On the December 6, 2004, edition of WWE Raw, Trish Stratus and Lita competed for the Women’s Championship in a match unlike any women’s match before then. Not only did the pair headline the show, a fact many men on the roster took issue with, but the two women were given ample time to show off their skills in the ring.

The match, which saw Lita win the gold, came at a time when women’s wrestling in WWE was nowhere close to being treated as seriously as its male counterpart. Nevertheless, the match is regarded as one of WWE’s best women’s matches and secured the #55 spot on WWE’s Top 100 Moments In Raw History DVD. In hindsight, it should have been ranked a lot higher than that.

This December will mark 20 years since the iconic match, a fact not lost on Trish Stratus or Lita. Appearing together at Comic Con Northern Ireland over the weekend, Stratus teased something big to mark the anniversary.

“We are definitely coming up on the 20th anniversary of a certain match. Can anyone remember what it is? It’s our main event match, and it’s still talked about to this day.

So, we want to do something special and really reflect on its importance and how it helped us get to where we are today. That’s our goal—we’re masterminding something right now. Look for something special from Team Bestie to celebrate this very momentous occasion.”

Paving the Road

Nearly two decades ago, the idea of women headlining WWE events was unimaginable. However, trailblazers like Trish Stratus and Lita shattered this glass ceiling and paved the way for future generations of female wrestlers:

October 2016: Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks made history as the first women’s match to headline a WWE pay-per-view, and it took place inside Hell in a Cell of all places.

October 2018: The all-women’s pay-per-view, Evolution, closed with Ronda Rousey defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Nikki Bella.

April 2019: Less than a later, history was made once again at WrestleMania 35 when Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch headlined the event in a triple threat match, with Lynch closing the show raising both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships.

Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on whatever Trish Stratus and Lita have cooking for the 20th Anniversary of their iconic WWE Raw main event.

For more on Trish Stratus and Lita’s iconic WWE Raw main event from December 2004, check out this video of them rewatching it together 15 years later:

WWE Hall of Famer Lita believes women’s wrestling has progressed enough where we can retire gender-specific championships and have titles which represent everyone.

The Attitude Era star was joined by fellow women’s wrestling legend Trish Stratus for a panel at the Northern Ireland Comic-Con by Monopoly Events.

During the session, the duo was asked what changes they would make to the women’s division if they were booking it. Trish Stratus mentioned how the quality of wrestling among female competitors has improved significantly in the last few years but she explained that it has come at the cost of character work:

“I think I would like to have a little bit more focus on characters, right? I feel like, for sure, now there’s way more opportunities for women. Obviously, we see them main eventing all the time, and we see them in high-profile matches. But I think what we had back in the day was a lot more character stuff.

You got to know these characters, and the fans could really resonate with the character a little bit more. Now they’re just kind of having these great matches, but there’s no backstory as much as there was back in the day. So, I think character development would be one thing I’d like to focus on.”

Lita Wants To See More Intergender Interactions

Lita then chimed in talking about how women are getting more representation on shows now. The thing she would change, however, is increase the interaction between male and female competitors. The former champion even suggested the idea of gender-neutral titles to achieve this:

“What I would love to see is more interplay between the genders and have those lines be blurred further, where titles don’t have to be men’s or women’s titles, just titles, and whoever manages to get somebody’s shoulders down for three seconds is the champion, or whoever taps somebody out is the champion for that night.”

WWE has played with the idea of intergender wrestling on occasion but never fully committed to it. Chyna winning the Intercontinental Championship was the biggest example of it. She defended the championship against many male competitors during her run. The title went back to being exclusive to the men’s division afterward.

In more recent years we have seen Beth Pheonix wrestling Santino Marella and the brief interaction between Dean Ambrose and Nia Jax before the former left the company.

The storyline between Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley is the closest we have come to seeing intergender wrestling matches under Triple H. It’s possible that this story may lead to a revision of the past somewhere down the line.

• Trish Stratus & Lita Eyeing Up WWE Women’s Tag Titles, Vow to Beat the Title ‘Curse’

Trish Stratus & Lita, affectionately known as ‘Team Bestie’ have their eyes on the WWE Women’s Tag Titles and breaking the ‘curse’ that often befalls champions. 

The pair of WWE Hall of Famers were at Monopoly Events’ ‘For the Love of Wrestling’ convention that took place this month. During a Q&A with the fans in Manchester, England, the pair were asked about winning the tag titles, which Lita was all for. 

“People like to talk about this imaginary curse of the [women’s] tag titles, but I think that if Trish and I were tag champs, that somehow the curse would magically disappear.”

Stratus was similarly enthusiastic at the notion of challenging for the titles, warning the Kabuki Warriors “You’re not ready for Team Bestie.”

The Curse of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles

While Lita described the ‘curse’ as imaginary, it’s hard to ignore the setbacks that various champions have faced. The titles were stripped from Sasha Banks & Naomi after they walked out of WWE in May 2022. The titles would be left vacant for months before being won by Aliyah & Raquel Rodriguez. That pair would lose the titles mere weeks later. 

In May 2023, Rodriguez and Liv Morgan were stripped of the titles when Morgan suffered a shoulder injury. Less than two months later, Sonya Deville would suffer an ACL tear as champion which has kept WWE’s first openly lesbian Superstar out ever since. 

