Ranked: Top 10 Female Wrestlers in the World

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Wrestling is a sport that is predominated by males. However, as of now, female wrestlers are also leading the chart. Therefore, let’s look at the top female wrestlers globally.

As we know that women are capable of doing anything. This statement is further solidified by some of the greatest women who are super talented.

These wrestlers have gone on to make the women’s division nothing less than interesting. Similarly, they have also set a huge benchmark by performing in some tough competitions.

top female wrestlers
Top Female Wrestlers in the world (Source: Thesportster.com)

Moreover, not only from one region but all around the world, female wrestlers have been emerging and putting up a great show.

No matter if it’s in the big league, such as WWE or small independent promotion, they have put their hearts and soul into becoming the best of them all.

Hence, without further due, let’s look at the 10 female wrestlers in the world.

Top 10 Female Wrestlers in the World

The wrestlers mentioned below are assembled based on their achievements. Similarly, they are judged based on mic skills, in-ring skills, and championships. 

Most of them are compiled about Bleacherreport.com, Thesportster.com, and Sportsunfold.com.

Further, before jumping into the details about the top female wrestlers, let us quickly view the names present in the list.

Wrestlers Name
Original Name Wrestling Debute
10. Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Copeland May 2001
9. Sasha Banks Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado August 2010
8. Bull Nakano Keiko Aoki January 1983
7. Kay Lee Ray Kayleigh Rae May 2009
6. Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigias March 2000
5. Aja Kong Erika Shishido January 1986
4. Kairi Sane Kaori Housako January 2012
3. Asuka Kanako Urai June 2004
2. Io Shirai Masami Odate March 2007
1. Meiko Satomura Meiko Satomura April 1995

10. Beth Phoenix

Beth Phoenix is a former American professional wrestler. Further, she used to be a part of WWE’s Raw brand. Similarly, she currently works as a full-time WWE commentator.

Beth started her wrestling as an amateur in high school. She was pretty good at it and saw a good career for herself.

Therefore, the wrestler began training and performing in numerous independent promotions from 2001.

Furthermore, she had already made it into the big league in four years. Phoenix signed a development contract with WWE in 2005.

Beth Phoenix
Phoenix won the 2008 Diva of the Year Slammy Award (Source: Wikimedia.org)

By May 2006, she debuted in the Raw brand but suffered a ligament injury. Therefore, the athlete sat out a year before returning to a WWE ring.

Instantly she was a hit as the wrestler won WWE Women’s Championship within six months of her return. Further, she held the title two times in her career.

Likewise, she is also a one-time Divas champion and Slammy Award. Besides that, she is a WWE Hall of Famer married to another WWE Hall of Famer, the Edge.

Overall, her efforts helped WWE promote female wrestling to newer heights. Hence, she is one of the top female wrestlers in the World.

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9. Sasha Banks

The American wrestler, Sasha Banks, is one of the most decorated top female wrestlers. Her skills, performance, and her attitude are pure beauty.

Like her nickname, “The Boss,” she is the boss during her match in the ring. She stands out amongst various wrestlers while performing.

Further, Pro Wrestling Illustrated has ranked her top 6 female wrestlers five-time from 2016 to 2021.

Likewise, in 2016 Banks ranked no. 2 overall amongst the top 50 female wrestlers. This was the highest she has ever ranked in her wrestling career.

Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks as the NXT Women’s Champion (Source: Wikimedia.org)

Not to mention, Sports Illustrated named her the 2020 wrestler of the year. Besides that, the athlete started her career through independent promotions.

Soon she joined WWE’s sub-brand NXT, where she was the fan-favorite. During this time, she had an epic brawl with Bayley through which she earned the name “The Boss.”

Similarly, she was a one-time NXT women’s champion. Furthermore, after coming to the WWE, she won five Raw and one Smackdown Championship.

Overall, she is one of the female wrestlers that has taken the women’s division into a better future.

