In today's WWE, women and men are strictly prohibited from wrestling one another. The current "PG" television rating does not allow for that sort of interaction and, quite frankly, neither does the society in which we live. The days of men giving women their comeuppance in a physical manner, such as those dished out by Tommy Dreamer to Dawn Marie or Justin Credible to Francine during the height of Paul Heyman's ECW, are a thing of the past. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will not be delivering a crowd-pleasing Stone Cold Stunner to Stephanie McMahon anytime soon nor will Honky Tonk Man be deliberately shoving Miss Elizabeth to the ground. And that is not a bad thing. Violence against women is an understandably touchy topic, one that WWE does not feel comfortable presenting to its family-friendly audience. It is not okay, understandable or justifiable for a man to ever put his hands on a woman, regardless of the situation in which it is occurring. With the women of today's wrestling world being portrayed as sexy, strong and powerful, booking them at the mercy of their male counterparts completely unravels the entire marketing push. Still, that does not mean that history should be ignored. The annals of WWE are dotted with instances in which Divas have mixed it up with men, mostly in sanctioned matches. Whether it was Trish Stratus attempting to make Chris Jericho's life even more miserable by beating him in a Handicap match or Beth Phoenix stunning the world by eliminating the Great Khali in the 2010 Royal Rumble, the top Divas of the last two decades have found themselves facing seemingly insurmountable odds while competing against the top male athletes in the industry. Who are these brave women and how did they fare? Find out for yourself by clicking the "next" button below.
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.