Another Injury

This curse has shown no sign of slowing down, as we’ve learned in recent days. Four-time and current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Asuka is dealing with an injury and was recently pulled from live events. It’s unclear how extensive the injury is, but with WrestleMania 40 growing closer, this could not come at a worse time for the Empress of Tomorrow. 

Former WWE/ECW star Francine has made it clear that she is not happy with WWE using her nickname for Liv Morgan and also referring to Lita with the moniker.

Francine spoke about it on her podcast where she noted that WWE using the “Queen of Extreme” moniker for Morgan is unacceptable in her eyes. During a recent edition of Raw, Corey Graves also mentioned Lita as the “Queen of Extreme,” a play on her connected to Team Extreme with The Hardy Boyz. 

Francine owns the trademark rights to the nickname that she filed for months ago as she first used it when in ECW. 

She explained that the process of getting a trademark takes time. She said that she’s not upset with Lita as she didn’t do anything wrong, but did note that she’s been building up the nickname for the last 30 years and doesn’t want to pass it up. 

The Warning

Should WWE continue to use the nickname then she plans to file a cease and desist. 

“Whether I’m in this business another day or another 30 years from now, if I do conventions, I’m going to sign the Queen of Extreme Francine and I’m going to get that trademark. And if they continue to use it, we’re going to file a cease and desist. And that’s it. because they would do it to me.”

Francine stated that she’s not bitter towards the two stars nor the company, but she is simply trying to protect her brand that she worked hard to build. 

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

Damage CTRL’s Bayley will achieve a lifelong dream when she faces Lita at WrestleMania 39, and this is a match the Role Model has been preparing for decades.

On this week’s Raw, a six-woman tag-team match was made official for WrestleMania 39, pitting new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Lita and Becky Lynch, as well as Trish Stratus, against Damage CTRL.

During an edition of the Broken Skull Sessions, Bayley named Lita as her dream opponent from any era of wrestling.

Studying

Before becoming the heel Role Model we know today, Bayley was WWE’s premiere Super-Fan, and this wasn’t just her character.

A lifelong WWE fan, Bayley grew up watching Lita, and (according to the former SmackDown Women’s Champion) knows her weaknesses.

Taking to Twitter, Bayley shared an essay she wrote in her youth, showing that she has been studying the WWE Hall of Famer for decades.

Instead of returning from a career-threatening neck injury in March 2003 as young Bayley had hoped, Lita would return to action that September.

WrestleMania 39

This year’s WrestleMania will be an especially special one for Bayley, and now just because she’s facing her hero on the card.

Bayley hasn’t competed at WrestleMania since 2020, as she missed last year’s event due to an ACL injury that forced her to miss over a year of action.

For 2021, Bayley was simply not used for a match, which angered fans given how much work she’d done during the crowd-less Pandemic era.

Instead, Bayley had an on-stage segment where she was attacked by the Bella Twins.

Given that WrestleMania 36 in 2020 took place without live fans, Bayley’s most recent match at WrestleMania with a crowd was back in 2019.

The dream team of WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Lita, and Trish Stratus, are looking to shut Damage CTRL up for good at WrestleMania 39.

Last month, Lita made her return to WWE to aid Lynch in a steel cage match against Bayley, which had originally been scheduled for the Raw is XXX event.

On last week’s Raw, Lynch and Lita dethroned Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, the first title for Lita since 2006.

While Bayley tried to interfere in that match, the returning Trish Stratus (who had been scheduled for the previous week’s Raw but didn’t appear) neutralized the Role Model.

WrestleMania 39

On this week’s Raw, the new champions and Stratus celebrated the victory but were quickly interrupted by Damage CTRL

Stratus then challenged Damage CTRL to a six-woman-tag team match and made it clear that she wanted to shut Bayley up once and for all.

Bayley accepted the challenge on behalf of her team.

The WrestleMania match will mark Stratus’ first match since SummerSlam 2019, when she lost to Charlotte Flair in Canada.

Surprisingly, this will mark the second in-ring WrestleMania appearance for Lita, after she challenged for the WWF Women’s Championship at WrestleMania X8.

Double-Booked?

The announcement of Lynch, Lita and Stratus against Damage CTRL at WrestleMania is an interesting one, given that this isn’t the match many expected.

It has been reported that WWE’s plan initially was for Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at the two-night event in April.

Despite Rousey aggravating an injury (which is why she was in a sling on last Friday’s SmackDown,) she is expected to be fully healed in time for WrestleMania.

There is the possibility that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions could compete on both nights, a feat Tamina Snuka and Natalya achieved at WrestleMania 37 in 2021.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Lita has capped off an intense week with an appearance at a recent independent wrestling event.

During this week’s Raw, Lita captured the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Becky Lynch by dethroning two-time champions Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO SKY.)

This win marks Lita’s first taste of championship gold since 2006 and makes Lynch the sixth WWE Women’s Triple Crown Champion.

Hoodslam

Lita’s win at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan was an emotional night for her, but the Hall of Famer has also appeared at a smaller show.

At last night’s Hoodslam: GET YOUR ASS TO MARCH: Fall of the Hoodslammer event, Lita made a surprise appearance to the delight of the fans.

Using language that you won’t be hearing on Raw, Lita told the crowd “f**k the fans” who chanted the phrase back in excitement.

