Toni Rose
Toni Rose is an American former professional wrestler.
Toni Rose | |
---|---|
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Toni Rose |
Billed height | 5'5"[1] |
Trained by | The Fabulous Moolah[1] |
Professional wrestling career
Rose grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1] She decided to become a professional wrestler at the age of seven, but first attended Terre Haute High School and college.[2][1] She trained under The Fabulous Moolah in 1965.[1] During her first match, which occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, her opponent Bambi Bell knocked Rose unconscious.[1]
During a match in Australia in 1969, Rose was injured and left partially blind in one eye.[1] In the early 1970s, Rose held the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship twice with The Fabulous Moolah.[3][4] They first won the title in May 1970, but lost it to Donna Christanello and Kathy O'Day. During a rematch in June, Rose and Moolah regained the title.[4] Later that November, Rose won the title, this time with Christanello.[4] In 1972 at the Superbowl of Wrestling, they defended the World Women's Tag Team Championship against Sandy Parker and Debbie Johnson. During their reign, there was an unrecorded title change; Susan "Tex" Green and Parker won the title from Christanello and Rose in November 1971 in Hawaii, but they regained it in February 1972 in Hong Kong.[4][5] After a three year reign as champions, they were officially defeated for the title by the team of Joyce Grable and Vicki Williams on October 15, 1973 in New York City.[4] It was not until October 1975 that Rose and Christanello regained the title from Grable and Williams, holding it for approximately four years.[4]
During this time, she also wrestled against Susan "Tex" Green in Leroy McGuirk's promotion.[6] During her career, Rose was also a contender for Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship, but never won the title.[7] In December 1974, Rose was in a match to crown the vacated NWA United States Women's Championship, but lost to Ann Casey.[8]
Championships and accomplishments
Footnotes
- "Wrestling to the tune of $68,000 a year". The Sydney Morning Herald. January 5, 1972. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- "Local Female In Mat Debut". The Terre Haute Tribune. November 17, 1963. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
- Ellison, Lillian. First Goddess of the Squared Circle, p.143–145.
- Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). "NWA Women's World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- Pierce, Dale. "Interview with Susan Green". Wrestling Then and Now. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- Johnson, Steven (March 26, 2004). "Susan Tex Green: Prodigy to pro". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
- Greenberg, Keith Elliot (2000). Pro Wrestling: From Carnivals to Cable TV. Lerner Publications. p. 35. ISBN 0-8225-3332-4.
- Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). "NWA Women's US Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 197. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- Oliver, Greg (2017-12-07). "Oooooh yeaaahhhh! PWHF announces Class of 2018". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
References
- Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.
Further reading
- Kreiser, Jamie Melissa (April 7, 2008). "Sandy Parker: Addicted to wrestling". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-06-30.