The WWE needs a lot of talent. They have dozens of females training at the Performance Center, but they need some women that are ready to step in the ring right now.

I posted a list of male indie wrestlers WWE should sign a month ago, but I needed to list with women wrestlers. There are so many elite women wrestlers that need some of the spotlight.

The WWE raided the independent scene for female talent to stock NXT over the years. You would think the talent base would dry up, but as soon as someone like Candice LeRae or Nixon Newell is taken away from the indies, new faces take their spot and become stars.

This list was well over forty at first, but and I narrowed it down to 20. The list is no particular order…and I even added an extra bonus name at the bottom.

Toni Storm

Toni Storm has been a sensation on the indie scene shortly after she debuted as a teenager. She is a multi-time champion in Japan, UK and Europe. The WWE is well aware of Storm as she participated in the first ever Mae Young Classic in 2017. She’s only 22 years old and sometimes the WWE shies away from signing talent this young, but she’s one of the best prospects in the world. There’s rumors that WWE has already offered her a deal like Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate as they are looking into getting their UK show kick-started. I think it’s only a matter of time before she ends up under a WWE contract.

Chelsea Green

Chelsea Green has been on WWE television a few times as she made a one-time appearance during the Stephanie McMahon/Brie Bella feud as someone who was paid to say she slept with Daniel Bryan. Also, she was a contestant in the most recent season of ‘Tough Enough’, but lost after a few weeks. Green is also known as Laurel Van Ness from her time in TNA/Impact Wrestling. She is a talented wrestler and wrestles all over the world. Like Storm, I think it’s only a matter of time before Green officially signs with WWE. 

Santana Garrett

I have no idea why the WWE hasn’t signed Santana Garrett yet. She has appeared multiple times on NXT television and was also a participant in the Mae Young Classic. She spent some time in TNA & Impact Wrestling as Brittany. Garrett also received a WWE tryout in 2013, but nothing came of it. She currently wrestles all over the world at independent shows and is a mainstay in women promotions Shine and Stardom. She recently received a Women’s Wrestling Award at the Cauliflower Alley Club yearly banquet. She’s talented as hell and definitely has the look WWE tends to favor.

Tessa Blanchard

Blanchard is another women’s wrestler that WWE has been used a handful of times, including the inaugural Mae Young Classic. She is a third-generation wrestler as she is the daughter of Tully Blanchard…and she is even the step-daughter of Magnum T.A. Blanchard is used all over the world and has become one of the top indie women wrestlers in the world. She has even started wrestling in intergender matches against men. She has recently became a member of Impact Wrestling, so WWE can’t currently go after her. WWE clearly had their chances over the years, which makes me think her father could have something to do with why she isn’t already in WWE. He was unceremoniously fired from WWF back in the day after failing a drug test and was basically black-balled by WWF and WCW. Tully was also a witness for the prosecution in the Vince McMahon steroid trial in the early 90’s. It’s all conspiracy theories, but there could be something to this one.

Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi Blackheart has been wrestling for a few years and was a contestant in the last season of Tough Enough. She was disqualified due to a heart issue found during her physical. She had red hair at the time in case that throws you off. She has not let the medical issue stop her from living her dream. She is gaining steam on the indie scene and can be scene all over the U.S. in Hoodslam, IWA Mid-South, RISE and other promotions. She has a great look and if she has corrected the heart issue that disqualified her from Tough Enough, the WWE should snatch her up in a hurry.

Io Shirai

Io Shirai is arguably the best women’s wrestler in the world. She is the face of Stardom in Japan and has won just about every belt and accomplishment she could earn there. She flirted with WWE last year and it looked like it was only a matter of time before she would be signed. Apparently, she even accepted a deal, but a physical found a pretty significant neck injury, as well as a heart issue. WWE rescinded the offer even though doctors in Japan cleared her for both issues. She is still interested in doing whatever she needs to do to be signed by WWE, but it’s unknown if WWE will ever offer her a contract again. She had great matches in Japan against current stars like KANA (known as Asuka in WWE) and Kairi Hojo (known as Kairi Sane in NXT). Hopefully she will get the clearance and WWE is able to sign her.

Rosemary

Rosemary (also known as Courtney Rush) has been wrestling for a decade. She is best known for her time in TNA and Impact Wrestling. She appeared in a lot of the ‘Broken Matt Hardy’ videos when she was a member of Decay. She also made headlines when Sexy Star injured her at Triplemania. Sexy Star put a legit armbar on Rosemary and injured her arm/elbow. Star has since been blackballed from many promotions in the world. I love Rosemary’s look and she is unique in the ring. I think she would be a great addition to the women roster in WWE or NXT.

