WWE: Ruby Riott is the most improved women’s wrestler on the roster

Ruby Riott has taken what could have been a marginalized role and become one of the name’s to watch in the future of WWE women’s wrestling.

The year of 2018 we’ve seen a lot of moments that were both impressive and upsetting when it comes to women’s professional wrestling. Whether it’s Becky Lynch organically becoming the most over star on the WWE roster or Ronda Rousey’s uncomfortably forced promos; there’s a lot to absorb when it comes to women’s wrestling on the biggest brand in the industry.

But while all of that has gone on, there’s been a consistently exceptional wrestler who has continued to blossom into someone that can eventually carry the division. In 2018, Ruby Riott runs away with the distinction of being the most improved woman on the WWE roster.

Riott had a brief and underwhelming run on the NXT roster when she was there from 2016 to 2017. Yet, unlike some other hit-or-miss call ups, Riott has continued to show that she not only belongs on the big stage but has the potential to hold either the Raw or SmackDown title, while having the division built around her.

In 2018 we’ve seen Riott take center stage as the leader of the Riott Squad, a group that includes two wrestlers of lesser experience in Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. It’s been Riott’s presence that has not only sparked their improvement, but in many ways kept them relevant within storylines.

Moving them from SmackDown to Raw in April gave Riott the opportunity to show that she can work with some of the biggest names on the roster, such as Sasha Banks and Bayley. She’s also been the one to give Rousey her “toughest” match to date, showing how her abilities in the ring can help someone of Rousey’s stature continue to develop into a better worker in her own right.

Storyline-wise, Riott is getting more chances to develop her character – one that has a captivating look in a world that usually focuses her ire on the blonde hair, girl-next-door type. Riott has a feel that is reminiscent to Luna Vachon – and could easily be placed as both a heel or face.

The Riott Squad was consistently being used a fodder for makeshift teams such as the Bellas and Rousey or Natalya, Banks and Bayley; but with her recent developments with Natalya, it will be interesting to see how WWE Creative uses this time to bring more of her character to the forefront. While this is a period in WWE women’s wrestling that is dominated by Rousey, it’s good to watch how Riott’s improvements as a character can lead to her being an eventual foil for the former UFC champion.

The term “solid hand” is used in professional wrestling to describe the athletes that are fit into any situation to deliver regardless of whom they are placed against. At first, it seemed like that would be Riott’s role within the WWE women’s division. However, in much of 2018 she’s continued to show that she deserves to share the stage with the biggest names on the roster, and for that she deserves to be deemed the most improved women’s wrestler in WWE.