10 Most Inspirational Wrestling Stars Of All Time
7. Lita
Amy ‘Lita’ Dumas decided to become a professional wrestler after watching Rey Mysterio Jnr. killing it on an episode of WCW Nitro in 1998. That’s ‘professional wrestler’, not valet or Nitro Girl - and she followed up on it by going to Mexico to get into the business the same way Mysterio did.
She didn’t have an invitation to come and train, just some addresses to look up and six weeks to kill while her other half’s band were on tour. It took her the entire six weeks to convince the good folks at Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre that she was serious about it. Not discouraged, she simply returned to Mexico again, beginning training for real on her next visit.
Back in the USA once more, she wrestled for NWA Mid-Atlantic and ECW before signing with the WWF and the rest, as they say, is history.
People are often down on Lita’s wrestling ability these days, claiming that she was never as good as she was hyped to be in the ring. They’re not entirely wrong but, damn, that hype.
Lita was groundbreaking in many, many ways, wrestling men as well as killing it in the women’s division, and becoming an integral part of Team Xtreme with the Hardyz, not just some hanger on. She came back after supposedly career-ending injury and took part in one of WWE’s definitive feuds of the century so far, main eventing RAW with Trish Stratus in 2004.
She’s punk rock through and through, approaching everything in life with that punk rock ethic: if you’re not willing to fight for what’s important to you, then it’s just not that important to you. That attitude made her a WWE Hall Of Famer, and one of the most inspirational and relatable women ever to step into the ring.