Nicole Savoy

Nicole Savoy is another women’s wrestler that appeared in the first Mae Young Classic. Whomever was responsible for stocking that tournament up with talent should be promoted. They did get some of the best in the world to appear. I’m sure WWE offered many of these women deals, but maybe it wasn’t the best time. Savoy has only been wrestling since 2011, but she has been a fast riser. She is currently the Shimmer champion and has been a mainstay at that promotion the last few years. She is one of the best in the world and there’s no doubt she is on WWE’s radar.

Shazza McKenzie

Shazza McKenzie is an Australian women’s wrestler that appears in Shimmer, Melbourne City Wrestling and in other promotions around the world. She is on WWE’s radar as she recently appeared on NXT television as an enhancement talent. She has been wrestling for a decade and has faced many of the top female talent on the indies, and some currently in the WWE, like Peyton Royce and (formerly) Emma. The WWE is sort of Australian-heavy, but now that Peyton Royce and Billie Kay are on the main roster, if they were to sign Shazza to NXT, it wouldn’t feel very Aussie. There’s a good chance WWE will snatch McKenzie in the coming years.

Sienna

Sienna (also known as Allysin Kay) has been wrestling for nearly a decade. She is best known for her time in TNA or Impact Wrestling. She is a two-time champion in that promotion. She had some pretty solid matches with Gail Kim. She also spent time in women promotions Shine and Shimmer. Sienna is a talented wrestler who is a good hand in the ring. She would benefit from some time in NXT, as her character could use some work to stand out in WWE. She is currently under contract with Impact, so it may be awhile before she would even be eligible to end up in WWE.

Ivelisse Velez

Ivelisse Velez has been wrestling since she was a teenager. She was trained by the WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon and former New Generation star Savio Vega. She appeared on WWE television in the fifth season of Tough Enough, but was eliminated due to a leg injury. She was signed to developmental and even appeared on some early NXT episodes. She was released from her contract and she stated the reason because she snitched on former head trainer Bill DeMott. She reported his mistreatment of talent and DeMott was later fired for his actions. Ivelisse has since appeared on a ‘Gut Check’ segment on TNA/Impact Wrestling (which she lost), but she is probably best known for her appearances in Lucha Underground. She initially teamed with Son of Havoc and is a two-time Lucha Underground Trios Champion with him and Angelico. Ivelisse is talented and could be a big hispanic star for them. They don’t have a hispanic female star, so she would be perfect. Unfortunately, she may have made some enemies by ratting out DeMott, so you never know if WWE will ever offer her a deal again.

Viper

Viper (also known as Piper Niven) is a Scottish women’s wrestler. She also appeared in the first Mae Young Classic and would be a nice fit in WWE. Most of the women are cookie cutter and due to Viper’s unique look, she would be a good signing. She could be a foe for Nia Jax, who has a similar frame as her. Viper is talented in the ring and has made a name for herself all over the world with multiple tours of Japan and Europe. I think WWE should sign more talents with different body types.

Alex Windsor

Alex Windsor (also known as Liberty) has been wrestling since 2009. She’s primarily in the UK and has wrestled for RISE, PROGRESS and Shimmer. Windsor was trained by Paige’s family and got her start for their promotion, World Association of Wrestling and Bellatrix. She is currently recovering from knee surgery, but should be back on the road in the second-half of 2018. She wrestles a stiff style and would be a great addition to NXT or the WWE’s offshoot UK promotion.

Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna Purrazzo has been all over the place the last couple years. She was a regular on NXT television in 2016 and many could have mistaken her as a signed talent, but she was just a freelancer there. She had some solid matches against Asuka and Emma during her time as a regular NXT performer. She was even an alternate for the Mae Young Classic, but did not appear. She then made numerous appearance on TNA/Impact Wrestling television and she is now in Ring of Honor and Stardom. She has made a name for herself and has wrestled for the three most popular U.S. wrestling promotions. Hopefully WWE will sign Purrazzo one day and she can come back and have top-notch matches in NXT and on the main roster one day.

