past few years, we’ve had some extremely notable names in Trish Stratus, Lita, Alundra Blayze and Wendi Richter. We’re all hoping this year continues the tradition of inducting a well deserving woman, especially given the strides Divas have made this past year. Let’s take a look at some potential nominees.
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Sable
I think it’s a bit of a head scratcher for most fans that Sable hasn’t been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame yet. At one point, she was one of the WWE’s main attractions – male or female. Appropriately for this year, she was one of the pioneers of a bit of a revolution for the Divas in the ‘90’s, taking them from managers in long gowns to sex symbols and legitimate athletes in the ring. Sable’s popularity transcended all of the other women in WWE at the time and led to a successful Women’s Title reign, multiple Playboy covers and involvement with some of the biggest names in WWE.
Most fans aren’t really sure what is holding back the WWE from inducting Sable. The legal issues the two once had have blown over, considering Sable had a second run in the company in 2003-04 and quickly becoming a popular character once again. Her husband, Brock Lesnar, is also currently a WWE Superstar. One of the reasons she’s been held back may be WWE’s reluctance to put their relationship in the spotlight. WWE has never referenced their marriage and Sable has hardly been seen since leaving in 2004.
Now is the ideal time to induct Sable. Her family is on good terms, women’s wrestling has made significant strides – why not induct the reason the WWE finally let the women have a significant role?
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Jacqueline
Sable may have been center stage in 1998, but we can’t ignore her main foe for most of that year: Jacqueline. In fact, Jackie was the first Women’s Champion when the title was reinstated that year. She also made history with this win by becoming the first African American Women’s Champion.
Besides the incredible matches Jackie has had throughout her career, she’s also made a lot of WWE history by competing in multiple intergender matches, including a match against Chavo Guerrero in which she captured the Cruiserweight Championship. With the win, she became the third woman to hold the belt, following Daffney and WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze.
Jackie often isn’t given enough credit for the hard work she put in during her WWE tenure. She never really got the opportunity to be the top woman in the company, but she was always a consistent worker and put over anyone, including Stephanie McMahon. In a year where wrestling history was made by women, it’s only fitting to induct the woman who was brought into WWE for one reason: to wrestle.
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Miss Elizabeth
With Randy Savage’s induction last year, many of us thought the big female name in the class would be Miss Elizabeth. There have been many women who claim to be the first Diva, but there is one true First Lady of wrestling and that is Elizabeth. Liz spent most of her career as Macho Man’s valet and dazzled fans with her beauty.
Elizabeth was the first woman who fans really cared about. She put her all into any storyline she was thrown into and held her own in a locker room literally full of men. She also had the first real shocking moment for WWE women when she tore her dress off at SummerSlam to reveal a short mini skirt, showing that valets could have a little sex appeal.
Miss Elizabeth was pure class, and although she is sadly no longer with us, it would be incredible to see her finally be recognized as a WWE Hall of Famer.
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Luna Vachon
A long overdue induction to the WWE Hall of Fame goes to Luna Vachon. In fact, a long overdue recognition of her hard work is due. Luna is another woman who was never really the “it” girl for the WWE, but she was always one of their most memorable characters.
Luna had a memorable feud right off the bat in her WWE career with Sensational Sherri, in a time where women really weren’t given the spotlight to have rivalries. Shortly after, she was one of the first few women to compete at WrestleMania, picking up a win in a Mixed Tag Team match. Luna was also one of the cornerstones of the briefly revived women’s division in the mid ‘90s, competing in multiple matches against WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze.
Perhaps Luna’s best-known work was in her second run in 1998, when she managed Goldust in a feud against Marc Mero and Sable. The four had a Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania 14, where Luna put on one of the show’s most memorable women’s matches.
Luna may not have been the most well-known Women’s Champion, but she was always memorable. She had mic skills that were miles ahead of most of the other women and, with her unique look, was not afraid to do anything and everything on screen.
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Ivory
Ivory was such an incredible find by WWE’s talent department. She came into the company as a manager for D’Lo Brown and Mark Henry, but that role was short-lived. Upon breaking out on her own, Ivory really showed what she could do.
She quickly won the Women’s Title and worked in feuds with most of the WWE’s women. Ivory was confident in the ring and on the microphone, cutting promos against anyone in the WWE. Her best-known work is most likely her 2000/2001 role as a member of Right to Censor. Ivory became one of the company’s most hated characters by interrupting matches and viciously attacking all of the other Divas.
After her RTC role, Ivory put over the up and coming talent in WWE with excellent ring work and professionalism. Towards the end of her in-ring career, she took on the role of commentator and correspondent, getting to show more of her fiery personality. All things considered, Ivory has one of the strongest cases for a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
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Victoria
Victoria made a lot of history during her time in WWE and is most famous for being one of Trish Stratus’s biggest rivals. She quickly got over with the fans in a “psycho” gimmick and Women’s Title run, which she embraced, using it to bring the division to the next level. She was one of the first women to compete in Hardcore matches, Street Fights and Steel Cage matches during this time. Before Victoria, matches like these were practically unheard of for the Divas.
Her in-ring skills continued to develop as she incorporated new moves into her move-set and she eventually got a second title run where she shaved Molly Holly’s head bald at WrestleMania XX, making for one of the Mania’s most memorable moments.
