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WWE 2K22's wrestler gives a glimpse at the state of WWE today. Seeing which wrestlers' ratings get higher or lower from game to game makes for an interesting look into how they've risen the ranks or fallen down the card over the past year. In WWE 2K22's case, there are two years of history to cover, and that has led to some wrestlers seeing a meteoric rise.
With women's wrestling in WWE seeing a higher profile than ever before, stars of the past and present have featured roles on the game's roster, ranking extremely highly. Some of these women are legends whose legacy is larger than life, whilst others are current stars at the top of their game.
10 Rhea Ripley - 86
Rhea Ripley was on the brink of stardom when WWE 2K20 launched, and she made her video game debut. However, she hadn't quite broken through yet. Since then, she's become a mainstay of the modern era. She ended Shayna Baszler's reign of terror over the NXT Women's division at the end of 2019 before being immediately featured in a WrestleMania feud with Charlotte Flair.
Rhea would lose that match to Charlotte but stayed an important figure. She re-debuted in the 2021 women's Royal Rumble and launched herself into another WrestleMania feud, this time against Asuka. The second time proved to be the charm, and Rhea won the Raw Women's Championship there, solidifying her status at the top of the women's division.
9 Beth Phoenix - 87
While the "Divas" era of women's wrestling in WWE is generally seen as a bad time in its history, there were a few great stars that came out of it. Arguably the biggest was Beth Phoenix. Feuding with and beating just about everyone in the division while she was around, Phoenix was the strongest competitor of that era.
She won the women's champions on three separate occasions and once more after, it was rebranded as the Diva's Championship. She didn't stick around for all that long in WWE, but she made enough of an impact to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame in 2017. Since then, she's provided commentary for NXT and wrestled a few matches alongside former partner Natalya and husband Edge.
8 Chyna - 87
A legend of women's wrestling who sadly wasn't given her due by the company while she was still around, Chyna is one of the most memorable women's competitors of the Attitude Era. Debuting as the stoic muscle for D-Generation X, Chyna made memorable moments where she went. Despite this, before WWE 2K20, she hadn't featured in a WWE game in over two decades.
She only won the Women's Championship once, but she didn't really need a title to be a big deal. That said, she became the first woman in WWE history to win one of the men's championships, winning the Intercontinental Championship twice. There were even talks behind the scenes planning for her to win the WWE Championship at some point, but it never came to pass.
7 Bianca Belair - 87
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Undoubtedly the biggest rise in star power over the past two years has been that of Bianca Belair. Although she never won the NXT Women's Championship, her time on that brand showed her potential for a star, and she moved up to Raw in a hurry. She didn't get off the ground straight away, but once she moved to Smackdown, the wins started racking up.
Come the 2021 Royal Rumble, her winning it was a foregone conclusion, and she ascended to WrestleMania, where she fought and beat Sasha Banks in a match that will go down in history. She held the Smackdown Women's Championship until Summerslam, where she lost it to Becky Lynch, but she has been on the rise again as of late, with a match against Lynch set for WrestleMania 38.
6 Trish Stratus - 88
Trish Stratus is one of the first names that comes to mind when "women's wrestling" is talked about, and for good reason. During the Attitude Era, WWE still by and large hired women for their looks rather than their wrestling ability. Trish had almost no experience when she was hired by WWE but slowly rose in the ranks.
By the time she reached her prime, towards the end of the Attitude Era, she had become the legendary wrestler fans know today. She's had memorable feuds with Mickie James and Lita that are still talked about to this day, and it was arguably the first real wake-up call to those in WWE that women's wrestling should be treated as more than a side-show.
5 Sasha Banks - 88
One of the fabled Four Horsewomen, Sasha Banks, had a fantastic 2020 but fell off the wagon a bit in 2021. She started 2020 as a heel alongside Bayley. She briefly won the Raw Women's Championship before losing it back to Asuka, and then the inevitable happened.
Bayley turned on Sasha at the start of the Autumn in 2020, and fans finally got to see the feud between Bayley and Banks they had been waiting for since their first legendary encounter in NXT 2015. Their match delivered in a major way and saw Sasha win the Smackdown Women's Championship, starting what would prove to be the most successful title reign of her career to date. After losing the championship to Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 37, she was sidelined by injury more than once in 2021 but is ramping back up in the division as of 2022.
4 Bayley - 88
Despite missing most of 2021 due to a torn ACL, Bayley gets such a big nod for being, in many fans' eyes, the MVP of the pandemic era in WWE. Whilst shows were lacking a crowd and fairly low on the quality spectrum, Bayley was putting out great work every week as Smackdown Women's Championship.
Her mean-girl heel attitude was a side fans had never seen of her before, and she relished the opportunity. Every week she was a must-watch competitor and even managed to lose her championship in a memorable way to Sasha Banks. She's yet to return from injury, but she's sure to be shoved right back into the spotlight when she does.
3 Asuka - 90
The other woman who carried WWE during the pandemic, Asuka, tore a path through just about everyone on Raw in 2020. After losing in the Elimination Chamber to Shayna Baszler, she won Money in the Bank in 2020 and used it to claim the Raw Women's Championship after Becky Lynch announced her pregnancy.
With the Raw Women's Championship, she ruled over Raw like a queen, holding the title all the way until WrestleMania 37, when she'd lose to Rhea Ripley. She was on the rebound from losing her championship when, like Bayley, she was struck down with an injury that sidelined her for the rest of the year and is yet to return.
2 Charlotte Flair - 90
Despite missing a large chunk of time over the last two years, Charlotte has managed to retain her place at the top of the WWE Women's division. She started 2020 by winning the Royal Rumble and beating Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship. She lost the title in the summer and was missing for the rest of the year due to a need to undergo surgery.
Upon returning in December 2020, she won the Women's Tag Team Championships with Asuka. She would miss WrestleMania that year but won the Raw Women's Championship twice during summer 2021. After getting traded to Smackdown and exchanging championships with Becky Lynch, she would continue to defend her championship all the way up to WWE 2K22's release, as she is currently slated for a WrestleMania 38 match with Ronda Rousey.
1 Becky Lynch - 92
Ever since Becky Lynch caught fire in 2018, nothing has been able to stop her domination over WWE. After winning the Raw & Smackdown Women's Championship in the WrestleMania 35 main event, she defended her title for over a year, featuring on the cover for WWE 2K20 in that time. She eventually relinquished the championship in 2020 after becoming pregnant.
She wouldn't return until summer 2021 but immediately stole the spotlight. She shocked the world by returning at Summerslam and beating Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Adopting a new gimmick as "Big Time Becks", she has put down all challengers for her title to date, proving she didn't miss a step whilst she was away and still deserves her spot at the top.
WWE 2K22 releases March 8, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.