Lita, who did not bring her WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship with her, then handed the mic to Sheikah before being on her way.

WrestleMania Plans

With WrestleMania 39 now just 28 days away, there is a real possibility that Lita will enter the April 1, show as Champion.

It has been reported that WWE plans on Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler challenging for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships at the event.

With that said, recent programming would leave you to believe that the plan is for Lita, Lynch and Trish Stratus to face Damage CTRL next month.

With WrestleMania 39 happening across two nights, there is the chance that Lita and Lynch could compete on both nights, as Natalya and Tamina Snuka did in 2021.

Trish Stratus is back and she is already causing waves in the WWE world.

WWE had announced that Lita and Becky Lynch will be teaming up to challenge Damage CTRL for the Women’s Tag Team Titles on this week’s episode of Raw.

This came after Lita made her return to the WWE programming recently and helped The Man win a cage match against Bayley.

The bout was the main event of this week’s episode of the red-branded show, which also featured a Cody Rhodes match and the announcement of WrestleMania 39 host.

The tag champs were up to their usual shenanigans during this bout. At one point Bayley used one of the title belts to distract the referee and pulled Lita from the apron to stop her from tagging in.

Bayley continued distracting the challengers. This was until Trish Stratus made her surprise return to WWE TV and laid out the Damage CTRL leader.

This allowed the team of Becky Lynch and Lita to get the upper hand. The ending of the bout saw Becky locking Dakota Kai in Dis-Arm-Her on the ring apron.

The wrestling legend then delivered a Lita-sault to IYO SKY and pinned the young star to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships.

• WWE RAW Results (2/27): Damage CTRL Defends Tag Titles Against Becky Lynch and Lita, Brock Lesnar Responds to Omos, More

A major match has been set for the 2/27/23 episode of WWE RAW.

During the 2/20/23 edition of WWE RAW, Bayley hosted the latest episode of ‘Ding Dong, Hello!’. During the segment, which featured Bayley’s Damage CTRL stablemates, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, Becky Lynch interrupted the champions ramblings. Becky pondered the possibility of her becoming tag champion, a thought that was laughed off by Damage CTRL, who claimed Becky didn’t have any friends and would need her toddler daughter, Roux, to team up with her.

However, Becky didn’t come to Monday Night RAW alone, as seen in the clip below.

Becky and Lita threw down the challenge for IYO and Dakota, and later on in the night, the match was confirmed for next Monday night’s episode RAW.

WWE RAW (2/27/23) Updated Card

• IYO SKY Dakota Kai (C) vs. Becky Lynch & Lita — WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
• Asuka vs. Carmella
• Piper Niven vs. Candice LeRae
• Will Brock Lesnar Respond to Omos’ WrestleMania 39 Challenge?
• Miz TV ‘Hollywood Edition’

SEScoops’ full report on the 2/20/23 edition of WWE RAW can be found by clicking here.

Lita is back and she hasn’t forgotten how to kick ass.

WWE had announced a Steel Cage match between Becky Lynch and Bayley for this week’s Raw. The match was originally supposed to take place at Raw XXX but was cut due to timing issues.

The bout main evented this week’s episode of the red branded show. Lynch came alone for this fight while Bayley was accompanied by Dakota Kai and IYO SKY as expected.

The Damage CTRL leader hit a Bayley-to-Belly on The Man towards the ending of the match but she failed to get the pin.

Bayley then tried to escape the cage by climbing out but Becky climbed up to stop her. Lynch sent Bayley crashing. It looked as if she might escape to win the match but SKY interfered.

Lita is Back!

SKY forced Becky Lynch to go back and Dakota Kai handed Bayley a crutch. This is when Lita’s music hit and she came to the aid of The Man.

The Hall of Famer first pulled SKY off the cage and took down Kai using her own crutch. She hit a Twist of Fate on SKY and then stopped Bayley from escaping the cage.

This allowed Becky Lynch to hit the Man Handle Slam on her opponent to win the bout. Lita and Lynch celebrated in the ring to end the show.

• WWE RAW Results (2/6/23): Becky Lynch Defeats Bayley In A Steel Cage Match with Help From WWE Hall of Famer

Two weeks after the attacks on Sept. 11, a then 12-year-old Jacob Grondy was on his way to the airport – and he was scared.

Not only was this his first flight, but he was dealing with what many in the country were feeling – fear of flying due to the recent attacks. But a surreptitious introduction with a few pro wrestling passengers – thanks to the just-released Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 issue – assuaged his fears.

Grondy’s flight out of the Raleigh, N.C. airport was shared by the Hardy Boys, Amy Dumas – who wrestled for the WWF at the time as Lita – and Shane Helms on board. They were four of the hottest acts in the WWF at the time and were heroes to a 12-year-old Grondy, especially after they turned what could have been a traumatic experience into one of his favorite childhood memories.

“I was honestly trying to act tough,” Grondy said. “But as we were getting closer to the airport, I was visibly scared. I wasn’t talking at all, which was extremely rare (for me) as a kid.”

On the way to the airport, his dad gave him a copy of the PWI 500 issue to read and keep his mind off the recent attacks. Growing up in North Carolina, Grondy said he was immersed in pro wrestling. As a kid he watched WCW and the WWF religiously and was excited when ECW made its TNN television debut. He’s continued to be a fan well into adulthood. He hosts a podcast called Curtain Jerkin’ on Spotify.

