Your Two Cents is our interactive feature where we ask for the opinions of our Twitter and Facebook followers.
This week, we’re asking this: Who has left the most lasting legacy on women’s wrestling? We’ve read your responses on our social media pages and picked some of the best submissions to highlight here on the website. As always, you can join the debate by leaving your comments!
- Adam DeSoto: I’m going to go out a limb here and say Mildred Burke! I recently watched the documentary Lipstick & Dynamite and she was named dropped numerous of times of inspiring the “lady wrestlers” of their time to pursue the sport.
- Alfie Gayagoy: Sherri Martel, in my opinion. Not only was she a champion, herself, but whomever she managed won gold as well. No matter if they were main eventers like :Macho King: Randy Savage or tag teams like Harlem Heat, for the most part they won championships and became Hall of Fame destined. Her mic skills were also incomparable to any other female in sports entertainment history.
- Alex Ginyard: First off, Chyna, and of course, Lita and Trish Stratus.
- Brandon Tyler Henderson: I really feel Jacqueline goes under the radar. A lot of what happened with women’s wrestling in WWF/E would not have been possible without her and Sable (i.e. the revival of the Women’s Championship, a chance for women of color who weren’t named Sapphire to get a break, like Jazz and Alicia Fox, the idea of the Divas Championship in general because if there was no Women’s Title, there’d be no Divas Title to counter it when the brands were split). Everything has a domino effect and Jackie played a huge role that I feel even WWE doesn’t recognize any other time besides Black History Month. Not a race issue, just kind of a fact.
- Cameron Gee: The Fabulous Moolah. You can trace every facet of what women do in professional wrestling back to Moolah; from managerial duties to wrestling of course. The women who she trained ended up training your favorite female wrestler’s favorite female wrestler lol. Her lineage is undeniable.
- @DivasHeaven_com: To me it’s Lita. She showed that you don’t have to change who you are to achieve your dreams.
- Elleirbag Gnik: Mae Young and Moolah are names to be mentioned. I also have to give credit to Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano. Trish and Lita are probably the most mentioned names for good reason. I have to credit to my underrated idols Jacqueline and Molly Holly. I look up to the women to this day as my wrestling idols. Victoria too.
- @GildingToxic: I gotta say Trish because every time a Diva of today is asked about a dream match, she’s the answer.
- Jonathan Carmona: Stephanie McMahon. She has been a prominent character in WWE TV for more than a decade. Whether as a character, authority figure or occasional wrestler she has done amazing things for women wrestling and owns everything she does. She is a queen! I can wait until she is in total control of the WWE.
- Matthew Brown: Definitely Trish and Lita. They both have done legendary and unforgettable things during their wrestling career which no woman has ever done before and they proved to the world that they weren’t just a sex symbol, they were hardcore women who could go hard in the ring and get battered and beaten but still get back up fighting! Without them, the Divas of today wouldn’t be given some of the opportunities they have been given.
- @missangel6801: I’m torn between Alundra Blayze and Luna Vachon. Luna was the first to prove looks doesn’t get you to the top. Madusa is the best.
- Ryan Tucker: Mae Young and Fabulous Moolah, because without them there would be no Alundra Blayze, Miss Elizabeth, Stacy Keibler, Torrie Wilson, Trish Stratus, Lita or AJ Lee.
- Steven Fillmore: It’s impossible to name just one because many female wrestlers contributed different things. The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young pioneered women’s wrestling. Chyna broke down barriers between the genders in a male dominated industry. Trish Stratus helped break the stigma of models turned wrestlers allowing a different group of women to become professional wrestlers. Without Lita and her original look and high risk move set, women’s wrestling may have never evolved.
And now we turn it over to you…
Give us your two cents! Who has had the most lasting legacy?
The Women in Wrestling Expo and its Lasting Legacy event take place Saturday, May 23rd in Wilmington, North Carolina. For more information, visit MastersofRingRntertainment.com.
