7. Lita's Debut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjhTboI93vo Essa Rios defeating Gillberg for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in 45 seconds on Sunday Night Heat really doesn't seem very important. However, when a red-haired diva with a giant tattoo gets up on the top rope and mimics Rios' moonsault finisher, that's impressive. Amy Dumas states in her biography that she remembered not being given a name in her debut, but then hearing that her name was given as "Lita" in the post-production taping of commentary. Lita being presented as a female luchador is huge. She's the one performer who shattered the expectation that female WWE performers would be little more than hair-grabbing traditional grapplers, and insofar as WWE's women performers of today and their unique highspots, we can easily look back to this moment for the inspiration.
Marcus K. Dowling
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Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
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