Paige & 9 Other Retired Women's Wrestlers That Would Be Top Stars In 2022
Mia Smith Women's wrestling, like all of professional wrestling, is constantly evolving with new faces arriving in promotions like WWE and AEW, with recent signings like Rok-C and Toni Storm respectively, as well as older names deciding to hang up their boots. Looking at the wrestling landscape nowadays, it does raise a curiosity factor in regard to names that no longer wrestle.
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As more and more former wrestlers make their return to the ring post-retirement, fans can easily fantasy-book returns for some of their favorite women's wrestlers from the past. Looking back at each of these women in their prime however, begs the question as to what retired women's wrestlers would be top stars today?
11 Nikki Bella
A name that often does not get the respect that she deserves, Nikki Bella managed to prove her worth in terms of wrestling ability beginning in late 2014 and stretching into the new brand split era in 2016. Without her, SmackDown's impressive women's division during 2016 would not have been what it was.
Nikki managed to breakout as a singles star, without Brie, and put in the work to get better and better with her matches. Being a gifted promo, having a great on-screen personality, and adding good wrestling to her arsenal, Nikki Bella would add star power and solid skills to any women's division in 2022 if she were to be able to.
10 Lita
Thanks to a second Royal Rumble return in early 2022, the WWE Universe got to witness a brief return run from Lita as she feuded with Becky Lynch during the start of the new year, even scoring a Raw Women's Championship Match in Saudi Arabia at Elimination Chamber 2022!
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Lita has been one of the most popular women's wrestlers for years now, and despite never having the best ring work, her match against Becky Lynch managed to overdeliver, with many stating that it was one of the legend's best matches. Whether it be AEW or WWE, Lita would undeniably be a star if she existed as a full-time wrestler nowadays.
9 Molly Holly
Molly Holly has continued to make sporadic apperances with WWE over the past few years, often returning for the Women's Royal Rumble match and rightfully so. She was a pioneer for women's wrestling in the WWE and it only feels right that she always gets the call to come back.
With how talented she was both on the mic and in-ring, Molly Holly feels like a no-brainer for hypothetically moving decades, as she would be a great fit for any division, in WWE, AEW, or even Impact Wrestling's Knockouts Division.
8 Bull Nakano
Making her pro-wrestling debut in the early 1980s, most wrestling fans are familiar with Bull Nakano for her appearances in both the WWF and WCW during the 90s, with her unique appearance being a sticking factor for many.
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A genuine pioneer and forerunner for modern-day women's wrestling, Bull Nakano's fingerprints are linked to women's wrestling to this day. While she is retired now, lifting Nakano from her prime and bringing her into the 2020s as a part of a promotion like Stardom, or even a promotion like AEW who often uses joshi talent, Bull Nakano would be able to reign supreme as a main event-level women's wrestler.
7 Kaitlyn
Despite returning for the Mae Young Classic, Kaitlyn never got to have a proper return run in WWE, which was a shame considering that she looked mighty impressive during that tournament. Having been a prime factor in the Divas Division ahead of the Women's Evolution rebranding in 2015, Kaitlyn would hold the Divas Championsip once.
Should she ever return, serving the role of a women's powerhouse, seeing Kaitlyn wrestle against the likes of Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, or Jamie Hayter certainly would be quite the sight nowadays.
6 Manami Toyota
Beginning her wrestling career in the late 1980s, Manami Toyota is one of the best women's wrestlers of all time, even winning the Wrestling Observer's poll for the Greatest Women's Wrestler of All Time in the 2009. With a career spanning three decades, Toyota will go down in the history books as a legend.
With an increased popularity of Japanese wrestling, both in male-driven companies like New Japan and Pro Wrestling Noah, and female-driven ones, like Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW), it is not hard to picture Toyota thriving in today's wrestling scene.
5 Trish Stratus
Arguably one of the greatest of all time, Trish Stratus is a wrestling personality that everyone not only knows, but respects, with her somehow managing to exist during the era where sex appeal reigned supreme, while also being a genuinely great wrestler who put on great matches.
Whether it be her returning nowadays, when she has proven that she can still going after appearing in the Royal Rumble, having a one-on-one match with Charlotte, or appearing at WWE Evolution, or lifting her from the past, Trish would be a star regardless of her age, and would have an incredible effect on any wrestling promotion.
4 AJ Lee
The woman who carried WWE's women's division on her back for a number of years, AJ Lee was a gift that fans took for granted, as she would not be around to feud with the likes of Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Rhea Ripley, or Bianca Belair. Retiring in 2015, Lee hung up her boots in the spring of that year, just months before the first of the Four Horsewomen would arrive on the main roster.
With her husband having returned after his own seven year absence in 2021, AJ Lee has already gotten her foot back in the wrestling door with the return of WOW, so could fans expect to see the former Divas Champion make a return?
3 Gail Kim
The definitive Knockout from both the TNA and Impact Wrestling eras of the company, Gail Kim will go down as one of the best women's wrestlers of all time no matter how anyone spins it. Despite not finding the success that she deserved during her time with WWE, Kim managed to make the best of it, crafting a strong legacy in the Knockouts Division and proving that Impact Wrestling is a premier destination for women's wrestling.
Having properly retired, Gail Kim is still a key player in Impact Wrestling, running the Knockouts Division and appearing as an on-screen character for the company. With the amount of talent in today's scene, and with companies having an increased focus on women's wrestling, one can only wonder how great Gail Kim would do in today's wrestling world.
2 Paige
One of the most talented and promising female stars in WWE's modern era, Paige came off a hot run in NXT before dethroning AJ Lee for the Divas Championship. The two of them would carry WWE's women's division for all of 2014, into 2015 before the arrival of the Horsewomen and a rebranding of women's wrestling within the company.
Unfortunately for Paige, injuries would derail her career and ultimately force her into an early retirement. Having had stints as the Smackdown GM, a manager for the Kabuki Warriors, and a personality on WWE Backstage, Paige now mainly does modeling and Twitch as she has not appeared on Raw or Smackdown in some time. With returns like Christian, Bryan Danielson, and Edge giving fans hope for a Paige return one day, maybe she will get another chance, but for now, her career remains a "What If?" in the history books.