The issue provided a bit of a distraction, but it was who he saw in the airport that relieved his fears.

“I don’t remember anything other than getting to the terminal, sitting down and looking up – and there was Jeff Hardy,” Grondy said. “He was dressed exactly how you would see him on TV. I leapt up in excitement. My dad had a pen on him and gave it to me so I could ask to get my PWI signed.”

Jeff walked Grondy over to his brother Matt Hardy to get his autograph. Matt then said they should get him Lita’s as well. As he walked back to his dad, his dad was smiling with relief, that he wasn’t as scared as he had been when he got to the airport. As he sat back down, he was approached by Shane Helms – who had just joined the WWF after the WCW sale and was beginning his Hurricane Helms gimmick. He said Helms asked to sign the issue, then asked if he could read it on the plane.

“As I let him read it, that’s when I realized that no terrorist was going to take down this plane, Team Extreme wasn’t going to let that happen,” Grondy said.

Grondy shared this story with Jeff at a meet-and-greet a year ago.

“He thought it was pretty cool.”

Grondy and his dad were flying to the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis. It was the final race of the Formula 1 season, and was the first international sporting event to take place after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“(I) couldn’t tell you who won the race we went to, but every year the PWI 500 comes out I look back at that moment fondly. It was definitely a childhood highlight.”

Cardi B is a big fan of WWE, and an even bigger fan of two WWE Hall of Famers.

The 29-year-old rap sensation took to Twitter to shout out two of the company’s greatest superstars, Edge and Lita. The duo’s relationship was covered on the A&E biography about Edge that recently aired over the weekend.

Cardi writes, “I used to love them….they was such a sexy ass couple …This was truly my wwe era …even tho I was a Trish Stratus girl I used to love this couple.”

Edge and Lita’s relationship on-screen included a live-sex celebration that scored WWE one of their biggest television ratings of the year. However, the relationship quietly ended as their on-screen appearances together eventually faded away.

As for Cardi, this isn’t the first time she has tweeted about her love of pro-wrestling, specifically WWE. Her recent hit “Hot Sh*t” pays homage to the late Jimmy Superfly Snuka, and got her conversing online with Snuka’s daughter Tamina, as well as Natalya. Another of Cardi’s hit songs, “Up,” was used as the theme for SummerSlam 2021 from Las Vegas.

• John Cena: “Cardi B Would Make A Hell of a WWE Superstar”

Rhea Ripley is one of the most talented and well-received women in WWE today. After her successes in NXT and NXT UK, she made a splash by debuting on the main roster opposite Charlotte Flair in a match that stole the show at WrestleMania 36.

From there, Ripley’s resume includes a Raw Women’s Championship victory over Asuka at WrestleMania 37, and most recently garnering a high profile angle as the first female addition to the Judgment Day faction.

From her on screen partnerships, to her aesthetic, to her positioning within the women’s roster, more and more reasons have developed for why fans might liken her career to Lita’s.

Like Lita, Rhea Ripley Is A Woman Sharing A Mutually Beneficial Partnership With Men

After a couple of bit parts and false start working as part of The Godfather’s entourage and with Essa Rios, Lita rose to prominence as part of Team Xtreme. The Hardy Boyz were a cool tag team with an edgy look and eye-catching aerial offense. Lita fit that style perfectly.

Having a uniquely talented and attractive woman with them elevated The Hardys, while being paired with a featured tag team got Lita more time on screen and a more clearly defined persona. Later in her career, Lita enjoyed a similar relationship with Edge.

Having a well-known femme fatale in his corner helped The Rated R Superstar feel more credible as a top tier act, while a provocative partnership with Edge helped Lita get over as the top heel of the women’s division.

WrestleMania Backlash saw Rhea Ripley strike up her own partnership with Edge when she joined his Judgment Day faction. The Nightmare, Damian Priest, and Finn Balor have since turned on Edge but the core consideration remains in place.

She‘s a woman, paired with men who have similar dark and edgy personas, and everyone involved stands to benefit from this alliance and the clear identity it lends them.

Like Lita, Rhea Ripley Has A Different Aesthetic

Part of Lita standing out during the Attitude Era was her signature look. In a sea of blonds who looked like clean-cut fitness models, Lita had bright red hair, highly visible tattoos, and a signature look that included a thong peeking out from her pants.

There’s a somewhat similar ethos to Ripley’s act. With short hair, tattoos, piercings, and leather, she stands out from the pack of female performers in WWE, looking a bit edgy, a bit alternative, and perhaps most importantly like a clearly identifiable character no fan is ever likely to confuse with another woman from the WWE roster.

Like Lita, Rhea Ripley Has Lingered One Step Shy Of The Top

Lita was one of the best and most popular female performers of her day. However, it was difficult to ever call her the top woman in WWE, at least in a sustained way. Just as Randy Savage tended to play second fiddle to Hulk Hogan, or Randy Orton spent the better part of a decade one step behind John Cena’s stardom, Lita was a key rival, but ultimately second fiddle to Trish Stratus.

Some of that comes down to timing—particularly when Lita got hurt going into what might have been her biggest push for WrestleMania 21–but regardless, she tends to be remembered more as half of a package deal with Stratus than as the face of the division on her own.

