10 Wrestlers Who Defeated The WWE Machine
6. Madusa
Is there a more unthinkable redemption story than Madusa's?
She infuriated Vince McMahon when the infamously threw the old WWF Women's Title in the rubbish on her 1995 WCW Monday Nitro debut. He didn't even care about the title - hence why he let Madusa exit Titan Towers with it in her possession - but the statement was a near-sacrilegious transgression. And, while Madusa as Alundra Blayze was a good performer on her day, she was hardly a draw - let alone a Bruno Sammartino, whose immense legacy WWE could, but for years were unable, to exploit.
In fact, the opposite was true. Bruno's iconic status grew by the year, his myth secured by the very passage of time. In parallel, pre-Women's Revolution, Madusa's ageing was considered disgraceful. As her youthful looks faded, so too did any potential worth to the hysterically image-conscious WWE. The victim of a double standard, she was as good as done in mainstream wrestling.
A more serious approach to women's wrestling changed all that, and, in 2015, the passage of time at last benefitted her. Memories of the incident had faded, and with a new philosophy at the heart of the company, Madusa was welcomed back into the fold, as Alundra Blayze (of course) in the WWE Hall Of Fame.
Madusa is lending her voice to the Mae Young Classic tournament. The renegade is now insitutitionalised.