Lita over the years. It was on 13th February 2000 that Lita debuted in the WWE on Sunday Night Heat. It was also in February 2014 that Lita was announced as an entrant to the WWE Hall of Fame. With Bayley teasing a historic WWE Women’s tag team title match with herself and Sasha Banks against Lita and Trish Stratus for Wrestlemania, let us look back at some of Lita’s exploits in the WWE.
From executing crowd-pleasing moonsaults in TLC matches wearing exposed thongs to drawing thunderous boos as a heel, Lita has pioneered women’s wrestling. She was involved in the first two RAW main events involving women. A four-time Women’s Champion, she also took part in the first women’s steel cage match and had great feuds with the likes of Stephanie McMahon and Trish.
Along the way, she also had the misfortune to be cast in a number of terrible angles – often involving romantic storylines. This list takes a look at the WWE Superstars with whom Lita had an on-screen romance.
#1. Essa Rios
Lita debuted in the WWE alongside Rios
Lita first signed a WWE deal on November 1, 1999, and her main roster debut happened in early 2000. It is mostly forgotten now that her debut wasn’t with Matt and Jeff Hardy but alongside Mexican wrestler Essa Rios.
WWE would suggest that Essa and Lita had more than just a professional relationship when Lita became upset on seeing Rios getting intimate with one of the Godfather’s valets. Rios would eventually turn heel on Lita by power-bombing her after a match. This would lead to the Hardy Boyz coming to Lita’s aid and the formation of Team Xtreme.
#2. Dean Malenko
Lita and Dean Malenko worked an angle in 2001
While turning heads with her acrobatic moves in the ring as part of Team Xtreme, Lita had a storyline feud with Dean Malenko. In a much-criticized angle, Malenko – a respected technical wrestler – was booked as a ladies man going to great lengths to cavort female wrestlers and he turned his eyes on Lita.
Malenko offered Lita a match for his Light Heavyweight Championship with the stipulation that she had to go on a date with him if she lost. After getting a few near falls, Lita finally had to tap out to Malenko’s Cloverleaf.
The angle continued with Malenko surprising Lita in the shower, stealing kisses and continuing his lecherous way all while getting into fights with the Hardys. The angle eventually led to another match on RAW between Lita and Malenko.
Matt Hardy would come down and attack Malenko, helping Lita get the pin. This ended Lita’s feud with Malenko whereas a post-match kiss with Matt Hardy started their on-screen relationship mirroring their real-life romance.
#3 Kane
Kane and Lita were an item in 2004
For someone portrayed as a deformed monster, Kane sure had a lot of romantic angles. WWE booked Kane in another one when he and Lita became an on-screen item in 2004. The idea came from the same hat that conjured up the abysmal Katie Vick angle and WWE rarely mentions it nowadays.
The storyline involved Kane stalking Lita and abducting her. She would show up on RAW and announce her pregnancy, with Kane claiming that he was the father. This led to a feud between Lita’s onscreen boyfriend Matt Hardy and Kane, which the latter won.
Lita would be forced to follow Kane around and things took a turn for the worse when Gene Snitsky caused Kane to fall on top of Lita, causing her to suffer a kayfabe miscarriage. This somehow turned Kane face and Lita allied with him to take out Snitsky.
Things got even weirder when Lita began to develop affections for Kane, resulting in the Big Red Monster taking out Lita’s nemesis Trish Stratus. The angle ran well over its course and finally, Lita turned heel, betraying Kane to align with Edge to start yet another romantic storyline.
#4 Christian
Lita was involved in an intergender match at Armageddon 2004
This turned out to be a short storyline as happily married Christian was never interested in working in a romantic angle on-screen (if he had a choice). Thankfully, Lita was a peripheral figure in an angle involving Chris Jericho, Christian, and Trish Stratus in 2003.
The storyline started when heels Jericho and Christian started to show feelings towards faces Trish and Lita respectively with Christian using his influence with RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff to get Lita re-signed to the brand. The angle became similar to a soap opera when a segment aired showing that Jericho and Christian had bet of 1 Canadian dollar to see who could get their girl into bed first. Trish overheard the conversation and was kayfabe crushed.
This led to an intergender battle of the sexes match between the guys and the girls at Armaggedon 2003 which Lita and Trish lost. They would lose a rematch next night on RAW as well, following which, Lita was phased out of the storyline with the angle developing into a love triangle involving the other three.
#5. Matt Hardy and Edge
Lita had a huge angle involving Edge and Matt Hardy
It is really hard to talk about Lita’s relationship with Edge without mentioning Matt Hardy and vice versa. In a case of storyline imitating real life, the feud between Edge and Matt Hardy which turned the Rated R Superstar into a true main eventer had Lita front and center.
Lita was in a real-life relationship with storyline partner Matt Hardy in 2005. When Hardy was at home dealing with injuries, Lita began traveling on the road with their common friend, Edge and soon started an affair with him. Hardy found out about it and made it public.
WWE developed the real-life issue into a storyline and paired Edge and Lita on-screen with a rehired Matt Hardy looking to take revenge. It was Hardy’s first major singles feud in the WWE, with a series of three matches booked against Edge.
After trading victories, they had their blow off in a ladder match on RAW. Lita would interject herself, holding Hardy to the ropes while Edge ascended the ladder to win the match. Hardy would be moved to SmackDown with Lita continued to be paired with Edge.
Edge and Lita captured World titles during their time together
Lita would be in Edge’s corner when he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to win his first WWE title and would prove to be a great addition in Edge’s early feuds with John Cena over the Championship with even a segment on RAW promising ‘hot, unbridled intimacy” between Edge and Lita which gave WWE its highest TV rating in over a year.
After more than a year by Edge’s side and capturing the Women’s title multiple times, Lita would end her in-ring career with a match against Mickie James at Survivor Series 2006 until she returned years later.
