Put a Ring On It: The First American Joshi

Blayze gave the business to Bull Nakano, then got the business from WWE Photo Credit: WWE.com

PREFACE: Over the next few weeks, staff members of the Wrestling Blog will be debating the candidacies of several possible Hall of Famers. Given the depth of the class this year, it is possible WWE will not be inducting anyone else; regardless, we hope that these pieces will stoke debate amongst you, our audience, as we head closer to the inductions on April 6th. This, by the founder, head writer, and editor TH, is the second of these pieces.

Trish Stratus is not the best woman wrestler in WWE's history.

I understand she's iconic for what she did with the Women's Title in the early-Aughts. She got the most famous of any woman except maybe Chyna. But in the ring, there was a lot to be desired. As a feminist icon, she's anything but. I understand it's not completely her fault, and that it's a function of what the company thought of women at the time. But she got down on her knees and barked like a dog for Vince McMahon. I don't care what the circumstances were around that incident, it probably set women in the business back a good bit.

The best woman wrestler in WWE's history was Alundra Blayze, and I'm not sure it's even close.

She may not be associated with the then-WWF. She was as well-traveled as any wrestler in the territory days, even if she debuted when that star was about to go supernova under the cosmic pressure of Vince McMahon and Ted Turner playing Monopoly with wrestlers and promotions. She started in the AWA. Her most iconic moments, as the feminine muscle of the Dangerous Alliance and dumping the WWF Women's Championship in the garbage on Nitro, happened in WCW. Her most historically relevant feat was being the first ever gaijin to sign a long-term contract with All-Japan Pro Wrestling.

But when she came back to America and was given the Alundra Blayze name and WWF Women's Championship in the first place, she brought back the innovative joshi style with her. She brought back Bull Nakano and Aja Kong. She brought back ideas that women weren't just as good as men, but that they could be better. She wasn't the first wrestling feminist, but she was the first American one in the modern era. God bless Mildred Burke and Fabulous Moolah, but their contributions had washed away in the sands of time and the ocean of testosterone that had swept through wrestling.

While most of the WWF at the time was awash in bad gimmicks, especially in the midcard, and ones that especially couldn't provide great matches. Cards, especially pay-per-views, were woefully top heavy, with the Hart Bros., Shawn Michaels, and Razor Ramon (when he wasn't coked out of his mind) being tasked to make sure there was something good on the shows. Blayze was there, providing that quality content. She even carried Bertha Faye to something more than a joke. Her reward was ignorance from the front office and basically the same treatment the Divas are given today.

You can say that Blayze wasn't "over," whatever the fuck that means. I seem to remember that she and her opponents engendered crowd reactions, ones that maybe weren't on the level of Bret Hart and Michaels, but certainly better than TL Hopper or the Goon. It was something to build upon. And if she wasn't "better" than Hart or Michaels, she was at least innovative and different, good in a way other than "five moves of doom" and old school psychology. Besides, Koko B. Ware is in the goddamn Hall of Fame, and he was a Stepin Fetchit with a bird.

Blayze may never get in the Hall, mainly because women and the WWE will mix at best like Greek yogurt and fruit filling they put at the bottom of it. It may mix together, but it might take more effort than some would care to put into it. It's a shame, but for awhile, she was the most innovative wrestler in WWE. If that's not worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, take everyone out and just stop doing it.