SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Anne Hathaway’s impressive performance as Penelope in “The Odyssey” reminds us that heroines have played a key role in stories and literature since antiquity.
Traditionally, heroic tales have centered on men. The rise of feminism has gradually changed how our culture thinks about women, and recent decades have seen increased prominence of female heroes in pop culture—from Katniss Everdeen to Furiosa, Captain Marvel, and the K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Professional wrestling has reflected this transformation, most notably with the WWE Women’s Revolution, sparked in 2015 when Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks joined the main roster. This led to an increased focus on women’s matches, including more frequent and longer bouts, more prominent angles, and milestones such as the first women’s WrestleMania main event in 2019.
In 2026, women’s wrestling and related angles occupy roughly a quarter of WWE programming. Last week’s SmackDown featured three women’s matches and only a single men’s match. With the rise of women’s wrestling, there has been a greater focus on women babyfaces.
Wrestling heroines share a great deal in common with wrestling heroes. However, they also highlight different traits. Male babyfaces are typically portrayed as dominant competitors, leaders, or the toughest and most skilled. Female babyfaces are more likely to emphasize authenticity, overcoming underestimation, and proving they belong.
This week, we examine which women wrestlers embody heroism—and which are tough to get behind.
Babyface Rising Star: Rhea Ripley
Powerful, distinct, unapologetically confident, and immensely charismatic, Ripley is an ideal babyface. Named after Ellen Ripley—Sigourney Weaver’s classic heroine in Aliens—“The Nightmare” embodies the character’s courage and inner strength.
Ripley’s goth look is instantly recognizable and sets her apart from the rest of the roster. Confident and brazen, Ripley complements her unassuming best friend Iyo Sky.
Ripley has a magnetic personality and is a born performer. Along with her size, strength, and in-ring ability, her charisma makes Ripley a star.
“Mami” has the potential to be WWE’s biggest star. Booking has all too frequently undermined her in the past, but her presentation and performances rarely have.
Like Cody Rhodes or Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley is the kind of babyface to build a division around.
Now, if she can just stay healthy…
Runner-up: Iyo Sky
Everybody loves Iyo.
With unmatched ring skills, extraordinary athleticism, an infectious joy of performance, and humble charisma, there’s a lot to love.
Sky consistently follows the rules, enthusiastically embraces the fans, and stands up for what’s right. She is unerringly loyal to friends and is slow to take offense or seek revenge. Sky comes off as remarkably humble, rarely bragging about her ability even as Michael Cole and others repeatedly refer to her as “the best women’s wrestler on the planet.”
Iyo’s biggest challenge in connecting with fans has been her limited ability to express herself in English. This may, in part, protect her—keeping her from over-talking or saying the wrong thing.
Iyo is a true babyface in every sense of the word. With full cheeks, smooth skin, and youthful features, she looks a decade younger than her 36 years.
In just a few days, Sky wrestles Liv Morgan for the WWE Women’s World Championship. U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis—just like fans everywhere—will be solidly behind her.
Second Runner-up: Kendal Gray
The NXT Women’s Champion is inspiring yet relatable. A lifelong amateur wrestler, she broke barriers by competing against boys and winning several championships in high school and college.
She shows remarkable determination, with a work ethic that rivals that of Seth Rollins, and has taken to professional wrestling like a fish to water. Reminiscent of fellow Greco-Roman wrestler Kurt Angle, Gray picked up ring skills perhaps faster than anyone in NXT history.
Gray consistently shows respect and integrity in her interactions with others. She courageously takes on all challenges, shows resilience in bouncing back from defeat, and demonstrates integrity by consistently following the rules.
Gray has turned her weakness on the mic into a positive by openly admitting to being unsure and anxious speaking in front of crowds. Her vulnerability makes her relatable.
Along with her fantastic ring skills, Gray’s babyface character is easy to admire and root for, making her a promising prospect for success on the main roster.
Babyface Fading Star: Sol Ruca
When a surfer falls off their board while attempting to catch a wave, it’s referred to as a wipeout.
This surfer’s main roster run has been a total wipeout.
Following her NXT debut in 2022, Ruca quickly found success with performances combining her dynamic look with remarkable athleticism and a jaw-dropping finisher in the Sol Snatcher.
Her weaknesses on the mic were obscured by her partnership with Zaria, with whom she shared natural chemistry, and in-ring promos were kept to a minimum. A dominant NXT women’s champion for 189 days who had a track record of great matches, Ruca seemed a very strong prospect when she was elevated to the main roster in April.
It’s been all downhill from there.
Ruca has struggled with a bad case of the “yips” ever since debuting on Raw. She has botched many of her big moves, particularly mistiming the Sol Snatcher, turning her biggest asset into a liability. It’s unclear why her performance has suffered so much. The most convincing explanation is that Ruca, unaccustomed to working in front of such large main roster crowds, has been affected by anxiety she cannot yet control.
Regardless, Ruca was featured on a weekly basis and was elevated to a win over Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental Title by May. She continued to underperform in the ring, culminating in a disaster this Monday against Raquel Rodriguez. Ruca seemed out of place time and again, ruining high spot after high spot—sliding off Rodriguez during a DDT attempt and bloodying Rodriguez’s nose with a misplaced moonsault.
What resulted was arguably Raw’s worst match in years. The only bright side is that WWE creative apparently pulled the plug on her title reign. Rodriguez won the match, capturing her first WWE singles gold after eight failed attempts.
It’s not clear how Ruca can get back on track—or if she will have the opportunity. Some have suggested more reps in non-televised dark matches or house shows before re-debuting; others have suggested a return to NXT.
Either way, her main roster debut will stand as a cautionary tale of what happens when a wrestler is featured before they’re ready.
First Runner-Up: Tiffany Stratton
Much has been written about Tiffany Stratton’s failure as a babyface character. Wooden performances aside, her character is consistently arrogant, emotionally inaccessible, and impossible to relate to. She projects entitlement, never failing to remind viewers what time it is.
Her cruel, personal jabs at Charlotte Flair’s personal life in the buildup to last year’s WrestleMania left a bitter taste in many fans’ mouths. Declaring her desire to leave wrestling and pursue a career in acting didn’t help.
Aside from her beauty and athleticism, there’s just not much to like.
It’s no wonder that her status has declined from division leader to mid-carder.
Stratton’s off-putting character traits could be assets if she were realigned as a heel.
Here’s hoping Blake Monroe’s message to Stratton on last week’s SmackDown leads to an alliance.
“Vapid blonde mean girl” is the only role Stratton has succeeded at. Serving as a second to Monroe—who does the same act far better—could make Stratton relevant again.
Second Runner-Up (tie): The Bella Twins
See Tiffany Stratton, above.
The Bella Twins are equally miscast as babyfaces and are undermining Paige’s comeback by association.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.