Toni Rose

Toni Rose (born December 22, 1945) is an American retired professional wrestler. During her wrestling career, Rose captured the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship on five occasions; three times with Donna Christanello, and twice with her trainer, The Fabulous Moolah. Rose is also a former one-time NWA Southern Women's Championship (Georgia version).

For the member of the Texas House of Representatives, see Toni Rose (politician).
Toni Rose
Born (1945-12-22) December 22, 1945
Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Toni Rose
Billed height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)[1]
Billed weight143 lb (65 kg)
Trained byThe Fabulous Moolah[1]
Debut1963

Professional wrestling career

Rose grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana.[1] She decided to become a professional wrestler at the age of seven, but first attended Terre Haute High School and college.[2][1] She trained under The Fabulous Moolah in 1965.[1] During her first match, which occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, her opponent Bambi Bell knocked Rose unconscious.[1]

During a match in Australia in 1969, Rose was injured and left partially blind in one eye.[1] In the early 1970s, Rose held the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship twice with The Fabulous Moolah.[3][4] They first won the title in May 1970, but lost it to Donna Christanello and Kathy O'Day. During a rematch in June, Rose and Moolah regained the title.[4] Later that November, Rose won the title, this time with Christanello.[4] In 1972 at the Superbowl of Wrestling, they defended the World Women's Tag Team Championship against Sandy Parker and Debbie Johnson. During their reign, there was an unrecorded title change; Susan "Tex" Green and Parker won the title from Christanello and Rose in November 1971 in Hawaii, but they regained it in February 1972 in Hong Kong.[4][5] After a three-year reign as champions, they were officially defeated for the title by the team of Joyce Grable and Vicki Williams on October 15, 1973, in New York City.[4] It was not until October 1975 that Rose and Christanello regained the title from Grable and Williams, holding it for approximately four years.[4]

During this time, she also wrestled against Susan "Tex" Green in Leroy McGuirk's promotion.[6] During her career, Rose was also a contender for Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship, but never won the title.[7] In December 1974, Rose was in a match to crown the vacated NWA United States Women's Championship, but lost to Ann Casey.[8]

Personal life

Rose cites Penny Banner as her favorite wrestler growing up, who she later became friend with.[9][10] She was married to Jack Laughridge for nearly 35 years, until he passed away in 2016.[10]

Championships and accomplishments

Footnotes
  1. "Wrestling to the tune of $68,000 a year". The Sydney Morning Herald. January 5, 1972. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  2. "Local Female In Mat Debut". The Terre Haute Tribune. November 17, 1963. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  3. Ellison, Lillian. First Goddess of the Squared Circle, p.143–145.
  4. Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). "NWA Women's World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  5. Pierce, Dale. "Interview with Susan Green". Wrestling Then and Now. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  6. Johnson, Steven (March 26, 2004). "Susan Tex Green: Prodigy to pro". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  7. Greenberg, Keith Elliot (2000). Pro Wrestling: From Carnivals to Cable TV. Lerner Publications. p. 35. ISBN 0-8225-3332-4.
  8. Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). "NWA Women's US Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 197. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. Annino, Christopher (May 2, 2022). "A rare chat with Toni Rose". Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  10. Mooneyham, Mike (April 1, 2023). "For Hall of Famer Toni Rose, there was life after wrestling". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  11. "World Women's Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com.
  12. Oliver, Greg (2017-12-07). "Oooooh yeaaahhhh! PWHF announces Class of 2018". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  13. "FIRST INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED FOR WOMEN'S WRESTLING HALL OF FAME | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.

References
  • Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8.

Further reading
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