It’s been a long road for women wrestling to be taken seriously. For years, WWE pushed the ladies as Divas in costume fights and emphasizing looks over talent. TNA sparked it up with the Knockouts only to run into the same issues. Thanks to NXT and Shimmer, women’s wrestling has taken off much better and given a lot more time to shine. That showcases the scores of great ladies over the years who are just as good as the men at shifting between heel and face.
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Face female champs can be the tough underdog overcoming the odds while the heels arrogant jerks, and being a woman gives them more spice. This counts for title wins as ladies can achieve belts as grand victors or hated heels. Here are ten women who won championships as both heels and faces to show the ladies can pull this stuff off better than men could.
10 Melina
While sadly overlooked today, Melina was a fabulous presence in the 2000s with her beauty and that memorable split-legged ring entrance. She also improved as a wrestler, first defeating Mickie James for the Women’s title in 2007 and basking in being the center of attention.
Following an injury and a face turn, Melina beat Beth Phoenix for the title at the 2009 Royal Rumble. She also made a memorable appearance to end Jillian Hall’s 2009 minutes-long Divas champion reign. While leaving WWE in 2011, her total of five reigns showed Melina knew how to captivate fans no matter her attitude.
9 Natalya
When the women of WWE were mostly in “Divas” matches, Natayla was a standout. The tough and gorgeous strongwoman was dedicated to serious wrestling rather than costume fights. At the 2010 Survivor Series, Natalya overcame LayCool in a handicap match for the Divas title.
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It would be a long seven years before a now-heel Natalya got another shot at the top, defeating Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s belt at Summerslam 2017. She got cheers of respect but Natalya a clear heel attacking Naomi and Charlotte before losing the belt but marking a good comeback with a new attitude.
8 Mickie James
It's ironic Mickie James got major cheers winning her first WWE Women’s title when she was supposed to be the heel. As Trish Stratus’ biggest fan, Mickie turned into a crazed stalker that won fans over by beating Trish at Wrestlemania 22.
That softened as, over the years, Mickie held the Women’s title another four times as well as Divas champ, often as a face. In TNA, she first won the Knockouts title as a face but transitioned into an arrogant “music star” for a later title reign. While her WWE return hasn’t led to gold yet, Mickie could have one more run in her.
7 Victoria
Thanks to her powerful looks and build, Victoria was an instant star in WWE. Her psycho persona led to her winning the Women’s title from Trish Stratus in 2002 and a great feud between them. Victoria reigned the belt as a heel in 2004 before an odd face turn.
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Joining TNA as Tara, she won her first Knockouts title as a face yet would move between that and heeldom over four other reigns. She also had a stint as tag team champion with Brooke Tessmacher. While not pushed as hard in TNA, Victoria/Tara still had a good career, cheered and booed as a champ.
6 Gail Kim
Gail Kim had a great debut in WWE as she won the Women’s title in a battle royale in her 2003 debut. After her short reign, Kim turned heel but didn’t have much else in WWE. In TNA, Kim started as the heel before transforming into the star of the Knockouts division.
Over the course of seven reigns, Kim quickly shifted from conniving villain to heroic lady overcoming the odds to win the belt back, all while feuding with every other lady in the company. She retired as champ to go out of the respected face yet showed she could be a great heel too.
5 Charlotte
Like her dad, Charlotte Flair is an expert at getting herself both cheered and booed by fans. She earned cheers winning the NXT title and then the DIvas belt in WWE. Charlotte shifted into a heel for her feud with Sasha Banks, trading the RAW Women’s title back and forth.
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Following her dad’s near-fatal heart attack, Charlotte had the fans’ sympathy as she defeated Natalya for the SmackDown Women’s title. She’d go back to being a heel when she regained the NXT belt but proved worthy of her father’s fantastic legacy.
4 Sasha Banks
It took a bit for Sasha Banks to grow in wrestling before embracing her “Boss” style. That led to her being excellent as the arrogant NXT Women’s champion. On the main roster, Sasha was more the face as she took on Charlotte in their epic 2016 feud, swapping the belt numerous times.
In all, Banks held the RAW Women’s title five times, although the reigns would be short. She also joined with Bayley to win the tag titles as both faces and heels. However her allegiance, the Boss always won the belt in her own style.
3 Bayley
If there’s someone who looked like she couldn’t work as a heel, Bayley was it. Her bright, energetic “hugging” persona made her an NXT sensation and paid off with her epic win over Sasha Banks for the title at Takeover Brooklyn. She was also cheered winning the RAW title off Charlotte in 2017 and then the Smackdown belt in 2019.
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After losing the title to Charlotte, Bayley performed her makeover to become the longest-reigning Smackdown Women’s champion. She’s even added the tag titles too, as the heel turn has sparked Bayley to the best point of her career.
2 Lita
With her fiery red hair, tattoo, and daredevil tendencies, Lita was an instant darling of the fans when she debuted in 2000. Her skills were evident as she defeated Stephanie McMahon for the Women’s title, thanks to a little help from special ref the Rock. She had to wait until 2004 to regain the belt in a tremendous RAW match against Trish Stratus.
In 2006, Lita had turned heel, and thanks to help from Edge, got the belt. She lost it to Trish in the latter’s farewell match but got it back in a special challenge bout before dropping it to Mickie James. That marked the end of Lita's major in-ring career but did great on both sides.
1 Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus remains one of the greatest evolutions of any worker in WWE history. She started in 2000 as the typical hot blonde “eye candy” manager. She would evolve via training into one of the best female wrestlers of her time. Trish was a face when winning her first Women’s title in late 2001 and would keep the belt six times in her career.
Trish was a genius going from bright heroine (Wrestlemania 19) to a conniving vixen (her 2004 run) and even shifted allegiances during her reign. She closed it out as a face winning the belt over Lita in her final match to cement her amazing legacy.
NEXT: 5 Ways The Raw Women's Title Is The Most Prestigious (& 5 Ways It's The Smackdown Women's Title)
