The women’s division has become a huge part of WrestleMania with the women’s wrestling rise over the past five years. WWE mostly treated the women as a secondary part of the show for the first 30+ years of WrestleMania’s history. The standard for the women of WWE was having an extremely short match with gimmicks involved or a pointless battle royal.
Even with the inconsistent history, some women have made their mark on the biggest stage by having that “WrestleMania moment.” Unfortunately, the negatives of WWE’s booking prevented others from having their time in the spotlight. Find out which of your favorites ended up on each side of the coin. The following women either have the best WM legacies or never had their WrestleMania moment.
10 Strong WrestleMania Legacy: Miss Elizabeth
The role of Miss Elizabeth made her one of the first women to have important moments at WrestleMania. Elizabeth was the love interest and manager of Randy Savage for a few of his important matches.
However, a bigger role came her way when she played the biggest part in the Mega Powers splitting up leading to Savage facing Randy Savage. The biggest moment came at WrestleMania 7 when Savage and Elizabeth finally reunited in a special moment that still leaves us teary-eyed today.
9 No Strong WrestleMania Moment: Bayley
One of the goals Bayley revealed during her appearance on Renee Young’s podcast was that she wants to have a singles match on WrestleMania. There have been a few matches for Bayley on the big stage, but they were all multi-women matches or battle royals.
Bayley’s biggest moment came at WrestleMania 33 when defending the Raw Women’s Championship in a fatal four-way, but the match didn’t have a long-term impact. The “WrestleMania moment” of Bayley has yet to come in a way that should add to her legacy.
8 Strong WrestleMania Legacy: Ronda Rousey
The most controversial pick on this list is Ronda Rousey for the importance of her two major WrestleMania matches. Rousey debuted on the biggest stage at WrestleMania 34 teaming with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon by stealing the show with zero experience.
WWE built Rousey as the top star of the women’s division for the next year with everything culminating at WrestleMania 35. The first women’s WM main event saw Becky Lynch beating Rousey and Charlotte Flair. Many would argue that match doesn’t close the show without Rousey involved.
7 No Strong WrestleMania Moment: Asuka
Fans have been upset with WWE’s booking of Asuka at WrestleMania a couple of times. Asuka’s first time on the biggest stage saw her challenging Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 34.
The undefeated streak of Asuka ended at the hands of Charlotte in a match designed to elevate Flair into an even bigger role. Asuka would follow that up with battle royal appearances and tag matches at future WrestleMania events. There is a chance this changes this year with Asuka having a Raw Women’s Championship match with Rhea Ripley.
6 Strong WrestleMania Legacy: Becky Lynch
The rise of Becky Lynch has seen her become a top asset for WWE both in the ring and as a star with name value. Lynch winning the WrestleMania 35 main event was a defining moment when holding both Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championship belts to close the show.
Another great outing for Becky came in the WrestleMania 32 triple threat involving Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. Even though it was designed for Charlotte to have her WrestleMania moment, Lynch considered it a huge moment in her career that looks stronger after the WM 35 win.
5 No Strong WrestleMania Moment: Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix suffered from being in WWE when the company cared little for the women’s division. There were a few more matches for Phoenix than many others in the division, but she was always in tag matches or battle royals.
A rare return match at WrestleMania 35 saw Beth trying to have a stronger performance teaming with Natalya. The Iconics won and no one else really had a standout performance in that match. There is still time for Beth to have her WrestleMania moment since she works for the company and can still perform.
4 Strong WrestleMania Legacy: Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus was one of the few women in WWE to have success at multiple WrestleMania events throughout the years. The star power of Stratus made her WWE’s top female star for most of her run as an in-ring competitor.
WrestleMania 17 saw her playing a huge role in Shane McMahon defeating Vince McMahon when finally turning on Vince. A triple threat match victory, a great title match with Mickie James, and a heel turn in the Christian vs Chris Jericho match added more success for Trish on the biggest stage.
3 No Strong WrestleMania Moment: Lita
The star power of Lita was close behind Trish Stratus when looking back at their careers. Lita just never had the same opportunities at WrestleMania since she was always in a secondary role. The only match for Lita was a triple threat match at WrestleMania 18 that she lost to Jazz.
Lita’s best moments on the biggest stage came as a manager in the Mick Foley vs Edge WrestleMania 22 street fight and the WrestleMania 17 TLC match. Fans would have loved to see Lita have a bigger role on any of the annual events meant to showcase the top stars.
2 Strong WrestleMania Legacy: Charlotte Flair
WWE put all their eggs in the Charlotte Flair basket during the first few years of the Women’s Revolution. Charlotte winning the epic WrestleMania 32 match vs Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch upset many fans, but WWE wanted Flair to hold the newly renamed Women’s Championship belt.
The next major moment came at WrestleMania 34 when Charlotte ended the undefeated streak of Asuka in a great match. WWE even went out of their way to have Flair added to the WrestleMania 35 main event knowing her name value would increase the interest. Charlotte had another strong WrestleMania moment when beating Rhea Ripley to win the NXT Women’s Championship.
1 No Strong WrestleMania Moment: Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks is hoping to have her first career-defining WrestleMania moment at WrestleMania 37 in the main event quality match against Bianca Belair. The history of Banks at the event features mostly secondary moments.
WrestleMania 32 felt like Sasha’s night to win the Women’s Championship and she deserves credit for her performance, but it was Charlotte Flair who would have the big moment. WWE made Banks a secondary player in her following WM moments, including a shocking tag title loss with Bayley to the Iconics.