Rise of a Star

[Old School Fan]

As promised...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Backstage in the locker room area at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Bruno Sammartino was going over some last-minute details for his main-event cage match against George Steele with his Studio Wrestling co-promoter and business partner, Rudy Miller, when they heard the sounds of a commotion nearby; they turned their heads and saw two arena security guards forcibly escorting a masked figure, who was struggling in the guards' grips and screaming in a decidedly female voice, toward the hallway.  "Let go of me, you pigs!" the masked woman yelled as she was escorted toward a chair in the staging area.  "You got no business using your Gestapo tactics on me!"

"Hey, what gives?" Bruno asked one of the guards as the woman was forced to sit down on the chair.

"This masked kook here ran into the ring a moment ago and tried attacking Renée Martel," one of the guards said while pointing out the masked woman.  "She didn't get far, though, because Renée took her down and then Claire ran in and the girls kicked the kook's ass before we came in and took her back here."

After hearing what happened, Bruno then turned to the masked woman.  "What's the matter with you, lady?" he admonished her while giving her a dirty look.  "You got no business running in and getting involved in the matches, or especially attacking the wrestlers!  What possessed you to do that anyway?"

"Spare me you patriarchal condescension!" the masked woman spat back at Bruno.  "You and your fellow male chauvinist pigs proved your hostile sexism against women by siccing your stormtroopers on me back there!"

Just then, Renée and Claire Lepage arrived on the scene and, spotting the masked woman, zoned in on her.  "Ah, there you are," Renée said as she pointed a finger at the woman upon approaching her.  "What's the deal with her?" she added, turning to Bruno with her question.

"Seems we got us a real prize winner here, Renée," Bruno said as he indicated the masked woman.  "She sounds a lot like a Berkeley grad from the way she talks."

Turning to the masked woman, Renée then asked, "Okay, what's with you running in and attacking me earlier?  What were you thinking?"

"Oh, here we go with you apologizing for the patriarchy and acting as a slave to them while you defend their sexism!" the masked woman said dismissively, unwilling to accept responsibility for her earlier actions against Renée in the arena.

"Hey, cut it with the feminist talking points crap, okay?" Renée countered tersely while pointing her index finger in her masked assailant's face.  "You're lucky you're not on your way to the hospital right now after what you tried to pull out there!  My friends and I dealt with big mouths like you back in Los Angeles a few years ago and you talk a big game, but ultimately, you and your type are all the same - you're all full of crap!  You claim to speak for all women, but all you do with your actions is set back the advances and the opportunities women have now and you make all women look bad by doing what you do!"

As Renée was verbally dressing down the masked woman, Johnny DeFazio, another one of the card participants, came along and witnessed what was going on.  "Hey, what's up with this?" Johnny asked.  When Renée and Bruno explained what had happened, Johnny then said, "Well, let's see what her deal is then," as he reached to remove the woman's black mask.

"Don't you touch me, you male chauvinist pig!" the masked woman snapped as she pulled back and tried to stand up, but the security guards forced her back onto the chair.

"Sorry, lady, but you lost the right to tell us what we can or can't do the moment you put your hands on another wrestler out there," Johnny told the masked woman point-blank as he then pulled off her mask and revealed her identity.  "Well, I figured as much," he then said with a smirk and a shake of his head as he recognized the woman.

"You know who she is, Johnny?" Bruno asked.

"I knew who she was the moment I pulled off the mask, she's a regular at the coffee shop I frequent for lunch on Fridays during my lunch breaks from work," Johnny admitted.  "She's a women's studies student from one of the universities around town and she always talks about her studies when she's in for lunch there."

"So that explains all the feminist rhetoric she was spewing," Renée then remarked.

Just then, Rudy Miller returned to the scene from the other end of the hallway after making a phone call.  "I just got off the phone with the police," Rudy reported.  "I told them about that masked woman disrupting the match and they're on their way here now to deal with her."

"Well, what do you know, more Gestapo on their way to stand up for the gender traitor and her male chauvinist pimps!" the women's studies student, not knowing when to keep quiet, mouthed off sarcastically.

"HEY!  I told you to shut it, didn't I?!" Renée snapped at the student while pointing at her, starting to lose patience with her.  "You're not the first person who's pulled a stunt like this on me either, and you're mouthing off with the same garbage my friends and I heard from your fellow feminists back in Los Angeles - and those people I had to deal with were all sent by the same person to cause trouble and were all fed the same lines by that person!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said the student, going into denial mode.

"No, I think you do," Renée countered.  "Did Fabulous Moolah send you to attack me?"

"Who?" the student, still in denial, then said.  "I never heard of her."

"The other woman who attacked me said the same thing at first before she got outed and 'fessed up," Renée pointed out.  "Your M.O.'s exactly the same as her and those feminists in L.A. - spouting feminist talking points, calling me and my friends 'gender traitors', targeting me with physical attacks, all of it."

"She knows what she's talking about, lady," Bruno then said to the student.  "I've talked with some of her friends - and even with Mildred Burke - and they all confirmed what she said, so I believe her way more than I believe you."

Soon after, Pittsburgh police officers arrived at the arena and came to the locker room area and, after taking statements from Renée, Claire, Bruno and others about the attack on Renée in the arena, arrested the student and took her from the arena into custody at a nearby precinct - and even then, the student refused to go quietly as she started mouthing off at the arresting officers as they took her away.  "So, you okay, Renée?" Bruno asked after the police left.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Renée said.  "I'm sure that woman won't forget tonight, though, after Claire and I gave her what she had coming for sticking her nose where it didn't belong.  What really bugs me about all this, though, is why Moolah would still think I'm such a threat to her that she resorts to stunts like this - along with what she pulled in her matches against me - to try to throw me off my game."

