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Showing posts with label Fabulous Moolah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fabulous Moolah. Show all posts

March 15, 2018

WWE WrestleMania Sponsor Says Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal Name Is 'Unacceptable'

The backlash continues over WWE announcing the first-ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34, which will feature female wrestlers from RAW, SmackDown and NXT. Many fans are outraged that WWE would name the match after Moolah, with WWE even disabling comments on the video above for the match on YouTube. While Moolah is a WWE and NWA Hall of Famer and NWA Hall of Famer, as well as a four-time WWE Women's Champion and a five-time NWA Women's Champion, her controversial past it being brought to the forefront.

Moolah, who passed away at the age of 84 in 2007, has been accused of corruption and "pimping" out female wrestlers during her era. Luna Vachon, Wendi Richter, Leilani Kai and others have discussed Moolah's checkered past, with several of the allegations being denied by Moolah.

"Moolah did send girls out to this guy in Arizona and pimped them out," Jeannine Mjoseth, a former student of Moolah who briefly wrestled as Mad Maxine, told Slam! Wrestling in 2014. "I actually spoke to him on the phone and asked him what he was looking for. He said, 'If I'm spending all this money, you know what I want.' That was part of Moolah's way of making money. She was just a bad person. Moolah didn't have a good bone in her body."

The son of African American female wrestler Sweet Georgia Brown, who passed away in 1989, also told some disturbing stories to the Free Times in 2006 of his mother's experiences during the time that she trained and worked for Moolah. Brown was Moolah's first black student, and her family implied that Moolah and her common-law husband, Buddy Lee, would exploit her physically and financially.

A petition was launched at Change.org to change the name of the battle royal, which is nearing 10,000 signatures. Fans have also been contacting Snickers, which is a sponsor of WrestleMania. While WWE has not responded to our request for a comment regarding the backlash, Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, the parent company of Snickers, called the decision to name the battle royal after Moolah "unacceptable." Below is their statement that we received:

We were recently made aware of the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc's (WWE) decision to honor a former wrestler during the upcoming WrestleMania 34 event. As a principle-based business that has long championed creating inclusive environments that encourage and empower everyone to reach their full potential, this is unacceptable. We are engaging with the WWE to express our disappointment.

Backlash Over WWE's Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal, Mainstream Media Attention, Petitions

As noted, WWE announced on Monday that the first-ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal will take place at WrestleMania 34 with female Superstars from WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown competing, likely for a trophy. The match is named after WWE Hall of Famer and NWA Hall of Famer The Fabulous Moolah, a four-time WWE Women's Champion and a five-time NWA Women's Champion. Her last WWE match came on September 15th, 2003 as she defeated Victoria on RAW, a match that she was promised for her 80th birthday, making her become the first octogenarian to wrestle in a WWE ring. She made a few more non-wrestling appearances for WWE over the years before passing away at the age of 84 in 2007.

There has been significant backlash among fans on social media since WWE made the announcement on Monday night.

Moolah has been accused over the years of essentially being a pimp to younger women's wrestlers back during her prime, taking advantage of them and screwing others out of work and pushes, among other allegations. The stories on Moolah come from shoot interviews with women's wrestling stars such as Luna Vachon, Wendi Richter, Leilani Kai and others, plus other industry talk. You can read a "Wrestler's True Colors" Reddit thread on Moolah at this link, which details some of the claims made about Moolah before and after her death, some of which have been denied by Moolah.

"Moolah did send girls out to this guy in Arizona and pimped them out," Jeannine Mjoseth, a former student of Moolah who briefly wrestled as Mad Maxine, told Slam! Wrestling in 2014. "I actually spoke to him on the phone and asked him what he was looking for. He said, 'If I'm spending all this money, you know what I want.' That was part of Moolah's way of making money. She was just a bad person. Moolah didn't have a good bone in her body."

Forbes has picked up on the backlash at this link and fans have launched a Change.org petition to have the name of the battle royal changed at this link. The petition has 3,165 signatures and counting as of this writing. There's also a petition to have the match canceled at this link. That petition has 3,231 signatures and counting as of this writing. These Change.org petitions never force any actual changes in WWE but they are worth mentioning.

As seen below, fans have responded to various tweets from female Superstars regarding Moolah and the match, including tweets from Stephanie McMahon and WWE NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon. Liv Morgan had made a tweet on the match but it appears she deleted it due to the feedback from fans.

