I don't know what Hack and A-I or other members think and I know the subject has been raised before but I wonder whether the time has come to recognise women wrestlers and place the alongside the men. More and more of ther bouts seem to be on YouTube and some (particularly Rusty Blair) are really good. I wonder, if for a start (and I know Ron made a list a year or so ago they could be put at the end of each letter of the alphabet and as we know more of them they could appear in the main text. Mitzi and Klondyke Kate are two immediate examples.
What do you all think?
Here is a potential entry for one well known woman and one for a lesser known wrestler.
Sue Brittain, Lady Satan (Marjorie Farrar)
Throughout her career she fought for Women’s Rights battling with local councils who had banned female wrestling. Women’s wrestling had been banned in London since the 1930 and her biggest win came in 1979 when helped by the Equal Opportunities Commission she won a two day hearing against the GLC to allow her to appear at Wimbledon Town Hall to defend her BWA title against Jane St John. She won that bout in Round 6 with a Boston Crab. After the bout had taken place an Appeal Tribunal promptly reversed the decision and women’s wrestling was again banned. Wrestler Al Marshall called her the ‘Emmeline Pankhurst of wrestling’.
She began her career in borrowed boots when a wrestler failed to appear at Whitley Bay and was knocked out by Maria Rivoldi who became a regular opponent. In 1970 she and her husband Ron Farrar set up the British Wrestling Alliance and that year she won the British Wrestling Alliance women’s title. Except for a short period when she was defeated by Akala Jan in Bradford before regaining the title a fortnight later she held this from 1970 until she retired in 1982. The title then passed to Lady Dawn. After her retirement she appeared a few times in a mask as Lady Satan —who unsurprisingly also favoured the Boston Crab.. She also held the BWA Mixed title with Mike Demain.
An uncompromising heel, citing family commitments Brittain declined invitations to wrestle in Europe and America where Ring magazine placed her in their Top 10 rankings.
She died in Pudsey aged 76 in April 2013.
Suzie McDonald Aka Trudy Saturn (Trudy Fitzhenry)
Trudy Fitzhenry was the sister of Kid Brannigan , In the daytime she was an Inner City Farm Education teacher. Trained in Birmingham by Pete Evans she restled in UK, India and the Lebanon. She retired in 1970s following birth of her first child and back injuries.
Lena Blair, Miss Lena, Leather Lena (Barbara Swann)
And the start of one for a third
Bella Ogluna From Llandudno Trained by Orig Williams wrestled in Nigeria in 1979
And again, off topic, but the 1971 Extravaganza bill shows us another genuine Japanese wrestler to visit our shores, Sueo Inoue (who wrestled as Mitsu Inoue and Mighty Inoue over here).
Off topic, sorry, but I've just noticed the earliest appearance yet by Robert Archer, that is Bob Archer O'Brien. He's on the Osts 1938 Chelmsford programme when he would have been 20 years old. Amazing to think that a man who was around when many of us were watching wrestling had been on the same bill as Connie Landi and Peggy Parnell.
It is indeed a great bill Hack, no doubt about it.
Oh, come on Anglo Italian. Yes, it's the Royal Albert Hall in London. Nothing to do with a provincial promoter it's the same Royal Albert Hall in London as it was in Dale Martin days, though in 1971 it was deemed necessary to stipulate the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London. Maybe there was a worry fans might go looking for a Royal Albert Hall in Battersea or Southall.
This was Mitzi's retirement do. Brian and Mitzi put up the money for the show and (if we are to believe what others have written) stood the losses. This was an historical event of the first women's match at the Royal Albert Hall, fully deserving 50% of the poster space.
That leaves 50% for the rest of the bill. And what a bill - Quinn, St Clair, Nagasaki, Yamada , Saint, Kung Fu, Finlay, Taylor ...
Brian dug deep into his pockets that night. What a great promotion for a great bill.
On your busty, sorry, busy poster, Main Mask, it's interesting how the promoter writes The Royal Albert Hall "London".
I mean, the posters would be up in London; it's not like it needed to be distinguished for the Royal Albert Hall in Widnes.
Small detail but a clear sign of a provincial promoter operating in the capital.
What a travesty to squash six great wrestlers into near insignificance bottom right.
Cherokee princess was trained by Orig Williams in the mid 1970's.
real name Gloria Young
I wonder if Cherokee Princess was Rita Shillitoe (wife of Bobby Barron). Rita wrestled as Apache Princess, so this isn't a huge jump.
Cherokee Princess was not Princess Paula, Main Mask.
Not sure who she was, I will have to do some digging. Not as much info on the women's scene. Not really something I ever bothered watching to be honest.
Well my idea seems to have gone down a bomb but hee's another foor the books if it ever takes off.
