Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine
Wrestling Yearbook Fall 2005 Issue
Scouting Reports

VICTORIA

VITAL STATISTICS
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 136
Hometown: Rialto, CA
Years Pro: 5
Major Titles Won: WWE women’s (2 times)
“PWI 500” Rankings: None
PWI Awards/Runner-Up Finishes: Woman (2004, 2nd runner-up in 2003), Most improved (3rd runner-up in 2003)

CAREER AT A GLANCE:
Award-winning fitness model trained for her career in the ring under Rick Bassman at the UPW training facility in Southern California… First appearances in the WWF in 2000 as one of the Godfather’s hos… She was assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling, a developmental territory in which she briefly served as commissioner… Transferred to OVW and became Queen Victoria, evil matriarch of Doug Basham’s Revolution faction… Made her WWE wrestling debut in July 2002… Stood out from the rest of the divas by pulling her own raven tresses and screaming like a lunatic… Beat Trish Stratus for the women’s title during a violent feud… Recruited Steven Richards as a manservant or love interest-we still don’t know for sure… Beat Lita in WWE’s first-ever women’s steel cage match… Lost the title to Stratus in three-way match at WrestleMania XIX… Regained the belt February 2004… Retained the title in a belt vs. hair match against Molly Holly at WrestleMania 20, then shaved Molly bald… Lost the belt back to Stratus in a four-way bout in June 2004… Career has stalled in recent months.

DEFINING CAREER MOMENT:
Pretending to have an injured knee in her first WWE match against Stratus. Stratus stopped to check on Victoria’s condition, and Victoria pounded, violently beating on her. She established herself as a ruthless woman who will do what it takes to win and a competitor who cannot be underestimated.

STRONGEST PART OF HER MATCHES:
Everything Victoria does, she does with the flair of a dancer and the power of a competitive bodybuilder. Her grace belies surprising power. She overwhelms opponents in the first we minutes and tried to steal the win in short order.

WEAKEST PART OF HER MATCHES:
Victoria has a glass jaw. Despite almost always enjoying a significant strength advantage over her opponents, she frequently yields control of a match after a relatively innocuous move, such as a punch, poke to the eyes, or kick to the midsection. She either has to toughen up or better defend herself against those desperation moves.

WHOM SHE WANTS TO FACE:
Trish Stratus. Victoria vs. Stratus could be the defining women’s feud of our time. Despite the fact that the two women have clashed many times, a decisive winner has yet to emerge. Trish has the gold today, but that could change at any time. If Victoria could decisively beat Trish, she would be looked upon as the top wrestler of the world.

WHOM SHE OUGHT TO AVOID:
The divas. Victoria is a consummate wrestler. She doesn’t need to get mixed up with the non-wrestling models who can only distract her from her true goal-establishing herself as the dominant woman wrestler of today.

SHOULD BE ADDED TO HER REPERTOIRE:
One more knockout finishing maneuver. The widow’s peak is extremely effective, but it would be good for her to have another flashy move to use when needed. She doesn’t us her moonsault much anymore, but either that or a slingshot aerial move could allow her to one-up Lita and build her legacy.

SMARTEST MOVE SHE EVER MADE:
Taking the Godfather’s stiff power bomb through a table and coming back for more. Victoria’s commitment to wrestling and willingness to pay a physical price impressed WWE management early in her career.

BIGGEST MISTAKE SHE EVER MADE:
Getting “involved” with Steven Richards. Richards couldn’t do much to help Victoria. Instead, he became just another distraction, miring her in silly mixed tag matches and costing her important matches with ill-conceived interference.

WE SAID IT:
“Victoria was one of the first women wrestlers who really made me take notice and come to accept women in the ring to some extent. She is a credit to the sport. And she’s easy on the eyes, too.”
– Contributing Writer Matt Brock

“I couldn’t say a bad thing about Victoria. She has a great head on her shoulders and fantastic attitude. I know Trish Stratus is considered the total package as far as women wrestlers go, but Victoria isn’t far behind.”
– Senior Writer Dan Murphy

“With Trish Stratus on the dark side and Lita losing fans because of her dalliances with Edge and Kane, Victoria stands alone as the most popular woman in wrestling. She has a niche going for her-the likeable girl next door.”
– Managing Editor Brandi Mankiewicz