Mid 20th Century
138-471: Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler , promoter and trainer better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah . She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke , as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers . She won
276-621: A Bra and Panties Gauntlet match attacking Victoria and stripping her of her top. She also made brief appearances at WrestleMania 23 and the 2007 Draft Lottery on June 11, 2007. Her last WWE appearance before her death was at SummerSlam in August 2007, in a backstage segment with Vince McMahon and Raw General Manager William Regal . Ellison and her second husband Johnny Long began training women to become female wrestlers, including Ella Waldek , Daisy Mae, and Katherine Simpson. Long later contacted promoter Jack Pfefer , who agreed to book some of
414-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
552-600: A 13-woman battle royal to win the vacant World Women's Championship, which shares a lineage with the NWA World Women's Championship . She was not immediately recognized by everyone as the NWA Champion because Billy Wolfe, with whom she had conflict earlier in her career, still controlled the promotion. After the match, Vince McMahon, Sr. dubbed Ellison with a new ring name – The Fabulous Moolah. Subsequently, June Byers came out of retirement to challenge Moolah to
690-441: A 2002 interview, Luna Vachon claimed that when she was sixteen years old and training at Ellison's camp, Ellison sent her out of state to be photographed by an older man. Although she remained clothed during the photo shoot, Vachon stated she felt taken advantage of by Ellison and the older man. Vachon also stated that her aunt, Vivian Vachon , witnessed Ellison abusing alcohol and having sex with her female trainees. Sandy Parker ,
828-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
966-479: A bitter Pfefer looked to exact revenge, and he therefore arranged an interview with Dan Parker, who was the sports editor for the New York Daily Mirror . Pfefer subsequently took the unprecedented step of revealing most of pro wrestling's secrets and inner workings, freely admitting the sport's "fakery" and theatrics. Although fans had long suspected that pro wrestling was worked, Pfefer had introduced
1104-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
1242-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
1380-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1518-606: A comeback for her, which resulted in Patterson contacting WWF Chairman Vince McMahon about the possibility. In 1999, Moolah and Mae Young re-emerged in the WWF (later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE). The WWF women's division, however, had since moved away from the traditional athletic match-ups of the past and now featured women competing in sexually-themed bikini contests and strip matches . Upon returning, Moolah and Young began appearing regularly in comedic roles. On
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#17327985833501656-434: A couple of pay-per-view matches for the WWF in 1985, but demanded she receive half of Sing's pay check; a stipulation Sing was unwilling to accept. Penny Banner stated that her retirement was due in large part to Ellison refusing to allow any of her female wrestlers to accept bookings against Banner, which severely limited the number of bookings that Banner was offered by promoters. Moolah’s career spanned over 5 decades. She
1794-431: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Jack Pfefer Jack Pfefer (also commonly spelled as "Pfeffer"; December 10, 1894 – September 13, 1974)
1932-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
2070-519: A feeling of cynicism among the mainstream press that they were being used as promotional "chumps" by Curley and his associates; and in a now-famous headline, the November 19, 1934 New York Daily News covered an impending Jim Londos vs. Everett Marshall bout by proclaiming, "Londos and Marshall meet at Garden tonight for 26th time. Score - Londos 26, Marshall 0." Pfefer again plotted against his former partners when he paid Dick Shikat to shoot on
2208-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2346-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
2484-684: A lesbian former pupil of Ellison's, also claims that Ellison forbade her from going to any gay bars and tried to press her to date men. Parker says this enraged her, because "(Moolah) was two-faced because she had her own little dalliances that we all knew about." However, several former co-workers have spoken out in Ellison's defense. Professional wrestler Shane Douglas said he never heard anybody speaking against Moolah during his career. Former female wrestler Beverly Shade also defended Moolah, claiming "Moolah wasn't that kind of person." Jerry Lawler also said he "never heard or saw anything like that when I
