It's because she started out in a niche industry that was relatively unknown to western audiences, and when she did crossover to the west finally, she didn't make good career choices/ wasn't offered good opportunities to show off what she was capable of.

You also have to understand her skills were a perfect match for the way of filmmaking in HK at that time, and the way they worked with her and shot/edit her fights were not solely her achievement but the genius choreographers and stunt coordinators in that industry. Just look at her abysmal American output after that. It was just the stars aligning at the right time.

Rothrock was talented but there were also other talented actress/screen fighters from Hong Kong who were her peers but they get even less credit than her. Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, etc are better female action stars than any Hollywood actress who ever lived. Let's be real here, the world just isn't fair.

And that stealth diss of Jet Li, smh, please tell me you've seen more than his American trash. Go watch Fist of Legend and his Once Upon a Time in China movies, and show me someone who did it better.

Depends on how you look at it. Michelle Yeoh is subjectively prettier, more charming, and a better overall actor... but objectively, when it comes to actual martial arts, Cynthia Rothrock is second to none, she was bona fide champ in multiple disciplines from a young age. And I think watching her fights during her peak, she was better at it than nearly all the Chinese action actresses (most had dance backgrounds) in the same category as her.