WOW Women OF Wrestling promotion. 2000-2001
When: October
2000 to March 2001.
Where: Originated in United States and was a Network
Syndicated TV show with one Pay per view entitled "WOW Unleashed"
Promoter: David McLane previously of the all female syndicated
wrestling television program GLOW
Major Players/Talent: Danger (Elle Alexander ),Riot (April
Littlejohn), Terri Gold (Heather Millard), Jungle Grrrl (Erica Porter), Lana
Star (Lana Kinnear)
Trainers: Selina Majors (formerly known as Bambi) & Thug (formerly
Peggy Lee Leather)
Announcers: Lee Marshall, Bobby Heenan, David McLane
Before the year 2000 David McLane, the president of WOW, was best remembered in the the world of female wrestling as the founder and creator of the 1980's women's wrestling promotion "GLOW" (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.) In the year 2000 David McLane pumped up on the success of female action genre hits "Tomb Raider", "Charlie's Angels" and "Xena", ventured forth with another attempt to capture a share of the TV wrestling market with "WOW". (Women of Wrestling)
In an interview with
AskMen.com Bobbi Billard who wrestled under the name "Summer" of the Beach
Patrol. (WOW's "Baywatch" inspired tag team) described the audition that she
attended for WOW. "I went to the Great Western Forum with a what the heck
attitude. I ended up making the final cuts out of almost a thousand hopeful
participants. I later learned that I threw the medicine ball the farthest
out of all the girls that auditioned! I guess I learned a thing or two when
I was a varsity shot-putter in high school."
There was not a lot of time between the auditions and when the women were
to start performing in televised matches. Wrestling fans and wrestlers alike
will be the first to tell you that it can take a number of years and a huge
amount of dedication for a wrestler to become a polished performer and it
helps if you have a knowledge and love for wrestling in the first place.
Monty Ashley (montykins.com) in an article described WOW as "amateurish"
and stated that "Even other wrestling fans look down on me for watching it."
Wow took on only two established and experienced Indy women wrestlers. These two women were also used as trainers for WOW. Bambi became the "Selena Majors" character (pictured) Pegggy Lee Leather (who had worked both matches for the then WWF in America (now WWE) and for WWWA in Japan) was renamed "Thug". Both women had worked previously for McLane in his POWW promotion (Powerful Women of Wrestling). Despite the obstacles that faced WOW. There were a few women that were up to the giant task of getting up to speed real quickly for the cameras. Jungle Grrl (Erica Porter) was a noticeably powerful athletic woman who rapidly developed. She appeared to be more aggressive in the ring and developed good mic skills. Riot became a huge hit with the fans as her character didn't seem as unnatural or stereotyped as some of the other characters and Danger had a great ring presence, and with working a basic repertoire of moves, remained to look strong despite her inexperience.
A number of the other women also
showed promise for the small amount of time they had spent training whilst
others looked clearly out of their depth. The women were not often given the
credit for how they were developing though.
Scott Keith for example in "The SmarK Retro Repost - Women Of Wrestling "
on the 07.28.02 did a scathing report on the WOW "Unleashed" Payper view and
wrote such comments as "Jane Blond v. Tanja (Warrior Woman). Jane would be
your James Bond clone (again, notice how Dean Malenko plays that sort of
character as a parody, while Jane is supposedly an actual secret agent).
They manage to **** up LEAPFROG, and Jane goes to an armbar. Well, they
didn't repeat the spot, I’ll giv‘em that." Now Summer slam 89 has a Jimmy
the Fly Snuka v's Ted Dibiase match that has practically the same mistake
and the two wrestlers involved in that match had years of experience over
either of the two women involved in this matchup, and Summerslam was much
more widely watched but for some reason it doesn't get the same amount of
criticism.
American all women promotions that
have started have continuously tried to start out big where the longest
running women's promotions in Japan have worked on establishing themselves
and building up a following through a number of years with constant work,
touring and training. Lana Star talked about training 4hours a day, 5 days a
week in preparation of the WOW show, but compared to the Japanese women that
train 6hrs a day on a more intense program for up to a year to get a "pro
debut" the differences become obvious and like it or not the wrestling fans
will naturally compare.
Bobby Heenan was used as a commentator at "WOW UNleashed". Interesting in
an interview with Bobby Heenan with wrestlingobserver.com Bobby stated that
he felt that GLOW was the reason such a hard time getting over. Whilst
Heenan was trying to defend WOW's position and an argument for why they
should be given a chance to a large number of WOW's critics McLane had
simply made another version of "GLOW", including regurgitating a few of the
gimmick characters.
