 Miceli in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Debrah Anne Miceli (1963-02-09)February 9, 1963 (age 62)[1][5] |
Spouses | |
| Website | madusa |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Alundra Blayze[1] Madusa[1] Madusa Miceli[1][2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 150 lb (68 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Brad Rheingans[3] Eddie Sharkey[1][4] |
| Debut | 1984[4] |
| Retired | 2000 |
Debrah Ann Miceli[6][7] (born February 9, 1963),[8] better known asMadusa, is anAmericanmonster truck driver and retiredprofessional wrestler. She is currently signed toNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer.[9] In professional wrestling Miceli is also known by thering nameAlundra Blayze, which she used while in theWWF/WWE.
Outside of the WWF, she wrestled under her professional name of Madusa, which was shortened from "Made in the USA".[2] Her early career was spent in theAmerican Wrestling Association, where she once held theAWA World Women's Championship. In 1988, she was the first woman to be awardedPro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year. The following year, she signed a contract withAll Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, making her the first foreign wrestler to do so.
She later joinedWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), where she was a member ofThe Dangerous Alliance, a group of wrestlersmanaged byPaul E. Dangerously. In 1993, she joined the rivalWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the name Alundra Blayze. In the WWF, shefeuded withBull Nakano andBertha Faye, while holding theWWF Women's Championship three times. Two years after joining the WWF, Miceli returned to WCW, showing up on an episode ofMonday Nitro to throw the WWF Women's Championship belt into a trash can; she wasblacklisted by the WWF for the next 20 years as a result.[10] In her second WCW run, Miceli feuded withBull Nakano andOklahoma, and became the first woman to hold theWCW World Cruiserweight Championship, as well as the first and only woman to win a championship in WWF and WCW. After training wrestlers such asTorrie Wilson,Stacy Keibler, andNora Greenwald (Molly Holly) at theWCW Power Plant, she left the company in 2001. On March 28, 2015, she was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 2015, under the Alundra Blayze moniker.[11] In 2015, she additionally served as the commissioner of Japanese promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom.
Miceli is a formermonster truck driver, and second longest tenured female driver in the sport toScarlet Bandit.[12] She drove a truck named Madusa, and won the 2004 co-championship at theMonster Jam World Finals for freestyle in the first-ever three-way tie. The following year, she won the Racing Championship in the Monster Jam World Finals.
Miceli was born inMinneapolis.[8] Before entering professional wrestling, she participated in both gymnastics and track, and at age 14, she worked at anArby's fast-food restaurant.[3][4][13] During the beginning of her wrestling career, she also worked as a part-time nurse.[3]
In 1984, Miceli trained withEddie Sharkey inMinneapolis and began working on theindependent circuit for $5 a match.[4] In 1986, she started wrestling in theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) feuding withSherri Martel[14][15] as Madusa Miceli.[4] After Martel left the AWA, she replaced her as"Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly's manager, who often teamed withNick Kiniski as "The Perfect Tag Team".[16] In a tournament final, she won theAWA World Women's Championship overCandi Devine on December 27, 1987.[1] At that time Madusa also began managing theAWA World Heavyweight ChampionCurt Hennig.[1] She later lost the title toWendi Richter on November 26, 1988.[17] Hennig and Madusa joined theDiamond Exchange,[18] a stable led byDiamond Dallas Page that includedBadd Company.[19] With Badd Company she faced the team of the Top Guns (Ricky Rice andDerrick Dukes) and Wendi Richter at the only AWApay-per-viewSuperClash III.[20] Both Badd Company'sTag-Team Title and Wendi Richter's AWA World Women's Championship were on the line, but since Richter pinned Miceli, Badd Company remained the champions.[21] In 1988, Miceli was also the first woman to be awardedPro Wrestling Illustrated's Rookie of the Year.[4]
Miceli wrestled a six-week tour forAll Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling at the beginning of 1989,[4] where she won the IWA Women's title fromChigusa Nagayo before dropping it back to her the very next day. She then began training in Japan, learning the Japanese wrestling style, as well asMuay Thai, kickboxing, and boxing.[4] She eventually signed a three-year deal with All Japan, which made her the first non-Japanese wrestler to do so.[4] In addition, she worked for the TWA, feuding withLuna Vachon, whom she faced in aHair vs Hair Mixed Tag Team match in September 1991.[22] Miceli and her partnerEddie Gilbert defeated Vachon andCactus Jack, which resulted in Vachon having her head shaved.[22]
She then went to WCW and helpedPaul E. Dangerously form hisDangerous Alliance.[23] She acted primarily as Alliance memberRick Rude's valet.[1] On October 25, Dangerously kicked her out of the Dangerous Alliance atHalloween Havoc.[1] She, however, defeated him by count-out on November 18, 1992, atClash of the Champions XXI.[1]
In 1993, the WWF reinstated itsWomen's Championship, a title that had been vacant since 1990,[24] and Miceli was brought in by the company to revive the women's division.[25] She debuted under the ring name Alundra Blayze,[1] because WWF ownerVince McMahon did not want to pay Miceli to use the name Madusa, which she had trademarked.[3] She wrestled in a six-woman tournament to crown a new Women's Champion, and in the finals, she pinnedHeidi Lee Morgan on December 13 to win the title.[24]After the tournament, Miceli asked WWF management to bring in new women for her to wrestle.[25] In mid-1994,Bull Nakano joined the WWF roster and began feuding with Blayze. Blayze defeated Nakano atSummerSlam, but lost the belt to her on November 20, 1994, in Japan at theBig Egg Wrestling Universe event.[26] Five months later on April 3, 1995, Blayze regained the title from Nakano on an edition ofMonday Night Raw.[27] As part of the storyline, immediately following the win, she was attacked byBertha Faye, who broke her nose.[28] According to Rhonda Sing (Faye), the storyline was written so Miceli could take time off to get breast implants and a nose job.[28] She returned to the ring in August 1995, losing the Women's Championship to Faye atSummerSlam on August 27.[27] Two months later, she won the title a third time, defeating Faye on October 23.[29] In December, due to financial troubles the WWF was having at the time she was released from her contract and was stripped of the title following her jump to rival companyWorld Championship Wrestling,[30] and the WWF Women's Championship remained vacant until 1998.[29] Miceli wasblacklisted by the WWF for the next 20 years, owing to her participation in a controversial incident upon returning to WCW during which she dropped the WWF Women's championship belt into a trash can.[10]
In December 1995, Miceli signed with WCW, and as part of a storyline by bookerEric Bischoff,[6] showed up onWCW Monday Nitro on December 18, where she threw the WWF Women's belt into a trash can.[4] She later admitted that she regretted the action and would not have done it had Bischoff not coerced her.[31] Miceli immediately began using the Madusa name again. Upon her debut she attacked Sherri Martel during her wedding to Col. Robert Parker. She had a match the following Monday onNitro against Sherri Martel which she lost. After that, the company brought inBull Nakano to feud with her; they battled in a match atHog Wild in August 1996.[32] Due to pre-match stipulations, Madusa was allowed to destroy Nakano's motorcycle after the match.[32]
The company then decided to establish theWCW Women's Championship, but Madusa lost toAkira Hokuto in the finals of the tournament to crown the first champion on December 29 atStarrcade.[33] On June 15, Hokuto retained the title against Madusa atThe Great American Bash in aTitle vs. Career match.[1][34] Madusa then took a nearly two-year hiatus from the company.
Madusa returned to WCW in April 1999 as part ofRandy Savage's factionTeam Madness withGorgeous George andMiss Madness.[35] After that storyline ended, Madusa entered into a tournament for theWCW Championship, but she was defeated and eliminated from the tournament.[36] She was later re-entered into the tournament in a match againstEvan Karagias, but was eliminated the next week.[36] After her elimination, Madusa put all her focus on managing Karagias.[37] After Karagias won theWCW World Cruiserweight Championship atMayhem,[38] he was found flirting withSpice of theNitro Girls.[39] AtStarrcade, however, Spice gave Karagias alow blow during the match, and Madusa pinned him to become the first female ever to win the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship.[40][41] Spice then aligned herself with Madusa and became her manager for a short time.[42]
In January 2000, Madusa developed a rivalry withOklahoma.[43] In a farcicalEvening Gown match on an episode ofWCW Thunder on January 12, Madusa defeated Oklahoma by stripping off his dress, but he attacked her after the match.[44] She eventually lost the Cruiserweight belt to Oklahoma atSouled Out on January 16, 2000.[1][40]
In the meantime, Miceli became an instructor at theWCW Power Plant, where she helped train women such asNora Greenwald (Molly Holly) to wrestle.[45] Before WCW's collapse, she engaged in a brief feud withTorrie Wilson andShane Douglas, who defeated her and partnerBilly Kidman atFall Brawl in a Mixed Tag TeamScaffold match.[46] Madusa took a big bump during this match and wasn't seen again on WCW TV.[1] She left the company when she heard thatVince McMahon, the owner of theWorld Wrestling Federation, was going to buy WCW.[13] Because she had a previous falling-out with McMahon, she opted not to stay with the company.[13] She retired from professional wrestling for good in 2001 because she did not like the direction in which women's wrestling was going; according to her, it was becoming less about real wrestling and more aboutBra and Panties matches.[2][13]
On March 2, 2015, it was announced that Miceli would be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 2015, under her Alundra Blayze moniker.[11] On Twitter, she said this was a sign of respect, since that was her name in WWE, but "that bitch Madusa will be on stage speaking."[47] During her speech, in response to constant questions about her dumping the WWF Women's Championship belt in the trash onMonday Nitro, her inductor,Natalya, wheeled a trash can onstage. Miceli (calling herself both Madusa and Alundra Blayze) withdrew the belt, which she stressed was a good-looking "women'swrestling belt", and said it was finally "back home where it belongs" after 20 years.[48] She held the belt on her shoulder, and referred to herself as the reigning WWF Women's Champion.[49] Following her Hall of Fame induction, she made a special appearance during theWrestleMania 31 event the following day on March 29, along with the other Hall of Fame inductees.
In September 2015, Miceli was appointed the commissioner of Japanese women's promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom.[50]
On January 27, 2016, Miceli appeared on WWE Network's programTable for 3, along with fellow wrestlersIvory andMolly Holly.[51]
In September 2017, theWWE Network released a documentary entitled "TrailBlayzer" detailing Miceli's careers in both wrestling and monster truck driving.
Miceli as Alundra Blayze was announced as an entrant into the battle royal for a women's championship opportunity atWWE Evolution, marking a return to the ring after an 18-year hiatus, however she was eliminated byNia Jax[52]
On July 22, 2019, Alundra Blayze appeared as a heel and attacked24/7 ChampionCandice Michelle, after which she captured the title from Candice by forcing her to submit, withMelina acting as the official, becoming the third woman to win the title, while also becoming the first individual to win the title via submission. She also became the second woman to hold both the WWE Women's Championship, and the 24/7 Championship. She later attempted to toss the 24/7 Championship into the trash (similar to when she did the same to the WWF Women's Championship in 1995), only to instead sell the title toWWE Hall of FamerTed DiBiase.
Returning toTNT for the first time in 20 years, Miceli was presenter of theAll Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament: The Deadly Draw, which began on August 3, 2020.[53] The tournament concluded on the August 22, 2020, Saturday episode ofAEW Dynamite, where she gave the championship cup to the tournament winnersIvelisse andDiamante.[54][55]
Miceli would also appear in WWE on the July 26, 2022, episode ofNXT in a backstage segment with Roxanne Perez and McKenzie Mitchell, announcing a fatal four-way elimination match for the vacantNXT Women's Tag Team Championship.
On January 23, 2023, Miceli appeared backstage duringRaw is XXX, celebrating the 30th anniversary ofMonday Night Raw.[56]
Miceli inductedBull Nakano into theWWE Hall of Fame class of 2024.
On April 27, 2019, at theCrockett Cup Miceli appeared for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as Madusa, where she presented the vacantNWA Women's Championship beforeAllysin Kay andSantana Garrett competed for it.[57] She would later accompany The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs andThomas Latimer) who challenged theVillain Enterprises (Brody King andPCO) at the Crockett Cup finals for the vacantNWA World Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful.[57] Madusa would later become a producer in NWA.[58]
Miceli entered themonster truck business underDennis Anderson in 1999.[2][4] She made her first American hot rod appearance at theTrans World Dome.[59] Afterward, she purchased her own truck and named it Madusa, as she still held the rights to the name.[2][13] She began winning freestyle competitions in 2001.[59] Miceli won the 2004 co-championship at theMonster Jam World Finals for freestyle in the first-ever three-way tie.[2][59] In March 2005 in Las Vegas, she beat her trainer Dennis Anderson in the final bracket of the Monster Jam World Finals for the Racing Championship,[59] thus making her the first woman to win the Monster Jam World Finals racing championship.[1] Also in 2005, she was the only female competitor in the Super Bowl of Motorsports.[2]
As of January 2008, she is also the Executive Vice President of the Major League of Monster Trucks.[60] In 2009, she returned to Monster Jam for the first time since 2006.[61]
On October 10, 2014, she was injured in a Monster Jam event in Melbourne, Australia, and was taken to a Melbourne hospital for treatment.[62]
She appeared in the video gamesWCW Nitro,WCW Backstage Assault,WWE 2K16,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19 andWWE 2K25.[63]
After a brief first marriage toEddie Gilbert in 1990, Miceli's second marriage was on February 14, 1998, toNFL playerKen Blackman, eight months after they met in June 1997.[1][35] They shared homes inCincinnati andHomosassa, Florida.[35] In 1998, they opened a motorcycle shop called Spookee Custom Cycles, which made motorcycles for other NFL players such asKimo von Oelhoffen,Darnay Scott,Bradford Banta, andDan Wilkinson.[35] The couple later divorced in 2008.[2]
On June 25, 2011, Miceli married Alan Jonason, a sergeant major in theU.S. Army, inMemphis.[7] The wedding took place atGraceland and was broadcast over the internet for over 22,000 fans.
In 1995, she appeared in the filmsShootfighter II,Death Match, andIntersanction II. In Japan, she released a CD of songs sung in Japanese entitledWho's Madusa.[3] She owns a grooming, pet spa, and doggy bakery called Koolkats and Hotdogs inLecanto, Florida.[2][30] In February 2004, she provided commentary for boat races.[1]
Professional wrestling[edit]
Motorsports[edit](All titles where won where as driver of the Madusa Monster Truck)
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Ricky Rice, Derrick Dukes, & Wendi Richter beat Paul Diamond, Pat Tanaka, & Madusa Micelli beat (5:43) when Richter pinned Micelli.
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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