The Attitude Era is what established the craziness for wrestling today, as it was built with so many memorable moments and superstars that one couldn’t help but get a viewing of the very entertaining shows. The Divas were a part of that entertainment, sometimes a bit on the erotic side, but these divas established women’s wrestling in the WWE and paved the way for many others to come in and build it to a stronger level. They created the platform on which many aspiring women wrestlers can walk through and even though their way of attracting audiences was not always ‘ethical’, they did it nonetheless.
The Divas rise in the company started during this era as they were a source of attraction for the company for the sexiness they added to it. Many women before this era had heralded women’s wrestling into success like Alundra Blayze and The Fabulous Moolah, but women in the WWE weren’t taken seriously because of their ‘inferior athletic’ bodies compared to their male counter-parts. The Attitude Era changed all this, as WWE’s obsession at thwarting WCW made them go all out in trying to get the attention of the people as they started to show the Divas in a more revealing manner with more personal rivalries.
The Divas weren’t shy about gaining their own spotlight and put on some memorable acts for the crowd and slowly gained momentum on their own. Be it as the manager of some wrestler or maybe wrestling on their own, these Divas not only wrestled, but also added entertainment value to the show with the Evening Gown or Bra and Panties matches. Even though their rise wasn’t exactly technical, they did soon make a name for themselves and made sure everyone took women seriously in the wrestling business. Some of the top Divas of the Attitude Era had success after departing from the company, while others had to go on their own ways.
26 13. Ryan Shamrock (then)
Alicia Webb had debuted as the kayfabe sister of the terrorizing Ken Shamrock and was the hot sister everyone wanted to date in the WWE. She gave in to the flirtation and was revealed to be in a fictional adult film with Val Venis. Ken beat him up to send a message to everyone on the roster. Ryan got her prominent moment when she was “sacrificed” by the Undertaker and terrorized by the Ministry of Darkness for some weeks. Shamrock would be a part of a heel stable called Pretty Mean Sisters with Terri Runnels and Jacqueline before being released by the WWE three months later. She reported that it was Chyna’s hate for her which got her out and also because she refused to sign a five year contract with the company.
25 13. Ryan Shamrock (now)
After WWE, Alicia would try her hand in being a valet in various promotions like WCW, TNA and AAA and would go on to date X-Pac during her time at AAA. Ryan was also dating Ken Shamrock during her time at WWE. Webb would testify against Triple H during Nicole Bass’ sexual harassment trial stating that Triple H had walked in on her in the bathroom. Webb would be in the news some months back when she reportedly had a seizure while manning a health expo in Orange County and broke her nose in two places. Ryan said that she’ll need surgery and WWE hasn’t really tried to reach out because of a bitter relation between the two.
24 12. Nicole Bass (then)
Having a body which can terrorize many women in the business and swoon the eyes of Vince McMahon, Nicole Bass joined the wrestling business after a successful body-building career to start her wrestling career in ECW. Soon Bass would jump to the WWE, debuting at WrestleMania XV as Sable’s intimidating bodyguard. She would feud with Debra and form an alliance with Val Venis, until she accidentally whacked him with Jeff Jarrett’s guitar. Nicole would get into the main event picture by forming an alliance with Women’s Champion Ivory and things were looking upwards for the powerful woman, until she left and filed a lawsuit against WWE for sexual harassment from co-worker Steve Lombardi. This case was taken to court but was dismissed and Bass never returned to the company.
23 12. Nicole Bass (now)
After WWE, Bass worked for some independent promotions and continues to work rare dates. Bass also does bookings for public events and personal training and also appears on the Howard Stern show. But after the death of her husband Richard Fuchs some years back, Bass has gone through some hard times as she was arrested last year for shoplifting from a supermarket. Nicole also made the news when she created a GoFundMe account stating that she’s scared of being homeless, as her story of a prominent start to being homeless is really sad.
22 11. Tori (then)
Coming into the company as a famous fitness champion, Tori got quite a push after her debut as Sable’s fan, and even faced her for the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania XV, but lost the match due to Nicole Bass’ interference. Afterwards, she went after Ivory’s Women’s Championship and then some extreme matches for her Hardcore Title, but lost both painfully. Tori would then go down a disappointing path being Kane’s girlfriend and was turned into a valet from a wrestler, joining DX for a while and helping Stephanie McMahon win the Women’s Championship. She would become the ‘black ninja’ after an injury to help Raven, but was soon released after she voiced disdain of Raven verbally abusing her backstage.
21 11. Tori (now)
After leaving the WWE, Tori would retire from pro wrestling to concentrate on working as a yogini. Terri Poch would open her own yoga studio in Portland and is now a successful yogini and has her own website as well. Poch also attended the Legends of the Ring wrestling event some years back, but is quite adamant on sticking to her career in yoga as she tries to help people embrace the beauty of yoga, and it doesn’t look like she will get called upon by the WWE anytime soon.
