10 Female Wrestlers Ignored In WWE's Revisionist History

When Alundra Blayze signed for the WWF in 1993, all the company’s hopes for a thriving women’s program were pinned upon her.

Having collapsed in 1990, the division’s fledgling revival required a talented, charismatic woman to lead it, and Blayze was the perfect choice. Her programs with Bull Nakano and Bertha Faye (well...) were exactly what WWF needed to legitimize the division and allow it to stand alongside the men's. Sure, the women's division was lacking in depth, but Blayze was a star worth building around.

In late 1995, though, Blayze was released from her contract for financial reasons while still holding the belt. The WWF abandoned all plans to elevate the women, instead allocating all their resources and attention to fighting off the emergence of WCW’s Nitro. For Blayze, holding a title belt without a contract, the jump to WCW was obvious, and she was a great (if inconsistent) star for WCW, competing against men, entering tournaments for the WCW Championship, and winning the Cruiserweight Championship. However it was her first act in the new company that courted controversy, as Blayze's first appearance on WCW television was to throw the WWF belt in the trash. Oblivious to the irony of Ric Flair having done something similar for WWE in the early '90s, Blayze was blacklisted from the company for two decades.

To their credit, WWE has done what they can to mend the divide in recent years. Blayze was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2015 and appeared at WrestleMania, on Table For 3, and even in the WWE video games since. However, repaired relationship or not, don’t count on hearing her mentioned in the same breath as the stars that came before her (like Moolah), or those that came after (like Trish or Lita).