"Well, you pretty much answered that question when you made Moolah look like a green rookie in your matches with her," Claire pointed out, at which Renée nodded in agreement.

"Well, after this and after everything else I heard, there is one thing I'd suggest doing," Bruno then said.

"What's that?" Renée wondered.

"Travel with a bodyguard," Bruno suggested.

"Yeah, good point," Renée said with a nod, remembering that Mildred, her mentor and co-trainer, likewise had to travel with an escort in the late stages of her career due to the problems she had with Billy Wolfe.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following day, after returning from a tour through Hawaii, Fabulous Moolah was back at home at her Columbia estate and was in her home office tending to business when her desk phone began ringing.  After letting the phone ring twice, she then picked up the handset and answered, "Hello, Girl Wrestling Enterprises...  Ah, howdy, darlin', how're y'all doin'?  Good, doin' fine myself, just got back from Hawaii yesterday and I'm takin' a few days off before I get back on the road.

"So anyway, any news on that card in Pittsburgh last night?" Moolah added as she continued talking with her contact, who worked at Moolah's downtown office.  "How'd that girl I had you hire to go to that show and do a run-in on that Martel girl from out of the crowd do?"  She then listened as the contact gave her the news, and she soon developed a scowl when she heard that the women's studies student who had been hired not only failed to sideline Renée after the attempted attack, she had been beaten up by Renée and Claire in the ring and then arrested by the Pittsburgh police for the attack soon after Renée's match.

"Did you pay her bail and get her sprung afterward?" Moolah then asked.  After pausing to hear the answer, she then said, "Okay, fine - as far as her court date goes, get her a public defender, but as far as I'm concerned, she's on her own - she can pay her own fine and deal with the consequences."  After finishing the call and hanging up, the failure-intolerant Moolah then muttered to herself as she shook her head, "One thing I can't stand, it's bunglers who can't even get a simple job done that I ask 'em to do."

 

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena
August 3, 1970 - Montreal, Quebec

 

Len Shelley & Pierre Gagne fought Butch Morgan & Duke Myers to a time-limit draw.

Boris & Nikolai Petrov defeated Dominic DeNucci & André Carpentier when Nikolai Petrov pinned Carpentier.

In a non-title match, Canadian Women's Champion Michèle Richard defeated Suzanne Dussault* by pinfall following a spinebuster slam.

Jos & Paul LeDuc defeated Sugi Sito & Chin Lee when Lee submitted to a bearhug by Jos LeDuc.

Canadian Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Miss X & Black Widow defeated Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) to win the title, two falls to one.

⦁    First fall - Miss X pinned Lepage following a kneedrop.
⦁    Second fall - Martel pinned Black Widow following a flying forearm smash off the ropes.
⦁    Third fall - The match degenerated into a brawl between the two teams late in the contest; while one scrap between Lepage and Black Widow spilled out to ringside, Martel caught Miss X in a sleeperhold on the rebound from the ropes.  With the referee occupied by trying to break up the brawl between Lepage and Black Widow, however, Michèle Richard ran in from the back, got in the ring and blasted Martel from behind with a foreign object, dropping her archrival to the mat.  As Richard bailed out, Miss X, though still half-dazed by the sleeperhold, still had enough presence of mind to drop down on Martel for a pin attempt, right as the referee came in after successfully breaking up the fight between Lepage and Black Widow; the ref counted the pin by X on Martel, leading to the masked tandem getting the win and the title thanks to Richard's shenanigans**.

Two Out of Three Falls

Jacques Rougeau defeated Danny Lynch, two falls to one, when Lynch was disqualified in the third fall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Suzanne Dussault was created for this diary; the image representing her was created using AI image generation.

** This match marks the beginning of a buildup for an eventual showdown between Renée Martel and Michèle Richard, set to happen at some point in mid-autumn as a rematch from the bout back in March where Renée lost her Canadian Women's title to Michèle; the Canadian Women's Tag Team title switch here was set to facilitate upcoming plans for Renée, both with the WWWA World Championship she currently holds and other storyline events.

 

[Captain Kremmen]

On 8/29/2023 at 4:36 AM, Old School Fan said:

As promised...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Backstage in the locker room area at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Bruno Sammartino was going over some last-minute details for his main-event cage match against George Steele with his Studio Wrestling co-promoter and business partner, Rudy Miller, when they heard the sounds of a commotion nearby; they turned their heads and saw two arena security guards forcibly escorting a masked figure, who was struggling in the guards' grips and screaming in a decidedly female voice, toward the hallway.  "Let go of me, you pigs!" the masked woman yelled as she was escorted toward a chair in the staging area.  "You got no business using your Gestapo tactics on me!"

"Hey, what gives?" Bruno asked one of the guards as the woman was forced to sit down on the chair.

"This masked kook here ran into the ring a moment ago and tried attacking Renée Martel," one of the guards said while pointing out the masked woman.  "She didn't get far, though, because Renée took her down and then Claire ran in and the girls kicked the kook's ass before we came in and took her back here."

After hearing what happened, Bruno then turned to the masked woman.  "What's the matter with you, lady?" he admonished her while giving her a dirty look.  "You got no business running in and getting involved in the matches, or especially attacking the wrestlers!  What possessed you to do that anyway?"

"Spare me you patriarchal condescension!" the masked woman spat back at Bruno.  "You and your fellow male chauvinist pigs proved your hostile sexism against women by siccing your stormtroopers on me back there!"

