Lita

Early career and ECW

One of the pioneers of women’s wrestling in the WWE and all of pro wrestling, Lita, along with

Trish Stratus, was known for high-flying spots, as well as her never-say-die attitude. Not many

know that Lita was a part of Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion

prior to her switch to WWE.

Lita was signed by the WWE in 1999 and was placed in WWE’s developmental territory,

Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW).

WWE career

A year after her WWE debut, Lita became a part of Team Xtreme, alongside Matt and Jeff

Hardy, following which she began her iconic feud with Trish Stratus, who was then a manager of

the tag team of Test and Albert.

She won the Women's Championship after defeating Stephanie McMahon, and then lost the

title to Ivory, with whom she had a brief feud. Lita sustained an injury during the rehearsal for a

TV show which put her out of action for almost 17 months.

Following her return, Lita then feuded with Molly Holly; she then had a romantic storyline which

involved Kane and Matt Hardy, following which Lita began her feud with Trish Stratus, and also

won the Women’s Championship for the second time, but lost it soon to Stratus.

Lita then had a much-talked about (and remembered) romantic storyline with Edge, during

which she won her third Women’s Championship, this time defeating Mickie James, but once

again lost the title to Stratus.

Retirement and return to WWE

Lita retired from WWE in 2007 and briefly wrestled in the indies but has made brief appearances

on WWE television from time to time. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014 by

Trish Stratus.

In 2018, after more than a decade after wrestling in a WWE ring, Lita once again laced up her

wrestling boots as she took part in the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble. She was also a part of

the first-ever all-women’s WWE PPV, Evolution, where she tag teamed with old rival, Trish

Stratus, to face off against Mickie James and Alicia Fox.

Finishing Move: Lita DDT, Litasault, Twist of Fate

Major Titles Held: WWE Women’s Championship (x4), WWE Hall of Famer

Signature Moves: Hangman’s choke, Headscissors takedown, Lita Bomb, Litacanrana, One-legged monkey flip, Rear naked choke, Roll-up, Russian legsweep, Snap suplex, Spear, Suicide dive, Tilt-a-whirl slam, Tornado DDT

Interesting Trivia: Lita was involved in the first ever women’s steel cage match against Victoria, and she was also once in a relationship with former WWE champion CM Punk.

Win/Loss Ratio: Win – 130, Drawn – 4, Loss – 77

Entrance Themes: ‘Super Bon Bon’ by Soul Coughing (ECW), ‘Simply Ravishing’ by Harry Slash & The Slashtones (ECW), ‘Dangerous River’ by Jim Johnston (WWE), ‘Electron’ by Joseph Saba and Stewart Winter (WWE), ‘Loaded’ by Zack Tempest (WWE), ‘It Just Feels Right’ by Jim Johnston (WWE), ‘Lovefurypassionenergy’ by Boy Hits Car (WWE)

Lita’s history

Lita, also known as Amy Dumas, bounced around many high schools in her youth before becoming a roadie after dropping out of Georgia State University. She found the inspiration to begin a career in professional wrestling from watching Rey Mysterio perform, and Lita then started training for a year before being signed by ECW courtesy of Paul Heyman.

WWE debut

Following a short stint there she officially signed with the World Wrestling Federation, where she debuted as the valet of Essa Rios following a brief spell as one of The Godfather’s ‘hos’. It was clear to see that she was one of the more agile members of the roster, despite the fact that she wasn’t officially deemed to be an official wrestler.

After a few months with Rios, during which time he won the Light Heavyweight Championship, he turned on Lita and she accidentally cost him a match. From that point on, her rise to the top as one of the biggest female stars in the company was quicker than anyone could’ve imagined.

Hardy Boyz association

In 2000 Lita entered what was arguably her most iconic phase as an in-ring character – being a member of Team Xtreme. Alongside Matt & Jeff Hardy she redefined what it meant to be a strong and powerful female in professional wrestling, with some of her stunts and moves defying logic at times.

It was during this time that she also captured her first ever singles championship, defeating former champion Stephanie McMahon in a match that featured The Rock as the special guest referee. Lita continued to shine throughout her tenure with Matt & Jeff and beyond, quickly establishing herself as one of the most popular superstars on the entire roster.

Trish Stratus rivalry

For the better part of six years, Lita and Trish Stratus engaged in a rivalry for the ages. They were able to put on several classics over the years, with the babyface and heel dynamic between the two always changing depending on the situation. They were the female equivalent of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, in that you could put them in any scenario and they’d be able to produce magic together.

Their shining moment came in late 2004 when they main evented an episode of Raw, in a match that ended with Lita winning the Women’s Championship for the second time. She would also go on to play a big role in Trish’s retirement match, as she lost the belt back to her at Unforgiven 2006.

Kane storyline

After entering a relationship with Matt Hardy both in real life and on screen, Lita wound up being pursued by Kane in what was considered to be an extremely controversial storyline. For weeks The Big Red Machine attempted to seduce her, until eventually it was revealed that Lita was pregnant – and Kane was the father.

Kane and Lita wound up getting married, although Lita continued to defy Kane at every turn. Eventually, Lita’s wound up suffering a ‘miscarriage’ due to Snitsky hitting Kane with a chair, which resulted in him falling on her. As a result, Lita and Kane joined forces in order to defeat Snitsky once and for all.

Edge relationship

After being on the same page as Kane for a few months, Lita wound up turning on him and siding with The Rated R Superstar Edge. While this was also done for storyline purposes, the two legitimately started seeing each other off camera, however Lita was still with Matt Hardy at the time.

WWE decided to turn this ‘love triangle’ of sorts into a storyline, which was used as a platform for Edge to eventually become a main eventer. After spending over a year by his side, which included a live sex celebration on Raw, Lita retired from professional wrestling after losing the Women’s Championship for the final time to Mickie James at Survivor Series 2006.

Brief appearances

Following her retirement Lita didn’t appear in WWE for a long time, with her notable ‘return’ occurring at Raw 1000 when she defeated Heath Slater. After being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014 she proceeded to undertaker many roles with WWE, including creative writer, pre-show panellist and color commentator for the Mae Young Classic.

Lita also unveiled the brand new Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 32, and also appeared in the first ever women’s Royal Rumble in 2018 as a surprise entrant.