2622-473: A lot from the girls of GWE, including that they had to keep their hair and make-up done, act like a lady, and not date men who were in the professional wrestling business. In addition to women, Ellison also trained midget professional wrestlers , including Katie Glass in the 1960s. Ellison founded the Ladies' International Wrestling Association, a non-profit organization to help retired professional wrestlers, in
2760-799: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2898-433: A match for the title. During the match, Moolah acted as the aggressor and pinned Byers to retain the championship. Moolah's first World Championship reign lasted over ten years. Moolah successfully defended the belt against the top female wrestlers in the world, such as Judy Grable and Donna Christanello , while also purporting to befriend some of the biggest celebrities of the day. Moolah claimed in her book, First Goddess of
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#17327985833503036-697: A member of the NWA Hall of Fame and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame . However, her legacy has since been damaged in the years following her death, when allegations surfaced that she had exploited female wrestlers under her tutelage both financially and sexually. Mary Lillian Ellison was born in 1923 in Kershaw County, South Carolina , and grew up in Tookiedoo, 12 miles from Columbia . The youngest of five children, Ellison
3174-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
3312-571: A result, Ellison began selling cosmetics door-to-door and Lee opened a service station to make enough money to pay their bills. They later began to book their wrestlers, including Judy Grable in Boston, under promoter Paul Bowser . In the late 1950s when the once-dominant promoter of women's wrestling, Billy Wolfe , was out of business, Ellison and Lee began to book their female wrestlers for more and more shows. They began calling their promoting business Girl Wrestling Enterprises (GWE). Ellison demanded
3450-594: A short time later. She also bought the legal rights to the championship in the late 1970s, and after losing the championship for two days to Evelyn Stevens in 1978, began another long reign, defending her title for another six years. Also in the 1970s, Moolah held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship twice with Toni Rose . In 1983, Vincent Kennedy McMahon began expanding the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) nationally, and Moolah sold him
3588-403: A street named after her. Dave Meltzer described that women's wrestling "went way way down" under Moolah's "tutelage", but he also said he did not know if it was her fault. Meltzer said that although women "used to headline and they were successful", "during the period Moolah controlled women's wrestling, the popularity and product didn't evolve." However, Meltzer noted that Moolah herself "stood
3726-746: A tour of Japan in 1968. On July 1, 1972, Moolah became the first woman allowed to wrestle at Madison Square Garden , which had previously banned women's wrestling. In fact, Moolah helped overturn the ban on women's wrestling in the entire state of New York, which the New York State Athletic Commission lifted in June 1972. During her quest to overturn the ban, she flipped football player Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier onto his back on The Mike Douglas Show . Moolah continued an uninterrupted eight-year reign before losing to Sue Green at Madison Square Garden in 1976. Moolah regained her title
3864-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
4002-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
4140-533: A white woman, would kiss him on the cheek during their ring entrance routine. At one show in Oklahoma City , a man, who thought that Olivas was a black man, attempted to stab Ellison with a knife for kissing him. Moolah later left Pfeffer's promotion and began wrestling under Boston promoters Tony Santos and Paul Bowser . In 1955, she began working for Vince McMahon, Sr. 's Capitol Wrestling Corporation . On September 18, 1956, Moolah defeated Judy Grable in
4278-451: A wrestling ring in a barn that lacked heating and air conditioning or fans. Mad Maxine said that due to owing Moolah both rent and training fees amounting to $ 1,500, the trainees "went into debt to [Moolah] and she controlled their lives... It was an environment ripe for abuse." Maxine also said that when she went to work for WWF, Moolah was taking at least half of her earnings. Debbie Johnson, another former trainee of Ellison's, stated that she
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4416-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
4554-499: Is buried in a grave plot at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, South Carolina . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
4692-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