Just then, Renée and Claire Lepage arrived on the scene and, spotting the masked woman, zoned in on her.  "Ah, there you are," Renée said as she pointed a finger at the woman upon approaching her.  "What's the deal with her?" she added, turning to Bruno with her question.

"Seems we got us a real prize winner here, Renée," Bruno said as he indicated the masked woman.  "She sounds a lot like a Berkeley grad from the way she talks."

Turning to the masked woman, Renée then asked, "Okay, what's with you running in and attacking me earlier?  What were you thinking?"

"Oh, here we go with you apologizing for the patriarchy and acting as a slave to them while you defend their sexism!" the masked woman said dismissively, unwilling to accept responsibility for her earlier actions against Renée in the arena.

"Hey, cut it with the feminist talking points crap, okay?" Renée countered tersely while pointing her index finger in her masked assailant's face.  "You're lucky you're not on your way to the hospital right now after what you tried to pull out there!  My friends and I dealt with big mouths like you back in Los Angeles a few years ago and you talk a big game, but ultimately, you and your type are all the same - you're all full of crap!  You claim to speak for all women, but all you do with your actions is set back the advances and the opportunities women have now and you make all women look bad by doing what you do!"

As Renée was verbally dressing down the masked woman, Johnny DeFazio, another one of the card participants, came along and witnessed what was going on.  "Hey, what's up with this?" Johnny asked.  When Renée and Bruno explained what had happened, Johnny then said, "Well, let's see what her deal is then," as he reached to remove the woman's black mask.

"Don't you touch me, you male chauvinist pig!" the masked woman snapped as she pulled back and tried to stand up, but the security guards forced her back onto the chair.

"Sorry, lady, but you lost the right to tell us what we can or can't do the moment you put your hands on another wrestler out there," Johnny told the masked woman point-blank as he then pulled off her mask and revealed her identity.  "Well, I figured as much," he then said with a smirk and a shake of his head as he recognized the woman.

"You know who she is, Johnny?" Bruno asked.

"I knew who she was the moment I pulled off the mask, she's a regular at the coffee shop I frequent for lunch on Fridays during my lunch breaks from work," Johnny admitted.  "She's a women's studies student from one of the universities around town and she always talks about her studies when she's in for lunch there."

"So that explains all the feminist rhetoric she was spewing," Renée then remarked.

Just then, Rudy Miller returned to the scene from the other end of the hallway after making a phone call.  "I just got off the phone with the police," Rudy reported.  "I told them about that masked woman disrupting the match and they're on their way here now to deal with her."

"Well, what do you know, more Gestapo on their way to stand up for the gender traitor and her male chauvinist pimps!" the women's studies student, not knowing when to keep quiet, mouthed off sarcastically.

"HEY!  I told you to shut it, didn't I?!" Renée snapped at the student while pointing at her, starting to lose patience with her.  "You're not the first person who's pulled a stunt like this on me either, and you're mouthing off with the same garbage my friends and I heard from your fellow feminists back in Los Angeles - and those people I had to deal with were all sent by the same person to cause trouble and were all fed the same lines by that person!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said the student, going into denial mode.

"No, I think you do," Renée countered.  "Did Fabulous Moolah send you to attack me?"

"Who?" the student, still in denial, then said.  "I never heard of her."

"The other woman who attacked me said the same thing at first before she got outed and 'fessed up," Renée pointed out.  "Your M.O.'s exactly the same as her and those feminists in L.A. - spouting feminist talking points, calling me and my friends 'gender traitors', targeting me with physical attacks, all of it."

"She knows what she's talking about, lady," Bruno then said to the student.  "I've talked with some of her friends - and even with Mildred Burke - and they all confirmed what she said, so I believe her way more than I believe you."

Soon after, Pittsburgh police officers arrived at the arena and came to the locker room area and, after taking statements from Renée, Claire, Bruno and others about the attack on Renée in the arena, arrested the student and took her from the arena into custody at a nearby precinct - and even then, the student refused to go quietly as she started mouthing off at the arresting officers as they took her away.  "So, you okay, Renée?" Bruno asked after the police left.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Renée said.  "I'm sure that woman won't forget tonight, though, after Claire and I gave her what she had coming for sticking her nose where it didn't belong.  What really bugs me about all this, though, is why Moolah would still think I'm such a threat to her that she resorts to stunts like this - along with what she pulled in her matches against me - to try to throw me off my game."

"Well, you pretty much answered that question when you made Moolah look like a green rookie in your matches with her," Claire pointed out, at which Renée nodded in agreement.

"Well, after this and after everything else I heard, there is one thing I'd suggest doing," Bruno then said.

"What's that?" Renée wondered.

"Travel with a bodyguard," Bruno suggested.

"Yeah, good point," Renée said with a nod, remembering that Mildred, her mentor and co-trainer, likewise had to travel with an escort in the late stages of her career due to the problems she had with Billy Wolfe.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following day, after returning from a tour through Hawaii, Fabulous Moolah was back at home at her Columbia estate and was in her home office tending to business when her desk phone began ringing.  After letting the phone ring twice, she then picked up the handset and answered, "Hello, Girl Wrestling Enterprises...  Ah, howdy, darlin', how're y'all doin'?  Good, doin' fine myself, just got back from Hawaii yesterday and I'm takin' a few days off before I get back on the road.

"So anyway, any news on that card in Pittsburgh last night?" Moolah added as she continued talking with her contact, who worked at Moolah's downtown office.  "How'd that girl I had you hire to go to that show and do a run-in on that Martel girl from out of the crowd do?"  She then listened as the contact gave her the news, and she soon developed a scowl when she heard that the women's studies student who had been hired not only failed to sideline Renée after the attempted attack, she had been beaten up by Renée and Claire in the ring and then arrested by the Pittsburgh police for the attack soon after Renée's match.

