10 Wrestlers Who Were Supposed To Get Other Wrestlers Over (But Got Over Themselves)

9. Lita (Essa Rios)

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WWE.com

Early-2000 episodes of Sunday Night Heat and Metal were largely unremarkable. In fact, there were only really two reasons to tune in for most of them; one, recaps of Raw and SmackDown. Two, you just knew that red-haired bombshell Lita would hit a moonsault on some poor sap after an Essa Rios match.

Rios himself was a fine flyer, but he couldn't hope to steal attention away from his valet. Though Lita was there to complement the Latin star, she ended up becoming an eye-catching standout who obviously needed to move on. The future Hall Of Famer outgrew Rios within a few short months.

Fighting against her rise would've been stupid, and futile.

Lita left Rios behind, linked up with The Hardy Boyz and then ventured out on her own as a popular part of the women's division. Her post-bout moonsaults remain the only memorable aspect of Essa's (otherwise solid) Cruiser-style matches.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.