Recently I saw "Lipstick & Dynamite", a movie on women's professional wrestling, on cable TV. I actually found it to be quite entertaining and enjoying it all up to the point when I heard Lillian Ellison (The Fabulous Moolah) speak about Wendi Richter. I have known Wendi Richter for many years and considered her a friend. During her days as WWF Ladies Champion I spent time traveling with her. On one occasion she even stayed at my parent’s home.
With that as a background, I can tell you as a fact that what Moolah said about Wendi was full of lies.
It appeared to me that the idea of the movie was to tell the truth about things that happened in women's wrestling. But, instead, I can assure you that this was "the truth according to Moolah" from her very point of view.
During the 80s I spent a lot of time with many of the top lady wrestlers including Princess Victoria, Velvet McIntyre, Sherri Martel, Lei Lani Kai and many others. None of them ever had a good word to say about Moolah. She was an opportunist who took advantage of the girls every chance she got. As their "agent" she also took more money from these girls than she should have. Moolah is in the position she is in today due to the hard work of many lady wrestlers.
In an attempt to not be unfair, let me say that I found Moolah to be a very entertaining performer. She was the consummate heel. When Moolah walked into a ring everyone wanted to see her get her get beat up and lose the title. I also have found the Moolah and Mae Young appearance’s on Raw to be amusing at times. But we all have to live with ourselves when we look into the mirror. It just makes me ask myself the question, "If the person you are listening to knows they are lying, and you know that they are lying, does it still count as a lie?" Moolah certainly told many lies in this movie at her age can’t she just come clean?
It has been said that the closer you get to a star the less it shines. They also say that if you actually went into the kitchen of any restaurant you might never eat out again. I can tell you that professional wrestling, in many ways, resembles these statements. The closer one looks at pro wrestling today the more trouble we can see that it is in. I truly hope that all of this steroid/HGH scandal and the embarrassment it brings to the industry leads to a better business model.
In the past week we have gotten news that Ric Flair and Paul Wight could be dragged into this mess. I think we all realize that with every unturned stone there will be some new accusation or act presented. I have no idea where it will end. I would hate to be Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter right now. Imagine what must be going through your mind if you are a WWE stockholder. What goes on in the minds of those who hold stock in that company? How about Universal Studios? How long will they want to be landlord to a company that could be up to its neck in Congressional hearings? If you aren’t sure of the answers to these questions then you can consider yourself on a level playing field with Vince and Dixie both. Is anyone immune to the cancer that is spreading through our business? How many of the people that the world looks up to will have to hang their head?
It was a Wednesday morning at the George Washington Lodge in Allentown, Pa. I was having breakfast with Afa and Sika, the Wild Samoan tag team, along with Dominic Marcello, Mike D’avanzo (two close friends) and a few other wrestlers that may have included Big John Studd or Mr. Fuji. It’s been a long time. It was at this hotel that I had my first real exposure to the wrestlers on a personal level. This was where almost everyone stayed the night after TV tapings in Allentown. On Wednesday they would all head to the next nights TV tapings in Hamburg Pa just 30 miles up the road In the middle of breakfast Ray “The Crippler” Stevens walked in and pulled Afa over to the side. When Afa returned to the table we were told that Eddie Gilbert was in a bad car wreck the night before. It was the first wrestling tragedy that I was exposed to personally. We all know that Eddie recovered from the accident and accomplished a lot in the business. I got to know Eddie before we lost him permanently. It was during my days of traveling with Nikita Koloff. I became a referee working with Jim Crockett promotions on all major events north of North Carolina. In looking back and remembering the first tragedy that I was around for little did I know that it was the going to be the first in a long long line of them.
I am posting a picture this week of myself and Playboy Buddy Rose; you can see a door entrance in the background. That is the famous door that “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka was banging on when he chased Roddy Piper after being hit in the head with the coconut in the famous Pipers Pit segment. I have an amusing story about that incident that I will tell in the near future.
With that as a background, I can tell you as a fact that what Moolah said about Wendi was full of lies.
It appeared to me that the idea of the movie was to tell the truth about things that happened in women's wrestling. But, instead, I can assure you that this was "the truth according to Moolah" from her very point of view.
During the 80s I spent a lot of time with many of the top lady wrestlers including Princess Victoria, Velvet McIntyre, Sherri Martel, Lei Lani Kai and many others. None of them ever had a good word to say about Moolah. She was an opportunist who took advantage of the girls every chance she got. As their "agent" she also took more money from these girls than she should have. Moolah is in the position she is in today due to the hard work of many lady wrestlers.
In an attempt to not be unfair, let me say that I found Moolah to be a very entertaining performer. She was the consummate heel. When Moolah walked into a ring everyone wanted to see her get her get beat up and lose the title. I also have found the Moolah and Mae Young appearance’s on Raw to be amusing at times. But we all have to live with ourselves when we look into the mirror. It just makes me ask myself the question, "If the person you are listening to knows they are lying, and you know that they are lying, does it still count as a lie?" Moolah certainly told many lies in this movie at her age can’t she just come clean?
It has been said that the closer you get to a star the less it shines. They also say that if you actually went into the kitchen of any restaurant you might never eat out again. I can tell you that professional wrestling, in many ways, resembles these statements. The closer one looks at pro wrestling today the more trouble we can see that it is in. I truly hope that all of this steroid/HGH scandal and the embarrassment it brings to the industry leads to a better business model.
In the past week we have gotten news that Ric Flair and Paul Wight could be dragged into this mess. I think we all realize that with every unturned stone there will be some new accusation or act presented. I have no idea where it will end. I would hate to be Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter right now. Imagine what must be going through your mind if you are a WWE stockholder. What goes on in the minds of those who hold stock in that company? How about Universal Studios? How long will they want to be landlord to a company that could be up to its neck in Congressional hearings? If you aren’t sure of the answers to these questions then you can consider yourself on a level playing field with Vince and Dixie both. Is anyone immune to the cancer that is spreading through our business? How many of the people that the world looks up to will have to hang their head?
It was a Wednesday morning at the George Washington Lodge in Allentown, Pa. I was having breakfast with Afa and Sika, the Wild Samoan tag team, along with Dominic Marcello, Mike D’avanzo (two close friends) and a few other wrestlers that may have included Big John Studd or Mr. Fuji. It’s been a long time. It was at this hotel that I had my first real exposure to the wrestlers on a personal level. This was where almost everyone stayed the night after TV tapings in Allentown. On Wednesday they would all head to the next nights TV tapings in Hamburg Pa just 30 miles up the road In the middle of breakfast Ray “The Crippler” Stevens walked in and pulled Afa over to the side. When Afa returned to the table we were told that Eddie Gilbert was in a bad car wreck the night before. It was the first wrestling tragedy that I was exposed to personally. We all know that Eddie recovered from the accident and accomplished a lot in the business. I got to know Eddie before we lost him permanently. It was during my days of traveling with Nikita Koloff. I became a referee working with Jim Crockett promotions on all major events north of North Carolina. In looking back and remembering the first tragedy that I was around for little did I know that it was the going to be the first in a long long line of them.
I am posting a picture this week of myself and Playboy Buddy Rose; you can see a door entrance in the background. That is the famous door that “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka was banging on when he chased Roddy Piper after being hit in the head with the coconut in the famous Pipers Pit segment. I have an amusing story about that incident that I will tell in the near future.
