Wendi Richter

[8.0] "Wendi Richter was one of the key players when wrestling went mainstream in the '80s. With Cyndi Lauper by her side and the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection in full swing, she helped put women's wrestling on a national stage. She had the look, the attitude, and the presence to stand out in a male-dominated industry. Her title win over The Fabulous Moolah was a seismic moment, even if it came crashing down with the Screwjob-style finish that pushed her out. Her run was short, but the impact was loud. A trailblazer who never got her full due, but absolutely laid down some of the foundation for today's women"

[2.0] "The only positive in her career was the huge rating MTV did for her vs Moolah in 1984, but Lauper at ringside was the main draw - not the wrestlers. Beyond that Richter herself was never a draw or headliner. As a wrestler, she was terrible. Yes, even by the low standards of NA women's wrestling in the 80s. She could hide her technical weaknesses early in her career with solid heel mannerisms but got exposed as a babyface to the point where she came across as dislikable. That babyface run, the peak of her career, was also an objective failure. Vince wanted her to lead women's wrestling as the female Hulk Hogan. Suffice to say that didn't happen and Richter's lack of talent was one of the reasons for it. I'll show her some love for the MTV rating, but that's it."

[2.0] "Passable look. Not good wrestler or talker. She would've been better than Moolah as champ since by that time Moolah and co were 100 and looked like melting flesh in a swimsuit, but Richter comes from that same school of awful 80s WWF wrestling with hair pulling and bland matches that were piss breaks. The stuff that Moolah was the epitome of. Revisionist history has placed her as some "forgotten legend" held back by Moolah. Yeah, Moolah was human garbage and a bad wrestler and may have held back her WWF push (though that seems pretty debatable tbh) but Moolah didn't have control over all wrestling everywhere. Richter still wouldn't have been over. Cyndi Lauper was over. For the kids, Cyndi Lauper was Bad Bunny in the 80s and they ran the same schtick except CL was a manager. WR rode Cyndi Lauper's coat tails. WR run in AWA after the WWF shows she couldn't draw. And if she was that over and hated in the US, she could have done Japan. She couldn't wrestle that well though, so she never did. Jumping Bomb Angels were good and deserved more of a run. Richter just wasn't that good. She would've made a better champ than Moolah, but so would any other female wrestler under 40."

[5.0] "She should have been the face of the WWF Women's division for the rest of the 80's but scumbag politics and Fabulous Moolah put the kibosh on that one. Her ring work was fine for the 80's when it was a lot of hair pulling and face gouging and she had enough passion in the interviews, but I can't go higher than a 5 because she didn't get enough time that she deserved on the stage of the big company."

[9.0] "Moolah knew from day one Wendi was vastly superior in every possible form, facet and regard. That being said AVOID every Moolah match as it is sabotaged. Every. Single. One. Wendi Richter's career outside of that, with all other competition was some of the best ladies wrestling for a good chunk of time. She worked hard, brought out the best in others and thought outside of the box (the whole "measurements on the attire" was ahead of its time). Super great stuff in every territory, all of it recommended... except again The Fabulous Mummy encounters. 9.25 rounded down."

[9.0] "Wendi had the good fortune of teaming with Joyce Grable early on in her career. Grable showed her the ropes and started her on the way. Being a title holder, she got to refine her mic skills as a heel. I actually preferred her heel work but she's best know for her "female Hogan" run. Before all that she grabbed gold a couple of times with Gable and was a credible heel worker, if not particulary noticeable or successful. That all changed with Rock and Wrestling and you could tell by her physique that she would dethrone Moolah (as a heel, Richter would have trunks with her measurements on them). Her WWF titlle run was the pinacle of her career. Trouncing Moolah in rematches, briefly dropping the strap to Kai, and then regaining the belt and trouncing Kai in rematches. She had helped put the women's title back on the map. We all know about the Spyder Lady screw job, which I saw as it happened. Putting the belt back on Moolah killed the women's division. If Wendi mistook her worth, there were plenty of credible performers not named Moolah. Eventually Sherri came along and she was an excellent performer, but the belt had already lost it's lustre. Ricther went on to a successful AWA run and then called it a career. No knock on the AWA, but by then both them and the NWA had been stuck with the minor leagues label and Richter's WWF run became a memory and an enormous missed opportunity. That costs her a point."

[4.0] "Not good. Just remembered for the first Wrestlemania and her association with Cyndi Lauper. Thought she was a bigger star than she was which lead to her demise."

[7.0] "The best women of wrestling in the 1980's. She was excellent at holds and moves. Very exciting to watch in the ring. Unfortunately a lot of people don't know about her. She had excellent feuds with Fabulous Moolah, Leilani Kai, and Velvet McIntrye. She temporarily made women's wrestling popular in the 80's and during the Hulkamania era. She was treated very poorly by WWF and Moolah. Now she is in the WWE Hall of Fame. Very sad how her career was short."

[7.0] "She and Leilani Kai were the only reason that I even realized there was a women's division prior to Sensational Sherri and Luna Vachon. She wasn't around long but was one of the top performers."

[8.0] "Wendi Richter had the size, power and personality to be the headline star of the WWF's women's division of the mid-80s, and her alliance with pop star Cyndi Lauper was a major part of the whole "Rock 'n' Wrestling" period that drove the WWF to new heights of popularity. Unfortunately, a rumored pay dispute led to her being screwed out of the Women's Title in 1985 (somewhat foreshadowing the screwjob of Bret Hart a decade later) and she abruptly departed the company. She went on to a run with AWA, winning their Women's Title, before largely retiring by the end of the '80s (a few independent appearances here and there notwithstanding). One has to wonder if, had she not left the WWF, the company's Women's Division might have remained relevant and had far less trouble regaining its legitimacy."

[6.0] "I may not know too many female wrestlers from before the 90’s but Wendi Richter is surely one of them. She was such a dominant part of the beginning of the 80’s wrestling boom that it was hard not too have heard about her. While Richter’s career was only short in the WWE she had a major impact on the product. In fact Pro Wrestling Illustrated even offered the question of if Wendi Richter was in fact more popular than Hulk Hogan on one of their covers. We can only wonder what could have been had not the events of the original screw job in November of 1985 hadn’t happened. Could of the woman who was often referred to as “150 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal” gone to even greater heights in the WWE or had she had her peak and was only in a right place, right time sort of scenario? Whichever it is however you cannot deny that Wendi Richter helped shape one of the greatest periods of wrestling’s history"