Source: Wrestling Observer
– Despite her age the Fabulous Moolah held off her shoulder surgery until the week she died just in case she had the chance to wrestle again. Mae Young & Moolah used to joke about wrestling when they were 100.
WWE offered to pay for the surgery but Moolah refused stating she had health insurance. She was a very proud woman.
– Times Magazine had this tribute:
Growing up with 12 older and much taller brothers, Mary Lillian Ellison wasn’t considered the strong one. All that changed nearly 60 years ago, when she took her first step into the ring. At the time, women had a minimal presence in wrestling, but Ellison’s signature flying drop-kicks and hair-pulling body slams quickly earned her a loyal fan base. Shortly after she started wrestling, a promoter nicknamed Ellison the “Fabulous Moolah” for her stated ambition in life: money. In 1956, she won the World Women’s Championship. Twenty-eight years later she was defeated, but she regained the throne–in her 70s. “I love old people, and I love babies,” said Moolah, who was the first woman inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. “If anybody else steps in my way, I’ll just kick [their butt].” She was 84.
