Lita working hard to return

BY MATT BERKOWITZ
mberkowitz@herald.com

Entering WWE in 2000 after a successful stint in ECW, Amy Dumas, known to WWE fans as Lita, enhanced the quality of wrestling in the women's division. As a manager/valet for Esse Rios, she became popular for her moonsault off the top rope and her Hurricaranas.

She climbed the ladder in WWE.

Founding Team Xtreme with the Hardy Boys, Lita solidified her spot as one of the WWE's top divas. Chyna's final WWE feud was with Dumas. That became the first female wrestling program given the same attention as the men.

Lita continued to rise in stardom. While riding the highest point of her career, Lita hit rock bottom in an instant. Suffering a devastating neck injury on the set of FOX's action TV series Dark Angel, Dumas was forced to stay on the sidelines for more than a year.

With a career threatening injury, Dumas was the first diva to undergo neck fusion surgery -- the same surgery competitors like Steve Austin, Edge, Chris Benoit and Rhyno underwent.

Lita planned on returning to the ring. The lengthy healing period is a very slow, painstaking process.

''The recovery is going well, but it's going very, very slow,'' Dumas said. ``I'm able to workout, but I am still having some pain in my neck.''

Trained by the legendary Dory Funk Jr., Lita received some notoriety managing/valet for Danny Doring in his solid tag team with Roadkill in ECW. That helped springboard her foray into WWE.

While Dumas acknowledges the improvements in the women's division in WWE since she last stepped in the ring, she feels the women's division could use more attention.

''There is a lot more competition now. The girls definitely have stepped it up. I still feel there is a lack of storylines for how hard the girls work to put on good matches,'' Dumas said. ``I still feel that the support of the fans is lacking, and I feel that is due to storylines that do not make the fans care how hard the girls are working.''

To try and compensate for the lack of quality storylines for women, great effort is being established by WWE officials to up the ante in women's wrestling. They want to make it a more integral part of the show. This should provide for compelling matches upon Lita's return.

''WWE has made it a priority to bring women's wrestling [to the forefront]. They are looking at a lot of different girls,'' said Dumas. ``The ones that I have seen have some sort of background but not an extensive wrestling background. They are hired and then sent to OVW [Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's feeder group], the minor leagues where they can hone their skills to where they can be incorporated later in the storylines.''

To help occupy Dumas's time in the months off and to keep her character fresh, Dumas became a temporary announcer for WWE Sunday Night Heat. While she enjoyed the role, it also had pitfalls.

''The wait is really getting to me. I think its mainly because I am commentating. I guess it was because I was sitting there talking about wrestling, as opposed to being at home, training, focusing on getting in the ring,'' she said. ``I think it would take away from the hunger [to be at home training], well not the hunger, but being bummed out about not being in the ring. Commentating is almost like a tease. It's a good new experience for me, but I'd rather be in the ring any day.''

Dumas is good friends with the Hardy Boys. She is even dating Matt Hardy. They look out for each other.

A hobby Dumas developed during her time off was working at animal shelters. She loves animals especially dogs. She found this very rewarding and continues to devote time to these shelters.

''Since I've been off with my neck injury, I've really gotten into animal shelters and volunteering. I don't know exactly what, but every time I get a good idea in my head, I write it down. The animal shelters was one of these ideas,'' said Dumas. ``When I'm not [at WWE events], I want to have some sort of animal related business, be it a shelter, a kennel, a gift shop or a cafe or something else animal related.''

After a one-night return to WWE Raw on TNN in April where Dumas was hired and "fired" by Eric Bischoff, she works toward returning to full strength for her in-ring return. She hopes to be in full swing by her planned late summer return to WWE.