Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame Inaugural Induction in Philly

The Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame (WWHOF) www.womenswrestlinghalloffame.... was founded in 2020 by pro wrestling faction and current Six Person Tag Team Champion's the Pitbull's Mad Dogs of war made up of ECW original's Angel Orsini www.angelorsini.net , Pitbull # 1 Gary Wolf. Pitbull #3 "The Intimidator" Christopher Annino https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0030399/
, and NWA Hall of Fame Inductee Susan “Tex” Green and ECW original Pitbull #1 Gary Wolf. The purpose of the organization is to preserve the historic integrity of women's wrestling both professional and amateur. The Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame will also be working with individuals who are key members of the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame Team; they are Richie Sorrentino (Good Times Guaranteed), Christina Marie (AEW), Ken Raftery, Rusty Gilligan, Mike Rand (GLOW historian), and Candi Capoferri (Vice President).

The inaugural class starts with the first ever women's champion, Cora Livingston who was crowned champion September 7, 1910; when she faced competitor May Nelson. Followed by, in their own right: Mildred Burke, Beverly Shade, Marva Scott, Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo, Luna Vachon, Toni Rose and Donna Christanello as a tag team, Susan “Tex” Green, and the previously mentioned Carlene “Jazz” Begnaud and Rita Marie Chatterton, the first woman referee in WWF. In addition, Iryna Merleni, who won a gold medal in freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics, among countless other titles, is from the Ukraine and is a hero of her country outside of the sport as well.
GLOW will be honored for being a groundbreaking all female TV show and promotion. The Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame only recognizes the following individuals to represent this induction: original GLOW girl Jeanne “Hollywood” Basone, writer Steve Balance, African American GLOW pioneer Norniece “Justice” Norment, Lori Weathers (Ninotchka), Beckie Mullen aka Sally the famers daughter and Ursula Hayden (Babe the Famers Daughter), creator David McLane and they are posthumously inducting Emily Dole aka “Mountain Fiji”.

On December 17, 2022 at the event Icon's of Wrestling www.iconsofwrestling.net a once in a lifetime occurrence will happen at the legendary 2300 Arena aka ECW Arena in Philadelphia. Part of the 2023 Inaugural class will be prematurely inducted. This includes Carlene Begnaud aka “Jazz'' will be inducted along with Luna Vachon and Deborah 'Madusa' Miceli at the legendary Icons of Wrestling at the ECW arena on December 17, 2022.

"If it wasn't for amazing people like Richie Sorrentino of Good Times Guaranteed, Josh Baker from Excitement south entertainment, and Tim Embler at Icons of Wrestling. We would love to make the ECW arena our home one day and we are proud to be in association with Icon's of Wrestling" said Annino.

The education and history compiled by these devotees of the sport makes it possible for present and future generations to have a newfound respect and understanding for the women of wrestling. There is more to it than just costumes and attitude. There is a family, an art, sacrifices made and unsung heroes of silent and not so silent movements made for women’s rights and recognition. Representation of diversity during times when women and minority populations had no say. Their strength on the stage and off contributed to why these women are nominated.

Each potential nomination needs to have made a historical contribution in women’s wrestling that has been in existence since the 1800's. The origins of women’s wrestling began in the side-show circuits of carnivals, circuses and later in vaudeville/ burlesque shows. Although they will have a physical location, the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame was designed to travel, just like the origin of the genre it represents.
The symbol chosen to represent the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame is the goddess, Athena. Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare and handicraft. Athena is also the embodiment of strength, intelligence, strategy, resourcefulness and perseverance. The purpose and reason for this choice correlates with the vision that current CEO of New England Music Hall of Fame www.nemhof.com, Amanda Epstein, has a future mission for its representation for women’s movement projects. Her along with NEMHOF 2023 Inductee's Liz Borden and Alex Peterson of the groundbreaking band Precious Metal will be starting a women's movement.

The following eras will be considered per nomination: Pre Radio-Era (1800's to 1910’s) , Radio Era (1920's-1950's) , Early TV Era (1950's to 1970's) , Modern TV Era (1980's to 2000), and Internet Era (2000's-Present) .
The following categories will also be taken into consideration for each inductee:
-Pioneer: This category is reserved for female wrestling trailblazers who helped pave the way.
-Amateur: This category is reserved for female Olympians and female NCAA Athletes who have made a significant contribution to women’s amateur wrestling.
-Professional: This category is reserved for all female professional wrestlers who have made a significant contribution to professional wrestling.
-Non-Wrestling: This category is reserved for non-wrestlers which include referee’s, coaches, managers, valet's, promoters, executives, broadcasters, journalists, announcers, historians.

