There are few women as influential in British wrestling history as Mitzi Mueller. While one could argue Paige (Saraya) was crucial in changing the perception of women in the WWE, Mueller fought for women to be included in the ring decades before the WWE was king.
Starting at 14 years old, she quickly became a huge star in the wrestling, despite never appearing on the weekly World of Sport television show. Mitzi Mueller grew her brand on live shows, with women’s wrestling proving a huge draw despite the hurdles in their way.
Local councils would regularly step in and stop her matches from occurring, despite fans paying hard-earned money to see the women wrestling.
Mitzi Mueller originally portrayed herself as a German wrestler. Her mother was originally from Germany, so she took her first name while Mueller came from a Germaised-version of “The Fabulous Moolah’s” name.
Her blonde hair and blue eyes completed the gimmick, with “The Kinky Blonde” becoming a fan favourite with men and women – for very different reasons sometimes. A stadium in Turkey even rioted when they didn’t get to see her wrestle, showing the star power Mitzi Mueller possessed.
The English star was just one a dozen women’s wrestling touring the country is the 1970s, making a full-time living on the road with some of the scariest, most dangerous men in Britain on the mat. She battled the perception that women couldn’t wrestle, as well as stars like Klondyke Kate, to become one of Britain’s most influential wrestlers of any gender.
To understand why Mitzi Mueller needs to be inducted into any and all wrestling Hall of Fame, we first need to understand the hostile environment women faced in wrestling during the golden age of British wrestling.
The History Of Women’s Wrestling In Great Britain
Women’s professional wrestling is almost as old as the male side of the sport, with over a century of history to it. The first documented instance of female wrestlers in the UK was in 1867. The Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that “The Great German Troupe of Female Wrestlers Has Arrived” in England on July 19th, 1867.
It took a while to catch on, but the first intergender wrestling match took place on the 6th February, 1880. The Durham County Advertiser reported the match took place in Moorthwaite, with the woman dislocating her opponent’s shoulder. Things carried on strongly, with all women’s matches becoming a spectacle that fans couldn’t get enough of well into the 1930s.
Thousands filled the London clubs to watch Ivy “Blonde Tigress” Russell face off with Peggy “Brunette Bearcat” Parnell in 1934 (WrestlingHeritage). However, female mud wrestling was introduced in 1938, which prompted the London council to institute a ban on female wrestling. Soon after, the increasingly violent All-In Wrestling style caused the city to also ban male wrestling, halting the growth of the industry in the nation’s capital.
The men’s wrestling ban was lifted in 1951 thanks to Admiral Lord-Mountevans inventing a new ruleset for the sport. These new rules were introduced in 1947, and for the first time codified wrestling with a ruleset that was followed by the bulk of the wrestling promotions. Most importantly, these rules were taken up by Joint Promotions, who enjoyed a forty-year domination over the wrestling scene.
However, that rescinded ban did not extend to the women wrestlers. London refused to let the girls in to wrestle, which cost them a chance at wrestling in front of the biggest crowds with the furthest reach. It also stopped them working for Dale Martin, who controlled the TV coverage for the wrestling within Joint Promotions.
The women wrestlers continued to wrestle across the country. Even when shows were taped outside London, the opinion that “women shouldn’t be wrestling” prevailed among the elites. Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone supported the ban, and ever wanted to ban female boxing as well.
“I supported [the ban],” Livingstone told Simon Garfield. “I would ban [women’s] boxing too. Women’s wrestling always had a sexual innuendo and content about it”.
Joint Promotions Refused To Book Female Wrestlers On TV
Max Crabtree eventually took over as the head honcho in Joint Promotions and explained why he continued to refuse to book the lady wrestlers on TV. He thought that ITV would have thrown the show off the air, but struggled to hide his disdain for the entire concept.
“But no matter who they were, and I say this respectfully,” Crabtree said, disrespectfully, “there was never a place for them in the history of British wrestling. I think that if I had attempted to put them on television, ITV would have instantly taken it off [the air].”
Despite the opposition to their very existence as wrestlers, the likes of Mitzi Mueller and Klondyke Kate soldiered on. They worked for “Opposition promoters”, which were wrestling companies that weren’t associated with Joint Promotions.
Joint Promotions ran a closed shop, forcing wrestlers to choose between their monopoly and the outlaw wrestling shows. If they worked for the opposition, then their dates with Joint would be cancelled, completely scuppering their chances of making a living in the business. Given the fact that Martin, Crabtree and co. refused to put them on TV, the women had no qualms working where they could.
It was one of these opposition shows where she met her husband, Brian Dixon. Dixon was the promoter for All Star Wrestling while also working as a referee. He stepped on her hair during a pinfall, which somehow started a romance between the pair. Dixon helped make her a star in the ring, capitalising on something Joint Promotions didn’t have – women’s wrestling.
Mitzi Mueller even found a way into pop culture with her work in the ring, becoming the inspiration for the play Trafford Tanzi. She trained Toyah Wilcox for the role of Trafford Tanzi, while also appearing in shows like Emmerdale, the Bill and Help. She was a regular on TV in part due to her success in the ring.
Without Mueller’s hard work and star power, women’s wrestling would not be where it is today, with the female stars having the same opportunities as the men. Wrestling would still be banned in London if not for her tirelessly campaigning to end the ban in the capital city, which included some creative ways to get the word out and the girls in.
Mitzi Mueller Helped Get Wrestling Unbanned In London In 1987
As one of the most popular lady wrestlers of the day, as they were often referred to as back then, Mitzi Mueller was instrumental in getting the ban in London overturned. She and her husband travelled up and down the country, campaigning to let women wrestle on TV and in London.
The most creative way she got the word out was to release her own single. Mitzi Mueller released “Let The Girls In (To London Town)” in 1985, with the help of Suzy Quatros’s band and written by Robert Rigby. Details about the song’s success are muddled, but one thing is sure – two years later, the ban was overturned.
After years of tireless campaigning, Mitzi Mueller had helped get women’s wrestling overturned in London after 49 years, as it was lifted in 1987. The first time women could wrestle in London for half a century was a momentous occasion and coincided with Mitzi Mueller’s last-ever match.
The event took place on April 24th, 1987 and was promoted by her husband Brian Dixon at the Royal Albert Hall. The iconic venue was the only possible one for such a huge occasion.
Mitzi partnered Rusty Lee against Klondyke Kate and Nicky Munroe in her last fight, in a historic match that should never be forgotten in the history of women’s wrestling in the United Kingdom. Brian Dixon managed to get a one-week-a-month slot on ITV in the late 1980s, where Mitzi Mueller made her sole televised appearance in wrestling. However, it was in a managerial role and not in wrestling.
World of Sport still never showed women’s wrestling, but Orig Williams’ British Wrestling Federation did showcase it on Reslo on S4C in the 1990s. Mueller retired after the battle at the Royal Albert Hall, leaving the business due to horrendous back injuries that saw her on regular trips to the hospital in immense pain.
However, her contributions are undeniable. If changing women’s wrestling, knocking through glass ceilings and releasing questionable music to bring a city council to its knees doesn’t earn someone a Hall of Fame induction, nothing does. Mitzi Mueller is an icon of the ring and one of the greatest female wrestlers in history.
