The legendary career of Torrie Wilson reached the ultimate success when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Wilson was validated for her respective stints in WWE and WCW providing strong results for the betterment of her career and the companies she worked for. Both promotions pushed Torrie in different stages of her wrestling journey.
WCW was the place where Wilson started her wrestling career back in 1999 and made her mark there. WWE picked up Torrie’s contract after purchasing WCW and made her one of the top female superstars on the roster. Both sides have reasonable arguments when looking back at which chapter of her career was strongest. Make your own choice about Wilson being better in WCW or WWE when weighing both options.
10 WCW: Debuting In Huge Storyline
Kevin Nash discovered Torrie Wilson through mutual friends and wanted her to give the wrestling business a try. Wilson debuted in a huge storyline involving Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and the New World Order in early 1999.
Ric’s son David Flair turned on him to help Hogan win the WCW Championship thanks to Torrie’s influence. Both Torrie and David joined the New World Order during their run as the nWo Elite.
9 WWE: Rare Success Story From Invasion Angle
The Invasion storyline of WCW wrestlers coming to WWE after the purchase was viewed as one of the biggest disappointments in wrestling history. WCW lacked star power and only a handful of wrestlers were booked well.
Torrie Wilson was one of the few WCW wrestlers to connect with the new audience. WWE found success with the feud of Torrie and Stacy Keibler vs Trish Stratus and Lita. Fans naturally enjoying Wilson led to her face turn.
8 WCW: Heel Run With Shane Douglas
Torrie Wilson primarily played a face in WWE, but she had more roles on the heel side during her start in WCW. Shane Douglas joining the company saw Wilson turning on Billy Kidman to become the new manager and love interest for him.
The hope was that Torrie would find chemistry with Douglas the way that Francine did in ECW. WCW did not have the same level of success for Douglas as fans didn’t take him seriously as a main eventer. Wilson at least thrived in the role getting the most heat of her career.
7 WWE: Still Relevant Today
The name value of Torrie Wilson is still strong enough for WWE to bring back occasionally. Wilson received huge pops during her first few surprise returns in many years and generated a ton of attention on social media.
The trending topic of Torrie often featured fans discussing how she looks exactly the same as her prime. Wilson was inducted into the Hall of Fame faster than most due to the buzz she generates whenever she returns to WWE.
6 WCW: Took Part In Wild Matches
Torrie Wilson was never as comfortable in the ring as she was in the manager role during her WWE run, but WCW tried to make her a wrestler. Vince Russo’s time running the company led to wild stipulations involved in personal feuds.
Shane Douglas and Torrie teamed up against Billy Kidman and Madusa in a Scaffold match as one of wrestling’s most dangerous stipulations. Wilson also took part in many more intergender matches and it didn’t break her despite the lack of in-ring comfort.
5 WWE: Vince's Devils
The rare heel run of WWE for Torrie Wilson featured her uniting with her close friends Candice Michelle and Victoria to form an all-woman faction. Vince McMahon developed a bond with the trio leading to them adopting the name of Vince’s Devils.
Wilson, Michelle and Victoria feuded with Trish Stratus when she returned from an injury as a face. This was the only time Torrie seemed natural as a heel in WWE since she was able to work with people she loved outside of the ring.
4 WCW: Helped Make Women Bigger Part Of WCW
The WCW run of Torrie Wilson saw her having an important role of trying to prove she and other female performers deserved more time. WCW rarely used women ahead of 1999 when they needed new ideas to change things up.
The success for Torrie helped inspire WCW to continue pushing other female talents. WCW only used the women in the Nitro Girls for the dance segments until Wilson and a few other ladies showed they could generate fan interest.
3 WWE: ComedyWith Tajiri
Torrie Wilson’s face turn during the Invasion storyline led to her becoming part of WWE with Tajiri. The odd couple romance of Tajiri and Torrie led to them having many humorous segments that got them over with the crowd.
Tajiri struggling to speak English and Wilson not knowing Japanese made it bizarre that they were dating, but that added to the charm when the chemistry worked. Even the breakup led to Tajiri becoming a strong heel and Torrie receiving more love moving forward.
2 WCW: Chemistry With Billy Kidman
The real-life romance between Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson played out on screen as well. Wilson turned on David Flair to become a face when joining Kidman in the Filthy Animals faction with Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio.
Fans loved getting the chance to cheer Torrie and she relished in the face role for the first time in her career. WCW would benefit from Wilson becoming a popular character and Kidman even had more importance placed on his matches.
1 WWE: Face Of Smackdown Women's Division
WWE moving forward with the 2002 brand split featured both Raw and Smackdown having different ideas for the women’s division. Trish Stratus led the Raw division of longer matches for the Women’s Championship.
Torrie Wilson was tasked with becoming the face of the Smackdown division primarily competing in eye candy matches. Smackdown featured Wilson winning many bikini and swimsuit contests as her popularity grew. The success of Torrie played a huge role in WWE thriving in the era of multiple brands.