Time will tell how Rhea Ripley’s career wil play out. In NXT UK, though, she shared the top women’s spot with Toni Storm, and in NXT she tended to be featured a step behind Io Shirai and Raquel Gonzalez at different points.

On the main roster, Ripley has had her moments, but Charlotte Flair has tended to get the best of their exchanges and Bianca Belair has surpassed The Nightmare in their cohort of talents, when it comes to kayfabe accomplishments like title reigns and winning the Royal Rumble, as well as overall star power.

At twenty-five years old there is still plenty of time for Rhea Ripley to carve out her legacy. The fact that WWE’s women’s division is much better featured now can be a blessing and curse in comparing her run to Lita’s, as The Nightmare certainly has more opportunities to break out, but also a more crowded roster to overcome to stand out from the pack. Nonetheless, key elements of their presentation and journey have overlapped so far.

Women’s History Month is officially upon us, and in the midst of WrestleMania season, WWE has already announced three premiere women’s matches for the biggest event of the year.

Last year, Bianca Belair captured the Smackdown Women’s Championship by defeating Sasha Banks in the main event of night 1 of WrestleMania 37. Three years ago, Becky Lynch emerged as the Smackdown and RAW Women’s Champions in the first ever Women’s Main Event of WrestleMania. In 2022, the two victors of the only women’s WrestleMania main events collide with the RAW Women’s Championship on the line.

Before this path for WrestleMania 38 was forged however, Becky Lynch faced possibly her toughest opponent to date, in the form of WWE Hall of Famer, Lita. On February 19th in Saudi Arabia, four-time WWE Women’s Champion Lita competed for singles gold for the first time in over fifteen years. After an impressive performance in the Royal Rumble, Lita returned to RAW to challenge RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to an enticing challenge: Lita wanted a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber. Hesitantly, Becky Lynch accepted.

Once at Elimination Chamber, this matchup breeded brilliance amongst both competitors. Becky Lynch landed all of her signature moves: The Bexploder, Disarm-her submission, and the Manhandle Slam. However, it was not enough to faze the WWE Hall of Famer. Meanwhile, Lita brought out blasts from the past, hitting a Stratusphere, a Twist of Fate, and her iconic Litasault. Both competitors battled back and forth, kicking out of each other’s powerful moves.

The live crowd in Saudi Arabia watched on in amazement, while the WWE Universe watching at home watched awestruckly, praising the battle between both performers. It should be noted too that unlike some of her previous matchups, Becky Lynch ran by the books in this bout, with no rope leverage assists and virtually no underhanded tactics. Perhaps it was a sign of respect and admiration for her opponent, Lita.

In the end, Becky Lynch retained the RAW Women’s Championship by hitting a Manhandle Slam on Lita, gaining the pinfall. After the match though, Lita basked in the thunderous ovation of the live crowd, a sign of deep respect for the WWE Hall of Famer.

Lita had previously come out of retirement for a quick match at RAW 1,000, then in 2018 at the Royal Rumble and Evolution pay-per-views. This time though, she ran a legit program with one of the biggest stars of today’s generation in WWE.

The courage and fight exemplified throughout Lita’s performance at Elimination Chamber beautifully demonstrates the aura of past generations of women in WWE. Despite not being given their proper dues during their initial run, reemergences like Lita’s exemplifies the drawing power and benefit of bringing back legends into today’s landscape of superstars.

Another prime example of this benefit played out in the summer of 2019 between Charlotte Flair and seven-time WWE Women’s Champion, Trish Stratus. The two formally collided at SummerSlam, but the presence of Stratus definitely added extra leverage to drawing value of the women’s matches that night. Stratus unlocked a new reportoire while also revisiting her signature moves in her fight against Flair. Historically, the story of this encounter was beautifully written too.

For nearly 13 years, Trish Stratus held the record for most Women’s Championships won in WWE. In 2019, Charlotte Flair shattered that record, making her the most decorated women’s champion in the history of the company. Rightfully so, Stratus returned to the ring later that year to not only go one-on-one with the woman who beat her record, but to further elevate the current generation of female superstars.

Even in defeat, Stratus received a wide ovation from the WWE Universe that night in Toronto, as well as online praise from spectators watching from around the world. Similarly, the addition of surprise entrants to Royal Rumble matches has drawn equivalent excitment and drawing power through returning legends every year.

The WWE Universe undeniably “pops” at the return of (most) female legends. Much like we’ve seen from their male counterparts, invested programs with a mix of legends and current talent has often proved to captivate the audience in numerous ways. It’s a nostalgic familiarity blended with the modern style and look of today’s generation of superstars that serves a spectucular showcase of women’s wrestling.

The stars of the past carry much drawing power, experience, and importance. They paved the way for today’s generation of talent. Many of today’s stars yearn for matches with many of the stars of the past as well, so why not capitalize?

In short, bring on more legends!

Lita is slated to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber on February 19, which will mark her first singles match since 2006 where she dropped the Women’s Title to Mickie James at the Survivor Series. 

While speaking with Sports Illustrated to promote the show, the WWE Hall Of Famer talked about how her training has gone for the bout: 

“I really feel good. I have been away from the ring [and traveling with WWE], so I haven’t been beating myself up. I’m sleeping in the same bed and holding a regular training schedule. They gave us quite a bit of heads up for the Rumble this year, so I’ve had time to prepare, and that has shifted into making my workouts more intense. Plus, combine that with a group I’ve linked up with in the Bay Area called Hood Slam—I have an open invitation to their ring and that’s helped so much. That’s really helped put any doubt to rest.”