8. Bull Nakano

Bull Nakano is a former Japanese professional wrestler. She wrestled from 1983 to 1997. During this period, she was recognized as one of the top female wrestlers in the World.

Her name frequently pops up in the conversation of best of all time. However, her appearance on the screen was mostly antagonist. 

Therefore, her appearance was terrifying, with spiked-blond hair and lines drawing throughout her face.

Bull Nakano
Bull Nakano is the WWE women’s champion (Source: Fandom)

Further, she started her wrestling career in All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling. During this time, she won one of each junior, pacific, and women’s championship.

Likewise, Nakano moved to World Wrestling Federation, where she won the championships one time.

During this time, she made major headlines fighting Alundra Blayze multiple times. Following her title victory, she also competed in the World Championship Wrestling.

7. Kay Lee Ray

Kay Lee Ray (Kayleigh Rae) is a Scottish professional wrestler. Further, she currently wrestles for the WWE’s NXT’s UK brand. She has been with WWE ever since 2015.

Despite being a great athlete, she has had major success in NXT UK rather than in another brand. Of course, she will be seen on either Raw or Smackdown shortly.

However, she remains in the NXT as one of its veteran wrestlers. With her impressive skills, she has won the hearts of many fans in NXT.

Kay Lee Ray
Kay Lee Ray as the NXT UK women’s champion (Source: Pinterest)

If Ray were to jump to Raw or Smackdown, fans would love her. She could be the next biggest star in WWE.

Similarly, she is one hundred percent going to win the women’s title on either Raw or smackdown brand. Nevertheless, as of now, she is a one-time NXT UK women’s champion.

Her exceptional in-ring skills make Ray stand out from all the other performers. No doubt why she is considered one of the top female wrestlers in the World.

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6. Trish Stratus

Trish Stratus was a household name in the early 2000s. She was headlining many pay-per-views and was a fan favorite throughout her career.

Her fame started growing after her sexually themed storylines were super hit. Moreover, fans went crazy over Stratus’s appearance in the ring or backstage.

Through multiple years, she maintained her character. However, after the storyline got old, fans saw more fights from her.

As a result, she won the first and only WWE Hardcore Champion. In addition, WWE also named her the three-time “WWE Babe of the Year” and one-time “Diva of the Decade.”

Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus at GalaxyCon Richmond (Source: Wikimedia)

With such titles, her popularity even grew bigger. Hence, the only thing remaining was for her to win a title and have a long title reign.

Therefore, she won the WWE women’s championships seven times.

Besides that, WWE ranked her no. 1 amongst the 50 best female wrestlers of all time. In Stratus’ prime, her fame was unbeatable by any other female wrestler.

As a result, many former wrestlers refer to her as one of the top female wrestlers.

5. Aja Kong

Aja Kong is a former Japanese professional wrestler. Further, she is also the founder of an all-women professional wrestling promotion.

Similarly, she has wrestled with multiple different independent promotions. However, the most highlighted time for Kong was during the AJW promotion of Japan.

In AJW, she was a one-time women’s, tag team, and Pacific champion. Overall she has had a majorly successful career in the AJW.

Aja Kong
Japanese female wrestler, Aja Kong (Source: Wikimedia)

As a result, Kong was inducted into the Hall of Famer. Besides that, she has wrestled for Arison, Dramatic Dream Team, GAEA Japan, Hustle, JWP, OZ Academy, and many more.

Her dressing and face painting were inspirations for many upcoming female wrestlers in Japan. Therefore, many Japanese female wrestlers draw face paintings on their faces.

Moreover, she has also trained my athletes on having a great wrestling career. Kong is one of the top female wrestlers who significantly impacted female wrestling globally.

4. Kairi Sane

Kairi Sane is a Japanese professional wrestler. Further, she currently wrestles for the World Wonder Ring Stardom, founded in 2010.

