PWP Nation’s women’s wrestling expert Matthew Hollie examines the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Female top 50 list, expressing his opinions on how this list shaped up.
The PWI Female Top 50 is something women’s wrestling fans look forward to every year, and each year there are some things we all agree on and others… not so much. This year there are plenty of debatable topics and I will examine them.
So enjoy while you can:
ANOTHER WWE-BASED STAR RANKED #1
Looks like this year’s #1 has lot of Flair to it. Charlotte is ranked #1 on PWI’s 2016 Female 50. I know a lot of people don’t agree with this but you can’t deny Charlotte has had a dominant year. As I sit here writing this up, she deserves the honor regardless of how the criteria is utilized. She’s the best female professional wrestler in the industry today; if you can count Kimber Lee, Cherry Bomb, Madison Eagles and plenty others on there. I knew Charlotte and Sasha Banks would be 1 and 2. Charlotte makes sense at #1 based on how PWI values the WWE Women’s title over the SHIMMER, SHINE, Knockouts title, etc.
But along the way to being #1, she earned plenty of criticism for kicking her legendary father Ric Flair to the curb in favor of Dana Brooke, which was a move that changed the course of her career. She’s the number one women’s wrestler in the world right now, love it or not. She may not be the best worker but she’s pretty good, and she is absolutely the most visible. Maybe the criticism will die down, In don’t know.
I know Charlotte is undefeated on pay-per-view and things like that. I know some people don’t like Charlotte and they realize WWE just wants her to be THE diva and they’ll do everything they can to make that happen. Playing hot potato with the WWE Women’s Championship doesn’t guarantee #1 every time, but they are hooked on the product.
Yes, Charlotte is #1, but sometimes it doesn’t come without criticism.
THE BIAS TOWARDS WWE IS STRONG ON THE LIST THIS YEAR
PWI is being pro-WWE on the PWI Top 50 Females list for the third consecutive. People may say I’m hot and bothered about it, but I’m not. I’m saying they have been Pro-WWE on these lists for three straight years. But the people over at PWI had no choice because WWE is the biggest company with the most air time weekly. To me it’s biased. Plain and simple.
Let’s look at it this way; WWE pumps out the better product and have some quality talent. People can just agree to disagree. Most people have to disagree on WWE’s current product, saying they don’t have a better product. I can honestly say that half of the time people may not like the number #1 on the list, but we got to respect their decision. Fans can get mad about it, complain about it, whatever. The fans have a say on who is the Best In The World.
In the end, PWI is just going to go with what’s on TV and not going to wrestling events all over the world. They used to look to other promotions at some point back then, but they’ve stopped doing that in recent years. The fact is they don’t look to wrestling outside of America proves their lists are empty filler. To them it’s all about magazine sales and catering to the casual fans, which is pretty ridiculous. Thing is, no one is going to be the top woman in the industry unless she works for Vince McMahon‘s billion-dollar empire. No one can draw as much money without their machine behind them, male or female.
I still remember when Madison Eagles was #1 in 2011. Cheerleader Melissa was #1 in 2013. The stars of SHIMMER were dominant during those years, and PWI put them in the spotlight. If they really ranked on accomplishments, Santana Garrett would have been #1 last year, but that honor went to Nikki Bella, which I had a major problem with.
Cheerleader Melissa is probably the best worker in the US right now, if not the best women’s athlete in this generation. Madison Eagles is undoubtedly one of the best pure big woman in the industry today as well and the more decorated athlete in this industry in a long time. There are also probably some indy wrestlers who are great that I’ve never heard of, but both are fantastic. Some of WWE’s women’s wrestlers couldn’t even hold a candle to one of these ladies. I don’t mean that line or of disrespect or an insult, they happen to have better success on the Indy circuit.
They did look to other promotions at some point, but they’ve stopped in recent years. The fact is they don’t look to wrestling outside of America proves their lists are empty filler. To them it’s all about magazine sales and catering to the casual fans, which is pretty ridiculous. Given the availability of worldwide streaming services from promotions like Progress, Bellatrix and Stardom, European and Japanese work should be monitored in future PWI Female 50 lists. Thing is, no one is going to be the top woman in the industry unless she works for Vince McMahon’s multi-billion dollar empire. No one can draw as much money without their machine behind them, male or female.
I can remember those years when PWI named Madison Eagles and Cheerleader Melissa #1 in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The stars of SHIMMER were dominant during those years, and PWI put them in the spotlight. If they really ranked on accomplishments, Santana Garrett would have been #1 last year, but that honor went to Nikki Bella, which I had a major problem with.
Cheerleader Melissa is probably the best worker in the US right now, and might be one of the best women’s wrestlers in this generation. Madison Eagles is undoubtedly one of the best pure big woman in the industry today as well and one of the most decorated women’s wrestlers in this decade. There are also probably some indy wrestlers who are great that I’ve never heard of, but both are fantastic. Some of WWE’s women’s wrestlers couldn’t even hold a candle to one of these ladies. I don’t mean that line or of disrespect or an insult, they happen to have better success on the Indy circuit.
