Mae Young

Early life Johnnie Mae Young was born in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, on March 12, 1923. According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, historians have been unable to find any records that she began in 1939 and that her first match was most likely in 1941. Meltzer wrote, "In reality, Young is believed to have competed in seven decades, matching the record held by Lou Thesz. ... You really couldn't call [her] 2010 match anything resembling a pro wrestling match, even giving as much leeway as possible. While she always claimed to have started in 1939, at 16, historians researching have been unable to find any records of her wrestling prior to 1941, when she turned 18 and went on tour with Billy Wolfe's troupe." In 1968, she became the NWA's first United States Women's Champion. She wrestled for WWWF in two matches in 1969 and 1972. At this point it is unknown when Mae left the wrestling business and retired. In the late 70s, Mae worked in the real estate business in San Leandro California.

As an instructor, her students included Ric "The Equalizer" Drasin She worked for Fabulous Moolah's Ladies International Wrestling Association based in Las Vegas. On June 21, 1996, she teamed with Fabulous Moolah at LIWA Golden Girls Extravaganza event in Las Vegas where they wrestled Liz Chase and Lori Lynn to a no contest. She continued working with LIWA and even teaming with Moolah until 1998. She left the promotion and went to the WWF in 1999.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE (1994, 1999–2013) Early appearance and arrival (1994, 1999–2001) Before her official recognition by WWE fans, she made a cameo appearance being shown by the camera along with The Fabulous Moolah, Freddie Blassie, Lou Albano, and Nikolai Volkoff in the crowd of the WrestleMania X event on March 20, 1994.

Young made her official debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the September 9, 1999, episode of SmackDown!, where she was introduced with The Fabulous Moolah and later was attacked by Jeff Jarrett being put into the figure-four leglock. At No Mercy on October 17, Mae managed Moolah, who defeated Ivory for the championship – her last wrestling title before her death in 2007. At Survivor Series on November 14, she and Moolah competed in an eight-woman tag team match along with Debra and Tori against Ivory, Jacqueline, Terri Runnels, and Luna Vachon, with their team coming out victorious.

At the Royal Rumble event on January 23, 2000, Mae Young won the Miss Royal Rumble 2000 swimsuit contest and afterwards flashed her breasts. However, she was actually wearing a prosthesis and did not actually expose herself. At the end of 1999 and through 2000, Mae developed a storyline along with "Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry where she started dating him, Her child was eventually delivered and found to be nothing more than a bloody rubber hand. On April 2, Mae accompanied The Kat at WrestleMania 2000 to her match against Terri Runnels; Kat lost the match as Mae was distracted by kissing the guest referee, Val Venis, before attacking Terri and her manager, Moolah.

On December 24, 2001, Young and Moolah appeared backstage on the Christmas Eve edition of Raw, which marked their last appearance before returning in the summer of 2002.

Return and sporadic appearances (2002–2007) On the July 29, 2002, episode of Raw, Mae Young returned along with Moolah, to promote her new book: "The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle" before being attacked by 3-Minute Warning on orders of general manager Eric Bischoff. On the September 15, 2003, episode of Raw, she accompanied Moolah at her last wrestling singles match, in which she defeated Victoria before being attacked by Randy Orton and an infuriated Victoria. On June 15 at Bad Blood, Mae appeared during a segment along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff where she stripped herself in the ring and shared a passionate kiss with Eric Bischoff and performed a bronco buster on Bischoff before being stunned by Austin.

In 2004, Mae Young was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum as part of their Lady wrestler category class of that year. On the September 23 episode of SmackDown!, Young teamed with Moolah and defeated Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson.

On March 23, 2005, Moolah and Mae Young appeared on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show to promote their 2005 documentary in which they starred about their 1950s heyday along with several other lady wrestlers of their era. On January 8, 2006, at New Year's Revolution, Young re−appeared along with Moolah during a bra & panties gauntlet match where she stripped herself before being attacked by Victoria as she left the ring, which led to both women retaliate and rip off Victoria's shirt. At WrestleMania 22 on April 2, Young appeared along with Moolah during a backstage segment with Snitsky.

At WrestleMania 23 on April 1, 2007, Mae Young appeared during a backstage segment along with several other WWE Superstars and Hall of Famers. On the August 24 episode of SmackDown, Mae Young made a special appearance winning a Divas bikini contest. Mae's last appearance with Moolah before her death came at SummerSlam in August 2007, both appeared during a backstage segment along with Vince McMahon and Raw's general manager, William Regal, two months prior to her friend's death. On the December 10, 2007, episode of Raw's 15th Anniversary, Young was involved in a segment alongside Melina, Sunny, Hornswoggle, Triple H, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon.

WWE Hall of Fame, retirement and final appearances (2008–2013) On March 29, 2008, Young was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 class. At the ceremony, she was inducted by fellow wrestler and friend, Pat Patterson. In her acceptance speech, she spoke about her wrestling journey, commenting on the following:

The next night at WrestleMania XXIV, she appeared when she was introduced as part of the 2008 Hall of Fame class. On the 800th episode of Raw on November 3, Mae Young competed in a 16-Diva tag match, where she was pinned by Beth Phoenix.

At WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009, Mae Young appeared as the special guest time keeper for the 25-Diva battle royal, which was won by Santina Marella.

On the November 15, 2010, "Old School" edition of Raw, Young appeared alongside several WWE legends. Later that night, she was involved in a segment with LayCool, where the latter insulted her, resulting in a Falls Count Anywhere handicap match against LayCool, thus becoming the first person to wrestle over the age of 80, the first person to wrestle in nine different decades and her final stipulated wrestling match.

At WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, 2011, Mae appeared backstage during a segment along with The Rock and Eve Torres. During the May 2 episode of Raw, Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler mockingly presented Mae as a "birthday gift" to The Rock, who responded by kissing Young.

Mae Young appeared on SmackDown: Blast from the Past (April 10, 2012), kissing The Great Khali. and Raw 1000 (July 23, 2012), during which she was escorted by a man dressed in a giant hand costume, claiming to be her son. On September 24 episode of Raw, Mae appeared in one of Kane and Daniel Bryan's "Anger Management" skits. On the December 31 episode of Raw, Mae Young was warming up for her match with then-Divas Champion Eve Torres and began experiencing stomach cramps as it was later determined that she was once again pregnant and gave birth to "Baby New Year", played by Hornswoggle.

In her last on-screen appearance on the March 4, 2013, episode of Old School Raw, Mae Young's 90th birthday celebration was interrupted by CM Punk. Backstage, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and WWE executive Triple H presented her with a personally monogrammed Divas Championship belt.

Professional wrestling persona Little is known about Young's character before WWE, but it has been widely speculated that she was the first female wrestler to use a dropkick. She is remembered in WWE for her comedic performances. Among her finishing and signature moves included the elbow drop Another famous bump of hers was when she was attacked along with The Fabulous Moolah by 3-Minute Warning, where she was scoop slammed and diving splashed by Rosey and Jamal at the age of 79. and was also featured on the mobile games for iOS and Android, WWE SuperCard and WWE Champions.

Toys In 2007, Mae Young appeared on Jakks Pacific WWE Classic Superstars Series 18. On September 12, 2017, WWE unveiled an exclusive fashion doll done by toy brand Mattel of Mae Young.

In November 2020, a Mae Young action figure was included in the Mattel WWE Elite 81 series as a rare exclusive collector's one.

Film Young is portrayed by Francesca Eastwood in the 2024 movie Queen of the Ring.

Personal life In 1991, Young quit the wrestling business and moved to California to become a Christian evangelist and take care of her mother, who was sick. She later renounced her evangelist lifestyle.

Death Young's crypt located at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, South Carolina. It was photographed in 2012, two years before her death

On December 31, 2013, it was reported that Young had been hospitalized. The Charleston Post & Courier erroneously reported that she had died on January 9, 2014. Young's death was announced by WWE on the morning of January 14 after having died at her home in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 90. Young was entombed at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, South Carolina, next to the grave plot of her longtime friend The Fabulous Moolah and the latter's protegé Katie Glass. Young and Mildred Burke were the first women to wrestle in Canada. Her last match broke history when she was regarded as the oldest wrestler to ever have a match at the age of 87. Some of her notable trainees were WWE Hall of Famers The Fabulous Moolah and June Byers. On December 7, 1941, Mae was wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States entered World War II. WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson said: “There's been only one Mae Young, and there will be only one ever.” Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell describe Mae Young as the greatest woman wrestler ever.

She is often recognized by wrestling historians, journalists and colleagues as one of the toughest female wrestlers ever for her willingness to take hard bumps from the male wrestlers. Vince McMahon stated: “There will never be another Mae Young. Her longevity in sports entertainment may never be matched, and I will forever be grateful for all of her contributions to the industry.” In 2008, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross said: “When it comes to who was the toughest woman, there are no debates. Johnnie Mae Young is universally considered to be the baddest of the bad when it comes to women's wrestling.” After taking hard bumps from the Dudley Boyz, they describe Mae as: “The toughest man we had ever been in the ring with”. For her longevity, impact and contributions to the industry, she was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2004 and later into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Posthumous honors On January 14, 2014, the exact day of Mae's death, WWE pay tribute to her with a posthumous video which included highlights of her career, and another, six days later, on January 20. On January 16, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling dedicated their live Genesis episode of Impact Wrestling to the memory of Young. On January 17, SmackDown was also dedicated to her memory. Two weeks later, Shine 16 dedicated to her a ten-bell salute.

On March 20, 2017, WWE honored Young during their Women's History Month, a video was released where she was credited as the women pioneer of professional wrestling. WWE praised for her contributions to the wrestling business by Stephanie McMahon, the late Fabulous Moolah, Ivory, Beth Phoenix and Pat Patterson. On July 30, multiple superstars from the Mae Young Classic recognized and honored Mae's legacy and life, among them Lita, Jim Ross, Lacey Evans, Mercedes Martinez, Bianca Belair, Marti Belle and Vanessa Borne.

Mae Young Classic

On April 1, 2017, WWE announced that a women's tournament would be taking place in the summer of 2017 at a press conference during the WrestleMania 33 weekend and that there were going to be a total of 32 wrestlers competing.

The tournament was named after Young as an honor to her and it was exclusively for women from both NXT and the independent circuit, it took place on July 13 and 14, 2017, which aired on the WWE Network on August 28 (round 1) and September 4 (round 2, quarterfinals, and semifinals), and the final match aired live on September 12, also on the WWE Network. The finalists of the inaugural tournament were Shayna Baszler and Kairi Sane, with the winner being Sane on September 12.

In 2018, the tournament turned annual as it was announced a second event for the Mae Young Classic. The winner of the 2018 tournament was Toni Storm on October 28, and she was crowned at the first ever all women's pay–per–view WWE Evolution.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 Lipstick and Dynamite, Piss and Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling Herself Documentary

Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Ms. Edwards Episode: "A Person of Interest" 2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Herself Guest

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida NWA Florida Women's Championship (1 time) National Wrestling Alliance NWA United States Women's Championship (1 time) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 241 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2004 WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)