Kairi had started her career with the Staredown back in 2011. She was an instant hit, and fans loved her appearance, especially her go-to move known as the “insane elbow.”

Likewise, her storyline was also developing her character into a strong protagonist. Therefore, she was a part of Stardom for five long years.

During this time, many other promotions like AEW and WWE approached her.

Nevertheless, she was dedicated to honoring her contract before moving to other promotions.

top female wrestlers
Kairi Sane wresting for NXT (Source: Wikimedia)

However, after receiving a major contract in WWE, she accepted it as many other top female wrestlers were wrestling there.

Kairi initially joined the NXT brand and moved up to WWE in a year. During her NXT days, she won the NXT Women’s championship one time.

In WWE, her character never seemed to progress. Hence, she was very frustrated with the promotion and left it for going back to Stardom.

3. Asuka

Asuka is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed with WWE, where she is frequently seen wrestling for both Raw and Smackdown.

Further, she started her career in 2004 for AtoZ promotion. Unfortunately, within two years, she suffered an injury that made her retire quickly from wrestling.

Nevertheless, she was drawn to wrestling like a moth drawn to a bulb light. Therefore after a year, she returned to professional wrestling.

top female wrestlers
Asuka is in her wrestling gear and makeup (Source: Wikimedia)

She worked as a freelancer who earned a good reputation as an elite wrestler during those days. Her glorious days came during the Japanese independent circuit.

Asuka’s fame was rising like nothing seen in the wrestling industry. Therefore, when WWE approached her, she was happily inclined to accept the deal.

First, she performed for the NXT brand, where she was a one-time champion. Besides that, she is a two-time Raw and a one-time smackdown champion.

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2. Io Shirai

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently a wrestler for WWE’s NXT brand, where she was the former women’s and tag team champion.

Further, she is known for her time on Stardom, where she got huge success. Shirai was a six-time Artist of Stardom Champion.

Likewise, she was the goddess of Stardom champion one time throughout her time there. Here flashy dress known as Titantron is an anime-inspired.

top female wrestlers
Io Shirai during a press conference (Source: Wikimedia)

Therefore, multiple fans can be seen copying her looks. Besides that, Io is yet to make a debut in the WWE.

However, she might be heading into WWE this year to fight some of the top female wrestlers.

If she moves to the WWE, she is guaranteed to headline major pay-per-view.

1. Meiko Satomura

Meiko Satomura is the greatest female wrestler of all time. She is a Japanese professional wrestler signed with the WWE’s NXT UK brand.

Further, Satomura is currently the reign NXT UK Women’s champion. Many might doubt her ability, but her mesmerizing aura is enough to keep haters away.

Therefore, her fans are very eager for her arrival in the WWE ring. She is set to win the title and has a long reign.

top female wrestlers
The best female wrestler Meiko Satomura (Source: Wikimedia.org)

Before this, she dominated the World Wonder Ring Stardom. Of course, she was the World of Stardom champion.

It’s hard to pick a fight with Satomura as her size is huge compared to other female wrestlers. Hence, she has always won a title in each of the promotions she’s wrestled for.

As a result, her appearance is much awaited in WWE. Nevertheless, the jump from NXT Uk to WWE won’t happen any time soon due to her title reign.

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Conclusion

Wrestling might be a sport dominated by male wrestlers more than females. Therefore, seeing female wrestlers headline major pay-per-view is amazing.

Out of all the wrestlers, these top female wrestlers of all time have made the industry open for and huge for females. Hence, let’s appreciate these individuals for their dedication.

Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah is an engineer and content writer passionate about sports and athletics. With a background in engineering and a love for all things active, Sanjib brings a unique perspective to the world of sports writing. Whether he is covering the latest trends in sports technology or sharing tips on improving your game, Sanjib's words are always rooted in a deep appreciation for players' hard work and dedication everywhere. In his free time, you can find him hitting the courts or hitting the trails, always looking for new ways to challenge himself and improve his skills.

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