Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired

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 ...

. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the

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 ...

, where she teamed with

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 ...

, with whom she held the

NWA Women's World 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 ...

twice. In the 1980s, she joined 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). She held the

WWF Women's Championship WWF may refer to: Non-profit organizations *World Wide Fund for Nature or World Wildlife Fund, a nature conservation group *World Water Forum, an international forum for water issues *Working Women's Forum, a training, trade and credit union in In ...

twice and feuded 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 ...

over the title. She was also involved in a storyline with singer

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

called the "

Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection The 1980s professional wrestling boom (more commonly referred to as the Golden Era and the Rock 'n' Wrestling Era) was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of ...

". Richter, however, left the WWF after losing the championship in controversial fashion. She then worked in the

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

and

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

, where she held both companies' women's titles.

Professional wrestling career

Training (1979–1983)

Wendi Richter was trained at

's ''Lillian Ellison School of Professional Wrestling'' by

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 F ...

, Judy Martin and

and made her professional debut in 1979. In early 1982, Richter

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

ed with Moolah against

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 Princess Victoria for three matches for the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

. Richter was later paired with

, with whom she also trained for six weeks, to form a tag team called The Texas Cowgirls. In late 1982, they wrestled in a series of matches in Canada's

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

against Velvet McIntyre and Judy Martin. She continued her feud with McIntyre in

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939) is a retired American professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South Un ...

' Mid-South Wrestling Association, where she was defeated twice. While in Mid-South Wrestling Association she was a friend of

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

who made her an honorary member of the Midnight Express. Richter and Grable continued their rivalry with McIntyre and Martin into April 1983 in

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

. In May, the team reformed in Stampede Wrestling in matches against McIntyre and Penny Mitchell. The team also won the

twice.

World Wrestling Federation (1983 - 1985)

Rock 'n' Wrestling (1983-1985)

Richter returned stateside signing with the

(WWF) in late 1983. In April 1984, Richter teamed with

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

for a series of matches with old rivals Velvet McIntyre and Princess Victoria. WWF owner

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

brought in

for a feud with

Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...

(who had appeared as Lauper's dad in her ''

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the song in 1983. I ...

'' music video). Albano seconded

WWF Women's Champion WWF may refer to: Non-profit organizations *World Wide Fund for Nature or World Wildlife Fund, a nature conservation group *World Water Forum, an international forum for water issues *Working Women's Forum, a training, trade and credit union in In ...

Fabulous Moolah, while Lauper was in the corner of Wendi Richter. Richter defeated Moolah at

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

The Brawl to End It All The Brawl to End It All was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and broadcast live on MTV. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 23, 1984. The show was a major event in the ...

'' for the Women's Championship on July 23, 1984, with Richter lifting her own shoulder off the canvas during a double-pinfall situation while Moolah's shoulders remained down. With the win, she ended what was billed as the longest championship reign in professional wrestling history (Moolah's 28-year reign as recognized by the WWF; in reality she had lost the title several times between 1956 and 1978, and Richter's win had in reality only ended a nearly seven-year reign by Moolah as champion). The broadcast of the women's match earned MTV its largest ratings in history up to that point. This match was also the beginning of the "

", an era that combined both music and professional wrestling. Richter faced Moolah's protégé,

, who defeated Richter for the title, in early 1985 at ''

The War to Settle the Score The War to Settle the Score was a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on February 18, 1985. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WW ...

''. She regained the title at the first

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

one month later. While wrestling for the WWF, Richter referred to herself as "150 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal". Richter was also animated for a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

, ''

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling'' is an American animated television series that originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 14, 1985 to October 18, 1986, with reruns airing until June 27, 1987. History ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wres ...

''. In addition, she appeared in Lauper's music video for "

She Bop "She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, ''She's So Unusual'' (1983). It reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the ...

The Original Screwjob (1985)

In 1985, after losing and then regaining the title from rival Leilani Kai at the inaugural WrestleMania, Richter was scheduled to defend her title at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

on November 25 of that same year against a mysterious masked opponent known only as The Spider. During the match, The Spider broke from the planned events and pinned Richter's shoulders to the mat. The referee—who was in on the plan—delivered a swift three count, despite Richter kicking out after a count of one. Richter ignored the bell and continued to attack The Spider, unmasking the new champion to reveal that it was

in disguise. Interviewed for ''The Fabulous Moolah'' episode of the 2019 documentary series ''

Dark Side of the Ring ''Dark Side of the Ring'' is a Canadian documentary television series produced by Vice Studios. The series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of professional wrestling. Series overview Episodes Season 1 (2019) Seas ...

'', Richter claimed she had no idea that Moolah was The Spider that evening until she unmasked her. It was reported that the plan to rid Richter of the title was concocted by WWF Chairman

, who brought in Moolah after Richter refused to sign a new contract with the WWF. Richter, however, claims she was still under her original five-year contract, but that she regularly had disagreements with McMahon about her compensation. She also claims that when she arrived at the arena that day, she was surprised to find Moolah backstage, as she never showed up to events at which she was not scheduled to wrestle. After the match, an infuriated Richter left the arena in her wrestling gear, took a cab to the airport, and booked herself on a flight out of New York. Afterward, she never spoke to Moolah again.

Independent circuit (1987–2005)

Upon leaving the WWF, Richter wrestled in Puerto Rico, Japan, and throughout the United States in independent promotions. In Puerto Rico's

, she traded the

WWC Women's Championship The WWC Women's Championship was the top title for women's professional wrestling with the Tigresa in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows ...

with

Monster Ripper Rhonda Ann Singh (February 21, 1961 – July 27, 2001) was a Canadian professional wrestler. After training with Mildred Burke, she wrestled in Japan under the name Monster Ripper. In 1987, she returned to Canada and began working with Stampede ...

