Judy Hardee (born October 8, 1955) is a female former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

known as Judy Martin. Martin is a former WWF Women's Tag Team Champion. She held the title with partner

Leilani Kai Patty Seymour (born January 23, 1960) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Leilani Kai. She began training with The Fabulous Moolah right after finishing high school. In the 1980s, as part of the World Wrestling ...

The Glamour Girls The Glamour Girls was a female professional wrestling tag team. The members were Judy Martin and Leilani Kai History Early career and training Leilani Kai was trained by The Fabulous Moolah in 1975 right after she finished high school ...

. The Glamour Girls also held the LPWA Tag Team titles.

Professional wrestling career

Early career and training

Martin first learned about women's wrestling after approaching wrestlers

Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in ...

and

Dick Murdoch Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...

after a match in South Carolina. In 1978, she began training with

The Fabulous Moolah Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mild ...

Joyce Grable Betty Wade-Murphy (born November 9, 1952), better known by her ring name Joyce Grable, is an American former professional wrestler. She was the long-term tag team partner of Wendi Richter. She held the NWA United States Women's Championship once ...

, and

. She then began her career with a tour of Japan then began wrestling in spotlight matches for various promotions in America including

Mid South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

World Wrestling Federation (1979; 1981-1989)

In 1981, Martin competed in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF)'s women's tag-team division, original partnering with Candy Malloy. She also often partnered with

and occasionally Donna Christanello. Martin also challenged champion

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom s ...

for the WWF Women's title as part of

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

of wrestlers that included Spider Lady, Mad Maxine, and Leilani Kai. Kai and Martin were awarded the

WWF Women's Tag Team Championship The WWF Women's Tag Team Championship was a women's professional wrestling tag team title in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The belief its holders were considered world champions was expressed by Jesse Ventura, an announcer for s ...

from champions

Velvet McIntyre Velvet McIntyre (born November 24, 1962) is an Irish-Canadian retired professional wrestler. After beginning her career in 1980, she wrestled in American independent promotions before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). She ...

and

Desiree Petersen Desiree Petersen is a professional wrestler. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and once held the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship. Wrestling career In 1982, Desiree Petersen met Stu Hart. Hart would not train her, but referred her for train ...

in 1985. After touring on the independent circuit and Japan for a few years, Martin and Kai returned to the WWF, repackaged as the platinum haired

. The duo appeared at the first

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

in 1987 as part of then champion

Sherri Martel Sherry Schrull (née Russell; born February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in the ...

's team to face the Fabulous Moolah's team. Martel's team consisting of Martel, The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai and Judy Martin),

Dawn Marie Dawn Marie Psaltis (born November 3, 1970) is an American actress, nurse and a retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the Smac ...

, and Donna Christanello lost to The Fabulous Moolah's team consisting of Moolah, Velvet McIntyre, Rockin' Robin, and the Japanese imports, the

Jumping Bomb Angels The Jumping Bomb Angels were a female Japanese professional wrestling tag team. The members were Noriyo Tateno and Itzuki Yamazaki, Itsuki Yamazaki. History Japan Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki formed one of the most well-known teams on th ...

(

Noriyo Tateno (born December 1, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who is best known as one half of the tag team Jumping Bomb Angels with Itsuki Yamazaki. She worked in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, WWF and has been working in Ladies Le ...

and

Itsuki Yamazaki is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who is best known as one half of the tag team Jumping Bomb Angels with Noriyo Tateno. Debuting in 1981, she worked with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, World Champion ...

). The Glamour Girls (managed by

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...

) feuded for much of 1988 with The Jumping Bomb Angels for the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship. The two teams staged an epic

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at the first

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

event in 1988, with the Bomb Angels capturing the gold. Kai and Martin recaptured the title months later in Japan before the belts were once again abandoned. In 1989, Martin wrestled Rockin' Robin for the WWF Women's Championship at the

. She continued to challenge Robin for approximately six months, until the WWF phased out the women's division.

American Wrestling Association

After leaving the WWF in 1989, Martin joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) to compete for the

AWA World Women's Championship The AWA World Women's Championship was the women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a dramatic enactment of wrestling as a spectator sport. As is the norm for this sport, women's professional wrestling is organized by wrestli ...