Rusty Blair (Carole Taylor)
At one time the red-headed Scot Rusty Blair held the Women’s World Title said to have been won in Lagos. She tagged with Mitzi Mueller at the latter’s winning farewell appearance at the Albert Hall on 24 April 1987 against Klondyke Kate and Nicky Monroe. It was the first time women’s wrestling had been permitted at the venue. She is said to have retired after an injury sustained in a later bout with Klondyke Kate. She should not be confused with her frequent opponent Lena Blair. A number of her bouts can be seen on YouTube..
Here's one going way, way back...
Sad news that Julia Praytor died earlier this week.
Anglo Italian's assessment of the situation is dead on, it's just been a matter of time. Hopefully James has given us the push we need. More biographies from James and other members will be very welcome.
She certainly doesn't look like one. I don't know her real name but she is a Liverpool lass now living in Manchester.
Incidentally, I recall there being a good few moments of lady wrestling in Carry On Girls with Barbara Windsor grappling with, I think, Margaret Nolan. Wendy Richards was also one of the beauty contestants featured. In Carry On Loving Bernard Bresslaw played a professional wrestler.
Chloe Lovett......sounds like a character from a Carry On film!
Trudy Saturn was one of the nicest girls you could imagine. I promoted her twice at Walsall Football Club in Bescott. The first time I matched her with Lady Emma. I only knew her as Nan and she was "going out" with Mickey Gold at the time. The second time I matched her with Living Doll as, at the time, Cliff Richard had re-released his hit in company with The Young Ones (Ade Edmondson, Rik Mayall etc) as a charity fundraiser and it was back in the charts. The Living Doll was Jody Lees from Bury whose day job was a secret store detective. I remember her being unimpressed with my organisational skills as a promoter. She thought I should have had a sound system rigged up with "Living Doll" playing over it as she made her way to the ring.
Trudy's brother wrestled for me as Kid Brannigan and would arrive with Pete Evans several hours before the show to put the ring up for me. Trudy was refreshingly naieve and I recall her being genuinely nonplussed by a lettter she had received from an American wrestling fan asking her if, in the heat of the match, she had ever found herself doing a little wee wee in her costume. In those days women kept quiet about such things. Nowadays TV adverts seem to be full of wee-weeing women almost boasting about it.
We exchanged messages briefly a couple of years ago through the wrestlers' reunion site where she had posted my newspaper advert at the time and also a brief article which appeared in the local Walsall paper with a photograph of her grabbing hold of the luckless club secretary and trapping him in a headlock.
Finally, I still try to follow ladies' wrestling and, although she is mainly a "porn star" and works regularly at The Stockport Dungeon, Chloe Lovett is a very talented lady wrestler and applies some good holds in her tussles with wimpish men on various "naughty" sites. I believe that she and Scottish "porn star" Ashley Rider are two of the regular performers on Saturday's lunchtime shows in Manchester organised by Pippa L'Vinn and featuring Shelby Beach who I believe is a cousin to Manchester jazz performer Kirsty Almeida. I have to admit that this takes me into territory in which I am not immediately comfortable and I have not attended any of these shows but I do follow through the internet and noticed that Blackpool's Jackie Mc.Shann returned to the ring to wrestle Shelby Beach to a draw at one of their sessions a year or so back.
My own view is that any restriction on here has been solely to do with time and not any other form of discrimination.
We started Wrestling Heritage with approximate bookends of 1952 and 1978. We remembered the second half of that period clearly; and that second half fed directly out of the first years of Joint Promotions, which informed our experiences and our opinions.
Women's wrestling started to appear at the end of that period. It didn't appear within the sacrosanct World of Sport slot.
So, rather like the independants, it has been something to explore on here and not a year goes by without a new blast of interest, as today from James.
We have always valued Members' contributions and encouraged them to extend our initial range of interest. The late Allan Best opened up the world of amateur wrestling to us. Hack has delved increasingly into earlier decades. Numerous Members have built up the story of eighties wrestling.
There have been lots of womens wrestling threads already and all comments are welcome.
And to underline the non-discrimination policy, we also published on here ten years ago the Top Twenty Ladies of Wrestling - admittedly restricted to non-wrestlers.
Hi JAMES!-Some Women Wrestlers were really good at the Sport!-One who
springs to mind right away is PAULA VALDEZ-Wife of FIT FINLAY-Sadly no longer
with us!-More recently my Own Personal Favourite is ERIN ANGEL-She can
really Wrestle too!
Here are some Memories of the Notables within the Women's Ranks!...
Starting with the Top Girl-MITZI MUELLER in a Tag Match at YEOVIL!
Note KINCAID.STREIGER-Spelled wrong here-'demoted' to bottom left hand corner!-and ANGLO's Favourite-THE MAD AXEMAN makes an Appearance too!
MAIN MASK