Prior to Lita’s latest WWE return, it was reported that she considered going to AEW. She gave some additional details on how the talks went and why she eventually decided to stay with WWE. 

“They reached out to me initially, and I was intrigued. They’re doing a lot of cool stuff. It’s exciting whenever there is competition—it stokes the industry as a whole. And they’ve really fostered the rise of the star of Britt Baker. I was intrigued, but as we ended up talking, it felt like it wasn’t the right move for me. We ended it with, “Not right now. I wish you the best and I’ll be watching.” It’s a fun product and I’m glad for their success. I ultimately feel I’m home in WWE. There is something that feels right about that.”

Lita also stated in this interview that there are currently no plans for her in WWE following the Elimination Chamber event. 

WWE Hall of Famer Lita has been officially announced for an appearance on this Monday’s WWE Raw show from Indianapolis. Due to the Winter Olympics, Raw will air on SyFy.

The appearance will be to build to her match with WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch next Saturday at the Elimination Chamber premium live event in Saudi Arabia.

WWE.com made the announcement:

“Two weeks after making her return to Monday Night Raw and just five days away from her Raw Women’s Championship Match against Becky Lynch at WWE Elimination Chamber, WWE Hall of Famer Lita is back on the red brand!

“What will the four-time Women’s Champion have in store for the WWE Universe and Big Time Becks as she gets set for an extreme showdown at the Jeddah Premium Live Event?”

WWE.com

The two women had an interaction last week on Raw, with Lynch coming out to interrupt Lita’s promo. She acknowledged that her superstardom is possible due to the work Lita put in years ago, noting that there wouldn’t be a Becky Lynch without Lita. However, she also said that now that there is a Becky Lynch, there can be no Lita.

The segment broke down into a fight. In the end, Lita hit Lynch with a Twist of Fate and Moonsault.

Lita’s match for the Raw Women’s Championship against Lynch next Saturday in Saudi Arabia will be her first WWE title opportunity in 15 years. Lita impressed while wrestling in the Royal Rumble a couple of weeks ago and appears to still be in tremendous in-ring shape. The pair should have a good match next Saturday.

• Lita Explains Why She Stayed With WWE Instead Of Joining AEW

Also announced for this Monday’s Raw is an appearance by Brock Lesnar, Damian Priest defending the WWE United States Championship against AJ Styles, and an “RK-Broga Party” featuring Riddle and Randy Orton.

Don’t forget to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

Prior to Lita’s latest return to WWE programming, it was reported that she considered going to World Wrestling Entertainment’s rival promotion, AEW. 

The former WWE Women’s Champion was asked in an interview with Esquire Middle East about why she stayed with WWE and didn’t join AEW. She first put over AEW for doing exciting stuff and they brought new life into the industry. She feels that any time there’s competition, it’s good as it revives the industry.

“When they reached out to me, I did consider it. I said, we can talk, I’m interested, you guys are doing some interesting stuff. But ultimately, upon talking to them, it just made me say to myself, ‘but I have all of these things already!’

Lita continued, “I have those things with my home that I’ve known for 20 years, with the people that I’ve worked with for 20 years. Basically, I gave them my blessing. I said, I will watch you and I support you. And I want you guys to do great, but this just doesn’t feel like the right fit for me right now.”

Lita made her in-ring return by working the Women’s Royal Rumble match last month and is slated to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber on February 19.

Lita had previously been outspoken about WWE’s Saudi Arabian events being driven by money and not the desire to help the culture of the country move forward. The Hall Of Famer however has since decided to take the road herself. She is currently scheduled to face the Raw women’s champion Becky Lynch at the next WWE event from the country, Elimination Chamber.

Lita discussed her previous comments on the matter during a recent appearance on Ring The Belle podcast. She noted how she had criticized the lack of women’s matches on the card. She mentioned how things have changed since then:

“I’ve talked to the women personally that have been over there. And they’re like, ‘It’s unbelievable. There are women crying, never thinking they would get to see two women be so strong in the ring’. They’re like, ‘It’s really powerful. You’re going to enjoy that.’ And so, sure, do they have a long way to go? Do we as a society have a long way to go? Absolutely. But, you got to take the opportunities when they’re there.”

Lita On WWE Shows In Saudi Arabia

Lita had talked about WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia after their first event back in 2018. The former champion claimed that she understood WWE was a business and they are always looking to expand their global presence. Though she felt like it was a direct conflict of interest:

“However, I do feel this was a direct conflict of interest with them maintaining any integrity or truth to the fact that they say they would like to push forward women, their roles and their reputations in this business as anything resembling equal to a male. Make the money, that’s fine, but don’t try to cover it up.”

The first three WWE PPV events in Saudi Arabia did not feature any women’s matches. Although during the 2019 Crown Jewel event, Natalya and Lacey Evans became the first female competitors to wrestle a match in the country. The Crown Jewel 2021 event then featured two women’s matches on the card.

Thanks to PostWrestling for the transcribed quotes

Lita has not only paid attention to WWE’s women’s division but also their rival in All Elite Wrestling. 

