In June 2002, at the annual King of the Ring pay-per-view, Molly Holly defeated Trish Stratus to win the Women's Championship. It was the culmination of a renewed push for the talented in-ring performer, who had undergone an attitude change and was now running rampant in the Divas division as an obnoxious prude looking to eliminate sexuality from women's wrestling. She carried the title with honor, defeating Trish in several rematches and holding the title for nearly four months before losing it back to the Torontoan at Unforgiven in September 2002. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOJmS8eq6lU The following year brought with it a second opportunity for Molly to reign over World Wrestling Entertainment. After defeating Gail Kim, she held onto the gold for eight months at the height of the golden age of women's wrestling in WWE, defeating Trish, Lita, Victoria, Jacqueline, Ivory and others to retain her place atop the WWE mountaintop. Arguably the greatest technical wrestler of that era, she was more than deserving of the success and stature that came along with holding the title. In turn, she helped bring legitimacy to the title and was the perfect foil for mega-popular Divas such as Trish and Lita.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.