"Did you pay her bail and get her sprung afterward?" Moolah then asked.  After pausing to hear the answer, she then said, "Okay, fine - as far as her court date goes, get her a public defender, but as far as I'm concerned, she's on her own - she can pay her own fine and deal with the consequences."  After finishing the call and hanging up, the failure-intolerant Moolah then muttered to herself as she shook her head, "One thing I can't stand, it's bunglers who can't even get a simple job done that I ask 'em to do."

 

So, Moolah sent a feminist after her. '

The feminist did not have to physically attack Renee. She could have just bored her into submission by running her mouth.🙃

[Captain Kremmen]

11 hours ago, Old School Fan said:

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena
August 3, 1970 - Montreal, Quebec

 

Len Shelley & Pierre Gagne fought Butch Morgan & Duke Myers to a time-limit draw.

Boris & Nikolai Petrov defeated Dominic DeNucci & André Carpentier when Nikolai Petrov pinned Carpentier.

In a non-title match, Canadian Women's Champion Michèle Richard defeated Suzanne Dussault* by pinfall following a spinebuster slam.

Jos & Paul LeDuc defeated Sugi Sito & Chin Lee when Lee submitted to a bearhug by Jos LeDuc.

Canadian Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Miss X & Black Widow defeated Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) to win the title, two falls to one.

⦁    First fall - Miss X pinned Lepage following a kneedrop.
⦁    Second fall - Martel pinned Black Widow following a flying forearm smash off the ropes.
⦁    Third fall - The match degenerated into a brawl between the two teams late in the contest; while one scrap between Lepage and Black Widow spilled out to ringside, Martel caught Miss X in a sleeperhold on the rebound from the ropes.  With the referee occupied by trying to break up the brawl between Lepage and Black Widow, however, Michèle Richard ran in from the back, got in the ring and blasted Martel from behind with a foreign object, dropping her archrival to the mat.  As Richard bailed out, Miss X, though still half-dazed by the sleeperhold, still had enough presence of mind to drop down on Martel for a pin attempt, right as the referee came in after successfully breaking up the fight between Lepage and Black Widow; the ref counted the pin by X on Martel, leading to the masked tandem getting the win and the title thanks to Richard's shenanigans**.

Two Out of Three Falls

Jacques Rougeau defeated Danny Lynch, two falls to one, when Lynch was disqualified in the third fall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Suzanne Dussault was created for this diary; the image representing her was created using AI image generation.

** This match marks the beginning of a buildup for an eventual showdown between Renée Martel and Michèle Richard, set to happen at some point in mid-autumn as a rematch from the bout back in March where Renée lost her Canadian Women's title to Michèle; the Canadian Women's Tag Team title switch here was set to facilitate upcoming plans for Renée, both with the WWWA World Championship she currently holds and other storyline events.

 

Is there something going on with these masked ladies that I've missed or am not seeing?

[Old School Fan]

Back in Europe, meanwhile, France Gall finishes up her European tour...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gustl Kaiser Promotions @ Sporthalle Berg Fidel
August 14, 1970 - Münster, West Germany

NOTE: While other matches are understood to have taken place on this card, only the two matches below are known to have been documented.

European Women's Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

France Gall upset Françoise Hardy (C) to end Hardy's over six-year reign as champion* by pinning her with a crucifix cradle in the third fall to win the title after each wrestler scored a fall.

Ray Apollon went to a time-limit draw with Horst Hoffmann**.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* France Gall did not hold the European Women's title for long after her victory, as she vacated the title upon returning to Canada soon afterward.

** Horst Hoffmann was best known to wrestling fans in North America for his stint in the American Wrestling Association between 1973 and 1975, during which time he often teamed with Baron Von Raschke.

[Old School Fan]

On an off-topic note (while I'm working on a new behind-the-scenes diary entry)...

On 7/24/2023 at 1:42 PM, piperrulz said:

She's  A Rainbow. Classic Stones and a really different song.

 

On 7/24/2023 at 10:12 PM, smartman said:

2 really good songs for entrances.

Speaking of which - this dropped just a few days ago...  😎

 

 

[Old School Fan]

This latest behind-the-scenes chapter is something that should catch the interest of @kinnikuniverse (particularly near chapter's end)...

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

During her return home to Montreal, Renée Martel got news from Johnny Rougeau about a letter from France Gall, sent from her native France (where she wrote it while touring there) and delivered to Johnny's office; in the letter, she mentioned that she would be finishing her European tour in West Germany by mid-August and then catching a flight from Paris back to Montreal soon after, which she mentioned to Johnny to pass along to Renée and her friends.  Several days after the letter came, on the day of France's flight back to Montreal, Renée and Claire Lepage had travelled in Renée's car to Montreal-Dorval International Airport to await her arrival at the gate where her Air Canada flight would stop at the airport's international terminal.

After waiting for close to two hours in the terminal's public arrivals area, Renée and Claire saw the first of the Paris-to-Montreal Air Canada passengers coming from their plane into the terminal after going through their customs check.  Among the passengers was France, who recognized Renée and Claire right away as she saw them holding a hand-written sign identifying who they were waiting for.  "Renée, Claire, hi!" a delighted France exclaimed as she ran over to her waiting friends.

"Welcome back to Canada, France," Renée said with a smile as France came up to her and Claire and caught them both for a group hug.  "Long time, no see."

"Glad to have you back, France," Claire likewise said as she and Renée continued hugging their friend.