The WWE Hall of Famer gave her take about the roster the promotion has put together during an appearance on the latest episode of Booker T’s Hall Of Fame podcast. 

Lita stated that she thought for a while it was just all about AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker. However, she sees them starting to add strength. 

“I think they’re finally starting to add and strengthen that roster,” Lita said. “Because for a while, and this tends to happen a lot, something catches fire and then you go with it, and it ends up being a one-person show. So it was like the Britt Baker show for quite a bit there, and then they were like, ‘oh, wait we can’t just throw Nyla to the wayside after we’ve used her, we can’t throw Ruby.’ You’ve got to build everybody up and kind of keep it going.”

Lita continued by noting that the women were lacking, but now that the promotion has put some emphasis on that. She recalled seeing the lights out match between Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker thinking that really put the women’s division on the map for them. 

As previously reported, Lita did have talks with AEW President Tony Khan regarding joining the company, but she returned to WWE and will be part of the Women’s Royal Rumble Match this Saturday night. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription

Lita says she had “some potential opportunities floating around” prior to her recent WWE return.

The Attitude Era legend returned to WWE programming earlier this month, when she confronted Charlotte Flair on SmackDown. She’ll lace up her boots once again this Saturday in the Women’s Royal Rumble, where she hopes to securing herself a title shot at WrestleMania 38.

On Monday, Lita was a guest on the Throwing Down with Renee Paquette & Miesha Tate show on Sirius XM.

Lita recalls the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many of us overindulged in junk food thinking it would be a short-term ‘vacation’ from healthy living. As the pandemic raged on, reality set in and she eventually got back to training.

Earlier this month, Fightful reported that Lita was in talks with AEW. It never came to fruition, but Tony Khan wanted Lita to wrestle AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker at last year’s All Out pay-per-view from Chicago, IL.

During her discussion with Renee Paquette and Miesha Tate, Lita strongly considered accepting a ‘potential opportunity’ that came her way.

“There were some potential opportunities floating around that I was like, ‘Maybe, maybe, maybe.’

– Lita

WWE recently approached her about the chance to participate in the Women’s Royal Rumble. “It was this thing that was, ‘Yes or no. Do you want to do the Rumble on this date, are you in?’ I put my feet to the fire and was like, ‘Yes, I’m in.’ Now that I’m in, it’s time to make the most of it,” she said.

Lita has been out of action since 2018. She wrestled a few matches for WWE that year, including the 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble and the WWE Evolution all-women’s PPV.

Lita made her first appearance on WWE SmackDown in nearly 20 years on Friday night as part of the build to her in-ring return at the Royal Rumble in two weeks. However, Lita’s return to the ring was close to happening in a different wrestling company entirely.

Lita had conversations with AEW about a return to the ring in 2021, according to Fightful. However, the two sides were obviously unable to come to a deal.

The report notes that AEW laid out a story where Lita would feud with AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker. That feud would culminate in a match between the two at AEW All Out 2021 this past September in Chicago. However, Baker ended up working a match against Kris Statlander at that show when negotiations with Lita broke down.

Despite no deal being reached, Fightful reports that the negotiations between Lita and AEW were amicable and there’s a possibility of the two doing business in the future.

• Lita Makes First WWE SmackDown Appearance in 20 Years

Lita has been cleared to work for WWE for over four years now. She has not been on their “no contact” list according to Fightful.

Lita’s last match was in October 2018. That was a 10-woman tag team match on WWE Monday Night Raw that saw Lita, Trish Stratus, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya defeat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan), Alicia Foxx and Mickie James.

As mentioned, Lita was recently announced as a participant in this year’s 30-woman WWE Royal Rumble match which will take place two weeks from this Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri. There’s a feeling that this may not be a one-off, and WWE leaned into that during Friday night’s SmackDown broadcast as Lita had a confrontation with Charlotte Flair.

If Lita sticks around after the Royal Rumble, who would you like to see her work against? Let us know in the comments section below!

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

Lita made her first appearance in nearly 20 years on WWE SmackDown on Friday night.

Michael Cole interviewed Lita in the ring and and talked about her being a trailblazer who broke through glass ceilings during her career. The fans chanted her name as Lita declared that she was “home.”

They brought up many of the female stars on the roster today who idolized Lita, and Cole asked her why she decided to come back for the Royal Rumble. Lita said that she did a lot during her career, was one of the first women to main event a Raw, wrestled in a cage and TLC match, but there was no women’s Rumble when she was wrestling full time (she did work the match in 2018). Lita said she’s back because she thinks she has one more run in her and wants to win the Rumble and go on to WrestleMania.

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair then made her entrance and came out to confront Lita. She took the microphone from Cole and said she’d do the interview. Charlotte declared she’d win the Rumble and choose her WrestleMania opponent. Lita came back by calling Charlotte “Tonya Harding” and asked her how she doesn’t fall down from her giant head, inciting chant from the crowd.

• Lita Was In Talks With AEW For A Huge Match Prior to WWE Return

Charlotte talked about Trish Stratus, Lita’s best friend Charlotte said she retired Trish in 2019 and will do the same to Lita. Lita went to slap Trish, but stopped as Charlotte cowered away. Lita then hit a Twist of Fate on Charlotte to end the segment.

Earlier story prior to SmackDown.

A WWE Hall of Famer will make her return to SmackDown tonight as Lita has been announced for this evening’s show on FOX.

