Miss Elizabeth made her WWE debut in 1985 as the surprise manager of Macho Man Randy Savage and caused a sensation. Little did fans know that Miss Elizabeth would prove to be a trailblazer in terms of how managers/valets were presented and that a lot of the work Elizabeth and Savage did together would be oft-repeated in pro wrestling for decades to come.
In 1996, Miss Elizabeth would end up in World Championship Wrestling for a run that would last about four years and see Elizabeth do new things in her new home promotion. But where did Miss Elizabeth do her best work: during the “Golden Era” of WWE, or in WCW during the Monday Night War?
10 WCW: Continuing The Ric Flair Angle
One of the last storylines of Miss Elizabeth’s WWE run involved WWE Champion Ric Flair using his (kayfabe) romantic past with her to get into the head of challenger Randy Savage, which culminated at WrestleMania VIII. Elizabeth would disappear from wrestling soon after that, only to resurface in WCW in 1996, managing Savage again only to betray him in favor of Flair. Eventually, the onscreen Savage/Elizabeth relationship would be put to bed, and Elizabeth would go through a couple of stints managing Flair, signaling that The Nature Boy ultimately won the feud.
9 WWE: Macho Man Relationship was Iconic
It can’t be understated how iconic the Randy Savage/Miss Elizabeth configuration is. Her introduction was treated like a huge moment by WWE at the time, and her relationship with Savage was the crux of pretty much all of Savage’s major storylines.
So many of Savage’s decisions -- heel or face -- were motivated by his feelings for Miss Elizabeth, and their relationship offered some serious emotional highs, like their reunion following Savage’s “retirement” match at WrestleMania VII.
8 WCW: Worked Heel
While Miss Elizabeth was Randy Savage’s manager during his heel era, Elizabeth was never a heel herself, and fans were usually on her side over the years in WWE. However, in WCW, that changed.
1996 marked her first actual heel turn when she became Ric Flair’s manager, a run that would continue with her joining the nWo later that year. This marked Elizabeth venturing into new territory that she might not have necessarily done working as a pure babyface manager.
7 WWE: The Mega Powers Explode
It can’t be forgotten how important Miss Elizabeth was to the “Mega Powers” storyline between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Elizabeth was the one who sought Hulk Hogan’s aid to rescue Savage from attack, and Savage’s intense jealousy would ultimately lead to him turning on Hogan, leading to their classic WrestleMania V match. Nothing Elizabeth took part in during her WCW run -- even her betrayal of Savage -- ever had that kind of effect.
6 WCW: Wrestled Actual Matches
In WWE, Miss Elizabeth was strictly a manager, and not exactly a physical force. She was able to provide a distraction like when she infamously ripped off her skirt, but otherwise, she was often attacked or menaced by heels during Savage’s babyface period. That could have continued in WCW, but instead, Elizabeth got surprisingly physical during that run, physically interfering in matches and even wrestling a couple of bouts herself. While they weren’t exactly competitive contests, fans were being treated to a new side of Miss Elizabeth.
5 WWE: Peak Years
Miss Elizabeth’s years in WWE not only introduced her to the wrestling world but saw her at the peak of her popularity. WWE was hitting the first of two all-time highs in the 1980s, and Miss Elizabeth’s presence certainly contributed to that, as many fans consider her as crucial to the show as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. By contrast, she showed up in WCW during that company’s peak but could hardly be considered a notable character during those years, even as she worked with some of the same wrestlers she did during her WWE run.
4 WCW: Worked With Other Characters
Unlike in WWE, Miss Elizabeth’s management position in WCW was not limited to Randy Savage. Her management of Ric Flair has already been covered, but she also managed wrestlers with who she didn’t have previously established WWE relationships.
Beyond the aforementioned, Elizabeth also managed Kevin Nash and Lex Luger during her time in WCW. For a brief period, she managed Luger and Flair together as a group called Team Package. While it may not have been as iconic as the Macho Man stuff, it at least felt like she was entering new territory.
3 WWE: Not Just Another Name
The problem with Elizabeth in WCW is the problem of numerous ex-WWE talent in the promotion -- they’d been hired by WCW in droves and were often underutilized or misused As a result, Miss Elizabeth could easily be perceived as just another WWE person brought in for star power to bolster WCW’s position in the Monday Night War. Considering a lot of her relationships on the show were based on angles from prior years, it was difficult to NOT view it as WCW playing off of stuff WWE had already built.
2 WCW: Safe From Jake Roberts
The year 1991 was pretty eventful for Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage. They not only got engaged and married but then Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Undertaker invaded their reception. From there, Elizabeth was always in physical danger from Roberts, who actually slapped her and one time prepared to bash her with a steel chair. In WCW, Elizabeth -- despite getting more physical than she had in WWE -- never seemed in such grave physical danger like she had in WWE. This is because there was no Jake Roberts, who was such a good heel that it was easy for fans to believe that he was actually going to harm her.
1 WWE: The Original Home of Miss Elizabeth
For many fans, what a performer did in their peak years outweighs any other era of the character, regardless of quality. For fans who grew up with the Golden Era, that iteration of Miss Elizabeth is the only version of the character that “matters.” After all, WWE is where she was introduced, and it’s that run that informed her WCW run. The WWE Miss Elizabeth is a classic one, and it’s a tall order to attempt to compete with that.