4830-449: Is unquestionably the most influential and famous female wrestler in history." The Post and Courier columnist Mike Mooneyham described her as "one of the greatest female performers to ever step into a professional wrestling ring and the most powerful woman outside the squared circle." She was the only female performer to be included in WWE's Top 50 Superstars of All Time DVD, placing 27th on
4968-501: The NWA World Women's Championship in 1956 and was the most prominent holder of the title for 28 years. She is overall an eight-time women's world champion and to this day holds the record as the longest reigning world champion in combination of all her reigns. In the 1980s, she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) as part of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection storyline, feuding with Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter ,
5106-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
5244-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
5382-404: The anti-Semitism by hiding in the boiler room of a ship to the United States. He arrived in the United States in 1921 while working as the manager for a touring acting company. With a propensity for theatrical drama, Pfefer subsequently found himself interested in the budding pro wrestling industry; and by 1924, he had begun promoting a band of Eastern European heavyweights as exotic contenders to
5520-500: The "dishonest, greedy" practices established by her mentor Billy Wolfe. Pat Laprade and Dan Murphy, in their book Sisterhood of the Squared Circle , wrote that Moolah's "tactics could be just as ruthless and cutthroat as" Don Corleone , from The Godfather . Wendi Richter and Mad Maxine both claimed that Ellison did not actually train the wrestlers at her wrestling school. According to Richter, Ellison accepted payment of
5658-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
The Fabulous Moolah - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
5934-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
6072-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
6210-517: The American champions (who would always emerge victorious over the foreign challengers in the end). Over the next five years, Pfefer gradually established himself among the region's top booking agents; and then in 1929, he eventually relocated to New York City . Upon arriving in the Big Apple , Jack Pfefer quickly aligned himself with renowned New York promoter Jack Curley , who then ranked among
6348-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
6486-485: The Columbia home of her father and brothers. She graduated from Columbia High School , and married L. Walter Carroll. They soon became parents to a daughter. A few months after the birth of her daughter, she divorced Carroll., leaving her daughter with a friend and setting out on a wrestling career of her own. Ellison began her wrestling career with Mildred Burke 's husband Billy Wolfe , the dominant women's promoter of
6624-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
6762-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
6900-466: The September 9, 1999, episode of SmackDown! , Jeff Jarrett invited Moolah, 76, into the ring and smashed a guitar over her head. On the September 27, 1999, episode of Monday Night Raw , Moolah and Young defeated Ivory in a Handicapped Evening Gown match, which led to a title match at No Mercy on October 17. The match saw Moolah defeat Ivory to regain the WWF Women's Championship, thus becoming
7038-429: The Squared Circle , that she formed friendships with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis . After June Byers retired in 1964, Moolah was subsequently recognized as official NWA Champion, thus making her the undisputed Women's World Champion. Nevertheless, Moolah dropped the belt on September 17, 1966, to Bette Boucher , although she regained the title just weeks later. She also traded the belt with Yukiko Tomoe during
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#17327985833507176-473: The Trust ultimately blew up when the other promoters refused to work alongside Pfefer, thus ending the alliance as each territory began promoting its separate titleholders. Jack Pfefer never retracted his stance that wrestling was more entertainment than competition; and he therefore distinguished himself from his peers by presenting shows as a form of theater, with exaggerated storylines and bizarre performers. He
7314-479: The Trust's new champion Danno O'Mahoney ; and on March 2, 1936, Shikat betrayed Curley en route to "stealing" the championship. The Trust subsequently filed an injunction against Shikat; but before the trial ever got started, Toots Mondt paid Pfefer $ 17,000 to double-cross Haft and his champion, Ali Baba , by maneuvering the title onto Dave Levin on April 24, 1936. Pfefer then sold Levin's contract to Curley and Mondt in order to re-establish his industry ties; however,
