In this day and age, most WWE Divas make their ring entrances to near silence, and their matches are often treated as bathroom breaks. Unfortunately, women in the wrestling business are not treated as priority, so it has has been an uphill battle for most to get over with fans over the last few years. Despite this, over the course of Raw’s 1000 episode history, certain women were popular enough to compete with the reactions of their male counterparts. Certain women could give the likes of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, and others a run for their money… Whether being met with roof blowing cheers, or being booed out of the arena.
Instead of doing a Top WWE Raw Divas of all time, or Top WWE Diva Raw moments of all time—in celebration WWE Raw’s 1000th Episode, Lethalwow.com instead decided to rank the Top 5 Most-Over WWE Divas in Raw History. These five women all had unique qualities that fans could connect to. This helped to put their popularity above all the rest…
1. Sable (Rena Mero-Lesnar)
—Looking back at any video of Sable on Raw during The WWF Attitude Era, one thing sticks out… the roars of the arena, as the crackling of the whip and the tiger roars in her entrance music. As she made her way to the ring, arenas would be on their feet, as rowdy as they would be for Stone Cold Steven Austin or The Rock. WWF fans would consistently chant her name, especially during her feud against Marc Mero and Jacqueline. How many Divas in WWE Raw history can claim to have crowd reaction like Sable has? or arenas filled with fans chanting their name?… maybe Chyna, maybe Lita, but no one else really comes close. There was electricity in the air everywhere this woman went, she personified what the WWF Attitude Era was about. From Power Bombing Marc Mero on the May 11, 1998 episode of Raw is War, or throwing up middle fingers to Vince McMahon on the July 27, 1998 episode of WWF Raw is War. The WWE universe adored her. Sable was a take no nonsense sex kitten. At that time, fans had not seen women built like models, who could mix it up in the ring. Although Sable fell into competing into the ring, without training, she paved the way for sexy women, who could wrestle.
2. Chyna
—Like Sable, Chyna‘s popularity skyrocketed during The WWF Attitude Era. She was over whether she was a babyface or heel. Booking her to be physically able to compete against male wrestlers instantly put her over with fans. Chyna could be seen on Raw from 1997 to 2001, and one of the Top Superstars of the promotion of that period. Like with Sable, she was unique… fans were ecstatic for something that had not been done before. She was without a doubt rightfully named “The Ninth Wonder of The World.” During this time, Chyna became a household name.
3. Lita (Amy Dumas)
—If any chants rivaled Sable’s, it was Lita chants. Raw after Raw, fans were on their feet as Lita’s music hit. Not only was she over as a babyface for the majority of her Raw appearances, but she was the most hated woman in the WWE upon her exit. Her popularity among fans saw her booked in countless WWE Raw moments. Main Eventing Raw episodes such as July 31, 2000, where she teamed with The Rock to defeat Trish Stratus and Triple H, or the August 21, 2000 episode of RAW is WAR, where she defeated Stephanie McMahon to win the Women’s Championship for the first time. Like with Sable and Chyna, Lita brought something unique to WWE Raw. Most fans had never witness a female doing high-risk moves such as Hurricanranas and Moonsaults.
4. Trish Stratus
—From the get go, the sex appeal of Trish Stratus put her over early in her career. But her growth from a pretty face to a full-fledged wrestler took her popularity to greater heights, where today she is often named as one of the greatest Women’s Wrestlers of all time. Like with Lita and Chyna, she was as equally over as a heel, as she was as a babyface. Countless Raw moments contributed to making her one of the most-over women in WWE history. Trish was ranked #1 on Lethalwow’s Top 10 Former WWE Divas who should appear on Raw’s 1,000th Episode.
5. Sunny (Tammy Lynn Sytch)
—Looking back at WWE Hall-of-Famer Sunny in her heyday, she was far from the modern day cookie-cutter WWE Divas that we see today. While her sex appeal did help to get her over (Being AOL’s Most Downloaded Woman of the Year in 1996 can attest to that), it was her charisma that helped her popularity soar. Despite her limitations of not wrestling, her ability to work a crowd on the mic, set her apart from other women in Raw’s grand history. Before Sunny, women got on the mic in-ring, and cut backstage promos (Luna Vachon, Sensational Sherri, Alundra Blayze, etc.), but Sunny had charisma as a talker like no other.
—This rank was originally scheduled to be a Top 15; however, shortened due to time constraints. Women considered for the Top 15 included:
–Stephanie McMahon
–Vickie Guerrero
–Stacy Keibler
–Torrie Wilson
–Mickie James
–Alundra Blayze
–Kelly Kelly
–Ivory–in Right To Censor
–Melina Perez
–AJ
–Debra McMichael