March 13, 2018

The first-ever Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal to take place at WrestleMania

The Superstars of Raw, SmackDown and WWE NXT's Women's divisions will have the chance to make history yet again when they compete in the inaugural Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34.

As first announced on Raw, this ground-breaking battle royal will pay tribute to the first-ever WWE Women's Champion, The Fabulous Moolah, who not only paved the way for female competitors through the years, but also played a pivotal role in the first several WrestleMania events.

In the highly-anticipated free-for-all, members of the Women's divisions from Raw, SmackDown LIVE and WWE NXT will compete to be the last Superstar standing in the over-the-top-rope melee.

September 18, 2014

This Day In Wrestling History


Fabulous Moolah defeated Judy Grable in a tournament final for the WWF(E) Women's title.
September 18, 1956

AWA Tag Team title declared vacant due to Ken Patera's injury.
September 18, 1989

Ricky Steamboat surrenders the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title to Steve Austin due to injury.
September 18, 1994

America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeat Brian Lee & Ron Harris for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, marking their first reign as tag champs in TNA.
September 18, 2002

September 18, 2012

This Day in Wrestling History


Fabulous Moolah defeated Judy Grable in a tournament final for the WWF(E) Women's title.
September 18, 1956

AWA Tag Team title declared vacant due to Ken Patera's injury.
September 18, 1989

Ricky Steamboat surrenders the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title to Steve Austin due to injury.
September 18, 1994

America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeat Brian Lee & Ron Harris for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, marking their first reign as tag champs in TNA.
September 18, 2002

July 23, 2012

A Look Back At The Brawl To End It All


The Brawl To End It All - a battle between WWF Women's champion The Fabulous Moolah and Wendi Richter. The event, broadcast live on MTV, marked the beginning of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection that would catapult Hulk Hogan into an uncharted stratosphere of fame for a professional wrestler. The woman at the center of the hoopla, the event's most important participant, wasn't even participating in the match. Pop star Cyndi Lauper, a newcomer on the road to winning the next year's Grammy for Best new Artist, was in the corner of the challenger, cheering her on to defeat a champion who had held onto her belt for nearly 30 years.

With Lauper managing Richter and Albano managing the legendary Moolah, the match was high on spectacle but low on real wrestling, especially by today's standards. After pushing Richter into the corner face first, Moolah planted Richter's shoulders to the mat with a reverse sunset flip. Unbeknownst to Moolah, whose shoulders were pinned to the mat, Richter lifted her right shoulder up before the three count. Only when the ring announcer proclaimed that Richter had won the match did people realize that history had been made...More?

This Day in Wrestling History


Wendi Richter defeated Fabulous Moolah for the WWF(E) Women's title.
July 23, 1984

Shawn Michaels defeated Jeff Jarrett for the WWF(E) Intercontinental title.
July 23, 1995

June 25, 2012

This Day in Wrestling History


Antonio Inoki and Mohammad Ali fought to a 15 round draw.
June 25, 1976

WWE inducts legends Fabulous Moolah, Pedro Morales, Ivan Putski, Antonino Rocca, The Grand Wizard, George Steele and Ernie Ladd into the WWE Hall of Fame.
June 25, 1995

The Rock defeated Triple H by pinning Vince McMahon in a 6-man match for the WWF(E) Heavyweight title.
June 25, 2000

Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and son are found dead in their home in Atlanta. The tragedy was later determined to be a double-murder/suicide after WWE ran a two-hour tribute show to Benoit. Vince McMahon would later apologize the following night on ECW.
June 25, 2007

September 18, 2011

This Day in Wrestling History


Fabulous Moolah defeated Judy Grable in a tournament final for the WWF(E) Women's title.
September 18, 1956

AWA Tag Team title declared vacant due to Ken Patera's injury.
September 18, 1989

Ricky Steamboat surrenders the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title to Steve Austin due to injury.
September 18, 1994

America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defeat Brian Lee & Ron Harris for the NWA World Tag Team Titles, marking their first reign as tag champs in TNA.
September 18, 2002

August 30, 2011

9 Greatest Female Pro Wrestlers

July 23, 2011

A Look Back At The Brawl To End It All


The Brawl To End It All - a battle between WWF Women's champion The Fabulous Moolah and Wendi Richter. The event, broadcast live on MTV, marked the beginning of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection that would catapult Hulk Hogan into an uncharted stratosphere of fame for a professional wrestler. The woman at the center of the hoopla, the event's most important participant, wasn't even participating in the match. Pop star Cyndi Lauper, a newcomer on the road to winning the next year's Grammy for Best new Artist, was in the corner of the challenger, cheering her on to defeat a champion who had held onto her belt for nearly 30 years.