KIMBER LEE SHOULD BE #1 OR IN THE TOP TEN
I like the idea that Kimber Lee should unquestionably be #1 or somewhere in the top 10. Names like Madison Eagles, who had a great year due to her second SHIMMER Champion reign and competing successfully against a variety of opponents with varying wrestling styles; Taylor Made, for her SHINE Championship reign and producing her best in ring work this year against a top notch opponents, and Cherry Bomb should be ranked in the Top 10 for being the longest reigning WSU Champion as well as her feud with Courtney Rush. Nicole Savoy should be ranked a little bit higher as the 1st Heart of SHIMMER Champion, probably near the top 10; and while Mercedes Martinez isn’t even listed this year, hopefully she will be in the Top 50 in 2017 as the defending SHIMMER Champion.
Ivelisse should be higher in the Top 10 as well, she challenged for the Lucha Underground Title, became the 1st ever SHINE Money In The Bank winner and cashed in as the fourth competitor in a match of champions involving the SHIMMER, SHINE, and Knockouts Title making Taylor Made tap out to become a 2 time SHINE Champion.
I’m not sure what Natalya did to warrant being in the Top 10, she should be right in the mid teens or early twenties. Jade and Sienna certainly should be in the Top 10 and I’m glad they made the top 10. I like Bayley in the Top 5 as well as Asuka, who deserved to be on this year’s list.
My top ten would be this:
- Charlotte
- Sasha Banks
- Kimber Lee
- Asuka
- Bayley
- Sienna
- Becky Lynch
- Ivelisse
- Cherry Bomb
- Madison Eagles
EVA MARIE AT #50? YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?
Like it or not, Eva Marie made the list at #50. Why should anyone be mad that she’s dead last? I’m not mad about her being on the list, but it’s kind of funny to have her on it while there are talented women wrestlers that aren’t on it. She may be a women’s wrestler, but she’s not a very good one at that. She may not be as good as others like Charlotte and Sasha, but don’t mean she’s not a wrestler. Most people are not fans of hers and they believe that there are clearly better women athletes in other companies, but Eva Marie is in WWE which means more people know her because she’s on their television sets every single week.
That kind of makes sense.
Eva Marie at number 50 is a big “F*ck You” at the IWC, but hey, she’s dead last, so who am I to argue? She isn’t the most popular woman on the roster and she still goes out every time to be entertaining. Or waste people’s time.
THE SNUBS
And now we come to the biggest issue the list each and every year; the snubs.
The exclusion of Europe-based talents like Jinny, Laura Di Matteo, Pollyanna, and Dahlia Black is ludicrous, as well as the exclusion of ladies of Women Of Honor (which includes Deonna Purrazzo, Taeler Hendrix, Mandy Leon and Kelly Klein), which supports my belief. Still, it wouldn’t kill them to also put joshis like Io Shirai or Kairi Hojo on the list. It makes no sense why they aren’t in there.
IT’S JUST A LIST
Half of you are gonna hate this, half of you are gonna like this, but ALWAYS remember folks: It’s just a list. Objective as it is, it’s just a list. It won’t make people cry about it, but people will react to it nonetheless. They can be excited for it, they can be up in arms, and they can air their grievances about it, same as last year.
People will be upset about it, so what? I’m not upset about how it’s done, I’m upset about the bias and the criteria they use to make these lists. Most people don’t even buy the magazine anymore to be honest. It’s too much bias going on. They barely mention TNA or ROH or Lucha Underground either as well. Plus they don’t see the reason to have a magazine based off of wins and losses anyway when we all know it’s scripted. Me? I don’t take it seriously that much, but when it comes to bias, I take it seriously.
For PWI, it’s all about magazine sales and attracting the casual fans, so of course the girls with TV exposure would be all over the rankings. Why are people so upset about it? Sometimes people can despise the bias. They have independent minds.
I don’t take this list serious this year, unlike last year. It’s not a terrible list, but it is a little biased in WWE’s favor. Yeah, PWI is pathetic, but so what? It’s nothing new for PWI. I can name 10 women not in WWE that are better, some might not be, but better nonetheless. It’s a screwed up system but hey, it doesn’t mean I completely agree with it.
Some say it’s a joke while others don’t take it seriously. My job is to review the list and give my honest opinion. Aside from a few people that don’t even deserve to be on this list, I agree with the choice for #1 this year in Charlotte. But most people will disagree with this.
I’m just glad I’m not one of them.
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I still can’t buy into Nia Jax being top 25. She’s still newer and is clearly green. She’s a little slower than what you’d even expect, and I think it’s cause she’s still not caring the confidence in herself and her performance/ move set. She’s getting there, but not top 25,not this year….