Women Who Defined Wrestling: 2000-2015
Like the 20th century, early part of the 21st century was a difficult time to be a woman wrestler too. We have seen wrestlers like Jacqueline Moore, Ivory, and Mae Young paving the path for the women's wrestlers throughout the last century, but still, the mindset of the fans had not completely changed as women were still seen as an eye candy for their male audience. Women, who were in the business for proving their wrestling talent had to struggle a lot to be relevant for a long period of time in this male dominating sports. But, we still had many pioneers who showed the whole world that women deserve to be placed at equal footing as their male counterpart.
We are trying to recognize women who took lots of hardships and pain in the different time period to make women's wrestling what it is today. Now, this article is about women who defined wrestling between 2000-2015.
5. Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix is one of the best women's wrestlers in the attitude era having been part of some amazing matches and spots. She is a former Divas Champion and a three-time WWE Women's Champion. Before getting hired by WWE, she spent a good amount of time in the independent circuit in the initial stage of career, which certainly made her bold and strong and helped her in the coming years.
She made a name for herself in promotions like Cleveland All Pro Wrestling and Apocalypse Wrestling, fighting against both male and female wrestlers. In 2002, she was one of the first wrestlers to be part of GLORY, an independent organization for women, and also became the inaugural champion
Beth was recruited by WWE in 2004 and worked in their then developmental territory, OVW, before finally making her television debut in WWE's main roster in May 2006, as Trish's ally. Phoenix has enjoyed a fair amount of success in her career and has been part of many memorable feuds with the likes of Mickie James, Michelle, Melina, and Michelle McCool.
She set the benchmark for other women and showed everyone how to have a successful career in such a global company. Her wrestling style and character have impressed everyone ranging from fans to critics. Beth Phoenix was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017 and became the youngest person to be inducted at such a prestigious ceremony.