Fabulous Moolah : The Most Hated Woman in Wrestling? Visiting Her Burnt Down House and Grave
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 Published On May 16, 2024

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Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah, a American professional wrestler who 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 Rogers. She won the NWA World Women's Championship in 1956 and was the most prominent holder of the title for 28 years.

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 1984. Ellison was marketed by the WWF as holding the record for the longest title reign by any athlete in any professional sport. According to WWE, she was also the first WWF Women's Champion and held the title a total of four times.

In addition, Ellison was a prominent trainer and promoter in women's professional wrestling, but other female wrestlers have accused her of financial and sexual exploitation. In the 1990s, she returned to the WWF in a comedic role with longtime friend Mae Young. Ellison became the first woman to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995 and became the oldest champion in the history of professional wrestling when she won the WWF Women's Championship at age 76, in 1999. In 2010, WWE recognized her as the 43rd best wrestler ever.

For decades, both prior to and after her death in 2007, women wrestlers have come out of the woodwork to question not only Moolah’s jealous monopolization of the NWA Women’s Championship, but her work ethics as well. For someone who left Billy Wolfe for his own abusive tendencies and mistreatment of women’s wrestlers, Moolah seemed to only take the worst of Wolfe’s lessons with her when she left.

From a business perspective, Moolah was arguably the most successful women’s wrestling trainer in the country, if not North America. Girls flocked from all of the country to work with her. But they soon found out that it was a long way to the top if you wanted to go through Moolah. It was ironic that for a woman who began her career as “Slave Girl Moolah”, she made almost all of her “girls” into slaves themselves. The girls had to stay on Moolah’s compound in quarters that she rented out to her trainees and stars – they also had to pay their own utilities. And they only got paid what Moolah felt like paying them. She took anywhere from 25% to 50% off their booking pay as a “finder’s fee”, and even then, she was notorious for skimming more off the top for herself. Women were constantly discovering they’d earned far less than they’d been promised for an appearance. And while Moolah controlled the NWA Women’s title, she would let the promoters she booked her girls with control over the women’s matches on their card – and it was often determined by what the girls offered in exchange. This horrible abuse of power wasn’t just something that Moolah was aware of, but something she seemingly encouraged and promoted.

Ellison died on November 2, 2007, at the age of 84 in Columbia, South Carolina. According to her daughter Mary, the possible cause of death was a heart attack or blood clot related to a recent shoulder replacement surgery. Ellison is buried in a grave plot at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, South Carolina.

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