There are a handful of wrestlers who defined women’s wrestling in WWE in the Attitude Era and during Ruthless Aggression. Names like Sable, Chyna, Trish Stratus, and Lita tend to come up first. Not too far after them come talents like Victoria who spent several years in the title mix in a career that included championship victories and giving some of the other best women in the business some of their best matches.
Related: 10 Backstage Stories About Victoria We Can't BelieveVictoria left WWE in 2009 and has only appeared one time for the promotion since, for a single-night appearance, working the 2021 women’s Royal Rumble. What set up her departure from the company, though?
Victoria Was A Unique Talent For The WWE Women’s Division
WWE enjoyed a strong period for women’s wrestling in the late Attitude and early Ruthless Aggression Eras. Trish Stratus not only came into her own, but had a perfect foil in Lita. A cast of others including Ivory, Molly Holly, and Jazz helped diversify the division as well.
Victoria represented something fundamentally different, though. She was a conventionally attractive woman, which didn’t hurt, but she was also an athletic powerhouse—a combination of skill sets that set her up to play a wicked, crazed heel character, but also a superhero-style babyface. She leaned into her character work in either role as well to become a very easy talent for fans to invest in, whether they cheered or booed her at a given time.
Why Did Victoria Leave WWE?
After seven years as a fixture on the WWE women’s roster, Victoria left the company. She had already enjoyed her share of highlights at that point, not least of all getting to work a featured match at WrestleMania 20 with Molly Holly. She discussed her choice to leave with Chris Van Vliet (h/t Wrestling INC), claiming she “had two years left on my contract when I asked for my out … I talked to Vince, Johnny Ace, and Stephanie McMahon. I asked them, 'Do you see the title in my future?' Their face gave it away.” The picture seemed clear to Victoria that at best she’d become a gatekeeper and someone who helped train other women who would quickly move past her in terms of positioning on the card.
Victoria also indicated that, even in her forties, “I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grow up,” alluding to her still having other ambitions and interests outside of wrestling and not wanting to stay put in a stagnant role in WWE. True to this claim, she had stints in acting as well as running different businesses including restaurants and a custom car shop in the years to follow.
Victoria Moved On To Impact Wrestling
By Victoria’s own account speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Impact Wrestling offered her a foot in the door very shortly after she’d finished up with WWE, and gave her a short time frame to make a decision. While some fans thought this career move didn't make sense, it fit better with her intentions for her life and role in wrestling at the time. The run proved worth her while, furthering her legacy with five Knockouts Championship reigns (in a time when Impact quite arguably had better women’s wrestling than WWE).
Related: 10 Former TNA Knockouts Champions: Where Are They Now?Additionally, she had memorable feuds and matches opposite the likes of Mickie James, Ms. Tessmacher that included her getting to work Steel Cage and Street Fight Matches that stretched the horizons of styles she’d had the opportunity to work up to that point.
In the end, Victoria made the most of every opportunity afforded her in wrestling, best remembered for WWE work as a powerhouse heel and babyface. Though she gets overshadowed by women like Trish Stratus who were better featured for most of her run, she nonetheless holds a special place in the memories of women’s wrestling fans and is overdue for a WWE Hall of Fame induction.