20 10. Terri Runnels (then)
Terri Runnels came into the company as Marlena, the indifferent manager of Goldust, who was her husband in real life. She would be this cigar-smoking, uncaring woman who tried to help him get wins. But soon horrible story-lines came her way, from Brian Pilman ‘winning’ her from Goldust to getting pregnant in storylines and then having a miscarriage as well. Terri was a sizzling, sex hungry predator during her time as the Pretty Mean Sisters with Jacqueline, and rose into relevance in some bizarre matches in a feud with The Kat. The sexy Runnels would become the host of WWE recap show Excess and also a backstage interviewer during which she won the Hardcore Championship. She would be fired in 2004 as part of a massive firing spree by the WWE.
19 10. Terri Runnels (now)
Besides WWE, Runnels was a woman who did a lot of charity-work and also appeared at a charity show called The Missing Link in 2002. After being released, she began working with various charity foundations like Make a Wish foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Children’s Miracle Network, and in 2008 would also began a contest Make The World Write where the contestants wrote about how they would make the world a better place. Runnels would appear in the 2016 Hall of Fame, seen sitting amongst the crowd with her good friends Jacqueline and Big Boss Man being inducted, and WWE.com also posted an interview with her on their website.
18 9. Debra (then)
Debra would be the manager of Jeff Jarrett when she appeared in the WWE, being his girlfriend and a shrewd businesswoman. After a striptease match when she had to strip because of Jarrett’s loss, Debra would use this to her advantage by unbuttoning her blouse and showing the crowd her “puppies”. This would get her a lot of popularity which pushed her to win the Women’s Championship in an Evening Gown match against Sable in a dubious decision. Debra would lose it soon enough and then turn on Jarrett. She would then gain prominence when she was the manager of The Rock during his feud with Debra’s then husband, Stone Cold. Debra left the company with Stone Cold in 2002, not to return again.
17 9. Debra (now)
Debra would get a divorce from Stone Cold after he physically assaulted her giving her some bruises over her body. Before her wrestling career, Debra studied acting by attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film institute in New York. She had a role in 2010 film Gathering of Heroes and also appeared in a show Just Another Wrestling Comedy. In 2007 she appeared to discuss the Chris Benoit murder and suicide. Debra recently graduated from the University of Alabama with honors, and is pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice in the same university, as the WWE has forgotten her because of the assault incident with Stone Cold.
16 8. Molly Holly (then)
Molly Holly arrived during the latter part of the Attitude Era as the cousin of Bob and Crash Holly. She would feud with Trish Stratus, before forming an on-screen relationship with Spike Dudley. Holly would then get a disappointing gimmick of “Mighty Molly”, the sidekick of The Hurricane. Her actual rise would be after she developed herself during the Ruthless Aggression era, where she would become a villainous character who won her first Women’s Championship from Trish Stratus. After an amazing feud with Trish, Molly would again win the Women’s Championship from Gail Kim before having her head shaved at WrestleMania XX after losing a match to Victoria. Her last match would be a Fulfill Your Fantasy Battle Royal as she left the company dissatisfied with them focusing on looks rather than wrestling ability and retired from wrestling.
15 8. Molly Holly (now)
Molly would do some advertising and selling her products in the independent scene after her release from the WWE. Holly would release a DVD Nora Greenwald: Shootin’ the Crap giving details on her departure from WWE. Greenwald is now an investor in real estate and also does a lot of charity work. In 2009, she participated in the Polar Bear Plunge where she submerged herself in freezing water raising funds for the Special Olympics. Molly did make appearances in the WWE after leaving the company, and was also in the recent Hall of Fame ceremony. She also appeared in WWE’s Table for 3 along with Alundra Blayze and Ivory and a Hall of Fame induction could be on her way soon.
14 7. Lita (then)
Although Lita was mostly a prominent part of the early Ruthless Aggression era, it could be argued that she had her best wrestling moments during the latter part of the Attitude Era during her time with Team Extreme. After a feud with Trish Stratus and T&A, Lita would capture her first Women’s Championship by defeating Stephanie McMahon. She held the title for 73 days, during which she had some amazing matches including a hardcore match against Jacqueline. She would also challenge for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship unsuccessfully, before teaming up with Trish Stratus. An injury soon followed, as Lita then feuded with Stratus after returning to make for a memorable rivalry. But afterwards she would kayfabe marry Kane and lose his baby due to a miscarriage and become more of a controversial figure because of her personal affair with Edge, causing Matt Hardy to go nuts on them. Lita then became Edge’s girlfriend, as the heel pair got over for a good time. She would win the Women’s Championship for the fourth time and then retire due to injuries sometime after that.
