Guest Article: The Women of WWE - Part 1 (Lily Lestrange)

It's a pleasure to welcome Lily Lestrange back to atpw.co.uk! I hope you enjoy this series looking at how WWE has presented it's women's division over the years.


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At the start of the year there was a big push for the "Diva Revolution" in WWE, where the company decided that after years of doing wrong by the division they should probably try and give the ladies more than a 3 minute match on Raw every Monday, if at all. As we've seen as the year has progressed, it's been one big failure; sure, they're getting longer matches but a decent singles match is few and far between for the women, instead they're being grouped up in threes and pitted against each other in poorly written, poorly executed stories and matches. Of course, people automatically blame the writers, it's what fans have become comfortable with when anything doesn't go the way they want it to but this time they may have a point. There is a lot of good - and a lot of bad - talent in the women's division and it's a pity that despite the fuss they've been trying to make about them "pushing" them, nothing has really come of it. Even throwing NXT's most prominent women into the mix with Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Charlotte has done nothing for them.


It's not always been this way though and people seem to forget that. It's not always been this bad. People tend to look at wrestling past with rose-tinted glasses but honestly, pinky promise, it wasn't always like this. The women's division used to be good and brimming with talent, hence the reason I've decided to dedicate this series of blogs to the great ladies of WWE's past, present and future. As much disdain as I have for distinguishing "women's wrestling" from regular wrestling I felt it was necessary for the purpose of these blogs. As the title suggests, with this one I'm starting from the very beginning.

Mae Young

     Mae Young's involvement in the early days of the WWE was scarce but she's too bad ass not to mention and it didn't feel right including her in the later Attitude Era parts when she belongs with the late and greats. Most people remember Mae for her ridiculous antics at that time: when she wasn't groping the Rock, she was being stripped to her skivvies in the middle of the ring, sleeping with the big man Sexual Chocolate (and subsequently giving birth to his hand-child) or being powerbombed through a trio of tables by Bubba Ray Dudley. She was as mad as tits on a fish and that's why people loved her, she just didn't hold back. She was truly one of a kind. Who else can you say wrestled on the night of Pearl Harbour? Who else has had a career that spanned over 70 years? In a time where women were meant for the kitchen she was busy beating up other girls and changing the way that women were seen in the industry. She was a revolutionary in her own right. Mae helped shaped the world of wrestling into what it is today because of her determination and passion for the industry, and that passion stuck with her from her years as a scrappy teenager right up until January 14th of last year when she passed away at the grand old age of 90.

Fabulous Moolah

     Moolah was another one to completely change the world of wrestling. As Mae Young's protegee, she broke down many a barrier in the industry: she was one of the first women to be on a Wrestlemania pay-per-view, she was the first woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, she is the oldest champion (male or female) in sports history and she has technically had the longest title reign in wrestling history with a whopping 27 years as the WWF Women's Champion (the very first WWF Women's Champion at that). The only title reign I can think of that comes close to that is Bruno Sammartino's but that was paltry compared to Moolah's at only 11 years. Her wrestling career didn't last quite as long as Mae Young's but still, wrestling for 58 years isn't to be sniffed at in the slightest. Moolah came from an era where women had to sleep their way to the top but she refused to do it. In her early WWE career she was part of the original screwjob (no, not Montreal) in Madison Square Garden in 1985, where Wendi Richter dropped the women's title to Moolah without ever being told that she was losing the belt. Moolah appeared that night with a mask on and went out with the name "Spider Lady", without Richter knowing it was her. During the match, Spider Lady hit Richter with a Little Package and pinned Richter's shoulders to the mat; Richter kicked out at one but the ref - who was apparently in on it to - kept counting to three and awarded the
win to this masked stranger. Richter furiously attacked her and tore the mask off to reveal it was Moolah who had cheated her out of her title. It's possibly the biggest and most infamous story in the history of women's wrestling but it doesn't get spoken about as much as it should because let's face it, it was a pretty big deal.


After years of making random appearances she returned in 1998 with her pal Mae Young to partake in the shenanigans that Mae was. She had an 8 day reign with the WWE Women's title in 2003 after defeating Victoria and then subsequently got RKO'd by the man himself, Randy Orton. Mae took a powerbomb at 76 and Moolah took an RKO at 80 so there's no doubt that they're both hard as nails. Her last appearance in the WWE was during a backstage segment in August 2007; she passed away only a month afterwards.

Wendi Richter

Wendi was from a later era than Moolah and Mae Young but she still played a big part in laying the ground rules for women's wrestling. The first ever women's match on a Wrestlemania pay-per-view was Richter vs. Leilani Kai, with Moolah in Kai's corner and Cyndi Lauper in Richter's. Richter won the match and regained the Women's title from Kai, after losing it to her the month before. Prior to that she was the one to end the longest title reign in history by defeating Moolah at The Brawl To End It All in Madison Square Garden. That match saw MTV hit it's highest ratings in it's history at the time.


