The WWE women’s division has a hit list of some of the best wrestlers in the world. A need for multiple unique divisions led to more signings across the board. The best performers all have different stories before becoming huge names for WWE, which just spotlights the variety of ways for one to make it in wrestling.Some talents have thrived in wrestling elsewhere before getting the dream job of working for WWE. Others had different career paths before getting recruited to make the leap. WWE has found great performers through all different paths for success today. The journeys will be compared to see what the best female performers did before signing with WWE.
10 Carmella: Cheerleader
The WWE career of Carmella has been a huge success from the early days in NXT finding herself to the main roster run. Carmella winning the Smackdown Women’s Championship cemented her success and she’s still a top heel on the main roster today.
Life before WWE saw Carmella as a top cheerleader in the sports world. Both top tier franchises of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Lakers employed Carmella at different points. The athletic background and experience as an entertainer helped Carmella thrive in wrestling.
9 Asuka: Top Japanese Wrestler
The approach to boosting the NXT roster saw Triple H signing some of the best wrestlers from all over the world. Asuka was the top female performer in Japan when Triple H came calling for a deal to join WWE via the NXT brand.
The run as Kana saw Asuka winning titles in DDT and various Joshi promotions. A few appearances in the United States had fans to witness her before WWE having huge expectations that she more than lived up to in NXT with her undefeated streak.
8 Bayley: Independent Wrestler
WWE started to find more female performers with experience on the independent circuit when William Regal became a scout under Triple H’s hiring process. Prior eras were criticized for looking to hire models instead of wrestlers.
Bayley benefited from having independent experience from local West coast promotions to the all-female company SHIMMER. The young age of Bayley provided a huge upside that paid off when WWE signed her and progressed her career at the Performance Center.
7 Zelina Vega: TNA Wrestler
The recent win of the Queen’s Crown tournament sees Zelina Vega getting the biggest push of her career. Vega thrived in the manager role for Andrade, but she is showing that WWE believes in her to have a strong in-ring run moving forward.
The earlier chapters of Zelina’s career featured a forgotten run in TNA under the name of Rosita. TNA placing her in the disappointing Mexican America faction hurt the chances of more success. Vega worked the independent circuit in between her TNA run and NXT hiring to work with Andrade.
6 Naomi: Dancer
WWE looked to other avenues outside of wrestling to find talents for the women’s division in the late 2000s when Naomi was hired. Naomi proved that not everyone needs to have experience to learn how to thrive in the wrestling world.
Dancing was the background of Naomi with her biggest gig coming with the Orlando Magic. NBA dancing jobs are hard to obtain, but Naomi accomplished it. The WWE career turned out to be a bigger boost for her career as a tremendous wrestler after breaking out in NXT season three with AJ Lee and Kaitlyn.
5 Alexa Bliss: Fitness Competitions
The WWE signing of Alexa Bliss showcased the ideal scenario of someone coming from another industry and learning at the Performance Center. Bliss had an athletic background in gymnastics and other sports growing up, but she was more known for fitness competitions in her young adult years.
WWE signed Alexa based on her potential and it paid off. Bliss picked up the wrestling world quickly to get a role in NXT before called up to the main roster. The past five years have seen Alexa thriving as one of the most popular performers in NXT.
4 Sasha Banks: Independent Wrestler
The passion for wrestling made Sasha Banks seek out training once she turned 18 after years of planning. Banks was a diehard wrestling fan and knew wrestling was her dream from her childhood years.
William Regal revealed he was the one to convince WWE to sign Sasha to a contract relatively early into her career. The potential paid off with Sasha finding her character at the Performance Center and breaking out in NXT to now having a Hall of Fame worthy career.
3 Bianca Belair: CrossFit Competitor
Mark Henry was an unofficial scout for WWE when offering them leads on potential signees. Bianca Belair may have been the best overall signing to come via Henry after witnessing her at a CrossFit competition.
The natural athleticism saw Bianca running track and field among other sports growing up. Henry claimed he saw her charisma at the CrossFit competitions and convinced WWE sign her. Bianca has been a huge success with her now reaching the upper echelon of the women’s division with the Four Horsewomen.
2 Becky Lynch: Odd Jobs & Independent Wrestler
The background of Becky Lynch made her a great story for WWE when breaking out as a major superstar. Lynch had been wrestling on the independent circuit since the early 2000s looking for her big opportunity in WWE or another relevant promotion.
The short stints of retiring would see Becky adopting new jobs with her biggest one coming as a flight attendant. WWE hiring more female performers saw Lynch trying out and the rest is history. Becky’s journey led to her becoming a history maker and one of the most important performers in the company today.
1 Charlotte Flair: Volleyball
Charlotte Flair did not initially look into joining the wrestling business as her first passion despite being the daughter of Ric Flair. Volleyball was Charlotte’s goal when thriving at the sport in high school and college before becoming a personal trainer.
WWE reaching out about a developmental contract was the reason Charlotte agreed to join the family business. Massive success in NXT and on the main roster made Charlotte an all-time great for the women’s division with her accolades still growing today.