Life Begins At 77 - Mae Young, wrestler - Brief Article - Interview

The WWF's golden girl, Mae Young, plans on taking bumps for many years to come

HIGH-IMPACT MOVES AND bumps that seem to defy death are common in professional wrestling. Jeff Hardy's swanton bomb off the top of a 12-foot ladder onto Buh Buh Ray Dudley at the WWF's Wrestlemania on April 2, is one recent example of the acrobatic maneuvers displayed by pro wrestlers.

But even with the common, high-risk spots, it still shocks fans when they see a woman involved. And when 77-year old Mae Young of the WWF gets put through a table or flattened by a clothesline, it's even more amazing. What fans may not realize, however, is that Young has been taking bumps for 61 years--and she plans on doing it for years to come.

Oklahoma, circa 1939

When Young started wrestling professionally in 1939 at the age of 15, the native of Sand Springs, Okla., was already tough and talented. She competed on the boys' high school wrestlingteam and played on Tulsa's national championship softball team.

Eventually Young blazed a path in a business that early on didn't necessarily welcome women in competition. Her pro career began when Mildred Burke came to Tulsa to wrestle Gladys "Kill 'em" Gillem. Young approached the promoter and boldly asked for a match against Burke, who was the top name in the small world of women's wrestling at the time. She didn't get the match, but she was given a tryout. Two years later she left home at 17 and began life on the road as a pro wrestler.

In the early 1940s, wrestling was a male-dominated sport. But with World War II raging, Young helped women take advantage of the opportunity by expanding their role in the business.

"We worked in a lot of different territories, and some weren't even open to girls," Young says. "Mildred Burke and I, and Gladys `Kill 'em' Gillem and Mae Weston, opened up a lot of the states for the girls."

Young became a top draw by feuding with Burke. In 1954, she and Burke were among the first female wrestlers to tour post-war Japan. She also trained women to follow in her footsteps. Her most famous pupil is the Fabulous Moolah, who still works in the WWF.

"Moolah is one of the finest girls in the business," Young says. "I taught her how to wrestle, and she's going strong. We're doing good together. I'm thrilled to death about it and so is she."

Although Young continued to perform, the popularity of women's wrestling diminished by the 1970s.

Still going after 61 years

Sixty-one years after she started, Young is still doing things that defy the odds in the wrestling ring. She's spending her golden years being power bombed off a stage [by Buh Buh Ray Dudley on March 6], "giving birth" to a hand [on "RAW" on February 28] and performing skits in bed with "Sexual Chocolate" Mark Henry [February 14].

Young doesn't let her age act as a hindrance; she embraces it.

"I have never thought of my age as any barrier, because I feel I can do anything these 15- and 16-year-old kids can do," Young says.

By doing so, she has bridged the gap between the time wrestling was "wrestling" to its current incarnation of "sports entertainment."

"When I first started it was tough," Young says. "You had to know how to wrestle. I beat most of the girls I came in contact with--and some men too."

Young said she prefers today's style of wrestling.

"I used to go into the ting and wrestle two-out-of-three fall matches, 90 minute time limits," she says. "That was the going thing then. If it wasn't 90 minutes, it was 60 minutes. Now, you go in there for just a few minutes and that's it. It's a lot easier payday."

Young says that besides the expected bruises, she's never been seriously injured. She credits her longevity to hard work and the advice wrestling legend Ed "Strangler" Lewis gave her when she was younger.

"God has blessed you with the ability to be in this business without even half trying," Young recalls Lewis telling her. "So it was quite a compliment to me, because I feel that I was just born to be a wrestler and entertain people."

Young is `game for anything'

Besides the shorter matches and backstage skits Young participates in, some fans have expressed concern that the WWF is exploiting her. Case in point: Young exposed her "puppies" (which were actually a fitted prosthesis) at the Royal Rumble on January 23. But Young has a different take on the controversial storylines.

"I've been a professional wrestler all my life, and I love the wrestling business," she says. "I'm game for anything. Today it's an entirely different ballgame. You have to be an athlete, but it's entertainment.

"Vince McMahon is one of the finest men I've ever known and he hasn't exploited me at all," she continues. "He asks me every time that we go to do anything: `Do you feel uncomfortable doing this? If you do feel uncomfortable, we won't do it.' Vince is not forcing anybody to do anything."

Young is just happy to be doing the thing she loves.

"Several people have said to me, `You're going to get killed in that ring,' "Young says. "Do you know what I say to them? `Best way to go, because at least I'm going out doing the thing I love.' I would like to see all the senior citizens take the attitude that, `Hey look, I'm going to live forever,' instead of sitting down in a rocking chair, waiting for the morgue and creeps to come pick me up. They're going to have to catch me."

One would think that throughout her 61 years, Young would have seen it all. But recently she experienced something special.

"I've wrestled for so many years, but I'd never wrestled in Madison Square Garden," Young says. "I was at the Royal Rumble, and that's the first time I ever appeared there. Vince gave me the opportunity to do it, and I was thrilled to death."

And don't count Young out of the ting any time soon. She wants to continue to perform as long as she can.

"My grandmother lived to be 113," she says. "I'm planning on being in the ring when I'm 100. That would be something, wouldn't it? When I'm 100, I plan on going in the ring and taking bumps and doing everything you see me doing now."

Somehow it's hard not to believe her.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group