"It's great to be back," a pleased France said as she, Renée and Claire then started toward the baggage claim area to pick up France's luggage.  "Travelling around Western Europe and the United Kingdom to defend my World Women's Lightweight title for almost eight months was a real adventure, but it's good to be back at my home away from home," she added, referring to Montreal.

"So who'd you get to wrestle while you were over there?" Renée then asked.

Among a list of the girls she got to wrestle while in Europe, France named Françoise Hardy as a frequent opponent, facing her in England, West Germany and their native France.  "On the last day of my tour, I beat Françoise for the European Women's title," France pointed out as the girls continued walking.  "I mean, defending my lightweight title was good and all, but winning the European belt was the highlight of my tour."

"Ah, no doubt," Renée remarked.  "Are you keeping the title?"

"Nope, I vacated it before I left to come back to Montreal," France confirmed.  "Last I heard, the promoters in England are matching Françoise up against another opponent to fill the vacancy at some point - probably Mitzi Mueller, but they hadn't decided yet.  Oh, by the way," she added, "Françoise says hi and she's doing great."

"Good to hear," Renée said.  "Anyway, Johnny will be glad to hear you're back, since he's been a bit shorthanded in the women's division with All-Star Wrestling of late."

"Really?  What's going on with that?" France wondered.

"You remember Barbara LaMarche, right?" Renée asked.

"Sure," France said.  "Last I heard before I left for Europe, she and Claire got the Canadian Women's Tag Team belts back and I'd heard something about another run planned with Mildred Burke down in Los Angeles."

"That plan went down the drain a while back," Claire then said.  "We lost Barbara to retirement back in June while you were gone.  She injured her elbow against Fabulous Moolah here in February and she underwent physiotherapy to rehab her elbow back home in Quebec City, but she decided to hang up her boots and call it quits to concentrate on starting a family with her husband."

"To make matters worse, we found out not long after Barbara's injury that Moolah caused the injury during their match by purposely botching a sunset flip Barbara tried on her by refusing to co-operate," Renée added as the girls arrived at the baggage claim area.  "Bruno Sammartino confirmed it for us later on because he'd heard Moolah bragging about what happened at a show they wrestled at in Washington."

"That's terrible!" a shocked France exclaimed.  "How can she go and do something like that?"

"With Moolah, almost nothing's beneath her as far as dirty tricks go," Renée said, speaking from experience, causing France to shake her head in astonishment.  "So, did you eat while you were on your flight?" she then added.

"No, I ate at the airport in Paris before my flight, so it's been a while," France admitted.

"Okay, I'll call Johnny at his office and let him know you're here, then we'll go meet him there and then go out for dinner after that," Renée said before heading off to find a pay phone.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Soon after arriving from Dorval, Renée, Claire and France met with Johnny Rougeau at his office, where France briefed Johnny on how her European tour went, even showing him a list she compiled of the matches she wrestled in, including her defences of her NWA World Women's Lightweight title and her opponents, verified by the promoters she wrestled for.  "Nice work, France, I think both Mildred and Sam Muchnick ought to be pleased about how you did defending your title on your tour," Johnny said after he finished reading the list.

"Yeah, the tour went alright and it gave me the chance to go back and see family and friends back home in Paris, but it feels good coming back to Montreal," France said with a grin.

"Well, it's good to have you back too, France, to help fill the gap left by Barbara retiring last June," Johnny said.  "I'll let you have a few days off before you go back to work so you can rest up."  After sorting through some papers, he then continued, "Okay, Renée, on to you next - you've got quite a schedule ahead for you over the next little while."

"Anything special?" Renée asked.

"Actually, a lot," Johnny said.  "Mildred Burke called while you were in Winnipeg for Verne Gagne last month and asked about booking you for some events down in Los Angeles with the AGWA.  She wants you for a couple of TV tapings in Anaheim in September, on the 1st and the 15th, along with a house show tour, and Claire, you'll be going with her for that."

"Excellent, nice weather, visiting Disneyland and seeing the sights," Claire said with a grin, drawing giggles from Renée and France.

"Sure wish I could go with you guys," France quipped.

"No worries there, I think Mildred will book you to head down there at some point when I let her know you're back from Europe," Johnny said to France.  Turning back to Renée, he then added, "But there's another reason Mildred wanted you down in L.A. for the next while, Renée - she's been talking with the promoters for All Japan Women's Wrestling and she's arranged to have you go to Japan on tour during late September and early October to defend your WWWA title there."

Renée, who had heard rumors about plans to have her tour Japan after she won the WWWA title at the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament back in May, gasped in surprise at hearing the news, causing a stir among all three girls.  "For real?!  I'm going to Japan?" she piped up before she, Claire and France began talking among themselves excitedly.

"I'm just telling you what Mildred told me, and you'll have to get the details from her when you get down to Los Angeles, but I think it's a safe bet you'll be making your first trip to Japan soon," Johnny said.  "And there's more - after you return from Japan and come back to Montreal, I've got plans ahead for you with Michèle regarding your feud over the Canadian Women's title, and this is going to be big* because I brought this up with Mildred while I talked with her..."

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* What Johnny Rougeau's plans are for Renée after her trip to Japan will be revealed eventually, but what I can say - without spoiling anything - is that it's going to be another big event.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Old School Fan
Corrected link

[kinnikuniverse]

Yessir! Can't wait to see Renée discover this country, man. Just going around the hot spots, trying to find her way in tokyo and also interacting with Jumbo Miyamoto and Aiko Kyo! She'll be in for a big wake up call when she'll step into the rign and see just how stiff and crazy those joshis are!