7452-555: The WWF phased out the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship. In a later shoot interview, Leilani Kai told that had things gone as the WWF originally planned, The Glamour Girls would have had a title match against the Jumping Bomb Angels at WrestleMania IV and that Ellison's actions had cost the four girls what would have been ultimately their biggest ever payday. Women that chose to continue allowing Ellison to work as their booker were kept under tight control. Velvet McIntyre
7590-480: The WWF promoted Moolah as holding the championship for the previous 28 years. After losing the title to Richter, Moolah aided Leilani Kai in defeating Richter for the title in February 1985. Richter won it back at the inaugural WrestleMania , but when Richter's relationship soured with the WWF, Moolah donned a mask as "The Spider Lady" and regained the belt on November 25, 1985, in a controversial decision. Richter
7728-590: The West Coast while solidifying his place among the industry's top marketers. However, while working as an agent for promoter Fred Kohler in the 1960s, Pfefer was largely blamed for ruining the Chicago territory when he booked a number of sound-alike performers like “Bummy Rogers”, “Hobo Brazil,” and "Bruno Sanmartino", thus repelling most of the industry's top-flight talent. Nonetheless, he continued booking matches until 1967. He died on September 13, 1974, while at
7866-491: The allegations of exploitation against Moolah resurfaced. Two days after the announcement, WWE renamed the match " WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal ", removing Moolah's name from the event. A 2019 episode of Dark Side of the Ring broadcast on Viceland examined the allegations against her in the aftermath of the battle royal name controversy. The episode repeated many of the allegations against her but also featured comments from
8004-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
8142-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
8280-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
8418-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
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#17327985833508556-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
8694-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
8832-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
8970-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
9108-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
9246-444: The couple to go separate ways. She further claimed that he wanted Ellison to quit her wrestling career, which she did not want to do. Two months after the breakup, Williams died due to an overdose. Later, Ellison met a wrestler named Buddy Lee, whom she regarded as the "love of her life." They were eventually married, and after divorcing in 1970 after nine years of marriage, they remained friends until Lee's death in 1999. The divorce
9384-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
9522-630: The duo while they were touring Japan. Martin stated that Ellison contacted Japanese promoters and informed them that the Jumping Bomb Angels were supposed to drop the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship to The Glamour Girls before Martin and Kai returned to the United States. This was contrary to the booking decision made by Pat Patterson before the Japanese tour began. Unable to reach Patterson by telephone, Kai and Martin agreed to win
9660-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
9798-573: The entire industry. Jacob Pfefer was born near Warsaw , Vistula Land (modern-day Poland ) on December 10, 1894. He grew up under the control of the Russian Empire; and it was during this period when the Czars issued numerous decrees against Jews , resulting in a series of pogroms that killed thousands amidst increased anti-Semitism . He therefore left as part of the era's mass Eastern European emigration following World War I , thus escaping
9936-537: The eventual heirs to the New York wrestling throne. In 1932, a contractual dispute caused an eventual rift between Curley and Londos, and the New York territory quickly deteriorated without its top drawing card. Pfefer therefore abandoned Curley in favor of Londos' group in early 1933; but later that November, a peace accord was signed between Curley's East Coast promotion and the Tom Packs / Jim Londos alliance that
10074-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
10212-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
10350-671: The first women to wrestle in Madison Square Garden . For her impact, longevity and contributions, she became the first female inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995 and eventually Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. At the time of her death, Kevin Eck wrote in The Baltimore Sun : "The Fabulous Moolah didn't just dominate women's wrestling for parts of four decades, she was women's wrestling. Moolah ...