13 7. Lita (now)
In the midst of her retirement, Lita had started a rock band called The Luchagors and they released their self-titled CD in 2007. Lita would also contribute to a song “From The Shadows” in 2012. Lita maintained a very good relationship with the WWE, frequently appearing on WWE TV over the years. Lita had quite a lot of relationships with WWE superstars from Matt Hardy to Edge to CM Punk, and maintains a strong relationship with good friend Trish Stratus. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014 by Stratus. Lita also served as a trainer for the 2015 edition of WWE’s Tough Enough and also became a judge. In October of 2015, it was announced that Lita had become a full time creative writer for the WWE, as she unveiled the new Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32. It would come off no surprise if she is one of those behind the terrific show of women wrestling in WWE, as she’s a pioneer of it herself.
12 6. Stacy Carter (then)
Named as ‘Miss Kitty’, Carter was introduced to the WWE universe as Debra’s assistant and later on began managing Chyna. But she shot to fame when she won the Women’s Championship in an Evening Gown Match and quickly flashed her breasts to the crowd, making it the first instance of nudity on WWE TV. Carter would become this sexual symbol of the women’s division and competed in other erotic matches. In 2001, The Kat would ironically have to manage a stable named Right To Censor after her off-screen husband Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler lost a match against Stevie Richards which forced her to join the stable. But Stacy would be released in the midst of the story-line, with her backstage attitude being one of the reasons she was let go of.
11 6. Stacy Carter (now)
After leaving the WWE, Carter would separate from Lawler and try her hand in the real estate business for a while. She applied for a license in cosmetology in 2007 in Florida. There was a reported incident involving her and WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard’s daughter Tessa Blanchard at this year’s WrestleCon in Dallas, and the two almost got into a fight before being split up. Stacy Carter married professional wrestler Nick Cvjetkovich in 2010 and has been making appearances in the independent scene ever since, making her most recent one this year at Lucky Pro Wrestling.
10 5. Sunny (then)
Considered by many as the ‘First Diva’, Sunny was someone who paved the way for the Attitude Era Divas and is also known for managing some of the most memorable tag teams in WWE history, even though she arrived before the beginning of The Attitude Era. With Chris Candido, she was part of a villainous fitness freak team named The Bodydonnas. Later, Zip would join as they won the Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania XII with Sunny in their corner. Sunny won Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Manager of the Year Award in 1996. Sunny went onto manage Farooq soon after and during this time became the host of WWE shows like LiveWire and Shotgun Saturday Night. Sunny would also go on to manage The Legion of Doom later and have them win the tag titles at WrestleMania XIV, and continue to manage them till July 1998 when she was released due to problems with Sable and no showing events.
9 5. Sunny (now)
After leaving the WWE, Sunny would stay active as a manager in the wrestling business as she was quite popular in the independent circuit for quite a while and also won a wrestling championship in an indy promotion. Sunny returned to WWE on the 15th anniversary of RAW and participated in the 25 women battle royal for the Miss WrestleMania crown at WrestleMania XXV. Sytch was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by the entire cast of Total Divas in 2011. But things would turn ugly in 2013, as she served 114 days in Jail for being arrested six times in the space of some months. Sunny would also release an autobiography in February, 2016 titled The Rise & Fall & Rise of Wrestling Diva Tammy ‘Sunny’ Sytch. Tammy would then agree on a deal to sign with the adult entertainment company Vivid Entertainment to star in a movie titled Sunny Side Up, spelling her end of relations with the WWE.
8 4. Ivory (then)
Starting out her WWE career as one of Godfather’s hoes and then valeting for the team of Mark Henry and D’Lo Brown, Ivory honed her skills to go on her own way to defeat Debra and win the Women’s Championship. She became a heel because of her feud with Tori, and defeated her in the first ever Women’s Hardcore Match for her belt. Ivory then had some horrible matches, losing her belt to The Fabulous Moolah and winning it back quickly. Ivory lost her belt in an Evening Gown match soon and then became a member of Right To Censor. Ivory won her third Women’s Championship during this time with the group. She would be moved to a trainer’s position as she was a trainer for two seasons of Tough Enough and then sent to OVW, and decided to leave the company soon after.
7 4. Ivory (now)
Ivory went to the independent circuit after leaving WWE, as she joined a promotion named Women Superstars Uncensored in 2011 got a place in their Hall of Fame. Lisa Moretti started working in the landscape industry after WWE and also became an animal rights activist as she helped to volunteer for an organization called Best Friends Animal Society and also worked for a shelter close to her residence. Lisa opened a shelter of her own named Downtown Dog in 2007 and is now a certified animal groomer and also helps to train domesticated animals. She returned to WWE at WrestleMania Axxess in 2015 and appeared on the WWE Network’s Table for 3 program in January alongside Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly, as one can hope she gets the Hall of Fame induction soon.