Not What They Used To Be: A Look Back at My Favorite WWE Diva

Its no secret that the WWE Divas Division is in sorry shape, largely due to terrible booking from their creative department. However, a lot of the blame can also be put on the lack of talented Divas that are currently wrestling for WWE, though Natalya, Melina, and Gail Kim are notable exceptions.

However, I feel that none of these Divas could hold a candle to my all-time favorite Diva: Lita. Amy "Lita" Dumas is talented, both on the mic and in the ring, something that you don't find too often in Divas or in Superstars themselves. But what is it about Lita that makes her so memorable? Why is she my favorite Diva? Well, to sum it up, let's take a look at her, as Alberto Del Rio would say, "attributes."

L-Loyalty

Lita was a very loyal and dedicated Diva. She stayed with the WWE during most of her professional wrestling career, though she began her career in ECW and was brought on during the Invasion Angle. After that, she was a "career long" WWE Diva until her "retirement" in 2006. During that time, she was injured during filming for an episode of Dark Angel that saw her neck and vertabrae injured. It was a career threatening injury, but she underwent the surgery and returned to the ring after seventeen months (she was injured in April 2002).

I-Intensity

Lita brought with her a great deal of excitement in the ring. This was a time in which Divas matches weren't known as "bathroom breaks." It was a time when people seemed to care about the Division and Divas like Lita were the reason. As a very talented in-ring performer, she had a great arsenal that included a lot of high-risk manuevers, such as top rope dives or even outside dives into her opponent.

Unlike the Divas of today, Lita didn't seem too concerned with the possibility that she might get injured. While it's true that many Divas today still get hurt, it isn't because they take risks. Quite the opposite, actually; the Divas of today are well known for getting injured by botching simple moves. Its no surprise that Lita was this type of risk-taker. She was once a manager and team member of the Hardy Boyz, and for good reason: they all took great risks and they all did it beautifully.

T-Toughness

Lita always proved to be a challenge to every Diva she ever went up against. And that is saying something. Considering that this was a time when Divas like Trish Stratus, Victoria, Jazz, and Molly Holly were still around, she really had a lot of tough competition to deal with. Lita was ready for it. Like her fellow Divas of yesteryear, Lita always took her opponent to the limit.

With toughness comes courage, and Lita had plenty of both. She was not afraid of stepping in the ring with Superstars, as she and Trish teamed up to face Christian and Chris Jericho in a "Battle of the Sexes" at Armaggeddon 2004; believe it or not, Trish and Lita came pretty close to victory! That just shows the kind of toughness that Lita and some of her fellow Divas represented, before the Division became all about looks.

A-Attitude

Last, but certainly not least, Lita had attitude. The kind of attitude that makes you brave enough to stand up to two jerks who made a bet to see who could score a date with you or your friend first and then challenge them to a match. The kind of attitude that makes you go in front of millions of people and begin to have a "Live Sex Celebration" after your boyfriend won the WWE Championship. How fitting is it that Lita, a Diva with a lot of attitude, debuted on WWE television at the peak of the Attitude Era? Some of the most interesting Diva promos have come from the Trish vs Lita era, where we witnessed some of the greatest women's wrestling that the WWE had ever seen.

Lita is one of the most memorable Divas in WWE history. Unlike some of the other Divas, she's not just another pretty face in a pair of tights with a lackluster moveset. She is much, much more than that. She is a star. She is a champion. She is a legend.