The baddest women in wrestling

Wrestling was a men dominated sport for the longest time. Some women would be seen in the 1920's but not as wrestlers but as card girls. This was a way to make the sport feel like boxing. The first real shot women would get to be the stars of the sport would be during world war two. The men who had lead the sport up to this point were off fighting, thus women had the chance to show their skills. This would be the start of many women promotions and be the jump start to the women's revolutions.

Mae Young was the first star to come out of this revolution. Her career started in 1939 after she was beat in a shoot match. Mildred Burke beat Young in a few seconds however Billy Wolfe saw something and told her she should become a wrestler. Within two years, May was in Charlotte, North Carolina training with The Fabulous Moolah and Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Reportedly, Ed said quote, "I don't like girl wrestlers, women should stay in the kitchen, but after seeing you, you was born to wrestle." This by today standards is a stupid remark to make, but it must have gave Mae Young motivation to keep showing men what she was made of. A few months after this conversation took place she was the best talent in the country. She would wrestle under the names "The Queen" and "The Great Mae Young"

By the 1950's, she is working for Mildred Burke at WWWA, an all women's wrestling promotion. In 1954, Mae and Mildred both travel to post-war Japan. They're the some of the only women to do so as professional wrestlers from the US. Mae Young was a very talented woman, and between the 50's and the 70's she would win her fair share of titles. NWA Florida Women's Championship, NWA United States Women's Championship and NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship with Ella Waldek. She would later work for the WWE in the 90's but none of the story lines were much to talk about. However, when she was with the company she became Miss Royal Rumble and would make it into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Both of these are huge accomplishments but it was her legacy that would lead to The Mae Young Classic in 2017. This would be a 32 women tournament that would showcase the best the world has to offer as far as women wrestling. This would lead into the second annual Mae Young Classic that would conclude at the first ever WWE all women's Pay-Per-View called Evolution.

Mae Young was a innovator not just for the sport of wrestling but for women's sports around the world. At a time when women were seen as nothing but wife's, nurses, teachers and mothers, she made the world see her as a bad ass woman who didn't take no for an answer. Her dedication to the sport would make the whole world take notice and would pave the road for others to follow. She was an amazing individual and we're lucky as fans to have her legacy still molding how we see female wrestlers today.