This is an easy one to set up. We ran the men’s version of this a few weeks back, so honestly doing the women’s edition is overdue. The rules are simple. Each of the writers will give their four submissions, and explain why, and we will go from there.

Dorathy Gass:

I naively thought doing the Mount Rushmore for the Women of Wrestling might be a tad easier, but sadly it wasn’t. Wish there was more space, for more names. Still, I’m going to go with: Mae Young, Alundra Blayze, Chyna, and Trish Stratus. Mae Young, as she was a true pioneer of women’s wrestling and paved the way for the the other women on this list. Alundra Blayze showed a passion for wanting to shift the direction of women’s wrestling in the WWE, and was brought in during a time when the division needed a stirring up; and stirring up the women’s division is exactly what she did. She was also the first real spark that ignited the Monday Night Wars between WCW and WWE when she showed up on Nitro and ditched the WWE Women’s title in the trash can; something that created a huge controversy, and earned a huge spot in pro wrestling history. While Chyna has unfortunately buried herself in the past few years due to drugs, porn, and her crazy YouTube and Twitter rants, during her time in the WWE squared circle, she undeniably revolutionized the way women were viewed in sports entertainment. Known at the “Ninth Wonder of the World”, she was a founding member of DX (one of the greatest wrestling stables of all time), she was the only women to hold the Intercontinental Championship, and was the first woman to participate in the King of the Ring events and the Royal Rumble. As well, she was once a number one contender to the WWE title (then WWF title). Chyna proved she could hold her own up against the men, and really changed the game for female competitors. Last, but not least, Trish Stratus broke WWE records, and proved that a beautiful woman could be eye candy, and wrestle as well. Trish’s resume proves she is not  only truly worthy of her WWE Hall of Fame induction, but a spot on my Mount Rushmore as well: 7-time WWE Women’s Champion (the record for this title), she won ‘Diva of the Decade’, and she was also once Hardcore Champion. Honourable mentions go out to The Fabulous Moolah, Wendi Richter, and Lita; wish there was more space to include all the incredible women who have etched their spot in women’s wrestling history.

John Deegan:

My four weren’t easy choices, but they also probably weren’t as hard as I thought they would be.

First and foremost? The Fabulous Moolah. No, I never got to see her in her prime-my exposure to her, sadly, was more along the lines of the more comedic fare WWE had her involved in later in her career. But, I still paid attention, and no matter how fabricated you think it might be, she’s still considered to be the longest reigning champion, and that counts for something.

Second on my list? Trish Stratus. Trish came to WWE with a background in the fitness realm, one of many past and present WWE talents who came to the ring in a not-so-direct path. She had some amazing matches with my third submission…

Lita. A recent Hall of Fame inductee, her career was one I would call that of subtle brilliance. She may not have enjoyed tremendous longevity, but when she was on her game, she was big a women’s star as WWE had in the past 20 years. Her addition here is well deserved.

My fourth? This was probably the hardest spot, and I was torn between two. The runner up here was Stacy Kiebler. The winner? Sable. And no, not because her husband could kick anyone’s rear. Because she was one of the first women that really pushed WWE into the Divas era. She was a competent in-ring performer, though she did gain more notoriety through her valet talents. She was one of the sex symbols viewers turned in to see (as well as paid to look at in Playboy).

In fairness, the fourth slot could have gone to a lot of women, from the legends like Mae Young, or others like Sherri Martel. And yes, I even gave consideration to current or recent stars like AJ Lee or the Bellas. But in the end, I am pretty pleased with my four (and certainly my top three).

Joseph Lisnow:

­­­My four involve two generations of female wrestlers—where the word respect keeps coming to mind. They are the pioneers from over 50 years ago and the Attitude Era. As of now, nobody in this current generation (whatever it’s called) have shown that they are ready to be the face of women’s wrestling.

Fabulous Moolah. Though her title reign never last decades like the WWE portrayed on TV, she was the top drawing female for her time. Come to think of it, there aren’t many female wrestlers that come to mind until around 1980. It was mostly a male dominated sport, but she proved otherwise.

Mae Young. If there was ever someone who cared for pro wrestling it was Mae Young. Whether she was giving birth to a hand, getting naked on a pay per view or wrestling in nine different decades (which is crazy if you think about it) she was always a delight to see on TV.

Lita. From her look to highflying moves, Lita changed how fans viewed women in a wrestling ring. She could compete with any guy and make them look good in a match. She was extremely over by being a manager for the Hardy Boyz, lover of Edge and her ability to wrestle with anyone put in the ring beside her.

Trish Stratus. My favorite diva of all time was and still is Trish Stratus. She started as a valet with little potential and slowly gained the fans respect by working hard. She won the women’s championship a record seven times and is role model for anyone.

Stephen Nixon:

My Women’s Mount Rushmore is going to be different than others, but it’s probably because of the era I grew up in. Based on my age, these 4 wrestlers are the one’s that I remember from my childhood, with AJ Lee being the most recent. This Mount Rushmore could probably change in 15 years because the current revolution of women’s wrestler is amazing and Charlotte could end up being one of the greats of all-time. Trish Stratus is an obvious choice for this list because of her long reigns as the women’s champion and because she took the division out of being only about bra and panties and was able to be a main event performer with Lita on RAW. As Stratus’ biggest rival, Lita easily makes the list. Her high flying ways changed women’s wrestling forever and she was amazing to watch. Chyna is someone who may get heat for being on this list but she deserves it. She is someone else who changed the game because of her size and demeanor and as a result, she should be on this list, or she’d probably just beat me up. AJ Lee was the best thing within the divas division for the last few years and when she left, it felt like the whole division would fall apart. Because of her long title reigns and great in ring ability, AJ Lee is one of the greats and will one day be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

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