[54], 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. "[61] Jerry Lawler also said he "never heard or saw anything like that when I was in the business around Moolah and her girls. Lillian Ellison, better known to thousands of fans as The Fabulous Moolah, rose to stardom in the unique world of professional women's wrestling during the 1950s. [37] Also the shows were held in Las Vegas. Sign up for BINGE to watch. Last year, when I was preparing the first of the two Deadspin articles linked at the start of this here Substack entry, I tried to pin down the origins of the "Moolah was a pimp" post. Fabulous Moolah her daughter Mary Austin, Mary's daughter Karyn, and today's Birthday Girl and Moolah's chosen daughter Diamond Lil Katie Glass Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? Watch every Premium Live Event and get unlimited access to WWE's premium content - available to you anywhere, anytime, on any device. It's still pimping and prostitution.". 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, 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. American professional wrestler (19232007), Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection (19831987), Ladies International Wrestling Association (19902000), Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1995, 19992007), Manipulation of the women's wrestling industry in the United States, Ladies International Wrestling Association, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, List of oldest surviving professional wrestlers, "Women's World Champion Wrestler "Fabulous Moolah" Dies in Columbia", "Moolah:Twenty-eight years was the reign", "Hall of Fame Inductee: The Fabulous Moolah", "History Making Female Wrestler, The Fabulous Moolah, Dead at 84", "Matches Fabulous Moolah Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database", "Ladies International Wrestling Association (LIWA) Promotions Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database", "Wrestlingdata.com The World's Largest Wrestling Database", "LIWA Golden Girls Extravaganza Events Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database", "Fans Are Revolting Against WWE Honoring Fabulous Moolah, With Good Reason", "LadySports: Shooting with Debbie Johnson", "Gangrel and Luna Vachon Shoot Interview", "Shane Douglas Addresses Allegations Against Fabulous Moolah, Claims He Never Heard Allegations That She Prostituted Female Talents", "Former Wrestler Beverly Shade Doesn't Believe Accusations Against Fabulous Moolah", "Son of Sweet Georgia Brown Refutes Fabulous Moolah Pimp Allegations", "Biggest, Smallest, Strangest, Strongest", "The Phantom of the Ring: Lipstick, Dynamite and Glowworms, Part 31 The Vachons", "Darling Dagmar re-enters the wrestling world", "SLAM! The Fabulous Moolah was credited as one of the pioneers of the WWF expansion and to the RockNWrestling era. [1][12] In her spare time, she makes and sells crafts. [48] Ellison claimed Pfeffer would threaten to reveal the pre-planned nature of wrestling if any other promoters did not do as he liked. [91] According to her daughter Mary, the possible cause of death was a heart attack or blood clot related to a recent shoulder replacement surgery. These questions, at least for now, remain unanswered. Born Lillian Ellison in South Carolina in 1923, Moolah became a fan of sports-entertainment following the passing of her mother; her father would take her to shows as a young girl in hopes of cheering up his distraught daughter, and little did he know the impact it would have. The match saw seventy-six-year-old Moolah defeat Ivory to regain the WWE Women's Championship, thus becoming the oldest WWF Women's Champion ever, though she lost . [49] Ellison demanded 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. That October, the unthinkable happened: Moolah defeated reigning WWE Women's Champion Ivory to win the title for the fourth time and become the oldest titleholder in the history of the sport. "[62] Former trainee Princess Victoria said Moolah never pimped any women or used drugs, but she did take money from them. [12], McIntyre retired from wrestling in 1998 after discovering she was pregnant, and she later gave birth to twins. Copyright 2023 Fightful, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [3], It is a common misconception that McIntyre is the daughter of professional wrestler Stan Mykietowich. [12], Ellison returned to the Columbia home of her father and brothers. Finally, in July 1987, Moolah lost the gold to "Sensational" Sherri Martel, and after captaining a team that defeated Martel's in the inaugural Survivor Series later that year, Moolah effectively retired from in-ring competition. One of the more interesting facets of the story they presented was The Fabulous Moolah's daughter Mary. [14][50] In the 1990s, she spent most of her time training female wrestlers at her school in Columbia, South Carolina. [23] After the match, Vince McMahon, Sr. dubbed Ellison with a new ring name The Fabulous Moolah. [40] In 1999, Moolah and Mae Young re-emerged in the WWF (later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE). [48] As a result, Ellison began selling cosmetics door-to-door and Lee opened a service station to make enough money to pay their bills. But her career actually began outside the ring, where she served as one of wrestling's first female valets. Moolah would continue working for WWF. [10][11] The youngest of five children, Ellison was the only daughter of a part-Cherokee father and an Irish mother. 