Mike Rickard
Remembering the Fabulous Moolah
By Mike Rickard II
Nov 4, 2007 - 11:34 AM

With a career that spanned decades and ranged from the 1950’s until just recently, few wrestlers can match the Fabulous Moolah when it comes to longevity or memories.  

Born in 1923, Lillian Ellison first became exposed to the business when her father took her to professional matches to cheer her up after the death of her mother.   The top star of woman’s wrestling at the time was Mildred Burke, a champion whose accomplishments Moolah would seek to emulate and eventually go on to surpass.  

Moolah began wrestling during the tail end of the 1940’s, working for a promotion run by Billy Wolfe (the husband of Mildred Burke).   Showing the resolve that would help her last through decades in the industry, Moolah reportedly rebuffed the advances of Wolfe, who had reportedly gained a reputation for sleeping with many of the women who worked for him.   Moolah trained in Wolfe’s organization and learned the fundamentals of the squared circle.  

As she trained, Moolah began working as a valet for male wrestlers.   Working under the name “Slave Girl Moolah”, she served as a valet for the legendary “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers. “Slave Girl Moolah” was more than just another pretty face at ringside though.   She never hesitated to lend a helping hand to Rogers when her services were necessary to turn the tide in her favor.

Her work as a valet was just the beginning of her storied career.   Before long, she was wrestling, working under the name “The Fabulous Moolah”.   By 1956, Mildred Burke had retired from active competition (her divorce from husband Billy Wolfe led to numerous difficulties as Wolfe attempted to use the old boys’ network of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) to blackball her) and Moolah was ready to become the queen of professional wrestling.   In 1956, Moolah won a thirteen person battle royal to become Women’s World Champion, the first of many world championship reigns for Moolah.

Throughout the next thirty odd years, Moolah would become a mainstay of woman’s wrestling.   Savvy to the inner workings of the business, she positioned herself for success by running a women’s wrestling school with her husband Buddy Lee.   Moolah trained many of the sport’s top female wrestlers including Lelani Kai, Wendi Richter, Vivian Vachon, and Judy Martin.   With so many careers having started under her tutelage, Moolah’s influence in women’s wrestling only strengthened.   Eventually, she would obtain the rights to the women’s championship, cementing her status as the queen of the mountain.

From 1956 to 1984, Moolah had an unprecedented reign as world champion.   In 1964, the NWA recognized Moolah as their Women’s World champion making her the undisputed women’s in many respects.   Moolah defended her belt around the United States as well as around the world, bringing the belt to the various towns and cities under the umbrella of the NWA (much like the NWA Men’s World Champion would do).   Although she did not have the undefeated streak the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) billed her as having, her days without the title were few and far between.   Moolah would lose the title on several occasions but quickly regain the strap in rematches.  

As Vince McMahon Jr. aspired to transform the WWF from a regional territory to a national one, the Fabulous Moolah became another one of the wrestlers McMahon hired in his campaign to reach the top.   In 1983, Moolah sold her rights to the Women’s title and began wrestling exclusively for the WWF.   The move paid off for her both financially and professionally as she soon became involved in one of the biggest angles ever seen in professional wrestling.  

In 1984, Moolah defended her title against Wendi Richter in an event known as the Brawl to Settle It All.   The match’s roots went back to months earlier when rising pop star Cyndi Lauper asked long-time heel manager “Captain” Lou Albano to appear in her video Girls Just Want to Have Fun.   Never one to pass a chance in the spotlight, the charismatic Albano agreed and his appearance in the video earned him mainstream fame as MTV viewers delighted in Albano’s over the top performance as Lauper’s father in the video.    Soon, Albano appeared in the media, riding the waves of success and claiming the lion’s share of the credit for the video’s success.   This led to a confrontation with Lauper on “Piper’s Pit” with Albano and Lauper deciding to settle their differences by choosing proxies to wrestle for them.   Albano chose Moolah while Lauper chose aspiring grappler Wendi Richter.

The Brawl to Settle It All became a sensation with the MTV network heavily promoting the match (as well as airing it).   Moolah’s title defense was the main event in Madison Square Garden, something unheard of and even more impressive given the fact that this took place during Hulk Hogan’s first reign as WWF champion.   Moolah dropped the belt to Richter, apparently passing the torch to a new generation of women’s champion.   The historic match was in many regards, the catalyst for the Rock-n-Wrestling Connection that would lead to Wrestlemania and the WWF’s ascendance as the top wrestling promotion in North America.

Moolah’s loss as world champion seemed to be the sunset of her career but appearances can be deceiving and in this case they were.   Moolah continued her presence in the women’s division as more of a mentor but when Wendi Richter began having problems with the WWF behind the scenes; Moolah’s services were once again called upon.   Behind the scenes, Richter reportedly refused to drop the title as she engaged in a contract dispute with Vince McMahon.   This led to an actual shoot in the ring where Moolah regained the belt from Richter the old fashioned way.   Richter defended her belt against a masked opponent known as the Spider Lady.   Much to Richter’s surprise, she found her shoulders pinned to the match as the referee made a remarkably fast three count.   Richter’s surprise continued when the Spider Lady unmasked, revealing herself as the Fabulous Moolah.   Twenty years before Montreal, Vince McMahon “screwed” a world champion out of their title.   Moolah regained the belt and Richter was quickly shown the door.

After a two year reign as Women’s champion, Moolah’s appearances in the ring began to diminish.    After dropping the strap to Sherri Martel, Moolah seemed to disappear from the spotlight.   The WWF recognized her achievements in 1995 by inducting her into the WWF Hall of Fame, an unprecedented honor as no woman had ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame.   Moolah’s career finally seemed to be over but once again, appearances proved to be deceiving.

In 1999, the 76 year old Moolah appeared on an episode of SmackDown! participating in an angle with Jeff Jarrett.   Moolah’s appearance led to a slew of appearances, often working as part of comedy angles with her longtime colleague Mae Young.   The two found a new audience as they entertained the fans with their outrageous antics and even more impressive ability to still compete in the ring.   As the Women’s Title experienced resurgence during the Monday Night War, Moolah stunned the world by upsetting Ivory to become Women’s Champion once again.  

Over the next decade, Moolah would continue to appear on WWE television, defying Father Time and entertaining fans.   She continued to participate in the ring, taking bumps that were unthinkable for someone half her age.   Fans never knew when Moolah might show up but they knew they could always count on a laugh when she showed up.

It is highly unlikely (to quote the late great Gorilla Monsoon) that Moolah’s reign as the Women’s Champion will ever be duplicated.  In a male dominated industry, her dedication to her craft and unheard of longevity in the ring make her one of the sport’s true legends was nothing short of amazing.  (The recent documentary film Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar:   The First Ladies of Wrestling examined Moolah’s career (as well as several other lady wrestlers) and shows her battles in and out of the ring).  Moolah’s accomplishments stand alone whether you compare her to men or women.  She truly earned the nickname “Fabulous”.