WOW's first run syndicated program premiered the week of October 2, 2000 on 100 stations across America. WOW was a syndicated television show where the company involved (in this case the sponsors of WOW) were paying for their TV spots. Whilst there were claims that there were wrestlers that one could "relate to", the actual promotion presented its viewers with jailbirds, dominatrix, movie star guises, TV character rip-offs and a wild assortment of eccentric stereotypes that one would find it hard to relate to.
On a positive note
to McLane he kept to a family brand of entertainment that did not take
advantage of the women and place them in demeaning purely t&a fights. McLane
obviously tried to stick to a cheese ball style of "girl power" that one
associates with Charlie's Angels and other pop culture female heroines.
The fault was probably in that there were too many obvious copies (e.g.
Warrior Woman/ Xena) as opposed to new ideas for female action stars to
grab our imagination and why cheer on a copy when you can watch the real
thing.
WOW Unleashed
On February 4, 2001
WOW broadcast their PPV - WOW Unleashed. "It was make it or break it time
for WOW" for many. Although the payperview had a great live atmosphere and
some very dedicated fans by this time it wasn't enough to help. By May 2001
the company had run out of money and didn't return for another tv season.
There was talk of a comeback with Gene Simmons of the band KISS stating he
was trying to put together some financial backers to revive the promotion.
More recently Press releases suggest that McLane is still trying to revive
the show. WOW Events LLC is now a StereoVision-McLane Enterprises Inc.,
joint venture company. Press releases are discussing the possibility of a
Women Of Wrestling World Tour, WOW television series, and WOW pay per view
events. The talk of WOW's return has been ongoing since its demise. Mclane
has made no secret of his ambitions to get the promotion running again. The
main problem wrestling fans had with WOW was that the women were picked
through an audition process that seemed to not choose any women with a
wrestling background.Only a small number of the women were wrestlers before
the promotion began (namely the trainers Selina and Thug).
Most of the
wrestlers from WOW quickly left the game in pursuit of other fame vehicles
once the show was canceled and they realized they weren't being offered
contracts from theWWE. If WOW was to return most of the women have not
worked on developing their wrestling skills in the past few years. (The
notable exception would be Erica Porter as Jungle Grrl.)
This forms one of the main questions about a WOW revival. Would they go for
the same formula and wrestlers that haven't developed a desire to excel in
wrestling? or what changes would they make to try to capture a share of tv
wrestling audience?
THE TOUGH GIRLS: RIOT AND DANGER
RIOT and DANGER,
these girls didn't stay strictly in character but injected some life of
their own into them making them a bit more believable. The two girls were
also amongst WOW's better in ring wrestler's.
RIOT
Riot was meant to be "The heavy metal chick". Brandishing a baseball bat to
wipe out her opponents Riot was slated as a heel but very quickly developed
a strong fan favorite base. Riot stood out in WOW as a wrestler of great
potential in the group and a crowd favorite. At "Unleashed" she produced one
of the moves of the night when she did a corkscrew elbow off the top rope,
reminiscent of a similar one by Debbie Malenko. Riot's elbow on the night
was only perhaps rivaled by Jungle Grrrl's splash off the top of a ladder
onto Beckie the farmer's daughter. Riot was popular with viewers and seemed
more of a natural with what she was doing. At the end of the year Riot won
the WOW award for the best wrestler.
April Littlejohn the woman behind Riot made her metal gimmick more
personalized as one would expect a veteran to do rather than the extreme
gimmicks are lot of others uncomfortably played. Since WOW ended April
Littlejohn has been doing theater, stunt and TV work.
DANGER
Danger was a big, athletic wrestler and stuntwoman.
Her finisher was the Rock bottom known as the "Danger Drop". Danger's
gimmick was a weapons master but she never really pushed it. Her character
like Riot's appeared to be more individualized and she became a more generic
tough girl.
Danger was heavily pushed due to her tremendous ring presence. Her moves
were basic but you noticed her the moment she came out. Her interviews were
good and by her third match with WOW she was going about challenging for the
WOW title.
After WOW Elle Alexander (Danger) has gone back to stunt work and was also
in the 2001 "100 Centre Street, Hostage"
LITERATURE / pop TV CULTURE INSPIRED
Jungle Grrrl Erica Porter was WOW's answer to Tarzan. Erica Porter aka Jungle Grrrl not only looked very athletic during WOW but she obviously worked hard to improve with every match she had. Jungle Grrrl was one of the best wrestlers in WOW and was given a push as such. Jungle Grrrl looked solid with favorite moves including a splash and a diving head. After WOW finished up Erica took a while off to recover from a shoulder injury but then returned to the ring to work the Indy circuit. As Jungle Grrl Erica had a catchphrase "Don't hunt what you can't kill." and if WOW was to return her more advanced experience now might just make those words ring true. Since WOW Erica also scored a small movie role alongside Randy Savage in the first Spiderman movie and continues to pursue both wrestling and acting.