. She first feuded with reigning champion

, but was unsuccessful. After Richter left the company, she wrestled

Candi Devine Candace Maria Rummel (January 1, 1958 – February 9, 2022) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Candi Devine. She won singles championships in several promotions, most notably in the American Wrestling Associati ...

in a match to determine the new champion on December 6, 1989, which Devine won.

Ladies Professional Wrestling Association

The Glamour Girls then surfaced in the newly formed

Ladies Professional Wrestling Association The Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA) was a women's professional wrestling promotion which operated in the early 1990s (ca. 1989–1992). It was considered a successor to such women's promotions as Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLO ...

(LPWA), managed by Adnan El Kassey. They wrestled as both a tag team and in singles competition as top contenders to LPWA Champion Susan Sexton's title. After months of feuding with Tag Team Champions

Misty Blue Simmes Diane Simmes (born February 8, 1956), better known by her ring name Misty Blue Simmes, is an American former professional wrestler. Career Beginning Simmes got into wrestling after learning to box and being part of an all-female boxing show. ...

and

Heidi Lee Morgan Heidi Lee Morgan (born June 29, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling, Ladies Pro Wrestling Association, and National Wrestling Federatio ...

(Team America), The Girls finally captured the LPWA Tag Team Title. They feuded with teams like the Bad, Black, & Beautiful; The New Team America (Misty Blue Simmes and Alison Royal), and Bambi and

Malia Hosaka Malia Hosaka (born October 7, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. She is a former NWA World Women's Champion. Professional wrestling career Malia Hosaka was trained by Killer Kowalski at the wrestling training camp run by Misty Blue Simmes ...

(who the duo faced at the only LPWA pay-per-view,

LPWA Super Ladies Showdown The Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA) was a women's professional wrestling promotion which operated in the early 1990s (ca. 1989–1992). It was considered a successor to such women's promotions as Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLO ...

) before the LPWA folded in 1992.

World Championship Wrestling

While working in the LPWA, Martin also made appearances in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW). On the October 19, 1991 edition of ''

WCW Saturday Night ''WCW Saturday Night'' is an American weekly Saturday night television show on TBS that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Launched in 1971 initially by Georgia Championship Wrestling, the program existed through various incarn ...

'', Martin wrestled

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

, but the match was interrupted when

Madusa Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

interfered. Then on the October 26 edition of ''

WCW WorldWide ''WCW WorldWide'' was an American syndicated television show that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that aired from October 8, 1975, to March 31, 2001. At the time of its cancellation, ''WorldWide'' was the longest-running, uni ...

'', Martin lost a match to Madusa. WCW was phasing out the women wrestlers and focusing more attention on the valets, so Martin disappeared shortly thereafter.

Professional Girl Wrestling Association

Martin then became embroiled in a feud with fellow veteran, Susan Green, who was then the

Professional Girl Wrestling Association The Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) is an America women's professional wrestling promotion. The aim of the PGWA is to preserve and promote "Old School" Women's professional wrestling. Based in North Carolina, the organization freque ...

(PGWA) champion. In a mixed tag team match where the title was on the line, Martin's male partner, Thunderfoot, pinned Green's ally, George South, to win the tag match, and the women's belt automatically went to Judy. One month later, Green met Martin in a proper singles match with the title on the line, and Susan pinned Judy to regain the belt.

Personal life

After her retirement, Martin worked in law enforcement and then transcribed medical records. In July 2016, Martin was named part of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge

Vanessa Lynne Bryant Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Early life Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University wit ...

in September 2018.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...

All Pacific Championship The All Pacific Championship was the secondary singles women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977 and was renamed the All Pacific Championship ...

( 1 time) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

** Women's Wrestling Award (2012) *

** LPWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

** PGWA Championship (1 time) *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

NWA United States Women's Championship The NWA United States Women's Championship was a sporadically used women's professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance from 1968 until 1987. Title history Footnotes See also *List of National Wrestling Allianc ...

(3 times) **

NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship The NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship is a women's professional wrestling tag team championship defended in member promotions of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). History From the early 1950s through 1983, it was the first women's w ...

(2 times) - with Leilani Kai *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

** Class of 2021 *

( 2 times, final) - with Leilani Kai

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Judy American female professional wrestlers Living people Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers 1955 births Stampede Wrestling alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century professional wrestlers