Melina belongs at the top of the list of women who have had underrated legacies in WWE. The company’s inconsistent and limited use of their women’s division for decades before the women’s revolution left many legends in the dark. Only the major stars like Trish Stratus and Lita get treated with the utmost respect for their prime work when WWE looks back at history.
Other comparable wrestlers like Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix and Natalya get the respect from WWE for their contributions. Melina leaving for many years apparently was enough for the company to not discuss her legacy beyond the cameos on legend-themed shows. But her overall skill set and accomplishments could make Melina the most underrated woman to ever work for WWE.
Melina Was A Great Heel In WWE
The start of Melina's WWE career featured her as the valet for the MNM faction, managing the tag team of Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro. Melina was arguably the most valuable of the three due to her personality and ability to contribute outside of matches. While Nitro and Morrison typically had impressive matches and were good talents, Melina was needed to cut the promos and make fans connect with their Hollywood-esque gimmick.
Melina continued to build star power when she moved into a bigger in-ring role. WWE trusted Melina to have a cross-promotion match between Raw and Smackdown at the Survivor Series 2005 event. Smackdown didn't have many wrestlers capable of longer matches and WWE showed trust in Melina facing Trish Stratus, the biggest female star in the business at the time. The progression of Melina continued to see her have more matches down the line.
MNM breaking up due to a wellness policy suspension for Mercury led to Nitro and Melina moving forward on their own. WWE pushed Melina as the top overall heel in the women's division after Stratus and Lita retired.
As a heel, Melina would would win the Women’s Championship multiple times, establishing herself as a leader of the women’s division at a time when WWE lost two of their most popular female performers. WWE witnessed Melina have strong programs as a heel against Mickie James and Candice Michelle.
Melina Could Also Be A Great Babyface
WWE eventually turned Melina face due to the audience starting to appreciate her. Even though she was booed as a heel, Melina had the respect of the audience as arguably the best worker and most impressive champion for the women’s division at the time. During this period, Melina had a partnership with Beth Phoenix which ended when Phoenix turned on her. The chemistry between the two was the most successful women’s wrestling feud in that time frame. WWE even booked an “I Quit” match between the two with successful results. Melina’s flexibility allowed Beth to place her in moves that no one could have imagined. The feud was designed to get over Phoenix as a new star, but Melina’s work did more to make that happen than anything else.
An injury took Melina off television for a short time until she returned and got her revenge on Beth by winning the Women’s Championship. The later merging of the two women’s titles saw the Divas Championship becoming the top prize in the division. Melina thrived as a face and won the Butterfly title twice in feuds with Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox. There was even a story about the male wrestlers being upset that Melina and McCool outshined them.
WWE Should Acknowledge Melina's Legacy
WWE not celebrating the career of Melina as much as the other top female performers from her time is a bit odd. Rumors of backstage issues with the women’s division and a perceived bad attitude ended Melina’s WWE run faster than expected with when the company released her in 2011. After a short stint on the independent circuit, Melina left the wrestling business for many years to attend college before returning to the business in 2015.
In 2019, Melina joined NWA and has since become a member of Impact Wrestling's roster as well. Like in years past, Melina can still perform at a high level, but it's her star power and connection with the fans are that put her over the top. A loyal fan base clearly still wants to see Melina have one more run before officially hanging up the boots.
WWE needs to rectify this by placing her in the Hall of Fame over the next few years. Many of the inductees don’t compare to Melina’s success and general accomplishments. The talent of Melina has helped her have major success in every situation, from wrestler to manager, face to heel, and everything in between. Melina’s legacy deserves a stronger spotlight for how important she was to women’s wrestling when the WWE division needed someone to step up.