10 Best Female Superstars Of The New Era

WWE’s self-described “New Era” has made a great song and dance of equalising the gap between its male and female superstars. Even using the word “superstar” rather than "diva" to describe its female talent has been one of the ways in which WWE have tried to show it’s moving with the times (“hey look guys, women are great, we totally think so, no more bra and panties matches, be a star kids!” etc etc).

This pushing of its female talent to more prominence is thanks, in part, to changing attitudes and expectations of how women are seen and portrayed in the media. It’s also probably thanks to the massive crossover success story that is Ronda Rousey, who despite taking some time off after losing her Bantamweight title, is still one of the most bankable mainstream names in UFC. And she’s a lady-person.

It’s also clear that the WWE finally recognised the quality and depth of talent in its female roster. This is thanks largely to the efforts of those women, who re-defined and re-worked expectations of the division.

Many talented ladies can claim some responsibility for revolutionising women's wrestling in WWE. Here are the ten most important.

This is a bit of a cheat entry. Sarah Amato is not an active part of the WWE roster, but she is one of the coaches at NXT. Better known by some under her former ring name Sara Del Rey, Amato made a name for herself outside the WWE in promotions such as Ring of Honour and Shimmer.

After Bill De Mott’s ignominious departure, Amato was promoted to assistant head coach at NXT in 2015. If you watch programs like Breaking Ground, you’ll see how involved Amato is in developing the female talent of NXT, and how she has made a huge impact on the way women are trained and the expectations the company has of them.

She may not be an active wrestler, but Amato has played a key part in the success of most of the women of this list.