Line #2 Wrestling/MaeYoung


1	[[quoteright:622:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bztq1ztczndutodyxos00njrmlwjjzwetyweznwy4yzqxyjy5xkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymta2njy2nzq0_v1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:622:''THE'' CoolOldLady of wrestling!]]
3
4	Johnnie Mae Young (March 12, 1923 – January 14, 2014) was an American {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er. An influential pioneer in women's wrestling, she helped increase its popularity during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and training many generations of wrestlers. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada, and won multiple titles in the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance.
5
6	Beginning in 1999, Young had a high-profile second career in the Wrestling/{{WWE}}, being part of a recurring comedic duo with best friend Wrestling/TheFabulousMoolah in appearances on WWE televised events. One of her more infamous moments was when she began a "[[InsistentTerminology storyline]]" where she dated Wrestling/MarkHenry, including an announcement that Young was pregnant. Her "child" was eventually delivered and found to be nothing more than a bloody rubber hand. In a more badass storyline, Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys, specifically Bubba Ray Dudley, performed a powerbomb on Young through a table twice in consecutive episodes of ''Raw'' - the first being in the ring and the second being off the entryway stage. Young was 77 years of age at the time, but expressed enthusiasm for the stunt. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 and in 2017 the WWE held the Wrestling/WWEMaeYoungClassic, a special all-woman worldwide invitational tournament, in her honour. A second one was held in 2018.
7	----
8	!!Tropes related to Mae Young:
9	* AlwaysSecondBest: In that she could have been world women's champion or WWWA singles champion if not for Mildred Burke, against whom a draw was the best she could manage even after thirteen years as a pro. She did defeat June Byers several times but the two times the title was on the line were a draw and a loss, with Byers retiring before Young could get a third shot.
10	* ArchEnemy: Gloria Barattini, excepting 1959 when they were a TagTeam in Washington DC but especially antagonistic concerning the NWA Florida Women's belt.
11	* AscendedFanboy: Originally a fan in the crowd who watched Mildred Burke as World Women's Champion and wanted a chance to wrestle her. Young was denied a shot at Burke, as Gladys Gillem was higher on the contenders' list. So Young simply beat Gillem, in under a minute, leading Billy Wolfe to break her into the pro wrestling business. Young got a few shots at Burke, but never won and ended up working for her in the WWWA.
12	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
13	* BodyHorror[=/=]FetusTerrible: The hand which Wrestling/MarkHenry sired.
14	* CoolOldLady: You better believe it. And [[NeverMessWithGranny badass]] too.
15	* CoolTeacher: While not her main trainer, she did help Moolah learn to wrestle. She was the main trainer of June Byers.
16	* DirtyOldWoman: So, ''so'' much.
17	* EffortlessAmazonianLift: Promotional posters for her matches often depicted her and her opponents or partners with a man across their shoulders, even though Young rarely, if ever, wrestled men in her pro career. This presumably was just to show off the strength of the wrestlers.
18	* FakeBoobs: She had "enhancements" in WWE when one of their storylines called for her flashing the crowd. These were not to make them more appealing but to make her breasts look ''[[FanDisservice more disgusting]]''!
19	* IWasQuiteALooker: Obviously during her [=WWF/E=] time she was Fan Disservice played for comedy, but back in the 50s, her look was based on the starlets of the time and she was well known for her attractiveness.
20	* IronLady: During the 80s and early 90s, Mae Young worked as a manager in the Portland indy scene working this gimmick as a manager of male wrestlers in a male-dominated profession, where she'd go toe-to-toe with the promotional authority figures. She wore power suits and a perm that could deflect a crowbar.
21	* TheLadette: In her prime she was known for her habit of drinking and gambling with the male wrestlers she was on tour with. She later brought this back during her tenure in the WWE where she was sometime shown smoking a cigar.
22	* LetXBeTheUnknown: In Arizona she antagonized Gloria Barattini for a month, hiding her identity as "Madame X".
23	* NeverMessWithGranny: How many ''80-year old women'' do you know that are not only willing, but eager to be put through tables? Not only did she ''want'' to go through the table, but when [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bubba Ray Dudley]] tried to soften her landing and lessen the force he used on the throw, she walked up to him, ''slapped him across the face'', and told him "Throw me through the table, asshole". It's also been said that, when Bubba wanted to rehearse going through the table, she ran up and ''put herself through the table''. Additionally, she once related the story that Vince [=McMahon=] offered her a night off because, he jokingly said, "I don't want you to die in the ring." Mae responded by saying "You know what, Vince? I hope I ''do'' die in the ring." She said it would be the perfect way for "an old broad" like her to go out.
24	* OneOfTheBoys: Taught to wrestle by her brothers and joined a wrestling team full of boys in high school.
25	* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: See below for a good example.
26	* SkewedPriorities: During the infamous pregnancy storyline with Mark Henry, she stressed that she ''would not'' give birth unless she had a smoke and was more concerned about this rather than the fact she was ''in labor''.
27	* SquashMatch: Billy Wolfe recruited her for pro wrestling training after Young squashed Gladys Gillem in a shoot fight, which allowed Young to get a title shot against Mildred Burke in Young's first official match.
28	* TomboyishName: Yes, her real first name really was "Johnnie".
29	* TookALevelInBadass: She was always badass, but her confrontation with Wrestling/{{LayCool}} at "Old School ''[=Raw=]''", calling them "bitches" and "sluts" (in WWE's [[LighterAndSofter "PG-Era"]], no less), was a welcome level for her.
30	* UrExample
31	** The first NWA Florida Women's Champion, the women's belt used by Championship Wrestling From FloridaFlorida Championship Wrestling. It is not to be confused with the ''Ladies'' Championship belt CWF Florida used when it lost the rights to its own name and rebranded the entire product after its FCW BShow(first holder, [[Wrestling/MickieJames Alexis Laree]]), nor the FCW Divas belt used when WWE was also forced to use the B Show branding(first holder, Wrestling/NaomiKnight).

Context Wrestling / MaeYoung