Peacockery Pick: WWE 50 Greatest Women Superstars (episode five – 5-1)

We’ve had quite the ride, but today we finish off WWE’s 2021 “50 Greatest Women Superstars” series with the top five.

You can catch up with the previous parts here: 50-36, 35-21, 20-11, and 10-6.

Per usual, the period considered here is from 1993 to early 2021. Our host, for the last time, is Sarah Schriber.

5 – Asuka: The Empress of Tomorrow was introduced to us as the greatest competitor signed to NXT in 2015 by William Regal. She took Dana Brooke down at her first TakeOver and from there, it was off to the races. We see clips of her destroying the various women before being named #1 contender.

We jump forward to another TakeOver, with Bayley unsuccessfully defending her title against Asuka. It would become a recurring thing for Asuka, as she kept winning. Everyone from Nikki Cross to Ruby Riott went down to her. After a final TakeOver win against Ember Moon, Asuka relinquished the title undefeated – 523 days – and made the move to the main roster.

Asuka joined the Raw women’s division, keeping her undefeated streak alive and beating everyone. In 2018, she would enter and win the Royal Rumble by eliminating Nikki Bella. She set her eyes on Charlotte Flair.

914 days into her streak, Charlotte became the one to defeat her at WrestleMania. She would find her way to SmackDown and win their title, racking up numerous others including the Women’s Tag Titles with Kairi Sane. She won the 2020 Money in the Bank ladder match, surprisingly also winning the title due to Becky’s pregnancy.

523 days as champ, 914 day streak, multiple titles, and she’s not done yet.

Post-airing of this countdown, she is still doing things. She’s won more titles and just joined Damage Ctrl, finding her way into WarGames.

4 – Chyna: We first met Chyna as the unknown attacker of Marlena in 1997. Teaming with Hunter Hearst Helmsley, she was immediately like nothing we had seen before.

She became a founding member of D-Generation X. Fearful of no one, we see highlights of her beating up various men. She became the first woman to enter a Royal Rumble match and won the Intercontinental Championship from Jeff Jarrett at No Mercy.

She would make her WrestleMania in-ring debut in Texas, destroying Ivory to win her first Women’s Title.

Chyna completely changed the perception of women in WWE, and joined the Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside DX. Lots of people are still campaigning for her to get a solo spot.

Chyna passed before this series ended, though has been fondly remembered.

We take a look now at some of the women from past eras prior to the countdown era: Wendi Richter, Leilani Kai, Judy Martin, Fabulous Moolah, the Jumping Bomb Angels, Sensational Sherri, Rockin’ Robin, and Mae Young.

3 – Becky Lynch: Becky debuted in NXT in 2014, dancing and being very Irish. She found her steampunk look and challenged for the NXT Women’s Title at TakeOver.

Becky joined the main roster with the others, quickly making her mark. She had a shot at the Women’s Title at WrestleMania before finding her footing on SmackDown, becoming its first SmackDown Women’s Champion. She won it again from Charlotte, finding her heel side though the fans didn’t totally accept the turn.

She began calling herself The Man and boy, did it take off. We see the broken nose and the immediate rocket catapulting that came with it. She entered and won the Rumble, earning the WrestleMania title shot and becoming one of the first women to main event Mania. She would win that match against Charlotte and Ronda Rousey, ending the show as Becky Two-Belts and a certified star.

Two years after airing, she’s still the Man. She’s won a few more titles including the NXT Women’s Title, revitalizing it and elevating others across several shows. She has also written an autobiography releasing next year.

2 – Charlotte Flair: The Queen kicked off her reign with her NXT debut. She wouldn’t take long to show out, winning the NXT Women’s Title against Natalya.

She would join the evolution to Raw and, within two months, won the Divas Title from Nikki Bella. Her title would evolve into the Women’s Title, which would become hers at WrestleMania against Sasha and Becky. She competed in the first women’s Hell in a Cell before ending the 914-day undefeated streak of Asuka.

A year later, she would be one of three women to main event the show. In 2020, she won the Royal Rumble and went to WrestleMania, challenging and defeating Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Title.

With twelve reigns as Women’s Champion as well as a tag title, she’s one of the most decorated champions in WWE history.

Post-2021, that number of twelve has risen. She’s perpetually in the title picture, including losing a hell of a match to Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.

1 – Trish Stratus: This is the right pick! Canada’s greatest export, she debuted in 2000 with her cowboy hat with Test and Albert. She would find her way in-ring and quickly started running with it.

At Survivor Series 2001, she won a six-pack challenge to win her first Women’s Title. She competed in marquee matches including a title match at Mania in Toronto. A year later, she took the title again.

Quickly becoming one of the most respected talents in the company, she would become a cover star and win Diva of the Decade. She brought new eyes to the women’s division and was part of the first women’s main event of Raw.

At Unforgiven 2006, she would become the first seven-time women’s titleholder by winning her retirement match in front of a Canadian crowd, retiring as champion. She would be in the Hall of Fame shortly after.

Her passion has brought her back a few times, including the first women’s Rumble as #30. She ushered in the modern era for women and it’s hard to argue against this spot.

Trish had another comeback after this special, having a WrestleMania six-woman tag match against Damage Ctrl and having my match of the year, her stellar cage match against Becky Lynch.

And that’s our countdown. Do you agree with #1?