
Quick Links
"Game changer" is a phrase that has typically followed Lita around her wrestling career - even years after her official retirement back in 2006. Before she came around, women wrestlers were typically overlooked, used in either very short matches or just as sex symbols. Once she started moonsaulting on everyone, fans started to realize there could be a lot more to the women's division.
Not only was she a high flyer, she had the beauty and style that made her stand out from the crowd. Lita has had classic battles with her good friend, Trish Stratus, and has been connected to some of the most popular acts ever like The Hardy Boyz and Edge. Through her personal decisions, she set up one of the most interesting (and awkward) feuds ever when she actually cheated on Matt Hardy to be with Edge.
Lita was easily one of WWE’s most popular wrestlers, and she knew how to rock in front of the camera. So let’s not waste any more time and get right to it, with 15 of Lita’s most must-see pictures!
15. Fun In The Sun
Here, Lita is taking part in a photoshoot for one of WWE's Divas Magazines, released in the early 2000s.
At 5’6” she wasn’t the tallest competitor, but she definitely had a presence over most of the roster with her steely looks and toned physique. This allowed Lita to become quite a force. In 2001, she was named “Babe of the Year” and “Woman of the Year” by the Wrestling Observer, which didn’t seem to have anything to do with winning titles - since she won zero in 2001.
14. Yellow Isn’t So Bad
There is a ton of yellow in this picture, but who cares? This was taken in the early portion of her WWE career where fans (including AJ Lee, who was a massive fan and credited her wrestling passion to Lita) couldn’t get enough of the high flyer.
Interestingly enough, Lita never really had any official nicknames, so the fans would chant some not-so-nice things at her during her heel days. But the commentators never really referred to her by any other name.
13. Taking A Dip
Apparently, the water was really cold at this shoot, causing Lita to show a little more than usual. The funny part is WWE actually used this photo (uncensored) for one of Lita’s trading cards.
Most fans remember Lita as a manager for Essa Rios, The Hardyz, and Edge, but did you know she also managed Kane, Christian, Danny Doring, Trish Stratus, and even El Dandy! On the flip side, she’s only had The Hardyz, Edge, and Chris Jericho as her manager.
12. Stylin’ In The Cellar
Chains, armbands, and a choker, Lita always tried to push the envelope when it came to wearing outfits; she literally was unlike any other woman on the roster.
That continued when she left WWE in 2006 and attempted to break into the music scene with her band The Luchagors. They put out one album in 2007 which initially did okay (10,000 downloads), and it led to some tours and even got them signed by a record label (Hellcat Records). As the years went on, fan interest dropped and even though a second album was planned, the band broke up in 2014.
11. Eyes Up
When Lita went bad in 2005, she did so by aligning herself with “The Rated R Superstar” Edge. The hated duo went on to feud against the likes of Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, and Mick Foley.
During this era, Lita must have purchased low cut shirts in bulk to show off how well endowed she was at this point of her career. Literally every week, she would wear outfits like this, partly to get Edge over because he would rub it in fans faces that Lita was with him and none of them.
10. White Shirt
Lita was known to accessorize pretty much anywhere she could, but for this WWE Divas: Hedonism shoot, they had her go with something a little more basic - a white shirt.
Lita was known to use her seductive ways once in a while on a number of other WWE Superstars, mainly Edge and Matt Hardy. She also had other scenes kissing Kane (what?), Trish Stratus (woo!), and Snitsky (ew), typically doing this to get in the other person’s head. Even though the wrestling business didn’t always portray women in the best light, Lita was someone who was able to mostly escape the sillier gimmicks.
9. Hall Of Famer
Before WrestleMania XXX got underway, Lita was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, thanks to her six years and four title reigns with the company. Not surprisingly, Trish Stratus received the honor of inducting her real-life friend and was by her side for much of the night.
As you can see in the picture above, that’s Brie Bella, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Nikki Bella, getting together for a fantastic group photo. As stunning as all of them look, Lita and Nikki both stand out with their perfect attires.
