Intergender wrestling
Encyclopedia
Intergender wrestling, also known as mixed wrestling is a type of professional wrestling
match between a man and a woman, and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team.
Intergender tag team matches are not to be confused with mixed tag team matches: there is a rule governing mixed tag team matches that restrict male and female competitors from attacking each other. If a tag is made, the other team has to automatically switch wrestlers, who should be of the same gender as the opposing team's legal wrestler. This type of tag team match continue to be popular in the present. On the other hand, male and female competitors in an intergender tag team match are free to wrestle and pin each other.
. Kaufman participated in several filmed staged matches of this nature and proclaimed himself the "Intergender Champion", issuing an open challenge to any female challenger who can defeat him. This is the beginning of a famous crossover feud between him and wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler
.
From the mid-1990s into the early-2000's intergender matches experienced a surge of popular interest, and were often introduced to the roster of events in major North American promotions such as Extreme Championship Wrestling
, World Wrestling Federation
and World Championship Wrestling
. Perhaps the most successful female wrestler who competed in intergender matches was Chyna. Regularly booked to wrestle her male counterparts during the WWF Attitude Era, she was a three-time Intercontinental Champion
, a championship traditionally only contested by men. Other women wrestlers who had notable wrestling feuds with their male counterparts, and even portrayed as their equals in the ring during that time period include Luna Vachon, Jazz
, Jacqueline
, Madusa
, Sable
and Lita
.
This match-type continues to meet controversy across North America as matches often straddle the line between sporting events and pure erotic entertainment, and also allegations over the depiction of gratuitous physical violence against hapless women.
In Mexican lucha libre
promotions, intergender matches are more common in tag team matches. however, both male and female wrestlers are restricted to attack those of their own gender. Some tag teams of this kind are siblings (such as Cinthia Moreno and Oriental), trained simultaneously with the same instructor, or even are on a real-life relationship such as boyfriend/girlfriend (Cibernético
and Estrellita) or, as an exceptional case, husband and wife (Billy Boy
and Faby Apache).
rarely feature women wrestling men directly, or even portraying them as equals. Instead, mixed tag team matches which first began to take place in the 1980s, are still common and very popular in the industry. However, a few smaller independent
promotions such as All Pro Wrestling
, IWA Mid-South and Combat Zone Wrestling
still feature intergender wrestling matches, featuring performers such as Cheerleader Melissa, Mickie Knuckles
and LuFisto who regularly compete with men in athletic regular matchups, and even in violent Hardcore matches and Deathmatches.
Certain adult entertainment companies produce staged mixed wrestling videos in apartments, incorporating erotic elements, and later sell them online
or at adult stores.
Mixed wrestling is often an arrangement between a man and a woman in private. This is also referred to as session wrestling. Ladies who provide session wrestling often have a martial arts or athletic background. Female bodybuilders frequently offer wrestling sessions. Their power enables them to overpower most men. The sessions vary from light fantasy wrestling to full competitive wrestling. The difference is the amount of resistance the man exerts during the wrestling session. Women who provide full competitive usually have extensive training in a martial art such as judo or brazilian jiu jitsu. The common outcome in such a match is the woman prevailing over the man. This is accomplished through joint locks, leg scissors or pins.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
match between a man and a woman, and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team.
Intergender tag team matches are not to be confused with mixed tag team matches: there is a rule governing mixed tag team matches that restrict male and female competitors from attacking each other. If a tag is made, the other team has to automatically switch wrestlers, who should be of the same gender as the opposing team's legal wrestler. This type of tag team match continue to be popular in the present. On the other hand, male and female competitors in an intergender tag team match are free to wrestle and pin each other.
History
For most of its history, women and men would rarely compete against each other in professional wrestling, as it was deemed to be unfair and unchivalrous. Intergender wrestling was first popularized in the late-1970s/early-1980s by controversial song-and-dance man Andy KaufmanAndy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
. Kaufman participated in several filmed staged matches of this nature and proclaimed himself the "Intergender Champion", issuing an open challenge to any female challenger who can defeat him. This is the beginning of a famous crossover feud between him and wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
.