Recognized as one of the best workers in the division, Victoria put over talent and had a few wins here and there. Once she returned to a heel role, she dominated the division and worked with the new Diva Search Divas, helping them transition from models to wrestlers. I truly believe that they all benefitted from working matches with Victoria and that we wouldn’t have seen many of them excel as they did if it wasn’t for her.
Victoria was also one of the only Divas to have a proper send-off following a match with Michelle McCool in 2009, getting the rare opportunity to deliver parting words to the audience. Since then, Victoria remains friendly with the WWE, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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Molly Holly
Molly entered wrestling at a very young age in WCW, where right away she was aligned with the legendary Macho Man. However, it wasn’t until she joined the WWE that she really got to show what she could do.
Molly’s popularity grew when she was involved in a storyline with Spike Dudley, granting her the opportunity to work with the biggest names in the company. She also quickly became recognized as one of the best female wrestlers in the company.
Once she fully embraced her heel persona, Molly created a prude character, which the fans loved to hate. Her matches with Trish Stratus brought attention to the division and led Molly to win the Women’s Title.
Molly had another successful run with the title in 2003, which led her to break out even more as a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps one of Molly’s most notable moments was when she voluntarily had her head shaved after losing a match at WrestleMania XX. Now that’s dedication.
Molly left the company in 2005 due to a cancer scare and has been quietly living her life outside wrestling. Her appearance at WrestleMania Axxess last year has lead fans to speculate on her status with the company, and an appearance on the WWE’s Table for 3 program only fueled that fire.
Molly was one of the WWE’s hardest workers and one of the few they kept around after releasing most of their wrestlers in favor of models in 2004. Always willing to do what it takes to put on a show, Molly deserves the honor of being in the WWE Hall of Fame. Hopefully she doesn’t have to sacrifice her hair for that particular honor!
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Mickie James
Mickie James really took the ball and ran with it. She was thrown into a high profile Diva storyline within days of entering the company and showed she could bring the character and the ring work to back it up.
Quickly gaining popularity with the fans for her crazy antics, Mickie won the Women’s Title in arguably the match of the night at WrestleMania 22. Once Trish and Lita left the company in 2006, Mickie grabbed that brass ring and carried the women’s division for months.
Mickie was consistently one of the WWE’s best workers and most popular Divas for years, putting on epic matches with Melina, Beth Phoenix and more.
Is this her year to go into the WWE Hall of Fame? Possibly. Will she eventually get there? Definitely.
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Michelle McCool
I was not at all a Michelle fan when she first came into the WWE, but she proved me wrong. Michelle worked her ass off to become a legitimate wrestler, and she achieved that in spades, making history by becoming the first woman to hold the Divas Championship.
She broke out as the ultimate heel when she aligned with Layla, and the two dominated the women’s division. Michelle also was the first woman to hold both the Divas and Women’s Championship, unifying the two titles. It’s as if her entire career was filled with Hall of Fame-worthy moments.
Michelle left the company in 2011 after losing a “Loser Leaves Town” match to Layla, but she accomplished a lot in her 7-year career.
I worry that Michelle may also suffer from the same problem as Sable, with the WWE not wanting to acknowledge her real life marriage. Michelle is, of course, married to The Undertaker, who the WWE doesn’t exactly like to portray as lovey-dovey.
It may also be a bit too early for McCool: Trish and Lita had to wait about seven years before being inducted, and McCool has only been gone for about five. I for sure think Michelle is a Hall of Famer, but when?
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Eve Torres
Eve is one of WWE’s best Divas ever, in my opinion. What I love about Eve is, by watching her weekly, you could see her progression in real time. She began as just a Diva Search winner, but quickly grew into a memorable character and in-ring performer.
Even in her early matches, she impressed by busting out standing moonsaults and showing off her athleticism. Eve has also won the Divas Title on a record three occasions, a fact Michael Cole never lets us forget. So far, only AJ Lee has matched that feat.
Her in-ring skills improved and evolved throughout her career and she went from being a pretty babyface to an instant heel in just weeks, which is a feat in itself. Eve was also an excellent PR rep for WWE and a true role model for young girls.
Like McCool, it may be a bit early for Eve, but with her current Legends contract, an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame is surely inevitable.
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Chyna
I know, highly unlikely, but how could I not put together an article on hopeful WWE Hall of Fame inductions without including the 9th Wonder of the World?
Triple H even said it himself: Chyna deserves it. He also gave us a BS reasoning as to why the WWE can’t induct her. As we’ve seen in the recent headlines, though, WWE Hall of Famers don’t always make the best personal decisions, so why should we hold her post-WWE career against her? She’s been cleaning up her act and deserves a second chance.
I don’t need to say it, but she had quite an accomplished career in the WWE: she’s a three-time Intercontinental Champion, a former Women’s Champion and the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble, the King of the Ring tournament and the only woman to be crowned number one contender to the WWE Championship. She reached a level no woman has ever reached in the WWE and even became a legitimate celebrity in 1999 to 2001.
It’s high time the WWE stops ignoring the obvious: Chyna deserves this induction. The hypocrisy needs to end. Chyna needs to be in the Hall of Fame.
I would love to see any of these women inducted this year. Of course, there are multiple other women who deserve the induction: Lilian Garcia, Vickie Guerrero, Beth Phoenix, Melina, Jazz and Torrie Wilson, to name a few, but I feel these are this year’s strongest candidates.
I personally cannot wait to see who will be the next Diva Hall of Famer.