10488-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
10626-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
10764-399: The hospital, she again slipped into unconsciousness in the bathroom at her home, crushing several vertebrae . She underwent successful back surgery in mid-December. Ellison died on November 2, 2007, at the age of 84 in Columbia, South Carolina. According to her daughter Mary, the possible cause of death was a heart attack or blood clot related to a recent shoulder replacement surgery. Ellison
10902-494: The inaugural Survivor Series . Her team (Moolah, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin' Robin , and the Jumping Bomb Angels ) defeated champion Martel and her team (Leilani Kai, Judy Martin , Donna Christanello , and Dawn Marie ). On September 3, 1988, Moolah wrestled AWA World Women's Champion Madusa Miceli to a double DQ on an independent card in Medina, Ohio. Afterwards Moolah would retire from wrestling. During her retirement Moolah
11040-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
11178-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
11316-408: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
11454-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
11592-592: The late 1980s. In the 1990s, she spent most of her time training female wrestlers at her school in Columbia, South Carolina . She also began training men, including Del Wilkes , and in 1995 trained more men than women. She also spent time training in Los Angeles at Verne Langdon's Slammers Gym. Journalist Dave Meltzer wrote an obituary for Moolah in which he stated that "different promoters had very different ideas of what being professional meant." Wrestling historian Tim Hornbaker said that Moolah "chose not to" break
11730-452: The latter of whom defeated her for the WWF Women's Championship in the main event of The Brawl to End It All in 1984. Moolah regained the Women's Championship on two further occasions before entering semi-retirement towards the end of the decade. She continued to make sporadic appearances for WWF/WWE until her death, often in comedic roles with longtime friend Mae Young . In 1999, she became
11868-494: The list. WWE describe her: “Moolah was recognized as the true pioneer and biggest legend in the history of women's wrestling.” In 2016, after allegations against Moolah had become more prevalent, Luke Winkie of Sports Illustrated listed Moolah as the 69th greatest wrestler of all time because of her lengthy title reign but wrote that he "didn't feel great about it". Her house was located at Moolah Drive in South Carolina,
12006-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
12144-535: The mid-1970s meant Ellison had to pull out of the Bill Cosby movie Mother, Jugs & Speed , which had a role written specifically for her. In 2002, Moolah wrote her autobiography, The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle . The book has been criticized for keeping kayfabe (the stance that wrestling storylines are real) and did not reveal a lot about her time controlling women's wrestling. Defending herself against these claims, Ellison retorted it
12282-534: The moniker "Slave Girl Moolah". By the early 1950s, Moolah was a valet for "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers , accompanying him to the ring while providing eye candy for the male audiences and assisting Rogers against his opponents. Ellison broke up the partnership because Rogers kept pushing her to begin a sexual relationship. She then served as the valet for the Elephant Boy (Tony Olivas). Olivas was Mexican, but had very dark skin, which caused controversy when Ellison,
12420-424: The most powerful men in the entire wrestling business. Following the break-up of the famed Gold Dust Trio in the late 1920s, Curley initiated an alliance with several of the East Coast's top bookers, including Toots Mondt and Ray Fabiani ; and he subsequently formed an industry “Trust” that enabled the various regions to share their elite grappling talent. Pfefer performed as the group's main talent manager, and he
12558-456: The oldest champion in the history of professional wrestling, up to that point in time, when she won the Women's Championship for a final time at age 76. During her lifetime, Moolah was lauded as a leading figure in women's professional wrestling and was considered one of the industry's greatest wrestlers. She became the first woman to be inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1995 and is also
12696-465: The physical constraints of the training camp unless she was accompanied by someone else. Over the years, various female wrestlers have come forward with stories accusing Ellison of being a pimp who often provided various wrestling promoters with unsuspecting female wrestlers that would be used as sex objects. Penny Banner directly described Moolah as a pimp who "in return for money," rented her female trainees out "in bulk" to wrestling promoters so that
