Women in sports
entertainment can basically be divided into two categories:those who can wrestle
and those who are "eye candy." And then there is Madusa, the femme
fatale whose killer body is matched only by her killer instinct in the squared
circle. An international superstar and a multiple-time world champion in both
the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, Madusa is one
of the most accomplished women's competitors of all time.
Born Debra Miceli
in Milan, Italy, and a native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Madusa began her wrestling
career in 1984. With a background in gymnastics and track, the athletically gifted
Madusa seized an opportunity to get into the wrestling business when she was
introduced to Minneapolis independent promoter Eddie Sharkey. She trained with
Sharkey and quickly quit her nursing job to wrestle on the independent circuit.
The independent
wrestling scene was far from glamorous. Madusa wrestled about four nights a week,
earning approximately $5 a match. She was on the road constantly, sometimes traveling
with up to 10 people in a van and sharing a hotel room with five people. With
low wages and a depleted savings account, Madusa lost her house and her car and
almost had to file for bankruptcy.
Madusa got her
first big break in 1986 when she was signed by the American Wrestling Association,
which was the third-largest promotion in the United States at the time. She made
her AWA debut as Madusa Miceli before eventually dropping her last name. Madusa
gained national exposure in the AWA, which had a television contract with ESPN,
and began to establish herself as one of the top women wrestlers in the business.
She won the AWA wowmen's title, and in 1988, she became the first woman to be
named Rookie of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