With Lauper managing Richter and Albano managing the legendary Moolah, the match was high on spectacle but low on real wrestling, especially by today's standards. After pushing Richter into the corner face first, Moolah planted Richter's shoulders to the mat with a reverse sunset flip. Unbeknownst to Moolah, whose shoulders were pinned to the mat, Richter lifted her right shoulder up before the three count. Only when the ring announcer proclaimed that Richter had won the match did people realize that history had been made...More?

This Day in Wrestling History


Wendi Richter defeated Fabulous Moolah for the WWF(E) Women's title.
July 23, 1984

Shawn Michaels defeated Jeff Jarrett for the WWF(E) Intercontinental title.
July 23, 1995

July 23, 2010

A Look Back At The Brawl To End It All

The Brawl To End It All - a battle between WWF Women's champion The Fabulous Moolah and Wendi Richter. The event, broadcast live on MTV, marked the beginning of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection that would catapult Hulk Hogan into an uncharted stratosphere of fame for a professional wrestler. The woman at the center of the hoopla, the event's most important participant, wasn't even participating in the match. Pop star Cyndi Lauper, a newcomer on the road to winning the next year's Grammy for Best new Artist, was in the corner of the challenger, cheering her on to defeat a champion who had held onto her belt for nearly 30 years.

With Lauper managing Richter and Albano managing the legendary Moolah, the match was high on spectacle but low on real wrestling, especially by today's standards. After pushing Richter into the corner face first, Moolah planted Richter's shoulders to the mat with a reverse sunset flip. Unbeknownst to Moolah, whose shoulders were pinned to the mat, Richter lifted her right shoulder up before the three count. Only when the ring announcer proclaimed that Richter had won the match did people realize that history had been made...More?

July 23, 2009

A Look Back at The Brawl to End it All

The Brawl To End It All - a battle between WWF Women's champion The Fabulous Moolah and Wendi Richter. The event, broadcast live on MTV, marked the beginning of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection that would catapult Hulk Hogan into an uncharted stratosphere of fame for a professional wrestler. The woman at the center of the hoopla, the event's most important participant, wasn't even participating in the match. Pop star Cyndi Lauper, a newcomer on the road to winning the next year's Grammy for Best new Artist, was in the corner of the challenger, cheering her on to defeat a champion who had held onto her belt for nearly 30 years.

With Lauper managing Richter and Albano managing the legendary Moolah, the match was high on spectacle but low on real wrestling, especially by today's standards. After pushing Richter into the corner face first, Moolah planted Richter's shoulders to the mat with a reverse sunset flip. Unbeknownst to Moolah, whose shoulders were pinned to the mat, Richter lifted her right shoulder up before the three count. Only when the ring announcer proclaimed that Richter had won the match did people realize that history had been made...More?

source: earvolution.com

April 24, 2009

Glamour, Glitz & Divas - The Untold Story of American Women's Wrestling

Dedicated to the late Sherri Martel, this DVD focuses a great deal on women breaking into a male-dominated business and the history of women's roles in pro wrestling. Many of the interviews look to have come from previous RF Video spots.

One of the first interviews is with The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young and as if we didn't know how old Mae Young is, she discusses seeing Ed "Strangler" Lewis back in her Oklahoma childhood. Good stuff here and, sorry Vince, but she doesn't lose her top. Bummer.

Moolah says she either wanted to be like Mildred Burke or the next Amelia Earhart. Pretty sure she made the right choice...More?

source: slam wrestling

January 31, 2009

WWE Divas: The Good and the Useless

Many Divas have passed through the WWE in years. From legends like Fabulous Moolah to future Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. We've seen Sable, Lita, and the more prominent Chyna. These women were great performers in the wrestling ring and you could tell they worked hard. Recently, though, we've seen the slow decline of the Divas unit.

Well, we can't blame WWE. Who actually said, "I can't wait for the women's championship match at Wrestlemania"! I can't recall saying that and I'm sure many can agree.

Nevertheless, even though we never talked about those great women wrestlers that much we appreciated them. Mickie James is pretty good and so was Molly Holly. Trish Stratus had fantastic matches with Lita, Molly Holly, and Mickie James. So we fast forward into present and what do we have? A joke...More?

source: bleacherreport.com

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