12834-530: The profession. Ellison had six grandchildren. Ellison and Carroll divorced shortly after their daughter's birth. Later, Ellison married wrestler Johnny Long. Marital conflicts developed when Long wanted Ellison to be a housewife instead of a career woman. In addition, Ellison accused Long of being a "womanizer". Ellison and Long divorced. Ellison also says that she dated country singer Hank Williams for four months in 1952. According to Ellison, Williams proposed to her, but Williams's drinking and heroin abuse forced
12972-525: The promoters and the male wrestlers could have sex with them. Banner said the women who were "sent on these tours were not told of this 'arrangement' ahead of time," and that "those who refused to have sex with wrestlers and promoters were raped." One of the most notorious accusations is from the family of Sweet Georgia Brown (Susie Mae McCoy), who was trained by Moolah and her husband, Buddy Lee. The Columbia Free Times reported allegations made by her daughter in 2006, in which she said her mother told her that she
13110-401: The promotion and even continued teaming with Young. In 2000, while working for WWF; LIWA shut down. Moolah would continue working for WWF. Throughout the early 1990s, she made appearances in video packages and at live WWF events. On June 24, 1995, she was the first female wrestler to be inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame . In the late 1990s, Pat Patterson and Ellison began jokingly discussing
13248-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
13386-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
13524-430: The rights to her Women's World Championship. Moolah agreed to appear exclusively for the WWF, and thus became the first WWF Women's Champion . The following year, singer Cyndi Lauper began a verbal feud with manager "Captain" Lou Albano , who long had a reputation of being a villain, that brought professional wrestling into mainstream culture in a storyline that became known as the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection." When it
13662-403: The ring in 1999, Ellison began experiencing occasional dizziness, and as a result, her doctor requested that she begin to wear a heart monitor. A few days later, Ellison was admitted to the hospital for what turned out to be two clogged arteries and viral pneumonia . She stayed at the intensive-care unit of the hospital for 24 days, during which she was unconscious for fifteen days. After leaving
13800-527: The son of Sweet Georgia Brown and wrestlers Selina Majors and Beverly Shade, who defended her. "If I choose not to like her because of what she did to me, that's fine," Princess Victoria stated. "But Moolah needs to be remembered. She was an icon in this business. You can't take away her history because she was an asshole!" An animated version of Moolah was included on Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling . In addition, she appeared in one of Cyndi Lauper 's music videos, " The Goonies 'R' Good Enough ". An illness in
13938-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
14076-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
14214-424: The test of time" to remain culturally relevant long after the Japanese female wrestlers of the 1980s (more popular at that time) had faded from relevance. In March 2018, WWE announced "The Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal", a battle royal for the female wrestlers of the company scheduled for WrestleMania 34 named in honor of Moolah. The decision to hold a battle royal in honor of Moolah drew controversy after
14352-479: The then-oldest champion ever, though she lost the title back to Ivory eight days later. On the September 15, 2003, episode of Raw , Moolah won a match against Victoria . Moolah had been promised the match for her eightieth birthday and became the first octogenarian to compete in a WWE ring. After Moolah's victory, the "Legend Killer" Randy Orton came out and performed an RKO on her. Moolah and Young made another appearance at New Years Revolution in 2006, during
14490-448: The time. She competed with many established female wrestlers, like Mae Young , Cecilia Blevins and Mildred Burke . Wolfe was notorious for advising his wrestlers to enter into sexual relationships with either himself or competing promoters to ensure additional bookings, a practice with which Ellison refused to go along. She, however, soon began a romance with wrestler Johnny Long. Long later introduced Ellison to Jack Pfefer who gave her
14628-460: The titles from the Angels since Ellison had already misinformed the Japanese promoters. Martin stated that upon returning to the United States, Patterson was angry with them and confirmed that nobody within the WWF made the decision for the title change and that due to her long-standing relationship with the company, the WWF refused to listen to their explanation of Ellison's deceit. Shortly thereafter,
14766-702: The training fee (which at the time of Richter's training was $ 500) and had other female wrestlers within her camp (including Leilani Kai , Judy Martin , Winona Littleheart , and Joyce Grable ) train the new recruits; these women did not get paid for their additional work as trainers. Richter also claimed that Ellison required all women that received training at her camp to sign a contract that allowed Ellison to function as their booker and receive 25% of their booking fee. Trainees were also required to rent duplex apartments on Ellison's property and they were responsible for paying her for rent and utilities. The training lasted six months and took place up to five hours per day inside