Jane Blond Agent Double-0 Heaven, was an English secret agent in the mould of James
Bond. The girl behind the character Ella Carter from London England (Jane
Blond) worked on the professional dance circuit before venturing into
wrestling. The physicality of dancing helped prepare her for WOW. Jane
Blond had an impressive missile dropkick she called the "Kick of Death",
which she usually got good height with and was right on the mark.
The girl behind the character showed a lot of promise in the ring for the
small amount of experience that she had. When WOW finished Ella continued
with an acting career in both England and America doing TV commercials and
theatre. In her spare time Ella expressed enjoying many sports in her spare
time including kenpo karate, kickboxing and snowboarding.
Heather Steele Wow's "tool time" gal came complete with accessory belt reminiscent of the "Tool time gals" on TV's "Home Improvements with Tim Allen. Heather was beaten up in the "WOW Unleashed" PPV managing little offense against "Law and Order.
Tanja the Warrior Woman The costume was straight out of the popular TV show Xena. In fact there was nothing original about this character what so ever which made her a hard character to be interested in. The woman behind the gimmick was possibly the worst wrestler at the "WOW Unleashed" payperview, Tanja may of had an outfit and look very reminiscent of Xena but she was minus her great moves, power and sidekick.
Phantom Based on "The Phantom of the Opera" The Phantom was not seen for long in WOW. The woman behind the character was Violinist Lynnette Thredgold a talented musician as well as a competitive world-class “natural bodybuilder bodybuilder. Phantom Lynette has her own website where you can listen to her music and see her Phantom gallery. http://www.lynnette.com
Jacklyn Hyde Combine a "Jeckle and Hyde" book character with a half man half woman from an old circus poster and you had Jacklyn Hyde. Jacklyn's outfit was split into two different ones straight down the middle to indicate her split personality. Under her real name Vasilika Vanya Marinkovic Jacklyn has done theatre work also. Vasilika has a website and states she has a regular 9 to 5 job now since Wows demise.
HARLEY'S ANGELS
Main foes for Thug were Selina and Terri Gold. Whilst EZ Rider and Charlie Davidson were at war against the prison pair of Caged Heat. WWF fans and Indy fans will remember Thug as her more well known ring name "Peggy Lee Leather." The veteran wrestler was also one of the company's trainers and last word she was still training wrestlers.
COPS AND ROBBERS
LAW AND ORDER (Nikki Law & Kristy Order) Little was seen of Law and Order in WOW. The gimmick was basically that of two policewomen that had gone bad. Nikki Law wrestled in a singles match on the WOW 'unleashed" payperview against Hammerin Heather Steel. Nikki came to the ring carrying a night stick that she used to attack her opponent.
CAGED HEAT Caged Heat were a tag team with a prison gimmick. First WOW Tag team champions, the team consisted of Loca & Delta Lotta Pain. The pair were from the Nevada State Correctional Facility. At WOW "Unleashed" Pay per view Caged Heat took on Harley's Angels for the World Tag Team titles. Delta and Loca brought in new girl Vendetta to take care of Thug during the bout.
beauties from other lands
The ASIAN INVASION The Asian Invasion worked as jobbers that gained fan sympathy due to always being the underdogs. Rather ironic considering that Japanese women wrestlers are considered the best in the world. A small Asian beauty Jade was the perpetual underdog who never managed to score the victory. In tag matches Jade formed "The Asian Invasion" with Lotus. The pair were not successful as a tag either in winning. At WOW "Unleashed" payper view the audience was introduced to Jade's grandmother. The story was that Jade wanted to prove herself by winning for her grandmother. Jade was still unable to win even with her grandmother their to cheer her on and the "Asian Invasion" maintained there losing streak. Although given a stereotyped gimmick neither wrestler possessed any martial arts knowledge and skill that may of made these characters work and become popular as with the Japanese women wrestlers from such promotions as GAEA.
FARAH and PARADISE
Farah the Persian Princess had only basic moves and
was the tag team partner of Paradise. Neither wrestler stood out in the
wrestling department. Paradise was a "tropical" girl though no direct
reference is given to where she is from.
