WWE: An ode to wrestling’s favorite mistress

Professional wrestling isn’t like any other sport, neither are its fans. There is a reason why the fans of professional wrestling are known to be the most loyal, and the most passionate bunch of people you could ever meet. Unlike any other daytime soap opera or a “reality” show, professional wrestling fans root for their heroes, albeit the industry itself has been created on illusions and lies. In a scripted world, the emotions are real, and the love is true. Wrestling fans invest their time and money, unlike in other “entertainment” sectors, and stand behind their favorite heroes or villains. This is one of the biggest reasons why the superstars and performers love the fans, no matter how much they moan and complain about the product. In the end, the characters and the fans share a special bond, something that holds the entire industry together.

In such an intricate world, very few performers manage to captivate the fans for years and years together. The longevity of these superstars or performers depends on the kind of connection they share with their fan base. The wrestling fans, in spite of being loyal, tend to get tired of the same faces or characters, and hence, it takes something special, something extraordinary for someone to survive in this industry. When we talk about the men in professional wrestling, we talk about the likes of Harley Race, Bruno Sammartino, Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and the likes. But when it comes to their female counterparts, very few names come into our minds. Perhaps, the greatest name to grace the wrestling ring has been someone who was involved with the wrestling business for more than seven decades! She was someone who was loved and respected by everyone in the wrestling fraternity, someone they fondly called “Aunt”. She is undoubtedly wrestling’s favorite mistress, Mae Young.

Mae Young was unwell for a quite a while, and rumours were swirling around for weeks about her passing. Last night, those fears came true as Stephanie McMahon announced on Twitter that the greatest female grappler that ever lived passed away at the age of 90. Everyone, including Vince McMahon himself paid homage to one of the most beloved personalities in professional wrestling, although Mae left a lot of memories behind, and had touched a lot of lives in the process. They say that you’re never truly gone if you live inside the hearts of the people, and Mae Young was one of the very few to have done that.

To know more about Mae Young’s contributions to professional wrestling, we have to go back in time, to a period when professional wrestling was dominated by men with brute strength. Professional wrestling wasn’t “entertainment”; it was an art. Men took pride in making it seem “real”; to be fair, it was during the 1920s – 1930s that the promoters or bookers started to “script” the bouts, and even till the late 1930s, some of the matches were indeed real. Mae Young started her career working for the legendary Stu Hart, and then made her presence in North American wrestling circuit. Not only did she win NWA’s Women’s championship, but she was also crowned the first NWA United States Women’s champion!

Mae Young’s contribution to professional wrestling wasn’t just confined to her matches inside the squared circle. Mae Young started teaching the younger generation how to grapple, with The Fabulous Moolah being one of her students. Mae Young also made many appearances in the WWE since 1999, along with Moolah. She was involved in many memorable segments, including the infamous “Giving birth to a hand” segment with Mark Henry.

When you make a list of all the greats the industry has ever witnessed, Mae Young’s name will make it to the very top of the list. Her storied career, along with her legacy earned her a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, and her last ever appearance in the WWE concluded with Vince McMahon presenting her with the Divas championship, claiming that she would be “Forever the Divas champion”. Wrestling lost one of its crown jewels last night, but looking back at Mae Young’s accomplishments and what she has left behind, the fans and the wrestling family will forever be grateful to professional wrestling’s most beloved mistress.