The women’s division has witnessed many drastic changes throughout the years in WWE. A wrestling promotion should try to plan a big upset occasionally to make a story matter in the grand scheme of the show. Wrestlers love to shock the audience with a big crowd reaction of either joy or anger at the unexpected finish coming against all expectations.
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WWE has delivered quite a few major upset moments for women. The stories range from finishes fans didn’t see coming to the underdog wrestlers pulling off huge victories. Each match specifically provided a different form of an upset to keep the viewers guessing. Find out what caused each story to play out as such with the biggest upsets from the women’s division in WWE history.
10 Stephanie McMahon defeating Jacqueline
The storyline of Stephanie McMahon winning the Women’s Championship in 2000 saw WWE fully recognizing that she had zero in-ring skills at the time. Stephanie was initially placed in a title match against Jacqueline as a punishment.
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D-Generation X’s Tori helped Stephanie by attacking Jacqueline when the referee’s back was turned. This allowed Stephanie to steal the Women’s Championship with an upset victory that was treated as a huge surprise.
9 Victoria defeating Trish Stratus
Victoria received a huge push when debuting. The company did use her in the past in secondary roles without an actual character. Victoria was introduced as a heel obsessed with Trish Stratus’ success.
The first title shot for Victoria came in a rare hardcore match in the women’s division. Victoria shocked Madison Square Garden at Survivor Series 2002 when defeating Stratus to win the Women’s Championship so early into her career.
8 Natalya defeating Naomi
Natalya has been around WWE for so long that it’s easy to forget about her accomplishments. WWE gave Natalya her first noteworthy push in a few years at SummerSlam 2017 in a Smackdown Women’s Championship match against Naomi.
The face title run of Naomi was going strong from WrestleMania with no one expecting her to lose to secondary roster member Natalya. WWE went with the upset and elevated Nattie back into the top of Smackdown’s division for a few months.
7 Sable defeating Luna Vachon
WWE didn’t advertise Sable as a wrestler during her first few years in the company. Sable primarily managed Marc Mero, took part in swimsuit contests, and advertised WWE merchandise.
Luna Vachon started attacking Sable when WWE decided to utilize her in the ring moving forward. Sable getting the better of Luna was treated as a huge upset since she was new to the ring competing against a veteran. The wins helped elevate Sable to another level as a top star.
6 Carmella defeating Asuka
The dominant undefeated streak of Asuka created a mystique of being a top star in the women’s division. WWE ended Asuka’s streak to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34, but she was still treated like a star by the fans.
That made it an even bigger upset when Carmella of all people scored two victories over Asuka in upset fashion. Carmella’s former manager James Ellsworth was brought back to help her steal the shocking victories over Asuka.
5 Paige defeating AJ Lee in her debut match
The record-setting Divas Championship reign of AJ Lee saw her holding the title for almost a full year. Paige made her debut from NXT on the main roster by accepting Lee’s challenge on the Raw one night after WrestleMania XXX.
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The idea of a star making her debut to end a record-breaking title reign is almost unheard of in WWE. Paige pulled off the upset victory and was instantly made into a top star for the women’s division in just one night.
4 The Kat defeating Ivory
Stacy “The Kat” Carter had minimal wrestling experience when signing with WWE as Jerry Lawler’s girlfriend that discovered the business through him. WWE decided to push The Kat as the face of the women’s division in late 1999 and early 2000.
Ivory was the most respected woman on the roster at that time. The booking of The Kat defeating Ivory on multiple occasions saw her winning the Women’s Championship as a huge upset. Many fans of Ivory would be disappointed looking back at these finishes today.
3 The IIconics defeating 3 other teams for Women's Tag Team Championship
The Women’s Tag Team Championship has yet to find long-term relevance in WWE. Sasha Banks and Bayley winning the titles for the first reign was an obvious move, but fans were shocked to see them lose it at WrestleMania 35 after a few weeks.
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay of The IIconics defeated Banks and Bayley, Nia Jax and Tamina, and Beth Phoenix and Natalya to win the titles. They were the least likely of the three teams to win the match, but they stole the titles in a special moment.
2 Candice Michelle defeating Beth Phoenix
WWE made Candice Michelle and Beth Phoenix two of the top women in the division in 2007. Michelle received a huge push as a face winning the Women’s Championship from Melina to have a reign for a few months.
Phoenix was getting built as a dominant heel due to her strength advantage. WWE shocked viewers when Candice won their first match against each other to retain the belt at Unforgiven 2007. Beth eventually got her revenge by taking the Women’s Championship a few weeks later, but Michelle winning at all against her was a shock.
1 Kairi Sane defeating Shayna Baszler
NXT booked Shayna Baszler as the most dominant heel to ever enter the women’s division. The two NXT Women’s Championship reigns saw the wrestlers who dethroned her benefitting immensely from scoring such victories.
Current Kabuki Warrior Kairi Sane provided the bigger upset at TakeOver: Brooklyn 2018. The rivalry saw Sane hitting her elbow drop to win the NXT Women’s Championship to a massive ovation. Sane dropped the belt back to Baszler at Evolution, but the upset win was still huge for her career.
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