From the mid-1990s into the early-2000's intergender matches experienced a surge of popular interest, and were often introduced to the roster of events in major North American promotions such as Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
, World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
and World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
. Perhaps the most successful female wrestler who competed in intergender matches was Chyna. Regularly booked to wrestle her male counterparts during the WWF Attitude Era, she was a three-time Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, a championship traditionally only contested by men. Other women wrestlers who had notable wrestling feuds with their male counterparts, and even portrayed as their equals in the ring during that time period include Luna Vachon, Jazz
Carlene Begnaud
Carlene Denise Moore-Begnaud is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored under the ring name Jazz...
, Jacqueline
Jacqueline Moore
Jacqueline DeLois Moore is an inactive American professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Madusa
Debra Miceli
Debrah Ann Miceli is a Monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is best known under her ring names Madusa or Alundra Blayze. Her early career was spent in the American Wrestling Association, where she held the AWA World Women's Championship one time...
, Sable
Rena Mero
Rena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment....
and Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
.
This match-type continues to meet controversy across North America as matches often straddle the line between sporting events and pure erotic entertainment, and also allegations over the depiction of gratuitous physical violence against hapless women.
In Mexican lucha libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
promotions, intergender matches are more common in tag team matches. however, both male and female wrestlers are restricted to attack those of their own gender. Some tag teams of this kind are siblings (such as Cinthia Moreno and Oriental), trained simultaneously with the same instructor, or even are on a real-life relationship such as boyfriend/girlfriend (Cibernético
Cibernético
Octavio López Arreola is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known under the ring name Cibernético, currently working for the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion in Mexico...
and Estrellita) or, as an exceptional case, husband and wife (Billy Boy
Billy Boy (wrestler)
Billy Boy is the ring name of Mexican Luchador or professional wrestler José Roberto Islas García . Billy Boy has worked for the majority of his career in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, where he most notably teamed with Alan and Decnnis to form...
and Faby Apache).
Modern mixed wrestling
Now active mainstream wrestling organizations like World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
rarely feature women wrestling men directly, or even portraying them as equals. Instead, mixed tag team matches which first began to take place in the 1980s, are still common and very popular in the industry. However, a few smaller independent
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
promotions such as All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling
All Pro Wrestling Gym Wars is a professional wrestling television program produced by APW which originally aired weekly on Saturday mornings on KFTY Channel 50 in the San Francisco Bay Area, beginning December 5, 2009. The series features the professional wrestlers of All Pro Wrestling competing in...
, IWA Mid-South and Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
still feature intergender wrestling matches, featuring performers such as Cheerleader Melissa, Mickie Knuckles
Mickie Knuckles
Mickie Lee Knuckles is an American professional wrestler who has worked for a number of major independent promotions, including Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Chikara and Combat Zone Wrestling. She also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name Moose...
and LuFisto who regularly compete with men in athletic regular matchups, and even in violent Hardcore matches and Deathmatches.
Certain adult entertainment companies produce staged mixed wrestling videos in apartments, incorporating erotic elements, and later sell them online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
or at adult stores.
Mixed wrestling is often an arrangement between a man and a woman in private. This is also referred to as session wrestling. Ladies who provide session wrestling often have a martial arts or athletic background. Female bodybuilders frequently offer wrestling sessions. Their power enables them to overpower most men. The sessions vary from light fantasy wrestling to full competitive wrestling. The difference is the amount of resistance the man exerts during the wrestling session. Women who provide full competitive usually have extensive training in a martial art such as judo or brazilian jiu jitsu. The common outcome in such a match is the woman prevailing over the man. This is accomplished through joint locks, leg scissors or pins.
See also
- Chyna - 3-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
- Madusa - 1-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion
- JacquelineJacqueline MooreJacqueline DeLois Moore is an inactive American professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
- 1-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion - JazzCarlene BegnaudCarlene Denise Moore-Begnaud is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored under the ring name Jazz...
- Luna Vachon
- Beth PhoenixBeth PhoenixElizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion....
