Top 5: Best female WWE superstars of 2016

2016 has been the best year for women in the WWE, with another piece of history being made every single week. The constant ups and downs in this turbulent year for the WWE has created stars out of many people and these are the women who in my eyes have shined the brightest. Here are the top five WWE Women of 2016. Honorable mentions go to Bayley, Nikki Bella, and Natalya. The following list will not include NXT superstars.

Number 5: Carmella

The Princess of Staten Island started her year in NXT where she had a strong match between her and Bayley for the NXT women’s championship. Before the draft went down, Carmella was improving as a baby face in NXT; after the draft, she only played her NXT role for a couple of weeks. Carmella’s stint as a baby face failed to get her over with the crowd and her rise in the roster wasn’t until she turned heel by attacking Nikki Bella the week after Summerslam.

Carmella has established herself as one of the top heels on the whole of Smackdown; due to her constant improvement. Her rivalry with Nikki Bella was also very strong and actually made sense, which is something WWE usually lacks with it’s feuds.  

Number 4: Alexa Bliss

The most improved superstar in the entire WWE in my opinion. I did not think much of her in NXT and felt like she should have stayed in development. Since debuting she has been on top of her game and constantly improving in the ring. She has had a great feud with Becky Lynch and goes into 2017 as the Smackdown live women’s champion. She is the perfect heel and I am excited to see what she does next.

Number 3: Sasha Banks

The 3-time Raw women’s champion has created so much history with Charlotte this year. She has main evented PPV’s and Raw and even took part in the first WWE Women’s Hell in a Cell match. She also took part in the historic triple threat match at WrestleMania for the Women’s championship. Banks was also involved in a feud with Naomi and Tamina which lead to a very fun match where she was partnered with Becky Lynch. She has been one of the top babyfaces on the roster and has shown her pure athleticism in her matches against Charlotte. Her reason for not being higher on the list is her inconsistent booking that has made her look weak at times.

Number 2: Becky Lynch

Lynch started 2016 in a feud for the Diva’s championship with Charlotte. This feud was the first indication that the “Divas Revolution” was beginning to work. Lynch also went on to compete in a tag-team match with Sasha versus Naomi and Tamina at Fastlane. Lynch, like Banks, competed in the triple threat match at WrestleMania and had a very good showing. The main reason for Lynch appearing higher on the list then Banks is because of the period where Banks disappeared from TV for about 3 months. Lynch competed in tag-team matches versus Dana Brooke and Charlotte and had a feud with Natalya all before the draft. She also became the first ever Smackdown Live women’s champion winning the 6 pack challenge at Backlash; which will put her name in the history books.

Number 1: Charlotte

It’s no surprise that 2nd generation superstar has topped this list, in 2016 alone she has had 5 separate title reigns. She was the last ever Divas champion and is currently the reigning and defending 4-time Raw women’s champion. She’s beaten the likes of Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Brie Bella and Paige for the championship this year. She has made history with Banks and has consistently improved over the year. She won her first ever WrestleMania match and has a 18-0 winning streak in singles matches on PPV’s. This is why Charlotte is the number one woman in WWE this year.  

This article comes to us via Dominic Hill (@DomH29). You can check out more of Dom’s work here.