“This Hall of Fame will provide long overdue recognition to women who broke gender and racial boundaries over the decades, especially in the era when it was uncommon for women to work outside the home or maintain any kind of independence. The Hall of Fame will document the accomplishments of women such as Babs Wingo, the first African-American female professional wrestler, and her younger sisters Ethel Johnson, the first African-American female professional wrestling champion and Marva Scott, a legend in her own right. It's a privilege for me to play a part in helping these women to finally be recognized for their contributions to history.” said Chris Bournea, President of the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame https://www.chrisbournea.com/

Jazz’s pro debut was 1998 and was trained by Rod Price. She officially retired in 2021. She began her pro wrestling career after a short stint playing college basketball. Jazz is the longest reigning NWA women’s champion of all time. She held the title for a record 948 days. Both Jazz and her Husband wrestling champion Rodney Mack, own and operate Dogg Pound Dojo in Texas http://www.doggpounddojo.com Among her titles she is a two-time WWE Women’s champion, the Cauliflower Alley Club Women's Wrestling Award in 2020, Down south Championship Wrestling Louisiana State Championship, Heavy on Wrestling Women's Championship, National Wrestling Alliance World Women's Championship (1 time), National Wrestling Alliance Cyberspace, National Wrestling Alliance Cyberspace Women's Championship, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 13 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers (2012), Southwest Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship (1 time), Southwest Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame (class of 2020), Texas Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2012, Women Superstars Uncensored WSU Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marti Belle, WSU Hall of Fame (Class of 2010), Women's Extreme Wrestling, WEW World Championship (1 time) and two time WWE Women’s Champion. Jazz was also the second African American female to win a title in WWE history. Inducting her that evening will be her former tag team partner and opponent Angel Orsini.

Luna will be inducted posthumously and accepting on Luna’s behalf will be Gangrel. Luna was trained by Paul Vachon, Vivian Vachon, and The Fabulous Moolah. She was a second-generation wrestler who was known for her talent and heart for the sport. Some of Luna’s championships and accomplishments were: American Wrestling Federation Women's Championship (1 time), Cauliflower Alley Club Ladies Wrestling Award (2009), Great Lakes Championship Wrestling, GLCW Ladies Championship (1 time), Ladies Major League Wrestling, LMLW World Championship (1 time), Powerful Women of Wrestling Tag Team Champion (2 times) – with Hot Rod Andie, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 306 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1995, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Class of 2020, Sunshine Wrestling Federation, SWF Ladies' Championship (1 time), United States Wrestling Association Women's Championship (1 time), Wild Women of Wrestling Television Championship (1 time), Women Superstars Uncensored Hall of Fame (Class of 2011), World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame (Class of 2019), and Legacy Inductee, Universal Women's Hardcore Championship.

Deborah “Madusa”Miceli https://madusa.com/wrestling/ will be inducted by “Jazz”. “Madusa” began her career in 1984 and was trained by Brad Rheingans and Eddie Sharkey. Prior to her wrestling career she excelled in gymnastics. She retired in 2000 and became a pioneer in the world of Monster Truck sport. Her championships include All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling IWA World Women's Championship (2 times), American Wrestling Association Women's champion, Cauliflower Alley Club Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2020) , World Championship Wrestling Cruiserweight champion, World Wrestling Entertainment 24/7 Champion, WWF Women's champion WWE Hall of Fame inductee, Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year (1988), Pro Wrestling Illustrated Stanley Weston Award (2020) US Hot Rod Association Monster Jam Champion 2004, and Monster Jam Finals (2005).
“Our goal is to educate people in regards to the history of women’s wrestling. We are looking forward to having the induction at the 2300 arena at Icons on December 17, 2022, we look forward to doing more events there. So far it's looking like we are going to be traveling to Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, California, Boston, Connecticut, New York, and especially World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling in Ohio. We also want to go overseas and honor a lot of the European and Japanese wrestlers in the future” said Gary Wolf, co-founder of the Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame and Pitbull's Mad Dogs of War.

Pitbull's Mad Dogs of war is a pro wrestling faction consisting of ECW original's Red Dog Rodney Mack, Archangela Orsini , Mustafa of the Gangsters. Other's included in this is Christina Marie featured on AEW dark, The Intimidator Pitbull number 3 Christopher Annino, Former Ms. Fitness Candi Capoferri , The Amazon Slayer Sonya Pain aka Joy Nash , Nadia Steele .

The Women’s Wrestling Hall of Fame also will be inducting the first African American female wrestlers Marva Scott, Babs Wingo, and Ethel Johnson the first ever African American women's champion. Babs Wingo, the first African-American woman to integrate professional wrestling, in the 1950s, signing with the promoter Billy Wolfe. It is being discussed that the induction for these three pioneers will be in Ohio with World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling https://sites.google.com/wcpbtw.com with wrestling legend Bobby Fulton.

Icon's of wrestling will also be having a pro wrestling event called Battleground Wrestling tickets and Icon's tickets can be purchased here www.iconsofwrestling.net "Battleground is sold out. It's your destination. It's an experience. It's a revolution! December 17th Live at the Icons Fan-Fest witness three of the most influential women in history be honored LIVE during Icons! It's a moment you will never forget!" said promoter Timothy Embler.

Footage used that day will be part of the documentary "Circle of Champions" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6... check out the official trailer