While the fans might credit superstars like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks as being instrumental in kicking off the Women's Revolution in WWE, one cannot deny the fact that the seeds for the inevitable uprising of women's wrestling in WWE were already planted by legends like Lita.
Lita was the perfect balance between a Vince McMahon-type Barbie doll and a hardcore professional wrestler. She had portrayed both sides to perfection during her prime time in WWE and inspired most of the current women's division to consider a career in pro-wrestling.
With that said, let's take a look at Lita's illustrious career over the years in the form of photos.
10 Training & Debut
Lita got inspired to become a pro-wrestler after seeing Rey Mysterio perform on an episode of WCW Nitro, and she started her training in 1997. She traveled to Mexico and trained under wrestlers like El Dandy, Kevin Quinn, and Ricky Santana.
She supported her training by working as a dancer under the name Misty at a local club, and her efforts turned fruitful once she completed her training in 1998.
She made her in-ring debut by January 1999, working under the name Angelica and competed for promotions like MCW and FOW before meeting Paul Heyman.
9 Her Time In ECW
Paul Heyman approached Lita in April 1999 and gave her the opportunity to perform for ECW. She made her debut as Miss Congeniality, the on-screen girlfriend of Danny Doring, and only spent about six months with the promotion.
While continuing to work with ECW, Rob Van Dam introduced Lita to Dory Funk Jr, who accepted her as a trainee in his wrestling school, The Funkin' Conservatory.
After graduating from the wrestling school, Dory Funk and his wife compiled a videotape of Lita and sent it to WWE, which opened the doors for her to sign a developmental deal with Vince McMahon's promotion.
8 WWE Debut
Lita's first WWE appearance came on the July 5, 1999, episode of Raw Is War, where she appeared as a member of The Godfather's Ho-Train. She trained in WWE's developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling for a while before getting re-introduced as Lita to the WWE Universe.
She was paired with Essa Rios, and both made their official WWE debuts on the February 13, 2000, episode of Sunday Night Heat. They continued to perform together and had a decent feud with Eddie Guerrero and Chyna along the way.
The pair split up after The Godfather, and his Ho-Train caused some tension between the two, which led to Rios betraying her.
7 Team Xtreme
The breakup with Essa Rios led to her joining forces with Matt and Jeff Hardy to form Team Xtreme. The new alliance skyrocketed her fame among the WWE Universe, and she took extreme measures to get her character over with the fans, including taking a brutal spear from Edge and a 3D from the Dudley Boyz in TLC matches.
Lita won her first championship in WWE when she beat Stephanie McMahon for the Women's Championship on the main event of the August 21, 2000, episode of Raw Is War.
Lita continued her involvement with Team Xtreme through various phases between 2000 and 2002 until it came to a halt following her sustaining an injury.
6 Neck Injury & Return
In April 2002, while filming a fight scene for a role in the television series Dark Angel, Lita sustained a serious injury when she attempted a Litacanrana. The stunt double dropped her while performing the move, which ended in her landing on her neck and shoulders.
She had to undergo surgery and spent the rest of the year in rehab but worked as a commentator on Sunday Night Heat. She returned to in-ring competition after 17 months in September 2003 and entered into programs with Trish Stratus, Matt Hardy, and Christian in the following months.
5 Storyline With Kane
Lita entered into a quite disturbing storyline with Kane in 2004, with The Big Red Monster taking an interest in seducing Lita. Kane's first step in winning over Lita was to brutalize Matt Hardy on a weekly basis, and it eventually ended in a Till Death Do Us Part match at SummerSlam 2004, with the stipulation that Lita should marry the winner.
Kane won the match and got married to Lita in an on-screen segment on the August 23, 2004, episode of Raw. The following developments saw Lita getting pregnant, having a miscarriage, and even teaming up with Kane to take out Snitsky, who caused Lita to miscarry.
Lita also went on to capture her second Women's Title during the storyline, and everything with Kane was going smooth until the arrival of one Rated R Superstar.
4 Relationship With Edge
Lita's relationship with Kane came to a shocking end when she betrayed The Big Red Monster and helped Edge to win the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament. Lita and Edge kissed on the stage, with Kane and the fans looking on in disbelief.
Lita and Edge then continued to appear as a couple from that point, and despite all the real-life controversy, WWE continued to present Lita and Edge in high-profile storylines, which led to Edge winning his first WWE Championship and having a controversial celebration with Lita on Raw. The storyline continued until the point Lita decided to leave WWE in late 2006.
3 WWE Departure & First Retirement
Lita had a hard time dealing with fan backlash over the Matt Hardy incident and the controversial live celebration she had with Edge. After 18 months of enduring all the hatred, Lita announced her retirement in 2006, and her match with Mickie James at Survivor Series 2006 became her last in-ring contest.
However, she did make sporadic in-ring appearances on the independent scenes before hanging up her boots for good. She continued to make special appearances for WWE over the years on special episodes of Raw until WWE decided to honor Lita for her contributions.
2 Hall Of Fame & Other Roles In WWE
In 2014 WWE announced Lita as an inductee into their Hall of Fame, and at the ceremony, she got inducted by her friend and rival Trish Stratus. Following her induction, Lita worked with WWE as a trainer for the sixth season of Tough Enough, along with Booker T and Billy Gunn.
She then worked as a full-time backstage producer and creative writer from October 2015 to July 2016. She also announced the retirement of the WWE Divas Championship and unveiled the new WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 32.
She also worked as a pre-show panelist for WWE PPVs and also worked as the commentator for the 2017 Mae Young Classic Tournament with Jim Ross.
1 Return To In-Ring Action
Lita returned to in-ring competition in 2018 when she made a surprise return as the fifth entrant in the women's Royal Rumble match. She also teamed up with Trish Stratus to take on Mickie James and Alicia Fox at WWE's first-ever women's exclusive premium live event, WWE Evolution, in October 2018, and also competed in a 10-women tag team match on the following night's episode of Raw.
She once again returned to the ring four years later at the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble match and is now all set to take on Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship at Elimination Chamber.