That, and, who knows, maybe at a convenience store, she'll stumble upon an edition of Shonen Magazine to read Ashita no Joe or catch Astro Boy or the original Kamen Rider on TV!

[Old School Fan]

American Girls' Wrestling Association @ San Diego Sports Arena
August 25, 1970 - San Diego, California
Attendance - 13,150

 

Claire Lepage defeated Lorna Dale by submission with a figure-four leglock.

Judy Sowinski (with "The Queen" Mae Young") defeated Texas Red by pinfall following an airplane spin.

Shirley Hardman defeated Irma Acevedo by pinfall with a fisherman suplex.

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara (C) battled Patty Stevens & Paula Steele to a no-contest when both teams were disqualified in the third fall for excessive brawling after each team had won a fall.

NWA United States Women's Championship

Diane Syverson* (C) (with Mae Young) fought Mary Jane Mull to a time limit draw.

WWWA World Championship

Renée Martel (C) went into battle against Queen's Court member Georgia Hase (with Mae Young) in the main event.  Surprisingly, Hase battled clean with the champ for the first 10 minutes.  But when Renée started to overpower her, Hase began using her fists and feet, as well as all the other maneuvers not allowed by the rulebook.  After Martel turned the tide back in her favor, the end came when Renée delivered a series of precise dropkicks and a belly-to-belly suplex that put Hase down to the mat, scoring a title-retaining pinfall and win for Martel.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Diane Syverson defeated Judy Arnold to win the NWA United States Women's title on June 20, 1970 at a Big Time Wrestling event in Cincinnati, Ohio.

[The Blonde Bomber]

Glad the ref kept old Mae in check during the Main Event.

[sonny912]

Hey I just realized something, and this is based on how I know them from their appearances together during the attitude and ruthless aggression era, but aren't Moolah and Mae young best friends or something? Shouldn't Mae be working for Moolah and helping her schemes?

[Captain Kremmen]

On 9/15/2023 at 10:58 PM, sonny912 said:

Hey I just realized something, and this is based on how I know them from their appearances together during the attitude and ruthless aggression era, but aren't Moolah and Mae young best friends or something? Shouldn't Mae be working for Moolah and helping her schemes?

IRL, I read they were good friends. What does that say about Mae Young?

[sonny912]

2 hours ago, piperrulz said:

IRL, I read they were good friends. What does that say about Mae Young?

I'd say we have a spy or saboteur in out mist.

[Old School Fan]

On 9/15/2023 at 10:58 PM, sonny912 said:

Hey I just realized something, and this is based on how I know them from their appearances together during the attitude and ruthless aggression era, but aren't Moolah and Mae young best friends or something? Shouldn't Mae be working for Moolah and helping her schemes?

 

19 hours ago, sonny912 said:

I'd say we have a spy or saboteur in out mist.

Not ITTL, however - earlier chapters showed how Mae reacted to Moolah's actions to try to sabotage the AGWA (and in some cases, also get to Renée and her friends) in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

[Captain Kremmen]

I'm jonesing for more backstage posts and results. Please start posting ASAP! 😁

OSF - Here's a trivia question for you.

What big match did Gene Kiniski referee in the '80s?

[Theheel]

4 hours ago, piperrulz said:

I'm jonesing for more backstage posts and results. Please start posting ASAP! 😁

OSF - Here's a trivia question for you.

What big match did Gene Kiniski referee in the '80s?

Starrcade 83 Flair vs Race

[sonny912]

Holy crap, I just realized something else. Your the same guy that wrote that JCP Diary, Diamonds are Forever! How come that got cancelled?

[Old School Fan]

9 hours ago, sonny912 said:

Holy crap, I just realized something else. Your the same guy that wrote that JCP Diary, Diamonds are Forever! How come that got cancelled?

Actually, that's not me, that was @Pipers Pit and @Kimberly who co-wrote that diary.  Rise of a Star is my first diary attempt.

19 hours ago, piperrulz said:

I'm jonesing for more backstage posts and results. Please start posting ASAP! 😁

I got an AGWA TV taping post that's coming up in a bit, so stay tuned.  😎

Edited September 21, 2023 by Old School Fan
Link added

[sonny912]

3 hours ago, Old School Fan said:

Actually, that's not me, that was @Pipers Pit and @Kimberly who co-wrote that diary.  Rise of a Star is my first diary attempt.

I got an AGWA TV taping post that's coming up in a bit, so stay tuned.  😎

Oh sorry that's my bad. Thought you were the one cause your screen name was on one of the last updates.

[Pipers Pit]

Hey, glad you enjoyed it

[Old School Fan]

AGWA TV taping @ Pan-Pacific Auditorium*
September 1, 1970 - Los Angeles, California
Attendance - 6,450

Aired the weekend of September 5, 1970 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling:

Dark match

Terri Grayson defeated Janet Russ by pinfall following a fireman's carry slam.

Julie Patrick defeated Lorna Dale by pinfall following a dropkick off the second turnbuckle.

The Sisters of Love (with Tonette Kadrmas) defeated Texas Red & Laurie Reid when Sister Lavender pinned Reid following a double facebuster by Lavender and Sister Serenity.

Claire Lepage defeated Jen Scott by submission with a figure-four leglock.

AGWA Interstate Tag Team Championship

Patty Stevens & Paula Steele defeated Sally Vega & Lita Marez (C) to win the title when Steele pinned Vega following a powerslam.

NWA United States Women's Championship

Diane Syverson (C) (with "The Queen" Mae Young) defeated Marie Vagnone by pinfall in the TV main event following an airplane spin.