8. Younger Days
In contrast to the Hall of Fame entry, here is Lita back in the day when she worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). For most of 1999, Lita was brought into the company by Paul Heyman, going by the name Miss Congeniality (later changed to Angelica). She spent much of her time being the on-screen girlfriend of Danny Doring.
Thanks to Rob Van Dam, Lita was introduced to Dory Funk Jr., who accepted her into his wrestling school.
7. Joining WWE
Before ECW, Lita actually traveled to Mexico when she was 23 to train lucha libre wrestling for about a year before returning to the U.S. With this style in her back pocket, Lita began working the indy circuit, where she also first met Jeff and Matt Hardy.
It took a lot of guts for Lita to go and train in another country. Ultimately, her hard work paid off when WWE offered her a contract, and beyond her unique look, she obviously had the talent to be a big star.
6. Tropical Shoot
Once Lita made it to WWE, she was paired up with Essa Rios, a wrestler who also had a luchador style of wrestling that meshed well with Lita. The two began coming out together and Lita slowly began to outshine him to the point where fans were cheering her actions (as a manager), more than his.
Lita would pretty much copy the moves Essa did, and fans ate it up enough that WWE put Lita and Essa up against Eddie Guerrero and Chyna. After only a few months together, Essa turned on Lita by powerbombing here after she inadvertently cost him a match.
5. What’s Going On Here?
Not every WWE photo shoot is a successful one. In fact, this was a rejected photo that was only released years later in a gallery of “rejected pictures” by the WWE. Here we have Lita dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, in bed, with the Big Bad Wolf.
Things get really weird when you see she’s holding some furry handcuffs and he’s smoking a cigarette, suggesting that the two just finished having sex.
4. Trish And Lita
One of the greatest wrestling rivalries started between these two back in 2000 and lasted all the way until Trish retired in 2006. Between these years, both women held the Women’s Championship a combined 11 times, both feuding against and teaming up with each other.
During the Invasion angle, WWE bought in Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson to fight against Trish and Lita in a Bra & Panties Tag Match. They were able to strip down Stacy and Torrie to win the match. Even after both women retired, they still hang out and have actually gone on signing tours together.
3. Litasault
Lita wowed fans right from the start when she began mimicking Essa Rios’ moonsault by doing it herself, and it ended up being dubbed the Litasault. Even though she did it throughout her WWE career, it was used most predominately during her Team Xtreme era.
She always toed the line between beauty and danger with her high flying ways. During a match against Trish (when they were the main event of Raw), Lita performed a suicide dive to the outside, landing harshly on her neck and luckily avoiding any serious damage.
2. Post Wrestling Life
After retiring in 2006, she made a few random appearances like on the 1000th episode of Raw when she defeated Heath Slater in a No Disqualification match. In 2015, Lita was a Tough Enough trainer who helped figure out who would be the next group of superstars join the WWE.
Currently, she is back working full-time for WWE as a pre-show analyst and Women's Division segment producer. She also presented Charlotte with the Women's Championship the day after WrestleMania, a hopeful sign that WWE is planning on giving the division more purpose and a new direction.
1. Legend
Looking back, Lita will be remembered as a talent that proved women can do anything in the ring that a guy can do. She was a risk-taker that wasn’t necessarily awesome on the mic, but had plenty of natural charisma that fans found easy to connect with. Women loved how strong she was and men couldn’t get enough of both her wrestling skills and beauty.
She went to the beat of her own drum and that path led her to great things as a pioneer, champion, and Hall of Famer. Even though Lita is no longer wrestling, there are plenty of women who have cited her as an inspiration including AJ, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, and Bayley. As great as some wrestlers have been, few have left a legacy like the legendary Lita.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmrKifp8G0e5BuZKato6l6tLHEZqeim6Sqv6a%2FjKidZp6fp7qmvoywrp5llJ7DonnLoquaZw%3D%3D