Remembering Moolah

Lillian Ellison, better known by her alias, The Fabulous Moolah passed away over this weekend. A true legend, Moolah is given credit by Beth Phoenix, Tammy Sytch, Victoria, and many others as being the reason that they have had such successful careers in the world of professional wrestling.

The first woman to hold both the NWA and WWF women's championships, Moolah grew up idolizing another legend in Mildred Burke. Ellison debuted as Slave Girl Moolah, but later went on to become dominant under her more well-known Fabulous name. Her first World title reign begin in the mid 1950's, and she would hold the Women's world title on and off all the way until the 1980's. Revisionist WWE history suggests she never lost the title during that 30 year period, and while that's not true, the amount of time she didn't hold the belt was a period of weeks.

The first real professional wrestling "screwjob" occured when Moolah regained her title by beating Wendi Richter. She would dominate for two more years. Moolah dissapeared as the Women's championship lost steam in the U.S. In 1995 she became the first woman in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Moolah began making semi-regular WWE appearances in 1999, and actually captured the World title again at the age of 76. Moolah wrestled her last televised WWE match against Victoria on her 80th birthday. After defeating my favorite diva, she received an RKO from Legend Killer Randy Orton.

WWE had the following to say about Moolah:

"WWE is saddened by the passing of Lillian Ellison, who was known to sports-entertainment fans as Hall of Famer Fabulous Moolah. She passed away last night in Columbia, S.C.

In the world of women’s wrestling, there will always be one irrefutable legend that stands head and shoulders above the rest: The Fabulous Moolah. She was the longest reigning champion in the history of her chosen sport, or any sport for that matter. And with more than 50 years in the business to her credit, she established a legacy that will never be forgotten, making her name synonymous with female wrestling."