Aired the weekend of September 12, 1970 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling:

Dark match

Panama Franco defeated Carrie Lloyd by pinfall following a kneedrop.

Kim Blanchard (with Tonette Kadrmas) defeated Linda Terrell by pinfall with a schoolgirl rollup.  In a post-match interview with Dick Lane, Blanchard again began demanding a title shot against NWA World Women's Lightweight Champion France Gall, noting that she and Kadrmas knew Gall had recently returned to North America from her European tour.

Handicap match

Earlene Brown defeated Casey Andrews & Jessie Willard when Brown big-splashed and pinned Andrews.

AGWA Television Championship

Shirley Hardman defeated former Queen's Court stablemate Baby Rocco (C) (with Mae Young) to end Rocco's over year-long reign when, after Earlene Brown showed up to fend off attempted interference by Young, Hardman nailed the distracted Rocco with a cross-bodyblock off the second turnbuckle for the title-winning pinfall.  As Hardman took the title belt and went out to celebrate her victory with the fans post-match, an angry Rocco and Young began arguing with Brown while the latter stayed out at ringside.

WWWA World Championship

Renée Martel (C) defeated Judy Sowinski (with Mae Young) by disqualification in the TV main event when, as Martel had Sowinski tied up in the Alligator Clutch after battling back from behind, Paula Steele made an unexpected run-in from backstage and attacked Renée.  As Steele continued assaulting Renée post-match, Claire Lepage ran in from the back and attacked Steele, but Patty Stevens ran in moments later and jumped Lepage from behind as Martel and Lepage got a beating laid on them by the larger heel duo of Stevens and Steele while Young urged them on, until Earlene Brown ran in and chased Stevens and Steele out for the save for Renée and Claire.

Post-taping dark match
NWA North American Women's Championship

Judy Arnold defeated Ashley Sinclair (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) when Sinclair took another cheap out by escaping the ring as Arnold dominated the late stages of their match and high-tailing it back to the locker room area with her title belt, arrogantly taunting Arnold with the belt as the fans booed Sinclair for her cowardice in retreating from Arnold's challenge (Sinclair retains her title due to the countout).

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* The tapings for AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling were held at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles this week due to the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, the AGWA's regular home venue, being unavailable to use due to a convention being held at the arena that week.

 

[Old School Fan]

Meanwhile, across the continent earlier that night...

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Eastern Sports Association @ Halifax Forum
September 1, 1970 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

Leo Burke defeated Yvon Losier by pinfall.

Les Thatcher* went to a time-limit draw with Jack Pesek.

Canadian Women's Championship

Michèle Richard (C) defeated France Gall by pinfall following a spinebuster slam.

The Beast & Rudy Kay defeated Fred Sweetan & The Great Bolo when Beast forced Sweetan's submission with a bearhug.

Taped fist match

Archie "Stomper" Gouldie battled Eric Pomeroy to a no-contest when neither man could continue due to exhaustion and blood loss after nearly an hour of brawling.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Yep, the same Les Thatcher who later became a play-by-play announcer for Southeastern/Continental Championship Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and Smoky Mountain Wrestling and also was one of the original owners of the Heartland Wrestling Association.

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Old School Fan

[Old School Fan]

American Girls' Wrestling Association @ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
September 8, 1970 - Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance - 12,900

 

Terri Grayson fought Panama Franco to a time-limit draw.

Claire Lepage defeated Irma Acevedo by pinfall following a flying bodypress off the second turnbuckle.

Earlene Brown defeated Patty Stevens by pinfall following a big splash.

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara (C) defeated Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski (with "The Queen" Mae Young) when Sherill forced Hase to submit to an abdominal stretch in the third fall after each team scored a fall.

NWA United States Women's Championship

Diane Syverson (C) (with Mae Young) defeated Sally Vega by pinfall following an airplane spin.

WWWA World Championship

Renée Martel (C) defeated Paula Steele when Steele was disqualified for refusing to heed the referee's warning and five-count to release Martel from being tied up in the top and middle ropes and continuing to assault her after tying her up in the ropes.  After Steele clocked the referee with a right hook and sent him to the canvas post-match to continue abusing Martel, Claire Lepage ran into the ring and jumped on Steele's back to try to force Steele off of Renée, but Patty Stevens charged in moments later and yanked Lepage off, allowing Steele and Stevens to continue pounding on Renée and Claire until the blonde babyfaces were saved when Earlene Brown came from backstage to the ring, fought Stevens and Steele off and chased the heel duo out.

 

[Old School Fan]

AGWA TV taping @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena
September 15, 1970 - Anaheim, California
Attendance - 7,260

Aired the weekend of September 19, 1970 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling:

Dark match

Margo Vincent defeated Yolanda Ruiz by pinfall following an overhead suplex.

Patty Stevens defeated Dixie Grant by pinfall following a powerslam.

Gwen Miller defeated Elise Dorsett by pinfall following a dropkick off the second rope.

Paula Steele battered Claire Lepage, who was overwhelmed by Steele's size and strength despite putting up a spirited effort, for several minutes before finishing her off with a full-nelson slam to get the three-count.  Steele, not content with simply getting the pinfall, continued to abuse Lepage following the match and ignored the referee when he threatened to reverse the decision and disqualify Steele for continuing to beat on Lepage; moments later, Renée Martel came running to the ring to attempt the save, but Steele saw Martel coming and intercepted her, starting to beat on her as well for a few moments before whipping her to the ropes for a clothesline attempt - which Renée ducked before she countered with a dropkick on Steele, sending the brutish heel through the ropes and out to ringside as the fans cheered.  Post-match, Steele ran over and shoved the ring announcer aside at the timekeeper's table, then grabbed the arena microphone and yelled at Martel for interfering with her attack on Lepage.