14904-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
15042-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
15180-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
15318-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
15456-437: The women wrestlers' pay from promoters and, after taking out her own pay, would only give the girls half of the money they were owed (keeping half of their pay for herself, plus her own pay) and telling them that was all the promoter gave her to give them. Martin stated that shortly before Ellison left the WWF in 1988 (shortly after falling out with Martin and Kai due to Ellison no longer receiving their booking fees), she sabotaged
15594-430: The women's wrestling scene and ensure that other women did not gain greater recognition. In addition to being a key participant in the original screwjob on Wendi Richter, Ellison used her influence to take over the spot originally held by her protégé Mad Maxine on the animated series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling . Maxine was about to receive a big push by Vince McMahon but left the WWF shortly afterwards, as Ellison
15732-435: The wrestlers at his shows. After marrying wrestler Buddy Lee, he began helping Ellison train the female wrestlers. After she left Pfeffer's promotion in the 1950s, Ellison found it difficult to book her trainees in shows due to Pfeffer's influence over other National Wrestling Alliance promoters. Ellison claimed Pfeffer would threaten to reveal the pre-planned nature of wrestling if any other promoters did not do as he liked. As
15870-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
16008-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
16146-404: Was an American professional wrestling promoter during the early-to-mid twentieth century. He pioneered an earlier form of sports entertainment , as he was one of the first promoters to visualize the pro wrestling business in the mold of theater. However, he developed an infamous reputation when he exposed the sport's inner secrets to the mainstream press in a spiteful attack that nearly destroyed
16284-720: Was attributed to Lee's affair with Rita Cortez, one of the wrestlers the duo was training. In the early 1980s, Ellison opened Moolah's Hideaway, a bar and grill which was operated by her daughter Mary and frequented by André the Giant . Beginning in 1991, Ellison lived with Mae Young in a house in Columbia, South Carolina . Her estate was located on a road named Moolah Drive. A midget professional wrestler named Katie Glass also lived with Moolah for over forty years. Another wrestler, Donna Christanello , also lived with Ellison on-and-off for forty years, ending in May 1999. During her return to
16422-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
16560-425: Was dominating in the Midwest. The agreement subsequently extended the Trust's influence throughout all of North America, with Curley, Packs, Mondt, Fabiani, Ed White, and Paul Bowser all agreeing to share the profits evenly. As a result, Jack Pfefer consequently found himself without any allies, as he was stuck on the outside looking in on the industry's powerful new coalition. Ostracized by his fellow wrestling peers,
16698-466: Was finally time for Lauper and Albano to settle their differences in the ring, a match-up was scheduled with Albano representing Moolah against the challenge of Lauper's protégé, Wendi Richter . After much buildup and hype, the Fabulous Moolah lost the championship to Richter on July 23, 1984, in the main event of The Brawl to End It All , which was broadcast live on MTV . Prior to the match,
16836-514: Was forced to compete against Ellison (whom McIntyre stated she didn't care for) at WrestleMania 2 instead of competing during an all-women tour of Kuwait with a group of Ellison's other female wrestlers. Their WrestleMania 2 match lasted less than two minutes with the referee ignoring McIntyre's leg being on the ropes while she was being pinned. Women that did not agree to Ellison's booking fees faced limited options. Rhonda Sing stated that Ellison contacted her and offered to let her wrestle Richter in
16974-460: Was hard to fit all of her almost five decade career into one book. Moolah and Young, along with several other female wrestlers, starred in the 2004 film Lipstick and Dynamite , a documentary about the female wrestlers from the 1950s era. They also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien promoting the film. Ellison's first husband was Walter Carroll, who became the father of her daughter Mary. Mary wrestled briefly but decided against pursuing
17112-478: Was in the business around Moolah and her girls." Former trainee Princess Victoria said Moolah never pimped any women or used drugs, but she did take money from them. Michael McCoy, Sweet Georgia Brown's son, refuted allegations made by his sister, stating that she has an agenda and that the allegations are false. However, on the Dark Side of the Ring episode about The Fabulous Moolah, Michael McCoy stated that she