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. [20] In 1955, she began working for Vince McMahon, Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation. [90] She underwent successful back surgery in mid-December.[90]. Later, Ellison married wrestler Johnny Long. ", Vickie Otis, a former pro-wrestler who went by the ring name Princess Victoria, remains torn on how Moolah should be remembered in the concluding segment of "Dark Side of the Ring. In the messages, Austin places the blame on Buddy Lee, and accuses the women who spoke ill of Moolah to be jealous. She was a trainer and booker too, controlling many of the top female wrestlers working in the US. The Fabulous Moolah tugs at the hair of Joyce Gable and brings the latter to the canvas. What horrible things to say about a person that had been dead over 10 years!You r wrong and ur additude(sic)sucks!She will always b the best woman wrestler ever n was NEVER a pimp as u said.Get ur facts straight.Two sides to every story. She was a shining role model and example for women everywhere," Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, daughter of WWE chief Vince McMahon, said at Moolah's funeral. [27] She also traded the belt with Yukiko Tomoe during a tour of Japan in 1968. [77], 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. "[81], An animated version of Moolah was included on Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. As the Fabulous Moolah, Ellison entertained generations of fans and was perhaps the greatest star of women's professional wrestling. ~~~Cyndi Lauper came on board with the WWF as the manager of Wendy Richter against The Fabulous Moolah. And nobody is coercing me to say what Im saying. In the book "Sisterhood of the Squared Circle" by Pat Laprade, former wrestler Penny Bramer also claimedMoolah acted as a pimp, renting out girls to various promotions as a form of sex trafficking. [41], Upon returning, Moolah and Young began appearing regularly in comedic roles. March 2018 - Twitter explodes with the announcement of the Fabulous Moolah Women's battle royal, set to take place at . 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 . As well as allegedly exploiting female wrestlers sexually, Ellison was accused of using her influence to control the women's wrestling scene and ensure that other women did not gain greater recognition. Like Gorgeous George, Moolah was a pioneer who brought flamboyance and color to the sport and made it a hot television commodity. Much of it was at poor old Jack Pfeffer's expense," Moolah wrote in her oft-criticized autobiography, The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle.The book, written with Larry Platt, kept somewhat to kayfabe and revealed little about her iron-clad control of the women's wrestling business. This time, she teamed once again with Princess Victoria. Beginning in 1991, Ellison lived with Mae Young in a house in Columbia, South Carolina. In July 1984, her 28-year reign was finally ended in Madison Square Garden by Wendi Richter, a young competitor managed by pop star Cyndi Lauper. [40] 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. [55][35] According to Richter, Ellison accepted payment of 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. Moolah was trained for the ring in the 1940s by then-Women's Champion Mildred Burke, the sport's biggest female star at the time. Shes not here to defend herself, which is not right. Her father, an avid wrestling fan trying to cheer her up and distract her from this sad chapter, would take Ellison with him to the local matches when she turned 10. Shade went on record on the matterin a 2018 interview withNigel Sherrod. In the early 1980s, Ellison opened Moolah's Hideaway, a bar and grill which was operated by her daughter Mary and frequented by Andre the Giant. [4][18] Ellison broke up the partnership because Rogers kept pushing her to begin a sexual relationship. [3] The duo defended the championship against the team of Wendi Richter and Peggy Lee. You can't take away her history becauseshe was an a--hole!". With a decades-long tradition of obscuring backstage realities in favor of building mythic legends, the pro-wrestling industry continues to grapple with the alleged shady behavior of some of itsmore iconic stars. "For the better part of 25 years, every top girl wrestler was trained by Moolah, booked out by Moolah, and was controlled by Moolah's group," explains controversial wrestling personality Jim Cornette in "Dark Side of the Ring." Husney told Oxygen.com. But her maneuvers wowed the crowds. [16] She competed with many other female wrestlers, stepping into the ring with the likes of Mae Young, Cecilia Blevins and Mildred Burke. 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