The story goes that the relationship between Richter and the WWE broke down and that's why the screwjob came around, with Vince McMahon being behind it all (of course). Apparently after what happened with "Spider Lady", Richter never spoke to Moolah again. Over the years of wrestling each other she felt betrayed, and quite rightly so; her and Bret should form a club. From there she left the WWF and had no involvement in wrestling up until 2005 when she was inducted into the Hall Of Fame by Roddy Piper. She was evidently still hurt by the actions of Vince and Moolah, hence why she retired (and said so herself in a shoot interview) but she willingly accepted her - well deserved - spot in the Hall Of Fame. Richter is the only one of the three women I've mentioned that is still alive and kicking at 54. Her last appearance on a WWE show was when she was in the ring with Cyndi Lauper on Monday Night Raw; it was the one where Lauper smashed her gold record over Heath Slater's noggin.


And there we have it; three of the great WWE women who laid the bedrock for the generations of women to come. There are a lot more that could have been mentioned - Mildred Burke could have a blog of her own - but I'm trying to keep it along the lines of WWF/WWE content so they didn't make the cut but their contributions to wrestling will never go unnoticed. These ladies mentioned so far are the ones who set the standards for today's wrestlers, who should be looking to go above and beyond the accomplishments of what these three have done.

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Check out Lily's other work....

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Next week....Marnix van der Kraan debuts on ATPW.

WWF All Star Search #10 - Saturday Night's Main Event 1

Hello Turnbucklers! It's edition #10 and we're looking at our first and the first Saturday Nights Main Event in this one! Not a big card as SNME was only an hour long but they were significant and important viewing for any WWE fan. This card looks alright with a 6 man tag match, two title matches (one of which is a WWE Title match) and also an important Pipers Pit. Last edition I had to watch a complete pile of bilge so let's hope this one is short and sweet! Onwards we go!

The Card:

The US Express/Ricky Steamboat vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff/George Steele

Piper's Pit ft Paul Orndorff

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champion) vs 'Cowboy' Bob Orton [WWE Title Match]

Wendi Richter (Womens Champ) vs The Fabulous Moolah [Womens Title Match]

Junkyard Dog vs Pete Doughety

 

The Show:

So before we even start up flashes Wendi Richter and Cyndi Lauper hyping up their match tonight. Then, Hulk Hogan and Mr T pop up to hype up Hogan's match tonight and T is in his corner! Mr T growls at us to seal home the point.

Our commentary team tonight is Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura. Not even 30 seconds in, McMahon is trying to save Jesse on commentary when he didn't need saving. Calm it, Vince!

The US Express/Ricky Steamboat vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff/George Steele

Before the match gets underway, of course we have the Soviet anthem and some spitting to get through via the heels. We also get a very speedy promo from the faces where by Windham says he wishes it was for the tag titles...and gets some subtle evils from Steamboat for doing so. Damn right Ricky, you are a third wheel on this night! This is George Steele's debut on our All Star Search and he announces himself by...flailing his arms. Windham and Sheik start us off while Steele is told to stand on the apron and not in the ring. Windham takes early control with an arm drag, a sneaky punch from Steamboat and a scoop slam. Rotundo and Steamboat both get shots in on Sheik from the top rope before Rotundo maintains control with headlocks and armbars. Steamboat in who nails a chop to Sheik but soon finds himself in an abdominal stretch. It doesn't last long as the faces clear the ring of the heels and the crowd is a buzzin'. A massive USA chant breaks out...and the only one who plays to it is George Steele...the American on the heel team? Nice dropkick off top on Sheik followed by a cross body off the top by Steamboat. In comes Volkoff but eats eats a double dropkick from Steamboat and Windham. Rotundo in who levels the Russian with legdrops but gets distracted by the heels allowing momentum to shift for...a second...before Rotundo regains control. An awkward sequence of backslides follow and Windham tags back in. George Steele in now to big heat and him and Windham trade awful looking punches. Steele goes for a tag out but the tag champs just drop down to the floor allowing Steele to be pinned with a roll up from Windham for three. The tag champs attack Steele after the match but it doesn't go too far. That big heat for Steele are now big cheers and Captain Lou comes in to calm down Steele. Face = turned. Good, quick, action despite the lack of offense by the heels. Surely if the US Express were to dominate...why not have kept the titles on them at Mania? Match Rating: *1/2
After the match Mean Gene Okerlund catches up with the champs who claims Steele was at fault and he deserved them to shun him.

Piper's Pit with Paul Orndorff

Straight into Piper's Pit now and Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff is the guest. If you remember, at Wrestlemania, Piper and Orton left Orndorff alone in the ring after their loss and last month, Orndorff lost to Hogan but shook his hand afterwards. Piper tries to talk but Orndorff cuts him off and tells Cowboy Bob Orton to go stand in the corner like the 'dunce' he is. Of course the tension between Piper and Orndorff is off the charts. Piper of course starts getting cheeky and calls Orndorff a loser who gets angry as a result. Not angry enough NOT to sit down when Piper asks him too. Nonetheless, more back and forth snarkiness between Piper and Orndorff and Piper is great here. He says Orndorff lost his guts and Orndorff replies with 'you've been drinking your own bath water'. Tension escalates as expected until the heels attempt the cheapshot but fail. Orndorff goes for a piledriver on Piper but gets nailed by Orton's cast. Mr T runs down for the save and Face = Turned. Short but sweet segment to solidify Orndorff's turn and it definitely worked. Piper was superb.
Mean Gene is with Hogan who says he's happy it's Mother's Day soon and the following match is for his mummy. Orton...how injured is your arm because Hogan says he's coming to find out.