Alpha Female

Alpha Female (also known as Jazzy Gabert) is a German women’s wrestler who participated in the first Mae Young Classic. She has wrestled all over the world with multiple tours of Japan, Pro Wrestling Eve and she even had a short stint in TNA. It looked like Gabert was a lock to be signed by WWE and was even offered a contract…but like Shirai, they found something during the physical and rescinded the deal. She had three herniated discs in her neck. She recently underwent surgery to correct those discs, so there’s still a shot WWE will come a’calling again.

Rachael Ellering

Rachael Ellering (also known as Rachel Evers) is a second-generation star as she is the daughter of Legion of Doom’s Paul Ellering. She was a student at Lance Storm’s wrestling academy and has had success in the indies in the few years she’s been a professional. She is very good for only being in the business for less than three years. She has made some appearances on NXT television as enhancement talent and was a participant in the first Mae Young Classic. She made it into the second round after her opponent Marti Belle, who was supposed to win, was sloppy and they changed the finish mid-match. I think it’s only a matter of time before Ellering is officially a member of the WWE roster. They may just want her to get some experience in the indies before they bring her in full-time.

Delilah Doom

Delilah Doom is an American women’s wrestler that has been wrestling since 2014. She is making a name for herself as 2017 was her most productive year in the business…and she is off to a great start in 2018. She appears in Shimmer, Bar Wrestling and many other promotions across the United States. She has already appeared in WWE once as she was an enhancement talent against Carmella on Smackdown Live. Delilah is well on her way to being a WWE prospect. I think it’s only a matter of time before she lands a tour in Japan and gets even more experience. I think WWE is in her future.

Kris Wolf

Kris Wolf is an American women’s wrestler that made her name in Japan. She has been a member of Stardom since 2014 and now resides there. She was trained by Io Shirai and a few other women who wrestled for Stardom. Wolf recently left Stardom and you should see her more places and hopefully even more United States dates. She has wrestled for Shimmer, Bar Wrestling and even RISE in 2018. I’d love to see Wolf in the next Mae Young Classic. She became a really good wrestler in Japan by being in the ring with the best day after day.

Leva Bates

Leva Bates (also known as Blue Pants) was one of the first non-contracted female talents to regularly appear on NXT television. She was only supposed to be an enhancement talent, but the crowd started to chant ‘Let’s Go, Blue Pants’ and she got over…due to the color of her pants. Her peak was being the surprise outside enforcer for the Vaudevillains against Blake & Murphy (and Alexa Bliss) at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. There was an incident afterwards in which Bates was allegedly intoxicated and embarrassed herself in front of some higher-ups at WWE. She then missed a flight back to Orlando the next day. It didn’t help that she got heat for getting herself over and also getting to sell her own merch at shows. There have been plenty of times WWE could have brought her back (i.e. Mae Young Classic), but didn’t do so. I’d still love to see Blue Pants in WWE. Her new gimmick in the indies is as a cosplayer, so she dresses up as a different character every night. I think the gimmick could work in WWE as the New Day dabbled in that when they first got together.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay (also known as Lady Katherine Darcy) is a British women’s wrestler that has been wrestling since 2014. She has been a staple in the UK indies wrestling for Pro Evolution Wrestling, House of Pain: Evolution and Empress Pro Wrestling. She has recently been doing tours in Japan, which will no doubt improve every aspect of her work in the ring. She may need a couple more years on the indies before she’s ready to step into WWE, but she’s on her way and I hope she makes it.

BONUS!!

Gail Kim

I couldn’t make a list of ladies the WWE should sign without adding Gail Kim. There’s little to no chance of this happening as she is retired, so I added her as the 21st entry. Kim actually had two runs under the WWE umbrella. She was with the company from 2002 to 2004 and was released as they ‘wanted to take the women’s division in a new direction.’ As we all know, that direction was straight into the toilet. She went to TNA and became one of the most over women’s wrestlers in the world. Her matches against Awesome Kong helped put women’s wrestling on the map in the United States. She had another run in WWE from 2008 to 2011, but they barely used her. She wasn’t really in any big storylines and was relegated to appearing on ‘Superstars’. Her contract expired and she vowed to never re-sign with them since they were holding female talent back. She returned to TNA/Impact and retook her throne as one of the best in the world. The landscape in WWE is much different now as the women’s division is more legitimate. I would love to see her go against Charlotte, Asuka or Sasha Banks. She retired at the beginning of the year. She is currently a producer/agent for Impact Wrestling. I would still love for her to do a one-shot PPV match against one of the top talents in WWE. Can we start an online petition to help make this happen?

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.