Wrestling Divas That Had Goods Looks But No Talent and Ones Who Were Talented and Attractive?

[DitchMarner]

I'd say the following female performers were pure T and A and had no or very limited ability (mic, in-ring, acting, you name it):

Stacy Keibler
Torrie Wilson
Debra
Eve Torres (she was supposed to be sexy, I guess? Not sure why she was around for so long exactly)
Summer Rae
And Sable was perhaps the worst in this regard


The following were reasonably talented and had sex appeal as well in my opinion:

Lita
Ivory
Trish (in her era she was a solid worker by the end of her career - not saying she'd be able to hold her own against someone like Charlotte necessarily)



Then you have Chyna who wasn't particularly attractive or talented in the ring but had good presence and could do decent enough mic work and had impressive physical qualities. I found Stephanie McMahon sexy as f*** during the time of her heel turn in 1999. She was never a good wrestler but could definitely work a crowd and draw heat in her day.

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[JackSlater]

I never saw anything of value in Lita. In terms of charisma or value in vignettes/promos you'd have Sunny and Sherri Martel with legitimate talent. I give Trish Stratus good marks for promos and angles but she was always awful in the ring. Mickie James was good in angles. Even Missy Hyatt was charismatic for a few years. I liked AJ Lee in angles but she was also awful in the ring. I liked Awesome Kong's work as a powerhouse.

When it comes to WWF/WWE at least the women were consistently awful in ring, outside of the odd Japanese import, until around 2014. Some talented women (Flair, Lynch etc) pulled along some untalented women (Paige, Bellas etc.) to much better opportunities thereafter. WWE has a good number of talented in ring women at this point, it's a colossal leap to compare Asuka or Shirai or Ripley to anyone WWE ever had in ring before 2014.

 

[DitchMarner]

I never saw anything of value in Lita. In terms of charisma or value in vignettes/promos you'd have Sunny and Sherri Martel with legitimate talent. I give Trish Stratus good marks for promos and angles but she was always awful in the ring. Mickie James was good in angles. Even Missy Hyatt was charismatic for a few years. I liked AJ Lee in angles but she was also awful in the ring. I liked Awesome Kong's work as a powerhouse.

When it comes to WWF/WWE at least the women were consistently awful in ring, outside of the odd Japanese import, until around 2014. Some talented women (Flair, Lynch etc) pulled along some untalented women (Paige, Bellas etc.) to much better opportunities thereafter. WWE has a good number of talented in ring women at this point, it's a colossal leap to compare Asuka or Shirai or Ripley to anyone WWE ever had in ring before 2014.

I guess you may have a point about Trish and Lita.

I haven't watched too much early 2000s WWE since that time period. I was a teen then. I just remember that Lita was athletic and could do moves that were impressive from a female wrestler at the time. Of course, her rivals/contemporaries were the likes of Stacy and Torrie, so obviously the bar wasn't high at all. Trish really sucked at wrestling back then as well. Later on (circa 2006/2007), I didn't watch that often, but I remember her being a lot better. But that's not saying that much in and of itself. I think the WWE did push the idea that she had become really good at wrestling.

I should go back and watch some women's wrestling matches from the early, mid and late 2000s to see how they compare to female matches from today, I suppose.

 

[GKJ]

I don’t think Paige can be listed amongst the Bellas-era Divas. They moved her up without having enough people like her to work, and then by the time they got there, she got hurt and unraveled.

It was largely her work that got ‘The Women’ over to Vince and all to take them seriously. That’s a big reason she was pushed up so quickly. They had some workers on TV, they had Nattie, but Paige was the one who moved the needle.

It would be disingenuous to say that the rise of the women doesn’t happen without her (it just would’ve been later), but it had to start somewhere and they’ll all tell you it started with her. Sara Amato went from someone who refused to sign there to becoming their exclusive trainer within a year.

 

[JackSlater]

I don’t think Paige can be listed amongst the Bellas-era Divas. They moved her up without having enough people like her to work, and then by the time they got there, she got hurt and unraveled.

It was largely her work that got ‘The Women’ over to Vince and all to take them seriously. That’s a big reason she was pushed up so quickly. They had some workers on TV, they had Nattie, but Paige was the one who moved the needle.

It would be disingenuous to say that the rise of the women doesn’t happen without her (it just would’ve been later), but it had to start somewhere and they’ll all tell you it started with her. Sara Amato went from someone who refused to sign there to becoming their exclusive trainer within a year.

I'm aware that she was central to the "give divas a chance" thing, I just consider it very badly misplaced. Her work was bad, not because of who she was paired with but because Paige was not (and certainly is not today) a good wrestler. Still today I see a lot of wishful thinking when it comes to the fanbase and the female wrestlers, but there are legitimate talents now at least. It worked out by accident in my opinion because while the likes of Paige and the Bellas didn't really deserve more time, some of the women in the pipeline did. For what it's worth I don't think that Vince McMahon cared about the in ring work of the women or the men in most cases.

