Joyce Grable Defends Trainer Fabulous Moolah, Dismisses 'Pimping' Allegations
"If she was gonna pimp somebody out, I'd have been number one on the list."
One story dominating the world of wrestling this past week was WWE's announcement of a WrestleMania women's battle royal named in honour of perennial champion Mary 'The Fabulous Moolah' Ellison, and the company's hasty decision to repeal the name once wind of the eponym's murky past reached the ears of key sponsor Snickers.
Many outlets were quick to express disapproval of the tribute - ourselves included - with Moolah's alleged involvement in coercing trainees into prostitution completely at odds with WWE's presentation of her as an empowering force for women. Once Mars Wrigley Confectionery, the parent company of WrestleMania's partner Snickers made their disapproval known, the game was up, and the name was nixed.
However, not everybody has been keen to pile on against Moolah, with a select few of her former colleagues and students eager to set the record straight, as it were.
Joyce Grable, who trained under Ellison in 1971 and enjoyed a lengthy career under her charge, today spoke up in her coach's defence as part of TV host Nigel Sherrod's one-man campaign to exonerate Moolah.
"I never experienced [pimping]," Grable attested on Sherrod's YouTube channel. "As far as I was concerned, she never sent me nobody. And hey, I had a good body back then, I was kinda pretty, long blonde hair, especially when I was in Puerto Rico, Mexico... if she was gonna pimp somebody out, I'd have been number one on the list."
Grable dismissed the claims of industry veterans Sherri Martel, Luna Vachon and Sweet Georgia Brown on the basis that "they're dead, so how could they be saying anything?" She went on to speculate that it must be their families "making it up," but was shy about a reason why. Sherrod did not bring up the name of Jeannine Mjoseth, another of Moolah's stable who has been vocal in the past about her teacher's indiscretions. Mjoseth is alive and well, and currently works for the Human Genome Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
Whilst there's no particular reason to reject Grable's testimony, it likewise does not invalidate those of any of the women who have made conflicting claims. All we know as a fact is that Grable's experiences with Moolah were largely positive.
As part of his campaign to clear Moolah's name, Sherrod has also launched a fairly asinine petition with the objective of boycotting Snickers. Little secret: you don't need signatures to stop buying a product. As of Sunday evening, the appeal has accrued just over 60 signatories.