| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elsie Schevchenko (1929-12-02)December 2, 1929 Custer, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | April 17, 2013(2013-04-17) (aged 83) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Billed height | 5"5 |
| Billed weight | 137 lb (62 kg) |
| Trained by | The Fabulous Moolah |
| Debut | 1951 |
| Retired | 1972 |
Elsie Schevchenko (December 2, 1929 – April 17, 2013), better known asElla Waldek (Mecouch), was an Americanprofessional wrestler. She was one of the subjects of the 2005 documentary filmLipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling.[1][2][3][4][5]
Ella Waldek was born as Elsie Schevchenko inCuster, Washington, daughter of a Ukrainian father and German mother (divorced when their daughter was three) who were farm labourers and lived in a converted barn,[6] and grew up as a self-described "farm girl".[3][7] Originally aroller derby performer,[2] Waldek's professional wrestling career began in 1952 after a male friend took her to a professional wrestling event.[7][8] "I didn’t even know there was such a thing," she claimed years later.[3] She was trained byThe Fabulous Moolah.[9]
Despite her limited knowledge of professional wrestling at the time, Waldek began a career in Chicago, Illinois.[7] She adopted the name "Ella Waldek" because, in her words, "who could stand in a ring and autograph an eleven letter last name?" Waldek earned the nickname "The Policeman" and also worked under the names "Jackie Lee" and "Charming Carmen". She adopted theshort arm scissor lift as one her signature maneuvers.[3] Over the course of her career, Waldek worked matches with other female wrestlers, includingMae Young.[8]
Janet Wolfe died after abody slam she had received from Waldek during atag team match, though she was not injured by the move. Wolfe rolled out of the ring and collapsed at ringside. Waldek called for the timekeeper to assist her and get her away from the ring. Though Wolfe's death was eventually ruled to be anaccident, police initially arrested Waldek and the other participants in the match—Mae Young and Eva Lee. The police reportedly considered charging the three withmanslaughter, but all three women were eventually released. As a result of the incident, people attended wrestling events to see Waldek, who had to endure crowd chants of "murderer" directed at her.[8]
Over the course of her wrestling career, Waldek held several titles including theNWA Florida Women's Championship, the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship with Mae Young and two reigns with the NWA Southern Women's Championship, Florida version.
After almost twenty years of wrestling, Waldek ended her career in 1971. She then became aprivate investigator and subsequently founded her own security firm, before taking up gardening part-time.[8][10] Her professional career had apparently taken its toll though, as she had been renderedunable to have children due to a kick she had taken to thesolar plexus.
Waldek recounted her experiences as a professional wrestler for the documentary filmLipstick & Dynamite, reuniting with some of her fellow female wrestlers in the process.[2] Through her involvement in the film, Waldek found out that singer-songwriterNeko Case, who had been working on music for the film, is hergreat-niece.[11]