This will be the first time that Lita has appeared on SmackDown in nearly 20 years. Her last actual match on SmackDown occurred on March 19th, 2002, a tag team victory alongside Trish Stratus against Jazz and Ivory.

Lita’s last match was in October 2018. That was a 10-woman tag team match on WWE Monday Night Raw that saw Lita, Trish Stratus, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya defeat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan), Alicia Foxx and Mickie James.

Lita was recently announced as a participant in this year’s 30-woman WWE Royal Rumble match which will take place two weeks from this Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lita’s appearance on SmackDown tonight will tie-in to her return at the Royal Rumble as part of building up to that match.

Per WWE.com:

Last week, it was announced that WWE Hall of Famer Lita would be among the honored participants competing in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match for the opportunity to headline WrestleMania.

Now, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the groundbreaking four-time Women’s Champion is set to return to the blue brand. Don’t miss SmackDown tonight at 8/7 C on FOX.

WWE.com

• Lita Discusses WWE Not Following Up On Evolution’s Success

Other Announcements for Tonight’s WWE SmackDown

In addition to Lita’s return to SmackDown tonight, the following segments have also been announced for the FOX broadcast:

• A face-to-face between WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins
• Aliyah will make her SmackDown singles debut in a match against Natalya.
• Sami Zayn will debuts his new InZayn stunt show. He is trying to “out-Jackass” Johnny Knoxville

SEScoops will have full coverage of tonight’s SmackDown on FOX. Make sure to check back with us tonight for full results and analysis.

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

WWE Hall Of Famer Lita and the current SmackDown women’s champion Becky Lynch are teasing a confrontation ahead of this Monday’s episode of Raw.

The Attitude Era star retweeted an article on her profile looking at five dream matches she could have with stars of the current roster. Not very surprisingly, one of the names on the list was of The Man herself.

Lynch took the time to respond to the wrestling veteran saying that she will like to send Lita off with a bad arm. Lita then teased a confrontation between the two:

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw will be airing live from Chase Center in San Francisco, California. It’s also where the former women’s champion resides.

Becky Lynch was moved to Raw during the WWE Draft. While the changed rosters do not come into effect until after the Crown Jewel PPV, there is nothing that can stop The Man from doing what she wants.

Lita was last seen wrestling in a WWE ring almost 3 years ago. She competed in a 10 woman tag team match during the October 29, 2018 episode of Raw.

Will you be excited for a Becky Lynch vs. Lita match in the future? Let us know your thoughts about a potential clash between these two below.

• Becky Lynch On When She Found Out About Her SummerSlam Return

WWE Hall of Famer Lita (Amy Dumas) appears in the horror movie, “It Wants Blood.” The film was made by Acid Bath Productions in 2019, but is now (finally) available for rent and purchase at Vimeo.

The official synopsis reads, “Two giant monsters are forced to battle head to screaming head on the political circuit as they run against each other for a seat as a senator. But the unsuspecting public doesn’t realize there are actually creatures that each running mate owns, feasting on helpless, big-breasted, quivering-lipped women and charity-thieving priests. The perils of politics never involved two enormous behemoths fighting to the death…until now! You’ll be on the edge of your seat watching fangs feasting on heaps of flesh as beautiful babes are fed to the beasts in It Wants Blood!”

Here are the trailer for It Wants Blood:

What Lita Has Been Up To Lately

Lita has been keeping in contact with fans as of late with a pen pal club.

She also has a Twitch channel that she keeps active.

Last year, in an interview with the Women’s Wrestling Weekly podcast, Lita commented on WWE doing another Evolution PPV.

“Dude, why is it not back? So Mae Young got so much positive feedback, Evolution was sold out, granted, you can’t look at your own timeline for how people feel because they’re like, ‘You’re so great,’ and I’m like, oh, everyone loved it, but from what I got, everybody responded really positively to it, even just financially, it was sold out, I don’t understand why there is not another Evolution, why it didn’t make the regular PPV cut, was really shocking to me.” 

WWE Hall of Famer Lita recently joined the Women’s Wrestling Weekly Podcast. During their conversation, she addressed WWE’s decision to not follow up with another Evolution or May Young Classic event. Given the feedback those shows received, Lita shared her disbelief at WWE holding back.

“Dude, why is it not back? So Mae Young got so much positive feedback, Evolution was sold out, granted, you can’t look at your own timeline for how people feel because they’re like, ‘You’re so great,’ and I’m like, oh, everyone loved it, but from what I got, everybody responded really positively to it, even just financially, it was sold out, I don’t understand why there is not another Evolution, why it didn’t make the regular PPV cut, was really shocking to me.” 

Lita competed during the Evolution pay-per-view. She teamed up with Trish Stratus. The duo defeated the team of Mickie James and Alicia Fox.

Lita’s Wrestling Mount Rushmore

Lita was then asked which female wrestlers would adorn her personal wrestling Mount Rushmore. She listed names from the industry’s past and present. Alongside Chyna, Lita included the current WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Luna. She explained how she always found Luna really cool and believed her to be underrated, “[…] she doesn’t get the love that she deserves.” 

Adding onto the conversation of legacy recognition, Lita noted how Chyna should be added into the WWE Hall of Fame as a solo entrant. 

H/T to 411Mania for the transcription.