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

The Sisters of Love (with Tonette Kadrmas) upset Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara (C), two falls to one, to win the title when Sister Lavender, who had just tagged into the match to relieve a battered Sister Serenity during the third fall (joined in progress due to TV time constraints), took advantage of Kadrmas distracting the referee to overcome the advantage Sherill and O'Hara held at that point and nailed O'Hara with a foreign object, then tagged Serenity back in and joined her to put O'Hara down with a double facebuster before the ref returned in time to count Serenity's pin of O'Hara while Lavender ran over to keep Sherill from breaking up the pin, followed by Kadrmas coming in to join the Sisters to celebrate their ill-gotten title win as the fans booed the heel trio.

AGWA Interstate Championship

Mary Jane Mull toppled Tonette Kadrmas (C) in the TV main event to win the title and end Kadrmas' 14-month reign with the championship by pinning Kadrmas following a German suplex.  The Sisters of Love attempted a run-in on Kadrmas' behalf during the pinfall, but they did not make it to the ring in time as Mull, who saw them coming, broke away after the pin and bailed out to ringside to avoid the hippie girls, while the referee followed Mull out, handed the Interstate title belt to her and raised her arm in victory as the fans cheered.

Aired the weekend of September 26, 1970 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling:

Dark match

Irma Acevedo fought Texas Red to a double-countout.

Sylvia Hackney defeated Addie Trent by pinfall following a dropkick.  Following the match, Dick Lane interviewed Paula Steele and Patty Stevens at ringside, where Steele issued a challenge to Renée Martel and Claire Lepage to face them in a tag team match later on the show, then surprised the fans in attendance when she introduced Mae Young and Baby Rocco as they appeared with them at ringside, at which point Young took the mic and announced that Steele and Stevens, the new AGWA Interstate Tag Team Champions, were the newest members of the Queen's Court, adding that Rocco would be joining Steele and Stevens to take on Martel and Lepage and a partner of their choice - if they dared accept the challenge.  Steele then took the mic again and added that she would make an example of Martel in the match, then - if Martel still had the WWWA World title after she returned from her upcoming Japanese tour - would challenge her for the title, destroy her and take the title, finishing by calling Renée an overrated wannabe beauty queen and warning her to have her health insurance paid up.

In a non-title match, AGWA Shooting Star Champion Marie Vagnone* defeated Shae Driscoll** following a belly-to-belly suplex.  After the match, Dick Lane was joined at ringside by Renée Martel and Claire Lepage for an interview, where Martel accepted Paula Steele's challenge for the six-woman tag team match, warning Steele and Patty Stevens that having Mae Young and Baby Rocco in their corner would do little to help them when she and Claire reveal who their partner would be at match time.

Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski (with "The Queen" Mae Young") defeated Samantha Sheridan & Serena Harris when Sowinski pinned Harris following an airplane spin.

AGWA Television Championship

Shirley Hardman (C) took the fight to challenger Jane O'Brien in an evenly-fought (and hard-fought) brawl before Hardman used a pumphandle slam to polish off O'Brien for the three-count.

Two Out of Three Falls

Renée Martel and Claire Lepage brought out Earlene Brown as their mystery partner to do battle with Patty Stevens, Paula Steele and Baby Rocco (with Mae Young) as the fan favorites defeated the Queen's Court trio (despite the latter having the size advantage on their side) in the TV main event, two falls to one.

⦁    First fall - Steele powerslammed and pinned Lepage, then taunted Martel following the pinfall and said that she would be next.
⦁    Second fall - Brown evened the match by pinning Stevens following a big splash while Martel and Lepage ran in to keep Steele and Rocco from interfering.
⦁    Third fall - Martel's team won by disqualification when, as Martel had Stevens tied up in the Alligator Clutch while Brown dealt with Rocco to keep her from meddling and took her out to brawl around ringside, Steele came in and blasted Renée with a foreign object handed to her by Young, then continued battering Renée post match (as well as belting Lepage when she tried making the save for Martel) until the crowd went wild as Shirley Hardman ran in and started brawling with Steele, climaxing with Hardman backdropping Steele over the top rope to the arena floor.  Moments later, Brown, having gotten the better of Rocco after bodyslamming her on the padded arena floor, went back into the ring as Stevens also bailed out and the Queen's Court beat a retreat, trading threats with Martel, Lepage, Brown and Hardman along the way.

Post-taping dark match
NWA North American Women's Championship

Penny Banner made her return to the AGWA and proved to be more than Ashley Sinclair (C) could handle, even with Sinclair having Tonette Kadrmas in her corner (along with the use of her cheating ways), as the champion, overwhelmed by Banner's domination late in the bout, bailed out to ringside, grabbed her title belt and made good on her pre-match boast that she would retain her title by night's end as she took the belt and took a powder back to the locker room area for the countout loss (Sinclair retains her title due to the countout).

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Marie Vagnone won the AGWA Shooting Star title (which had been vacated after then-holder Ashley Sinclair cashed it in for her impromptu challenge of then-NWA North American Women's Champion Joan Weston at the final night of Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament IV) by winning a battle royal on June 9, 1970 at an AGWA TV taping in Anaheim.

** Created for this diary as an AGWA enhancement talent.

 

[Old School Fan]

The newest issue of All-Star Wrestling's arena program/newsletter breaks the big news to Montreal wrestling fans regarding Renée Martel's upcoming plans...

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *