AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WRESTLERS 1970 -1980

Wrestlers profiles below, more coming soon

Sherri Sinatra	Patti Ryan	Mona West	Coming Soon
Coming Soon	Coming Soon	Coming Soon	Coming Soon

Sherrie SINATRA

Wrestler Name: SHERRIE SINATRA HEIGHT: 180cm WEIGHT: 73kg CAREER SPAN: 1972 to 2001 STATES WRESTLED IN AUSTRALIA: All States in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Penang.

MAIN OPPONENTS: Many opponents depending on the era including Mona West, Patti Ryan, Princess Tara, Sheila Fox, Amy Action & Donna Marie

BIOGRAPHY:
Sherrie can easily and correctly be described as a living legend of Australian wrestling. Having wrestled through four decades Sherrie Sinatra was a tough brawler through and through (word has it that Con Iaocovides still has scars on his back from a Sherrie fingernail rake from years ago). Sherrie was trained by Ken Fuhrer in Melbourne. Ken Fuhrer was responsible for the training of most Australian females during the early 1970's. Ken was a former amateur wrestler and professional stunt man who ran the A.K. Gym in South Melbourne.

In 1972 Sherrie's first opponent was Mona West. The two women wrestled each other in both Australia and New Zealand. Sherrie was the face on these occasions. Sherrie whose Italian good looks reminded everyone of "Cher" was tough and strong, always handling herself well in matches.

Entrepeneur Steve Rickard billed Sherrie as being from Italy on the New Zealand tour. The two women wrestled each other in Wellington and Hawera in 5 round bouts. On the Friday May 26th 1972 bout in Hawera which was described by present media as having the most scientific bout of the card. Sherrie won on a points decision after 5 rounds. (Mona got a pin in the first 2 rounds Sherrie equalized in the 3rd with a piledriver and then Sherrie won on points at the end of the 5th.)

Sherrie was the first Australian woman to be used by American promoter Jim Barnett along with Lil Patti Ryan. New Zealander Sabrina and Delilah also went on to work against Sherrie as early opponents. Sherrie was a heel by the time she made headlines wrestling against Delilah at Festival Hall in front of 7000 fans when she threw a chair at commentator Paul Jennings after the match and told him "Clap when I win next time Jennings."

Patti Ryan in the mid 1970's became one of Sherrie's main opponents and the two of them along with Donna Taylor and Jenny Demalias became "The Fighting Females for a tour of The Philippines for promoter Jack Rennie. On this tour Sherrie was billed as being both the Australian and New Zealand Champion. (refer to fighting females feature on this website)

Princess Tara became another mainstay opponent in the 1980's and early 1990's. Sherrie wrestled Tara in singles ladies matches as well as in mixed tag matches. Notable mixed tag matches saw Sherrie on the opposite side of the ring to Australian legend Mario Milano.

In the late 1990's Sherrie become involved in a feud against Sydney based wrestler Amy Action. Sherrie worked as special guest referee for a JKW show where Amy Action wrestled Raya Riot infront of 1100 people. Sherrie refused to count Amy's three count on Raya when Amy finished her off with a missile dropkick.

Sherrie and Amy became involved in a shoving match and Raya rolled Amy up to a fast three count from Sherrie after Sherrie had already done a stalled three count against Amy. The two women went on to feud in two Melbourne based promotions against each other.

Although Sherrie had been playing a heel for a number of years Melbourne booker who wrestled under the name "Psycho Kid Thunder" had seen Amy heel it up in Sydney and decided Amy should continue to heel. The two wrestlers clashed in front of very noisy crowds that were very heated against Amy's antics.
Sherrie's next opponent was Donna Marie from Wales who had relocated to Melbourne Australia. The two women faced each other a number of times until Donna's infamous forced retirement at the hand of a lengthy jail sentence that made headlines in the Melbourne newspapers.

Sherrie's favorite moves are traditionally heel brawling from hair throwing to solid forearm shots. In the 1990's Sherrie added a rocker dropper and a powerbomb to her arsenal of moves. Wrestling a large number of years as a heel Sherrie also possess a headbutt that has sent many men and women reeling in pain.

In 2000 Sherrie started training female wrestlers in Melbourne going on to wrestle one of her trainees Angel Starr in the ring in 2001. Sherrie has managed to keep herself fit and is largely injury free for the number of years she has contributed to the sport.

Sherrie's last match was in 2001, her trademark Cher/Cleopatra look being replaced by a new Blonde hair look. Sherrie hasn't been wrestling in 2002 largely through the dramatic changes on the local scene that saw many experienced wrestlers left the business as new promoters focused on training an putting on shows young teenagers. Sherri should never be counted out as never making a comeback however if the wrestling focus shifts as she can still be found in the gym working out on a regular basis.

A lovely lady with time for her fans outside the ring. Sherrie has great stories about her life on the road as a wrestler. On a more infamous note, a photograph of & a tribute to Sherrie Sinatra can also be found in one of Chopper Reed's books about his life.

Patti Ryan

Wrestling Names: Patti Ryan, Li'l Patti, Li'l Patti Ryan, "The Slugger"
HEIGHT: 163cm WEIGHT: 126lbs PROMOTIONS: various Australian

Training: Trained by Ken Fuhrer of the A.K. Gymnasium in Melbourne Australia.

BIOGRAPHY: Trained by Ken Fuhrer of the A.K. Gymnasium in Melbourne Australia (photograph below of her slammin her coach Ken in 1975) Irish / Australian Patti Ryan worked up a storm in the mid 1970s alongside Sherrie Sinatra.
Interviewed for the Australiasian Post April 24th 1975 shortly before her trip to wrestle in The Philippines Patti Ryan was described as 29 years old, standing 5ft 4", weighing 126lbs, glamorous with flaming red hair.

In the interview Patti stated she had been wrestling on and off since she was 16yrs old because her father was a wrestler before her and she was "brought up around it." Patti said she married and gave up wrestling for about 5 years because her husband didn't like it. Patti became a housewife to two children but said after her divorce she wouldn't be swayed from wrestling again by any man. To quote Patti "Husbands, I don't believe in them!"

Living in Collingwood, Victoria Patti went on in the article to list her wrestling injuries as including a broken wrist, a fractured ankle, & fractured ribs. Patti said that she fought because "it lets out a lot of frustration. I've got a bad temper always have had."
In another 1975 interview Patti described herself as liking wrestling because she was "the tomboy type."

In another first Lil Patti had previously been nicknamed "The Slugger" by inmates at Melbourne's Pentridge Prison when one of the promotions put on an exhibition tag team match there and Patti knocked out a man twice her size. Patti Ryan wrestled as a part of the "Melbourne Maulers" team on The Fighting Females tour of the Philippines in 1975. After retiring from wrestling Patti Ryan moved to Queensland.

Women's wrestling legend Sherrie Sinatra has fond memories of Patti Ryan being her favorite opponent in the 1970's with the two wrestlers having a long feud which included working for World Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and competing all over Australia including classic match ups with Sue Sexton and Sherrie Sinatra.

Patti Ryan passed away on Friday the 21st of January 2005.

Pictures Above: Left. Patti Ryan being thrown by the hair by Sherrie Sinatra. This picture is from 1975 and was published in the Australasian Post to advertise the upcoming tour to Malaysia. Right: Patti pins Sherri.

Mona West

Info on Mona coming Soon.

If you would like to see a wrestlers profile added to any decade in the hall of fame please send information for their inclusion as to why you feel they should be added to the hall of fame for that decade. Inclusion can be based on any of the following: Exceptional ability as a wrestler, Popularity either locally, nationally or internationally or Influence on the wrestling scene in that decade. For that reason submissions for inclusion can range from major promotions or Indy wrestlers.