MAE YOUNG (1924-2014): Given how much I've written in the past about the WWE's problems with so many wrestlers dying young**, it's worth paying tribute to Mae Young, who passed away yesterday at the age of 90. Young started as a "girl wrestler" at age 15 in 1939, and remained active with occasional appearances even until the past few months, nine consecutive decades of performing. By the end, she was the much-beloved Tough Old Broad of the organization, willing to take a bump, make a joke, show up for a bikini contest, do what it took to entertain the fans. This tribute video will give some flavor for why she was so beloved.
** One which seems to have abated over the past few years with increased attention to the PED-painkiller nexus.
End of an era (esp. since we lost Moolah back in '07).
ReplyDeleteI was going to get into the whole Moolah-Mae story, but didn't want to distract with the whole retirement story for which I've never been quite sure if I'm reading more innuendo into it than I should.
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