- 1-time FNW Cruiserweight Champion - LuFisto - 1-time CZW Iron Man ChampionCZW Iron Man ChampionshipThe CZW Iron Man Championship was a professional wrestling title in the Philadelphia-based promotion Combat Zone Wrestling . It was established in 1999 at CZW's first show, Opening Night with Derek Domino as the first champion. Despite the name, the Iron Man title is not exclusively defended in...
, 1-time Stranglehold King of Death Matches Champion (2006) - Mickie KnucklesMickie KnucklesMickie Lee Knuckles is an American professional wrestler who has worked for a number of major independent promotions, including Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South, Chikara and Combat Zone Wrestling. She also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name Moose...
- 1-time IWA Mid-South Tag Team ChampionIWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship-Title history:-External links:*...
with Ian RottenIan RottenJohn Benson Williams is an American professional Wrestler better known by his ring name Ian Rotten. He has wrestled in Global Wrestling Federation , Extreme Championship Wrestling , and his own wrestling promotion IWA: Mid-South.-Early career:After becoming a fan of Dusty Rhodes and "Superstar"... - Shelly MartinezShelly MartinezShelly Leonor Martinez is a Mexican American model, actress, professional wrestler and valet. She is known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand under the ring name Ariel and for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Salinas as valet to The Latin American...
- 1-time EWF Tag Team ChampionEWF Tag Team ChampionshipThe EWF Tag Team Championship is the tag team professional wrestling title in the Southern California-based Empire Wrestling Federation independent promotion. It was established in 1996, when John Black and Johnny Love, The Ghetto Boyz, were declared the first champions. There have been a total of...
with Threat - Trish Stratus - 1-Time WWE Hardcore ChampionWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
- Traci BrooksTracy BrookshawTracy Brookshaw is a Canadian professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and professional wrestling referee, better known by her ring name Traci Brooks. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she has spent most of her career.-Early life:Brookshaw grew up on a...
- 1-time AWF Heavyweight Champion - LitaAmy DumasAmy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
- Cheerleader Melissa
- Rena MeroRena MeroRena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment....
- Katie LeaKatarina WatersKatarina Leigh Waters is a German-born English professional wrestler and valet, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Winter. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment, performing on its Raw brand under the ring name Katie Lea...
- Daizee HazeDaizee HazeDaizee Haze is an American professional wrestler. Whilst wrestling for many companies Daizee Haze is also the head trainer for the Shimmer Women Athletes promotion.-Training and Gateway Championship Wrestling:...
- AsyaChristie Wolf-Debut:In March 1999, Wolf began appearing as a head nurse to tend to Ric Flair when he was, in storyline, put into a mental instituition. She would then appear in several vignettes with him before becoming his valet upon his return to WCW...
- Sara Del ReySara Del ReySara Amato is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name, Sara Del Rey. She is a mainstay for Chikara and Shimmer Women Athletes. She has also appeared for many other independent promotions in the United States, including Ring of Honor, IWA Mid-South, All Pro Wrestling, as...
- MsChifMsChifRachel Collins is an American professional wrestler who is better known by her ring name MsChif. She has been wrestling since 2001 and in that time has worked for several independent promotions across the United States, with guest matches in England and Japan...
- Mickie JamesMickie JamesMickie Laree James , better known simply as Mickie James, is an American professional wrestler and singer of mixed Native American-Caucasian descent, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is a former two-time TNA Women's Knockout Champion.James began her professional...
- Mercedes MartinezMercedes MartinezMercedes Martinez is a American professional wrestler, currently performing for Shimmer Women Athletes, as well as numerous independent promotions including World Xtreme Wrestling, Women Superstars Uncensored, and Full Impact Pro....
- April HunterApril HunterApril Hunter is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and fitness and glamour model. She has appeared in many publications, from MuscleMag International to Playboy Magazine and even has her own comic book series, Code Red by Pickle Press.-World Championship Wrestling :In...
- Jillian HallJillian HallJillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian...
- Falcon - 1-time current SSW Diamonds Champion