In recent years, the ladies professional wrestling scene has exploded popularity–wise as well as in regards to the number of promotions pushing ladies-only wrestling. Technology has allowed female wrestling promotions to finally circumvent one major choke-point from the creation of the finished product to the point of consumption: TV deals.

In this respect, there were a couple of trail-blazing organizations, and it seems like these days several other promotions are looking to join the path of the iPPV, generally viewed as an integral part of the future of the women’s wrestling. Even as professional women wrestling takes up center stage though, appearing to have finally broken through, not just in regards to how the product is packaged and delivered but also in the actual quality of the action (the professional female wrestlers of today aren’t catfighters and they’re rightfully proud of that), freestyle or Olympic women wrestling has definitely been sidelined in light of a recent decision of the International Olympic Committee. Independent competitive mat wrestling has pretty much retained its not too glamorous side-show attraction status though. For someone who likes to see women wrestling, we can definitely affirm that the current day and age is the second coming of the golden age of professional ladies wrestling. There are shows running all the time, the top talent is getting booked and new names are not only allowed but sometimes even pushed into the squared circle. Professional wrestling is indeed THE contact sport most suited to women and we’re definitely glad the industry is slowly but surely realizing the potential behind this most spectacular form of sports entertainment.

   According to most experts, the golden age of women’s wrestling was during the 80s and early 90s (although some may argue we’re currently living the golden age of the iPPV too) . It was then that several women-only leagues were launched and had spectators glued to their TV screens for quite a few years to come, not only through the action itself but also through the glitzy, glamorous image they promoted. Obviously, the gritty and often brutal reality of road travel, back-stabbing on the part of the managers/promoters and various forms of abuse were also part of the picture, as showcased in flicks like "Below the Belt" and "Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling".
Despite the backstage filth usually so gracefully camouflaged by the glamour of the surface, who could forget the likes of Madusa Miceli (the ultimate expression of skill and dedication in wrestling), Wendy Richter, the Queen of the Ring, Heidi Lee Morgan, Rockin Robin and scores of others. Back in those days, these wrestling women knew how to put on a show. Whenever Sherri Martel strode to the ring in one of her shiny unitards, the air became charged around her with sensuality and a sense of admiration. Magnificent Mimi’s truly magnificent frame had spectators gasping for breath, as her in-ring prowess further underscored her awesomeness.
These women wrestlers dressed as women, fought as women and that’s exactly why they went down in history as the true cream of women wrestling. Ladies pro wrestling is indeed a sport experiencing not only a powerful recent resurgence, but one that has a rich history laden with all sorts of contradictions, intrigue and glamour and struggle to build upon.

   To those of you who have known us for years and visited our website, it is probably well-known that we have always steered clear of covering the mainstream of ladies professional wrestling, the "mainstream" being TNA’s and the WWE’s ladies divisions. The truth is however that we are not purists who "hate" this facet of the sport for one of the all-too-common reasons. We were simply not interested enough and not entertained enough by the above said vert to be bothered with it on any level. Our apparent "aversion" to Divas and Knockouts wasn’t the result of any sort of conviction or personal preference either: we have seen plenty of engaging and entertaining WWE or TNA ladies’ matches and of course plenty of subpar ones as well…it comes with the turf. We were just too taken with our passion for the history of the sport and for showcasing the talents of yesteryear.

That has changed a few months ago though, when it dawned on us that for better or for worse, TNA and the WWE are the "big leagues" of ladies professional wrestling, the top of the pops every Indy talent is trying to reach. Indeed, if all the ladies we enjoy seeing in action in the ring want to get to the WWE or TNA, who are we to disregard this aspect of the industry? Whether or not we agree with the recruiting practices of these companies, the exposure they give to their female talent and the way they structure their ladies matches, isn’t relevant at the end of the day. As the "top of the pops" of ladies professional wrestling, to say that they too are part of the ladies wrestling scene would be a humongous understatement…and as such, they definitely have a place on the pages of this website.

   At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that at least some – if not the majority – of our visitors have at one point purchased a women’s wrestling video from one of the numerous producers/online vendors who do indeed seem to be thriving these days. Those who have done several such purchases are pretty much guaranteed to have been left with a sour taste after at least one or two of the videos they bought, feeling like they’ve been cheated and swindled, having been pursued to pay for something they ended up not liking at all.
Indeed, being a highly visual form of sports entertainment, it is not easy for laymen to properly capture the intensity of ladies’ wrestling action on camera, not to mention the actual quality of the matches some of these producers have come up with. Nowadays, as women’s professional wrestling seems to become more and more popular with each passing month, tug-and-giggle choreography no longer cuts it in the ring.

As the owners of one of the web’s most prominent online women’s wrestling destinations, and as life-long ladies wrestling fans, we have obviously purchased quite an impressive amount of such videos over the years too, and we too have been through the feelings of disappointment when we laid eyes on a subpar finished product bestowed upon us after genuinely promising promo-hype. We have decided to share our experiences with the public though, reviewing some (and eventually a whole lot) of the ladies wrestling videos/matches/events we possess. We are obviously open to posting our visitors’ reviews as well, and this way we hope to eventually contribute to the qualitative bettering of the ladies wrestling industry.

   I clearly remember that back in the late 90s, when the internet was much smaller, as I searched for ladies professional wrestling through various search engines, the information available was extremely scarce. If I could find out something about one of the ladies, maybe a picture or two, I felt like I had genuinely accomplished something impressive. I also remember that back then, I was convinced that there were only two or three wrestling promotions featuring ladies’ bouts in addition to the men’s, and I was dead-certain that GLOW was the only women-only promotion ever.

As the information horizons began to widen though, my ignorance regarding the matter was exposed at first, and it then began to shrink at a breakneck pace. The 80s and 90s – the period generally considered the golden age of ladies pro wrestling – was rife with ladies only promotions and leagues, big and small.
Besides GLOW, there was of course POWW, not to mention the LPWA (Ladies Professional Wrestling Association) which was a head and a shoulder above the rest. There was FLAIR, WWOW and Ladies Major League Wrestling. The scene was very much alive, and it has been that way since.
Nowadays, we’re apparently in the middle of the second golden age of ladies wrestling: though the kayfabe era is gone and forgotten, we have innovative women’s promotions like Shimmer, Shine and WSU. The future is bright indeed!

   "The Amazon Empress vs The Princess …in the second match of the evening, the experienced and ring-savvy Amazon Empress took on the Pink Princess in a match which turned out to be more of a wrestling lesson than anything else. Clad in shiny black nylon-lycra shorts over black vertical-stripe pantyhose, the Empress enjoyed a handy weight advantage over the Princess, not to mention her superior ring-skills and strength. Wearing a shiny flower-print one-piece bathing suit, with shiny white pantyhose, the Princess looked like the definition of a lamb led to slaughter.

The match began with the Princess launching a desperate attack on the Empress through a series of breast-edge chops and a head-lock which flipped the big wrestlerette to the mat. Infuriated by the onslaught, the Empress soon turned the tide though, and it wasn’t long before she had the Princess screaming her submission in a particularly painful-looking STF".

Read stories like this in our ladies’ wrestling fiction section and feel free to submit your own creations, both prose and image/visual arts-wise. We are keen to feature your art and to give it maximum exposure on our pages.

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