17250-404: Was indeed made to have sex with paying promoters. Bruce Prichard said she was protecting herself from the promoters and the only negative thing he heard of her was "took a percentage of their pay, which was laid out in their contract clearly before they even started training, day one." As well as allegedly exploiting female wrestlers sexually, Ellison was accused of using her influence to control
17388-546: Was instrumental in launching the career of Buddy Rogers ; and he also served as a chief promoter of women's grappling, booking the likes of Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah over several decades. It was also Pfefer who helped the legendary Sam Muchnick promote his first show in 1945; and in subsequent years, he constantly shifted his base of operations, running territories in Toledo , Nashville , Boston , and on
17526-404: Was never told she would be losing the title and fell victim to a real-life " screwjob " finish known as " The Original Screwjob ". Richter promptly quit the WWF afterward, while Moolah continued to be champion for another two years—excluding a six-day reign by Velvet McIntyre during a tour of Australia in 1986—before losing the belt to Sherri Martel on July 24, 1987. She later captained a team at
17664-482: Was often raped, given drugs, and made an addict in an intentional attempt by Ellison and Lee to control her. Ida Martinez , who wrestled during the 1960s, also recalls that many of the regional promoters " demanded personal services " before they would pay the female wrestlers. Mad Maxine described Moolah as an "evil person," saying Moolah made money by sending trainees "out to this guy in Arizona and pimped them out." In
17802-709: Was overall an eight-time world champion and is still widely recognized as the longest reigning champion of any wrestler in the wrestling business, holding the NWA / WWE Women's Champion for 10,775 days. Her last reign made history when she became the oldest female in WWE history to win the WWE Women's Champion at the age of 76. She was considered as an important figure and the forefront of women's wrestling from 1960s-1980s. Some of her notable trainees were Wendi Richter , Sherri Martel , Leilani Kai , Mad Maxine and Donna Christianello . On July 1, 1972, she and Vicki Williams were
17940-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
18078-420: Was primarily responsible for scouting potential European grapplers while also overseeing the organization's financial books. Over the next few years, the Trust rode its incredibly popular centerpiece superstar, Jim Londos , to record profits while Pfefer helped lead one of the greatest periods in New York's rich wrestling history. Moreover, as Curley's health began to decline, Pfefer began to position himself among
18216-527: Was renowned for his booking of “freak” characters, most notably including the French Angel ( Maurice Tillet ) and the Swedish Angel (Nils Filip "Phil" Oloffson [1906-1974]), whom Pfefer promoted based on their hideous looks. Moreover, Pfefer initiated numerous innovations, including such novelties as feature tag team bouts and midget wrestling. He also possessed a great eye for young talent, as he
18354-421: Was required to give Ellison 30% of her booking fee, and her paycheck was further reduced as Ellison deducted travel expenses, food, rent, and utilities before paying her. As a result, Johnson worked for Ellison for two years before she received any money. Johnson stated that Ellison would refuse to book certain women in her training camp if they angered her, and that Ellison monitored her and refused to let her leave
18492-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
18630-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
18768-522: Was the only daughter of Henry Lee and Suzann Atkinson Ellisor. When her mother died of cancer, eight-year-old Ellison went to live with her paternal grandmother and worked on her cousin's cotton farm to make money. At age 10, Ellison was still deeply distraught over her mother's death; to cheer her up, her father took her to the local wrestling matches. Ellison liked the matches, but it was not until she saw Women's Champion Mildred Burke wrestle that "they began to mean much more" to her. Ellison returned to
18906-544: Was the promoter for Ladies International Wrestling Association (LIWA) in 1990 based in North Carolina. Also the shows were held in Las Vegas . She started wrestling again in 1993 at the age of 70 when she defeated Sunny Brook. On June 21, 1996, she teamed with Mae Young at LIWA Golden Girls Extravaganza event in Las Vegas where they wrestled Liz Chase and Lori Lynn to a no contest. Moolah continued wrestling for
19044-534: Was unwilling to provide her with additional bookings. Maxine said that Moolah never told her about the WWF's plans to include her in the cartoon. Numerous other former trainees defected from Ellison after growing tired of sharing their paychecks with Ellison. Women wrestlers including Vivian and Luna Vachon, Ann Casey , and Darling Dagmar moved into other regions where Ellison had less control and negotiated their own payouts with promoters. Both Judy Martin and Leilani Kai told in later interviews that Moolah would collect
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