Over the past several years, WWE has shown more of an interest in booking strong women’s wrestling, with a number of stars truly breaking out as some of the most popular WWE Superstars regardless of gender. WWE’s women’s roster is at any given time a mix of long-time veterans, up-and-coming young studs and legends returning for one more run. But who exactly are the best in the company right now?
15Zoey Stark
Zoey Stark started in the NXT brand in 2021 to not much fanfare at first before starting to impress the crowd with her athletic style of wrestling. After some time in the black and gold brand, Stark is finally getting the chance to show off on the main roster to much larger audiences. Stark got to main-event Raw with Lynch as well on the August 28th episode before attempting to help Stratus get the victory over Lynch during their Steel Cage match at Payback.
Stark turned on Stratus after the match due to Stratus slapping Stark and yelling at her. Stark is now starting a partnership with Shayna Baszler following a loss against her on Raw. With Trish Stratus not being the focal point of Stark’s career now, hopefully, fans will get to see her more on the mic and start to develop more of a character besides being tough, 2023 is a make-or-break year for her.
Joining the U.S. branch of NXT in late 2022, Lyra Valkyria has been hovering around the NXT Women’s Championship since her arrival. 2023 alone saw her challenge for the belt at NXT Stand & Deliver and NXT Battleground. Lyra impressed fans during her time in NXT UK but now is getting to mix it up with some of the best in the promotion at the moment, plus she has also shown her skills on the microphone more recently during her work with Rhea Ripley.
Racking up wins against names like Ivy Nile and Cora Jade en route to these title matches. Her biggest moment so far has been that short feud with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio during their ventures with the brand. Lyra faced Ripley in a losing effort but put on a great match even impressing the champion.
After returning to the WWE at SummerSlam 2022 alongside Bayley and Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai quickly became a vital asset to the WWE women’s tag division. Kai and Iyo started the year as champions and both participated in the Royal Rumble, Kai earned five eliminations. Whether being a face or heel, Kai has proven herself on the mic and fans are already into her as far as in-ring skill goes.
Dakota Kai has been a fan favorite since her time in NXT whether she was the happy-go-lucky face or after her heel turn against Tegan Nox. Her team with Sky and Bayley had a feud against Becky Lynch and returning legends Trish Stratus and Lita. The duo’s time as champions ended on the February 27th episode of Raw and led to a six-person tag match at WrestleMania.
Tiffany Stratton returned to NXT after a head injury kept her out of action. Her first match back saw her get a win over Indi Hartwell and participate in the ladder match at NXT Stand & Deliver. After making it to the finals of an eight-woman tournament to crown a new champion after Hartwell vacated the belt, Stratton beat Lyra Valkyrie for the title at NXT Battleground.
Stratton defended the belt against names like Thea Hail and Kiana James before moving into a feud with Becky Lynch over the belt. Lynch beat Stratton and became the NXT Women’s Champion on the September 12th episode of NXT. Starting off as the Daddy’s Little Girl character, Stratton has come into her own proving to be a great competitor and amazing on the microphone, it’s hard to imagine her time in NXT won’t last much longer after taking another loss to Lynch at NXT No Mercy.
Zelina Vega
2023 has really been the stand-out year for Zelina Vega, getting the chance to be in massive matches and feuds more than she ever has been. Two years ago Zelina became the first-ever Queen of the Ring and at the start of 2022, she captured her first championship in WWE when Carmella and herself won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
This year she has really shown what she can do as a top babyface. Zelina got the chance to represent Puerto Rico during the Backlash event, wrestling against Rhea Ripley. Vega and the rest of the Latino World Order have also been given a massive amount of screen time, really helping Vega have a second coming on the WWE roster. A few more big wins can really help any remaining non-believers toward her case as a competitor for any titles.
Coming off one of the best years of her career in 2022 and becoming a fan favorite name among the WWE Universe, Liv Morgan got the chance to run with the SmackDown Women’s Championship and put on a decent feud against Ronda Rousey. The start of 2023 saw Morgan last over an hour in the Rumble before getting eliminated last by Rhea Ripley. Morgan also avenged her Extreme Rules loss to Ronda Rousey when she and Raquel beat the duo at Money in the Bank to start their 2nd title reign.
With decent skills with a microphone and great in-ring skills accompanied by some clever and hard-to-pull-off moves, Morgan has all the makings to be a much bigger star as time rolls on.
Another name that really benefited from their work against Rhea Ripley this year is Raquel Rodriguez. She and Liv Morgan won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships twice this year beating big names like Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey.
Her feud against Ripley during Payback pushed Raquel up as an actual threat to Ripley’s title reign despite the loss at the event. Another loss on the September 11th episode of Raw now pushed her down the rankings and fans are wondering what might be coming next. Rodriquez is in desperate need of a gimmick change/new character to put her over the top.
The year started with Shayna Baszler teaming with Ronda Rousey to win the Women’s WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match before capturing the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles. The two beat Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn to unify the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship not long after.
Baszler then became the breakout star of the team when she turned on Rousey at Money in the Bank leading to a match between the two at SummerSlam, one that Baszler would win. Now Baszler has been positioned more as a badass as she always should have been, doing some good work alongside Zoey Stark as a team, and being a part of the Nia Jax return storyline going on. Much like the rest of the women’s roster that aren’t champions, Baszler could use some more time on promos to really position fans either against or behind her.