, holding the belt twice: once in May 1987 and once in July 1987. Richter surfaced in the

(AWA) in 1987 to challenge champion Madusa Miceli for the

AWA 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 ...

, winning the title in December 1988. On December 13, 1988, she participated in a

mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ...

at SuperClash III with partners The Top Guns (

Ricky Rice Ricky Rice is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearance with the Minneapolis-based promotions Pro Wrestling America and the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Early career Trained ...

and

Derrick Dukes Derrick Dukes (born January 4, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer. He best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association in the late-1980s as one-half of the tag team "The Top Guns" with Ricky Rice. Pr ...

) against

Badd Company Badd Company was a professional wrestling tag team in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, which later went by the name the Orient Express. They used the song "Bad Company", by the band of the same name as their theme song. His ...

(

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company with Pat Tanaka and for his time in the World Wrestling F ...

and

Pat Tanaka Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...

) and Madusa Miceli. Richter's team won the match when she pinned Miceli. On January 29, 2005, Richter appeared at

WrestleReunion WrestleReunion (or Wrestle Reunion) is a professional wrestling event, and fan convention, founded by Sal Corrente in 2005. WrestleReunion 1 The first WrestleReunion event occurred January 29, 2005, at Doubletree Hotel in Tampa, Florida. The ...

in an eight-woman tag team match (teaming with

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. ...

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 ...

, and Jenny Taylor) wrestling against

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 ...

Peggy Lee Leather Peggy Lee (born January 19, 1959), also known by her stage names Peggy Lee Leather, Lady X, and Thug, is an American professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career World Wrestling Federation Peggy Lee competed in the World Wrestling Federa ...

Krissy Vaine Kristin Parmeter (née Eubanks; born January 12, 1981) is an American model, professional wrestler and valet. She is better known by her ring name Krissy Vaine and also for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment. She also trained at WWE's devel ...

, and

Amber O'Neal Kimberly Dawn Davis (born June 22, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Amber O’Neal. She formerly wrestled in Ring of Honor (ROH) in their "Women of Honor" division as well as various promotions on the U. ...

. In August of that same year, Richter appeared at the second WrestleReunion event,

WrestleReunion 2 WrestleReunion (or Wrestle Reunion) is a professional wrestling event, and fan convention, founded by Sal Corrente in 2005. WrestleReunion 1 The first WrestleReunion event occurred January 29, 2005, at Doubletree, Doubletree Hotel in Tampa, Flo ...

, in a six-person tag team match.

Life after wrestling and WWE Hall of Fame (2005–present)

In the years after her retirement, Richter was uninvolved with wrestling. In a 2005 shoot interview, she expressed disgust toward the portrayal of women in the

WWE 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 ...

product, and was still hurt over her WWF exit. In 2010, Richter was offered induction in the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

Class of 2010, which she accepted. She was inducted by

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

. In contrast of her shoot interviews, her speech spoke fondly of her wrestling career and how the WWE Divas thanked her for her influence. Richter's speech ended joyfully, exclaiming "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!" On the June 16, 2012 episode of ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', Richter appeared in an in-ring segment along with

, Roddy Piper and then- Diva's Champion

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compos ...

as part of the " 1000th episode" buildup. Piper expressed his gratitude to Richter and Lauper for their "Rock 'N Wrestling" angle and presented Lauper with a gold record, with which she eventually hit

Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs mononymously as Heath, and is also active on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in W ...

, who at the time had a gimmick of insulting veteran Superstars before getting his comeuppance.

Personal life

Richter grew up in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, and before she entered the sport of professional wrestling, she worked on her family's ranch and took part in

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

competitions. She attended Bossier High School, where she participated in volleyball, track, and cross-country. She later majored in computer programming at Dallas's Draughon's Business College. In the 1980s, she moved to

Crystal River, Florida Crystal River is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,108 in the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census estimates of 2018, the city had a population of 3,162. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self p ...

. After leaving the wrestling business, Richter worked as a real estate agent. She also returned to school for 13 years, earning a degree in

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

. Aside from therapy, Richter competes in

dog show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

s, including the

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an all-breed conformation show, traditionally held annually at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is one of a handful of benched shows in the United States. Dogs ...

. She was once married to

Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich (born February 15, 1959) is an Ecuadorian sports commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager. He is currently signed to Lucha Libre AA ...

, a former Spanish announcer for the WWF. In 2019 she was featured in the documentary ''Circle of Champions: The History of Women's Pro Wrestling'' directed by Christopher Annino. She currently works as an occupational therapist for Rehab Partners Inc.

Championships and accomplishments

( 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 ...

:* Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) :* Other honoree ( 1993) *

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 ...

(1 time) :*

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 ...

( 3 times) – with

National Wrestling Federation The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970 to 1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin. The revive ...

:* NWF Women's Championship (6 time) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame 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 2012 *

:* Stampede Wrestling North American Women's Championship (1 time) *

( 4 times) * World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment :*

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) :*

(Class of 2010) * ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Worst Match of the Year (1984) vs.

on July 23

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

WWE Hall of Fame profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Wendi 1961 births American expatriate sportspeople in Germany American expatriate sportspeople in Japan American female professional wrestlers American people of German descent AWA World Women's Champions Living people People from Crystal River, Florida People from Dallas Professional wrestlers from Texas Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF/WWE Women's Champions Stampede Wrestling alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century professional wrestlers