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs 'Cowboy' Bob Orton [WWE Title Match]

The man with too many names...Mr Ace Cowboy Boxing Bob Orton is out first with Roddy Piper. The place naturally explodes when Hogan comes out and he's accompanied by Mr T! They get in the ring and rip each others shirts off and who says wrestling can seem gay? The match itself is your standard Hogan quick formulaic match. It spills to the outside but its a case of brawling and basic manuevers. Of course Piper on the outside plus Orton's cast provide enough of a challenge to keep the crowd hot throughout. Hogan eventually gets the legdrop but Piper breaks up the count with a cheapshot from the outside to cause the DQ win for Hogan. There's afters between the four until Orndorff comes out to support the good guys since he is now solidly one of them. Suprised they didn't just give Hogan the clean win on this one. I'm starting to notice the challengers get more offense in against Hogan on TV and supercards in comparison to house shows. Match Rating: *

Before we move onto the next match, we get to watch Cyndi Laupers new (at the time) music video. It was too sappy for my liking but hey, whatever floats your boat people. Although I approve of any love themed music video featuring Nikolai Volkoff.
Cyndi Lauper and Captain Lou are in the back, who both seem very confident that Wendi Richter is winning against the 106 year old Fabulous Moolah. Lauper worries about Albano's 'medula swelling.' Roddy Piper appears and has a screaming match with Lauper, its all good!
Mean Gene is with Moolah who says she's winning tonight and she's sick of Lauper cheating. She's also sick of people putting bags on her head, I however would encourage it, except plastic, 'coz that's dangerous!

Wendi Richter (Womens Champ) vs The Fabulous Moolah [Womens Title Match]

Big heat for Moolah when she comes out. Lauper and Richter come out to another Lauper song and Richter is such an after thought here. It's a shame because this of the potential if Lauper was the mouthpiece of a women's wrestler with actual in ring ability. Before the match, Fink makes the announcement that Lauper is banned from ringside and has to go backstage. The crowd chant bullshit but if that was 2014, that would've resulted in a 45 minute concert at Wrestlemania so keep your angst to yourselves on this one fans! The match of course is absolutely dreadful and the crowd die a slow death as soon as Lauper leaves. Richter eventually gets the win with a small package and the crowd wake up again in time for Lauper to come back and celebrate. Match Rating: DUD

Junkyard Dog vs Pete Doughety

Straight into the last match now and Pete Doughety gets the jobbers entrance and no reaction. 'Another One Bites the Dust' hits and out comes Junkyard Dog with his ma because it's Mothers Day. Only two interesting things in this one...1) Pete Doughety has a lovely scream when he's selling and 2) Pete Doughety is supposedly the Duke of Dorchester. Its a quick one and Junkyard Dog gets the win with his Powerslam. What a strange choice of ending matchwise but hey, Junkyard Dog and mum dance after the match. Is she really his mother because they look the same age, hmmm. I wish I liked the Junkyard Dog more but I can't take a bloke doing dog impressions seriously. Match Rating: DUD
Into the back with Mean Gene who is with several wrestlers celebrating Mothers Day. Freddie Blassie's mother is about 40 years younger than him which is lovely. Cyndi Lauper is with her mum and everyone is having a good time. Hogan and Sheik are bickering in the background and Moolah crashes the party and lays into Mummy Lauper while Lauper quacks on until shes covers Moolah in cake.
McMahon and Jesse Ventura go through their highlights to close us out.

Wrestler Scores:

• Ricky Steamboat +6 (18)
• Mike Rotundo +6 (22)
• Barry Windham +6 (21)
• George Steele +3 (3)
• Iron Sheik +4 (27)
• Nikolai Volkoff +3 (18)
• Roddy Piper +6 (36)
• Paul Orndorff  +7 (26)
• Hulk Hogan +5 (46)
• Bob Orton +4 (14)
• Fabulous Moolah +2 (3)
• Wendi Richter +2 (5)
• Pete Doughety +1 (1)
• Junkyard Dog +3 (11)

Piper and Orndorff brought in some decent points this week for that Piper's Pit segment and their various appearances throughout the episode proving how important the non-in-ring segments are too. Matches overall were disappointing whereby only the face team in the opener truly looked good. At this point overall, Hogan is in the lead after 10 editions with 46 points. Tito Santana isn't too far behind him and Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine after them. Shoutout to Iron Sheik who has impressed me more so than I thought, not so much Volkoff though. Onwards to our last house show of 1985.