Roxanne Perez was flying high at the start of this year entering it as the NXT Women’s Champion and competing in her first Royal Rumble match. NXT Vengeance Day saw her retain against Gigi Dollin and Jacy Jayne in a triple threat and a follow-up match against Meiko Satomura at Roadblock.
Her reign ended at 109 days when Indi Hartwell captured the belt at NXT Stand & Deliver. Perez lost her rematch for the belt and moved into a feud against Blair Davenport leading to a Weapons Wild match at The Great American Bash, with Roxanne emerging as the victor. The fanbase that Roxanne has created for herself on social media is impressive, to say the least, with many accounts just dedicating their time to hyping her up whenever she is on-screen.
Making a full-time return in February this year, Trish Stratus was immediately placed into the feud with Becky Lynch and Lita against Damage CTRL. Stratus, Lita, and Lynch got a huge win at WrestleMania before costing Lynch and Lita their WWE Women’s Tag titles on Raw and turning heel on Lynch.
The turn started a feud lasting until Payback when Lynch beat Stratus in a Steel Cage match. Stratus attacked her ally Zoey Stark after the match and seems to be stepping away from the ring at the moment. Stratus can be considered one of the greatest women’s wrestlers in WWE history and her longevity is helping that claim greatly. Whatever decision Stratus makes on her in-ring career coming up, fans can be pleased with a stellar year, an amazing heel turn, and a great feud against Becky Lynch.
Asuka had a change in character at the Royal Rumble when she emerged with new face paint and a different attitude. Showcasing her venture to Japan on social media and teasing the concept of being the same performer she was before coming to the WWE. Her return at the Rumble saw her almost win the match before getting eliminated by Rhea Ripley. After the draft, Asuka entered a feud against Bianca Belair over the Raw Women’s Championship with a match happening at Night of Champions.
Asuka beat Belair to capture the belt for her third time and was crowned with the new WWE Women’s Championship on SmackDown. Asuka held the belt for 70 days before losing to Bianca Belair in a triple threat at SummerSlam. After suffering a title loss to Belair and being pushed away from the title picture, all it will really take is another big win over a name like Charlotte or Bayley to get her back in the spotlight. Also, a feud away from the title can do wonders to help elevate a new star higher and keep Asuka relevant.
As mentioned before Becky Lynch was a part of the feud at the start of the year against Damage CTRL, a feud that saw her capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship becoming a Triple Crown Champion. After losing the belts, Lynch and Stratus started a feud with the end coming at Payback 2023 where Lynch beat Stratus in a Steel Cage match.
After that feud ended, Lynch went straight into a feud against Tiffany Stratton over the NXT Women’s Championship, even going to NXT to challenge the champion and win the belt for the first time, officially making her a Grand Slam Champion. Lynch is now holding the NXT Women’s title and starting feuds against names that haven’t gotten much time to shine such as Tegan Nox while continuing her feud against Tiffany. She recently put on an incredible main event at NXT No Mercy against Stratton in a brutal Extreme Rules match.
Dakota Kai’s Damage CTRL partner of course started the year off similarly but as exceeded after Kai’s unfortunate injury taking her out of action. Sky is a legendary name in the world of Stardom and Joshi wrestling and has been given the chance to show off once more now that she is the WWE Women’s Champion.
Sky won the title off of Bianca Belair after Belair had a match against Asuka and Charlotte Flair at SummerSlam. Sky used her Money in the Bank briefcase to capture the belt and has yet to really show what she can do as champion. A major helping point for Sky was the decision from WWE to let stars deliver promos in different languages giving fans a fun moment between Asuka and Sky earlier this year.
Bianca Belair entered 2023 as the Raw Women’s Champion, a title she won back in WrestleMania 38 against Becky Lynch. Things started with a feud against Alexa Bliss at the Royal Rumble. After retaining Belair faced Iyo Sky at Backlash and became the longest-reigning Raw Women’s Champion surpassing Becky Lynch’s reign of 398 days.
Belair lost the belt to Asuka at Night of Champions but quickly became champion again once she beat Charlotte Flair and Asuka at SummerSlam for the WWE Women’s Championship. That same night saw Iyo Sky cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase, beating Belair. Now getting the chance to take a little bit of time away from the ring, fans are already anticipating her return and can’t wait to see what she does next. Hopefully, with the arrival of Jade Cargill into the company, a match could be on the horizon.
Rhea Ripley takes the top spot as the best women’s wrestler in WWE this year due to her time as the SmackDown Women’s/Women’s World Championship. Her year started with her winning the Royal Rumble while entering at number one. Ripley challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39, capturing the belt for the first time and making herself the fifth Grand Slam Champion.
Since then Ripley has beaten names like Zelina Vega, Natalya, and Raquel Rodriguez to retain her title. The June 12th episode of Raw saw her belt renamed the Women’s World Championship, a title that only Ripley has yet to hold. Plus her work with Dominik Mysterio has helped put the two of them as the biggest heels in the promotion. The only thing holding Ripley back at all is the lack of real competitors for her belt and missing big shows that she easily could have had a great match at like SummerSlam.