 

[Jussi]

I'm aware that she was central to the "give divas a chance" thing, I just consider it very badly misplaced. Her work was bad, not because of who she was paired with but because Paige was not (and certainly is not today) a good wrestler. Still today I see a lot of wishful thinking when it comes to the fanbase and the female wrestlers, but there are legitimate talents now at least. It worked out by accident in my opinion because while the likes of Paige and the Bellas didn't really deserve more time, some of the women in the pipeline did. For what it's worth I don't think that Vince McMahon cared about the in ring work of the women or the men in most cases.

I think NXT Paige was definitely a good wrestler.

 

[GKJ]

I'm aware that she was central to the "give divas a chance" thing, I just consider it very badly misplaced. Her work was bad, not because of who she was paired with but because Paige was not (and certainly is not today) a good wrestler. Still today I see a lot of wishful thinking when it comes to the fanbase and the female wrestlers, but there are legitimate talents now at least. It worked out by accident in my opinion because while the likes of Paige and the Bellas didn't really deserve more time, some of the women in the pipeline did. For what it's worth I don't think that Vince McMahon cared about the in ring work of the women or the men in most cases.

Vince cared eventually, he just couldn’t always be trusted to know it when he saw it. He wanted to cut Walter because he didn’t think he could work.

 

[JackSlater]

I think NXT Paige was definitely a good wrestler.

Maybe, but WWE Paige wasn't. I don't remember NXT Paige.

Vince cared eventually, he just couldn’t always be trusted to know it when he saw it. He wanted to cut Walter because he didn’t think he could work.

I'm not sure he did. Vince always wanted to make money and I think he at least knew that awful wrestling (by the standards of the time) could send people away. I do think that fans chanting for divas matches generated some interest from him. I never heard about Vince and Walter, but it doesn't shock given the many tales of Vince's tastes over the years plus Walter's physique.

 

[GKJ]

Maybe, but WWE Paige wasn't. I don't remember NXT Paige.



I'm not sure he did. Vince always wanted to make money and I think he at least knew that awful wrestling (by the standards of the time) could send people away. I do think that fans chanting for divas matches generated some interest from him. I never heard about Vince and Walter, but it doesn't shock given the many tales of Vince's tastes over the years plus Walter's physique.

I think they just used the chants and hashtags as a guise. As I remember it, when Ronda main evented for UFC is when Vince thought women could be a big draw and needed to give them runway.

 

[JackSlater]

I think they just used the chants and hashtags as a guise. As I remember it, when Ronda main evented for UFC is when Vince thought women could be a big draw and needed to give them runway.

I do believe that.

 

[boredmale]

My wrestling knowledge only goes till about 2005ish so apologies to current females who may apply.

Sherri Martel and Madusa Miceli(Alundra Blaze) were probably 2 of the best total package females Wrestlers in my memory. Madusa was a better wrestler, but Sherri's wrestling presence was on par with the top males in the business and was a decent enough wrestling.

While not classically beautiful, Luna Vachon as had a great ring presence and wrestling ability

ETA: I forgot Ivory, I always felt the WWF didn't push her harder because she was "only a 8" in a sea of 9s and 10s. But her wrestling ability was much better then her contemporaries

 

[Lindys Lazy Eye]

> Wrestling Divas That Had Goods Looks But No Talent

So we are clearly in a Sable thread.

 

[GKJ]

My wrestling knowledge only goes till about 2005ish so apologies to current females who may apply.

Sherri Martel and Madusa Miceli(Alundra Blaze) were probably 2 of the best total package females Wrestlers in my memory. Madusa was a better wrestler, but Sherri's wrestling presence was on par with the top males in the business and was a decent enough wrestling.

While not classically beautiful, Luna Vachon as had a great ring presence and wrestling ability

ETA: I forgot Ivory, I always felt the WWF didn't push her harder because she was "only a 8" in a sea of 9s and 10s. But her wrestling ability was much better then her contemporaries

Ivory was also in her late 30’s by the time she got there, it’s probably amazing she got as much as she did without Vince deciding she was too old. But she did manage to steer clear of a good bit of that stuff.

 

[sansabri]

i had such a crush on Victoria

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Mickie James is certainly in the talented and attractive category.

 

[TD Charlie]

I was a Layla guy back in the day.

The appearance debate is a weird one IMO. Diff'rent strokes diff'rent folks and all that.

Most of them in the attitude era couldn't work a match even close to what the women do today.

 

[Sheppy]

Mickie James is certainly in the talented and attractive category.

Her feud with Trish Stratus had 15 year old me in shambles.