Over the past week, WWE announced the WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars in the modern era. The modern era is characterized as any superstar that wrestled post-1993. The rankings are based on, “in-ring accomplishments, championship victories, and creating legendary moments.”
The announcements came via WWE specials hosted by Sarah Schreiber, which aired on Peacock in the U.S. and WWE Network, internationally.
The list has caused the internet wrestling community to implode within itself and some very controversial rating selections have been the talk throughout social media. Although there are far more than five questionable decisions on this list, I have chosen to pick five to highlight.
The following are five glaring mistakes within the WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars ranking.
5. The Bellas Twins were ranked as a pair
Although the twins spent a good portion of the first half of their career working together as a tag team, or pulling the wool over the refs’ eyes with “twin magic”, for the sake of a top 50 list, the future Hall of Famers should have been listed as individuals.
Nikki is by far the more skilled wrestler in the ring and has had many more career moments than Brie. For several years, “Fearless” Nikki was at the top of the card and featured in many storylines without her wombmate. Nikki is a two-time Divas Champion, with the longest reign at 301 days. She also main evented Evolution pay-per view against Ronda Rousey.
Although Brie also held the Divas Championship, it was for just 70 days. As single stars, Nikki should rank much higher on the list than her sister.
4. Alicia Fox was missing from the ranking
Alicia Fox was a staple on WWE television, from her main roster debut in 2008, until she retired in 2019. During the “Divas Era”, Foxy was one of the most athletic and skilled women on the roster.
In 2010, Fox won the Divas Championship, and even though she only held the title for 56 days, she etched her name in the history books. She is the only Black woman to hold the butterfly belt.
This past Royal Rumble, she made a surprise return at #21, and regardless of being eliminated, she managed to pin R-Truth for a short stint as a 24/7 Champion. Alicia Fox deserves to be on the list of Greatest Women and WWE made a mistake not including her.
3. Sable was ranked too high on the list
My purpose of this list is not to bash or disrespect any women that has been featured on the list, but I feel a spot in the top 20 should be handed to a woman who is known for her in-ring skills, as well as her accomplishments.
Sable was very successful during her tenure with the company, but it was also an incredibly short sting, with only 41 matches in WWF under her belt. Sable did hold the Women’s Championship for an impressive 175 days, but only defended her championship twice before losing it to Debra at an episode of WWF RAW is WAR in May 1999.
Sable belongs on the list, but not placed at #16.
2. Ronda Rousey’s position on the list is head-spinning
Ronda Rousey was placed at #9 on the list and may be one of the biggest head scratchers on the list.
There is no doubt that Rousey accomplished a lot during her time in WWE, which included a reign of 231 days as RAW Women’s Champion. Along with Charlotte and Becky, Ronda headlined WrestleMania 35 in a history making moment. The problem with these achievements in context of the ranking, is that Ronda was only wrestling full-time for WWE for a year.
How can someone with such a short time in the ring compare to her listmates who have wrestled a decade or more? Rousey signing with the company was a huge move for WWE and brought media exposure that can’t be compared, but to be in the top 10 may just be a sign of keeping Ronda happy for a potential return to the squared circle.
- 1. Charlotte Flair wasn’t ranked at #1
Many people will be reading this and completely disagree with my argument that the Queen should have been the number one greatest women of WWE over Trish Stratus, who took the spot.
I can not deny the incredible career of Stratus and her accomplishments. I do, however, call WWE’s bluff. As stated by WWE, the rankings are based on three things: “in-ring accomplishments, championship victories, and creating legendary moments.”
The list has contradicted itself throughout, but now more so with ranking of Stratus over Flair.
Charlotte has 13 championship reigns under her belt, which is more than any woman in the history of the company. Trish has just 8. There is no argument that Trish changed the history of women in the ring and paved the way for even The Queen herself, but Charlotte has had so many more history making moments.
Flair has taken part in many women’s first-evers, including the first women’s main event of a pay-per-view at Hell in a Cell and the first-ever women’s main event match of WrestleMania.
At SummerSlam 2020, Charlotte defeated Trish Stratus, which was in my opinion a way for Trish to pass the torch to Charlotte as the greatest female superstar of all-time. By the definition of the basis on the raking system, Charlotte should have been ranked as number one.
What are your thoughts on Trish taking the number one spot? Do you have any other issues with the WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars ranking? Leave a comment below and let us know.
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