Mae Young

March 12, 1923 — January 14, 2014 — Sand Springs, Oklahoma, United States

Mae Young was an American professional wrestler, trainer, and promoter whose career spanned more than six decades, making her one of the longest-active competitors in wrestling history. A pioneer of women's wrestling, she helped popularize the sport during the 1940s and World War II era and later became one of the first Western women to wrestle in post-war Japan. Her longevity and colorful in-ring persona later made her a beloved, if unconventional, figure in WWE during the 2000s.

Early Life and Entry into Wrestling

Johnnie Mae Young was born on March 12, 1923, in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, during an era when opportunities for women in athletics were scarce and professional wrestling was almost exclusively a male domain. Drawn to the sport as a teenager, she trained under wrestling promoter Billy Wolfe, who ran one of the most influential women's wrestling stables in the country. Young made her professional debut in the late 1930s, quickly distinguishing herself with a rugged, physical style that defied the era's expectations of femininity in sports. She wrestled across carnivals, armories, and small-town arenas throughout the American South and Midwest, often facing resistance from promoters unconvinced that fans would pay to see women compete. Her perseverance during these formative years, compounded by the wartime shortage of male athletes, helped create space for women's wrestling to gain a foothold as a legitimate draw. By the early 1940s, she had become one of the most recognizable women in the sport, setting the stage for a career that would eventually stretch into the 21st century.

A Groundbreaking Career

Young became a major star throughout the 1940s and 1950s, competing under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner and capturing multiple championships, including the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship. She worked closely with Mildred Burke, one of the era's biggest female stars, and in 1954 the pair became among the first American women to wrestle professionally in post-war Japan, introducing the sport to a new audience and expanding its international footprint. Young was known for her toughness, willingness to work stiff, physical matches, and showmanship, traits that made her a fan favorite and a formidable opponent for decades. Beyond her in-ring career, she worked as a trainer, mentoring younger wrestlers and helping shape the next generation of women's wrestling talent. She continued competing well past the point most athletes retire, wrestling into her seventies and even her eighties in various independent promotions, a testament to her extraordinary durability and passion for the business. Her decades of active competition made her a living link between wrestling's carnival-era roots and its modern sports-entertainment incarnation.

Later Years, WWE Fame, and Legacy

In the early 2000s, WWE brought Young into its programming, where her fearless, comedic willingness to participate in outlandish storylines—including a widely discussed segment in which her character was depicted giving birth to a hand—made her a cult favorite with a new generation of fans. In 2008, WWE inducted her into its Hall of Fame, cementing her status as one of the most important figures in women's wrestling history. She continued making appearances into her late eighties and early nineties, remarkable given that her career had begun nearly seventy years earlier. Young died on January 14, 2014, in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 90. Her legacy endures as one of the true pioneers who fought for women's wrestling to be taken seriously, paving the way for the generations of female athletes who followed. Wrestlers and historians alike credit her with helping to build the foundation upon which modern women's wrestling stands, and she remains a touchstone figure whenever the sport's early history is discussed.