The Main Event: The Moves and Muscle of Pro Wrestling

The Main Event: The Moves and Muscle of Pro Wrestling — page 7
For the next 30 years small wrestling companies grew popular in different regions of the country Many cities had their own promotions TV shows and stars These promotions were often part of a larger organization The country was divided between three large organizations the American Wrestling Association AWA in the Midwest the World Wide Wrestling Federation WWWF present day WWE in the East and the National Wrestling Alliance NWA in the rest of the country Wrestlers performed in one promotion and then moved onto the next The NWA was the biggest with its champion defending his title all over the world But WWE made the most money And it was about to make even more LADIES IN THE RING When most people think of pro wrestling they think of big burly men But women have enjoyed success in wrestling as well The first women's champion recognized by most promoters was Mildred Burke She held the World Women's Championship title from 1937 to 1954 But Burke was not allowed to wrestle in some states because they banned women s wrestling The most famous woman wrestler was Mary Lillian Ellison She began her career as a valet female manager but soon wrestled as the Fabulous Moolah She won her first title in 1956 was still champion in 1985 and won her last match in 2003 at the age of 80 Valets were common in the 1980s with WWE s Miss Elizabeth being the most famous WWE began calling women wrestlers divas in the 1990s Divas appear on both Raw and Smackdown Diva matches have also become a staple of PPV events THE RISE OF WWE The first cable wrestling show debuted first appeared on the TBS station out of Georgia in 1976 In the early 1980s the WWE under the leadership of Vince McMahon became the first 10 MAIN EVENT