Sunny and Sable stand out as the first two mega-stars that defined the term diva in WWE. There were many talented women before and after, but these two made WWE realize they could make huge money by pushing the female personalities. Sunny had a track record in wrestling after her start in Smoky Mountain Wrestling with her boyfriend Chris Candido. Sable also had her start come by working with her husband Marc Mero in WWE.
Shoot interviews and insider reports have indicated there was huge heat between Sunny and Sable for many years. Both women were competing for the top spot in the company. The success to come for them started the diva era of WWE hiring more female talents. We will look at arguments for which deserves to be called the original diva. Here are five reasons for Sunny and five reasons for Sable as the top WWE diva of the 90s.
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10 Sunny: Carried the tag team division
The managerial run of Sunny featured her working with various tag teams. Sunny started off managing the Bodydonnas of Skip and Zip. The act was clearly carried by Sunny as fans wanted to see her more than the two wrestlers.
Sunny would move to the Smoking Gunns and Godwinns at other points. The tag division would see the teams all wanting to have Sunny as their partner. Fans felt the same since most of the duos were quite weak. Sunny was the MVP of the tag team division for almost a full year.
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9 Sable: Infamous bikini contest
One of the star-making nights for Sable came during a bikini contest against Jacqueline at Fully Loaded 1998. The fans started to treat Sable as one of the biggest stars in the company. Sable’s popularity would reach another level after this night.
Jacqueline received a solid ovation from the crowd for her bikini. Sable however changed the game when wearing nothing but paint over her upper reign. The moment received a huge pop and was quite memorable for the Attitude Era.
8 Sunny: Success in ECW
The ability to thrive in multiple promotions always showcases the greatness of a wrestler. Sunny left WWE for a run in ECW to continue working with her boyfriend Chris Candido. The couple was a much better act in ECW as a top duo.
Candido had the chance to showcase his in-ring ability while Sunny’s popularity was even stronger in ECW. The pops for Sunny were arguably the loudest of the night every single show. Sunny found a way to have even more success in ECW during the 90s.
7 Sable: Feuds with Torrie Wilson and Stephanie McMahon
Sable wrestling more than Sunny gave her the advantage in a few ways. There were a couple of feuds that stand out in the career of Sable during her second chapter in WWE. Sable returned to interrupt Torrie Wilson to start an angle there.
Things would get even more personal when Sable had a feud with Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon’s romantic escapades with Sable earned her more power to use against Stephanie. Sable had a few memorable feuds in her career while Sunny never brought that to the table.
6 Sunny: More versatile as a personality
WWE didn’t want Sunny nor Sable to wrestle much in the early portions of their careers. Sunny never wrestled for them at all, but she had more range as a personality. WWE used Sunny in quite a few different roles with all finding success.
Sunny thrived most as a manager, but she found other jobs when she wasn’t representing a wrestler. WWE found success with Sunny as a commentator, ring announcer, host and merchandise model. Sable just never had that much versatility as a personality.
5 Sable: Playboy cover success
Sable was the first woman in WWE history to get the cover spot of Playboy magazine. The company loved this as it gave them huge coverage in one of the most popular magazines in the world to the demographic they were trying to reach.
WWE would see Sable’s popularity grow shortly after appearing in Playboy. It also opened the door for future women like Chyna, Torrie Wilson and Maria Kanellis to get photo shoots in Playboy as well. This was a huge accomplishment for Sable at the time.
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4 Sunny: Most downloaded woman
The peak of Sunny’s popularity came in when she was named the most downloaded woman on the internet by AOL. Despite other sex symbols like Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra having more fame, Sunny was the woman most people wanted to find pictures.
WWE loved marketing this as part of Sunny’s appeal given the unlikelihood of such an accomplishment. The slow steps into embracing the internet would see Sunny play a major role for WWE in the mid-90s. It was arguably her biggest success in WWE.
3 Sable: Women's Championship reign
Sable started doing something Sunny never did when she became a wrestler. WWE pushed Sable to the moon as the face of the women’s division. Sable dominated the title picture as the WWE Women’s Champion during her heel run.
The success of Sable still gave her huge cheers despite cutting heel promos and running down her opponents. WWE would see the Women’s Championship become relevant for the first time after Alundra Blayze dumped it in the trash at WCW.
2 Sunny: Better promo skills
The promo ability of Sunny was her biggest strength in the wrestling business. Sunny was never flustered and made few mistakes when cutting promos. The heel character allowed her to rip into the fans or the beloved wrestlers on the roster.
Sunny talked fans into having interest in her storylines. WWE needed female performers with strong mic skills and Sunny was at the top of the list. Sunny never wrestled, but the talking skills made up for it and helped become an impressive personality for many years.
1 Sable: Was a bigger star
The biggest argument for Sable over Sunny was that she was the bigger star. Sable had her flaws and certainly didn’t always hit a home run. However, the fans gave her among the biggest pops on the show that made her a legitimate superstar.
WWE putting Sable in the women’s division showed just how much they knew they would make money off it. Sable was a drawing machine getting fans to invest in all her segments. Sunny did many great things, but her star power was never on the level of Sable.
