Peacockery Pick: WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars Episode Three (20-11)

It’s the third episode of WWE’s 2021 50 Greatest Women Superstars series. You can catch part one here and part two here.

Remember the time frame is 1993 to February 2021. Last episode we saw Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky who would all be higher two years later.

Our host is Sarah Schriber.

20 – Natalya: I expected her higher, really. Following in the footsteps of her father Jim Neidhart, Natalya debuted in 2008. In 2010, she won the Divas Title. She would be a steady force in numerous alliances, such as the Hart Dynasty and the Divas of Doom. She was in the first Divas table match, Money in the Bank match, and women’s Royal Rumble. She also won the first women’s match in Saudi Arabia. She launched a role outside the company as a key player on Total Divas.

Since this aired, Nattie has continued her typical role as a standard in the women’s divisions, challenging for every women’s title on every brand including a shot at Becky Lynch’s NXT Women’s Title. She won the Women’s Tag hood with Tamina. She holds six Guinness World Records and, just as importantly, has a social media manager named Bob who at times wreaks havoc. Bob is cool.

19 – AJ: AJ burst into the WWE scene as part of FCW, but gained attention on NXT season three. She took a turn after her relationship with Daniel Bryan ended, becoming the “crazy chick” (in the words of the narrator) and becoming Raw GM. She won the Divas Title from Kaitlyn, then would have the record-setting reign of 295 days. Some, such as the narrator, would say she set the tone for the upcoming Diva’s Evolution.

AJ has largely stayed away from the ring since, but served as producer and color commentator for the new rendition of WOW. She wrote a book that made the New York Times bestseller list and has been busy writing comic books ever since.

18 – Shayna Baszler: The Queen of Spades made her WWE debut in the Mae Young Classic, where she quickly became dominant in the NXT women’s division. She won the women’s title at a TakeOver from Ember Moon, defending it successfully against women like Bianca Belair. She won it a second time from Kairi Sane, and left NXT as its longest reigning Women’s Champion. She joined Raw and dominated an Elimination Chamber match, earning a title shot against Becky Lynch at the empty-arena WrestleMania. She became a two-time Women’s Tag Champion with Nia Jax.

Shayna continues having ups and downs in WWE following this list. Most notably, she teamed with Ronda Rousey to win the Women’s Tag Titles, which they would then unify with the NXT versions. They would break up and Shayna would win a MMA rules match, sending Ronda off into temporary retirement.

17 – Paige: The Anti-Diva, Paige stood out quickly in NXT. She won the inaugural NXT Women’s Title tournament, then competed at NXT’s first live special. She showed up on Raw, winning the Diva’s Title from AJ on her first night. She would hold the title several times and be one of the faces of the Evolution. Neck injuries would lead to retirement, but remains an influential figure in WWE to “this day.”

Paige would announce her departure from WWE in 2022 and then appear in AEW under her real name, Saraya. She would join Ruby Soho and Toni Storm as the Outcasts and win the AEW Women’s gold at All In and lose in a few months later.

16 – Sable: Arriving in 1996 with Marc Mero (skipping the Triple H thing), her popularity quickly outshadowed Mero. He became jealous, causing her to finally leave him. She challenged him to a match on Raw and she rocketed from there. She won the Women’s Title in 1998 from Jacqueline, then changed into a vanity-led character. She did Playboy, TV shows and became the biggest female star of the Attitude era.

Sable has largely disappeared from the public eye, enjoying a very private life with husband Brock Lesnar.

15 – Molly Holly: Molly appeared as the third Holly cousin. Molly formed a romance with Spike Dudley, which quickly caused tension with the Hollys and Dudleys. Molly defeated Crash in a match we don’t talk about enough. She evolved into Mighty Molly for a bit before becoming a pure, wholesome contender for the Women’s Title. She would go on to win the title at King of the Ring from Trish Stratus. She’d have another shot at it at WrestleMania, losing the match and her hair in a memorable moment against Victoria. She would return to WWE occasionally, including in the first women’s Rumble.

Following this special, she would join the WWE Hall of Fame. She has done backstage roles in the time since.

14 – Victoria: A fitness competitor, Victoria caught WWE’s attention and debuted her with Trish Stratus on Heat. They competed in one of the first women’s hardcore matches (go watch it), winning the Women’s Title. They had another great match, the first women’s street fight, also won by Victoria. She competed in the first women’s cage match against Lita and the aforementioned Title vs Hair match. She won numerous titles and had a great WWE run before announcing her retirement in 2009. She reappeared for the 2021 Rumble and is seen as a pioneer in the WWE women’s division.

Outside of this, she’s probably best known for her time as Tara in TNA, with five Knockouts Titles to her name. She returned to Impact TV in 2023 in a losing effort with Gisele Shaw against the Death Dollz.

13 – Alexa Bliss: Beginning her career in NXT, Alexa was drafted to SmackDown. She honed her heel character, winning their Women’s Title in a tables match against Becky Lynch. She became the first woman to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles, also finding success in the Elimination Chamber. She won Money in the Bank, cashing in on Nia Jax and winning the tag titles with Nikki Cross. She hosted WrestleMania and became the first woman to host a WWE talk show, A Moment of Bliss. She found her way into the Firefly Funhouse in 2020, having the time of her life playing a spooky version of herself.

Post-special airing, Bliss continued her run with the Fiend, winning an Intergender match against Randy Orton at Fastlane. She would break away but continue to be spooky, bringing Lily into her character. She would win a 24/7 Title before returning to the side of Bray Wyatt (kinda), losing a Rumble match to Bianca Belair. She would also regularly express his disappointment with the company’s irregular use of her, which was a fair argument. She’s out on maternity leave now, with a child coming soon.

12 – Mickie James: A mainstay in sports entertainment for two decades, she joined WWE in OVW before appearing in 2005 as a Trish-obsessed fan. She would show off her talent quickly as well as her acting skills in the Trish storyline. She would win the Women’s Title in a great match at Mania against Trish. She would win more titles before returning to WWE during the Evolution period. Longevity, consistency and passion have led to Mickie being one of the best ever.

She was released in 2021 with the notorious “belongings in a trash bag” incident, which lead to her return to Impact. She won the Knockouts Title again, then crossed over into a one-night WWE return to the Royal Rumble complete with title and “Hardcore Country” music. She began her “Last Rodeo” run in Impact but had to relinquish the title due to injury. She just had a great match with Trinity.

11 – Beth Phoenix: Exploding onto Raw in 2006, Beth would quickly show off her power. An injury took her down to OVW, where she wrestled in the first women’s ladder match. A year later she reappeared, winning the Women’s Title. She found success in the unlikely pairing with Santino Marella, while adding more titles to her resume and having killer matches. She became a Hall of Famer she had a WrestleMania tag match with Natalya as well as joining the NXT commentary team.

Beth has remained in the WWE, mainly making sporadic appearances with Edge. They had a mixed tag match with Miz & Maryse as well as Rhea Ripley & Finn Balor. Edge has since left the company, debuting in AEW with Beth in his entrance vocals. She also released a music EP in 2021 via the WWE Music label.

And with that, we wait to hit the top ten in the next episode. Is it shaping up the way you’d expect?