Boom Boom the Volcano and Caliente
Boom Boom turned into a decent wrestler during her
time in WOW but unfortunately was given a bad name. She was larger than a
lot of the other model type figures they hired and looked solid in executing
her moves. Although decent she was not in Reggie Bennet's class of wrestling
of larger girls. Caliente was the Latin character of WOW and became very
popular. Caliente came out in a Latino style skirt and danced a "Mae West"
hooche dance on her way to the ring. Caliete's finisher was the Mexican
Surfboard.
the beach girls
BEACH PATROL A "Baywatch" inspired tag team consisting of Summer and Sandy. The women were both good looking but always remained on the lower end of wrestling ability in the promotion. The women were used consistently as mid card wrestlers. Both women moved on to look for other "fame" opportunities after the shows demise with Tamie Sheffield (Sandy) becoming a movie actress who stars in Intolerable Cruelty with George Clooney. Bobbi Billard (Summer) is a bikini model whose own website doesn't really match the WOW family image
LANA STAR Lana had a "Hollywood girl" gimmick, very Pamela Anderson style. In fact Lana would be the publicity hungry version of the stars personal life as apposed to one of the tv role versions like Beach Patrol are. The blonde bombshell stopped matches to fix her hair and powder her nose. Lana was the "over the top starlet. She claimed to be the executive producer and titled WOW "The Lana Star Show." The character was also know for "star" temper tantrums where she would hit other wrestlers with mirrors and other items to keep the attention on herself. Despite the characters antics Lana was one of the favourites with the audience. Wrestlers linked to Lana in story included Poison and Patti Pizzazz who were both her assistant at one time. Lana's full name is Lana Kinnear. After WOW Lana signed up for a pilot for a new wrestling show called CRUSH as a character called Beverly Hills. The pilot however didn't seem to take off. Lana had a "Hollywood girl" gimmick, very Pamela Anderson style. The blonde bombshell stopped matches to fix her hair and powder her nose. Lana was the "over the top" starlet. She claimed to be the executive producer and titled WOW "The Lana Star Show". Wrestlers linked to Lana included Poison and Patti Pizzazz who were both her assistant at one time.
THE ALL AMERICAN GIRLS
TERRI GOLD Terri became the first WOW champion. Terri's finisher was the "Perfect 10" (moonsault). Terri has the typical fitness model tanned look and came from a fitness background. Better known as Heather Lee Millard Terri was Dylan's stunt double in the wrestling scene in "Charlie's Angels Full Throttle" movie and has gone on to do "The Beauty Show.
SELINA MAJORS Selina is better known to wrestling fans as "Bambi" Selina was one of two wrestling veterans in the troupe and a trainer of the other WOW women. Her character was more that of a traditional wrestler with a lot of the characteristics that people were familiar with from "Bambi" present. Her look has not changed in many years of wrestling and as "Bambi" she would push the Southern "charm."
other WOW WRESTLERS
Although an amateur wrestler or shoot fighter gimmick are often common in wrestling based on the pro wrestler's background WOW instead went for sport gimmicks that show no reference to in ring ability. Randi Rah-Rah and Patti Pep Two cheerleader gimmicks as done so also previously in GLOW. These pair were once a tag team called "Team Spirit." After an extended absence from WOW, Randi returned at the "Unleashed" PPV wearing an eye patch to go with her cheerleader costume.
Slam Dunk Slam Dunk as the name suggests was a basketball gimmick, though how it was suppose to relate to wrestling is anyone's guess. The girl who wrestled as Slam Dunk concentrated on talking and acting a lot during the matches playing a heel.
Roxy Power "The Total Athlete" Roxy was never really defined as excelling in any sport. Her gimmick was never clearly defined but they pushed her strength that would lend to a power lifting background. Natalie T. Yeo (Roxy Powers) appeared in the first Spiderman film after WOW finished.
The Country Connection
Beckie the Farmer's Daughter
& Bronco Billie.
Billie did not appear as either confident with her gimmick or as a
wrestler. In tag matches Billie was often the one beaten up whilst Beckie
did the save. Billie used as her finisher the bulldog and never really
developed as a wrestling talent. Beckie on the other hand was handed a
gimmick that David Mclane had used in other promotions but she managed to
pull it off. Beckie carried the tag matches and had.
The Disciplinarian The Disciplinarian had a gimmick of a teacher from the board of education. Kristen Davidson who played the Disciplinarian appeared in the first Spiderman movie.
Ice Cold & Poison Ice was a street brawler. Although classed as a loner Ice was teamed with Poison. Ice stated herself "I like leaving people out in the cold." The futuristic costume of Ice Cold gave an individual look to her
Wendi Wheels Wendi although a decent brawler had a wrestling race car driver a gimmick like one previously used in the WWE with Spark Plug Holly.
