Mae Young
Mae Young in April 2001.
Ring name(s)	Mae Young Miss May Young The Queen The Great Mae Young
Born	(1923-03-12) March 12, 1923 (age 89)[1] Sand Springs, Oklahoma[1]
Resides	Columbia, South Carolina[1]
Debut	August 20, 1939[2][3]

Johnnie Mae Young^[1] (born March 12, 1923) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and currently WWE Ambassador.

Young was an influential pioneer in women's wrestling, helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada, and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling Alliance.

Beginning in 1999, Young had a high-profile "second career" in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).^[3] Young was part of a recurring comedic duo with best friend The Fabulous Moolah in appearances on WWE televised events.^[1] She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame. Young holds the distinction of being the only professional wrestler to wrestle documented matches in nine different decades, having her first in 1939 and her latest match in 2010.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Early career[link]

Johnnie Mae Young was an amateur wrestler on her high school's boys' wrestling team at the age of fifteen.^[1][2][3] Her brothers Fred, Eugen, Lawarence, and Everett taught her to wrestle and helped her join the team. She was the youngest of eight children (one died at birth). Her mother Lilly Mae Young was a single mother (her partner left to find work and never returned) living during the Great Depression. Young's oldest sister Inie was severely disabled by whooping cough at a very young age.^[1] Young also played softball with Tulsa's national championship team.^[2][3] While still in high school, Young went to a professional wrestling show and challenged then-champion Mildred Burke when she visited Tulsa to wrestle Gladys Gillem.^[1][2] Because the promoters told her she could not wrestle the champion, she wrestled Gillem in a shoot fight, beating her within seconds.^[1] After the fight, promoter Billy Wolfe wanted Young to become a professional wrestler.^[1] She left home two years later to wrestle professionally.^[2]

In 1941, Young, along with Mildred Burke, opened up Canada for female wrestling.^[1] In Canada, they worked for Stu Hart.^[1] She was wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee on December 7, 1941, the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, which led to the United States entering World War II.^[1] During the war, Young helped women take advantage of the fact that the men were fighting overseas by expanding their role in the sport.^[2][3]

She fought under the nicknames of "The Queen" and "The Great Mae Young", but she used her real name for most of her matches. During the 1950s, she wrestled for Mildred Burke's World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA). In 1954, Young and Burke were some of the first females to tour Japan after the war.^[3] In 1951, she became the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) first Florida Women's Champion. Five years later in September 1956, she participated in the battle royal to determine the new NWA World Women's Champion after June Byers was stripped of the title, but the championship was won by Young's friend The Fabulous Moolah.^[4] In 1968, she became the NWA's first United States Women's Champion.

As an instructor, her students included Ric "The Equalizer" Drasin^[3] and The Fabulous Moolah.^[2][3]

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment[link]

Early storylines (1999–2000)[link]

Young made her World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on the September 9, 1999 episode of SmackDown!, seated at ringside with The Fabulous Moolah. Jeff Jarrett invited Moolah into the ring and smashed a guitar over her head.^[3] When Young tried to help Moolah out, Jarrett put Young into the figure four leglock.^[3] After this appearance, Young and Moolah began appearing regularly on WWF televised shows. On the September 27 edition of Monday Night Raw Young and Moolah defeated then WWF Women's Champion Ivory in a Handicapped Evening Gown match, where Young got stripped to her bra and underpants. Young managed Moolah during Moolah's WWF Women's Title victory over Ivory at the No Mercy pay-per-view in October 1999.^[5] Young and Moolah both competed at Survivor Series with Debra and Tori against Ivory, Jacqueline, Terri Runnels, and Luna.^[6]

At the age of seventy-six, she was named the WWF's "Miss Royal Rumble 2000" at the Royal Rumble by winning a bikini contest.^[3] Young appeared to remove her top during this pay-per-view show, which aired from Madison Square Garden. Young, however, was wearing a prosthesis and was not actually exposing herself.^[2] Also in 2000, Young began a storyline where she dated WWF superstar Mark Henry,^[2] including an announcement that Young was pregnant. During this storyline, The Dudley Boyz, specifically Bubba Ray Dudley, powerbombed Mae through a table twice in back-to-back editions of Raw - the first being in the ring and the second, in which Young was bound to a wheelchair and neck brace, being off the entryway stage.^[2] The "child" was eventually delivered and found to be nothing more than a bloody rubber hand.^[2][7]

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Appearances (2003–present)[link]

On the July 29, 2002 edition of Raw, Young returned with long time friend The Fabulous Moolah to promote Moolah's new book: "The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle" until being interrupted by general manager Eric Bischoff and 3 Minute Warning. 3 Minute Warning then destroyed Young by performing a scoop slam and top rope splash.

In 2003, Young made an appearance at Bad Blood, where she stripped in the ring and performed a bronco buster on Eric Bischoff.^[8]

In 2004, Young and The Fabulous Moolah were invited to tour, as guests of honor, with the WWE's modern stars as part of that organization's fiftieth anniversary. Also in 2004, she was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Young, along with several other lady wrestlers, starred in the 2005 film Lipstick and Dynamite,^[3] a documentary about the women wrestlers from the 1950s era. Moolah and Young appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to promote the film.^[9]

Young re-appeared in 2006 at New Year's Revolution during the Bra and Panties Gauntlet match, where she entered the ring and did a strip-tease, whilst Moolah watched.^[10] She was attacked by Victoria as she left the ring, which led to Moolah and Mae removing Victoria's top, which helped Ashley Massaro win the match.^[10] Mae made an appearance at WrestleMania 22 in April 2006 in a backstage segment with Gene Snitsky (who had a storyline foot fetish), in which he "fondled" her feet.^[11]

On March 31, 2007, Young, along with The Fabulous Moolah, attended the WWE Hall of Fame 2007 Ceremonies on the eve of WrestleMania 23. At WrestleMania 23, she appeared dancing backstage with several other WWE superstars of the past and present.^[12] Mae made another appearance at the 2007 Draft Lottery on June 11. Mae also made a special appearance on SmackDown! on August 24 winning a bikini contest.^[3] On March 29, 2008, Pat Patterson inducted Young into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2008.^[3] She along with Wendi Richter and Sunny are the only living females currently in the WWE Hall of Fame.^[1] Mae made yet another appearance on the 800th episode of Raw where she competed with the current divas in a 16 diva tag match. Young was later pinned in the match by Beth Phoenix costing her team the win. She later made an appearance at Armageddon in 2008 where after the "Santa's little helper" diva match, she kissed The Great Khali. On April 5, 2009, Young was the special guest time keeper for the 25 Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV.^[13] On the November 15, 2010 "old school" edition of Raw, Young wrestled and won a falls count anywhere handicap match against LayCool, thus becoming the first person ever to wrestle in nine different decades. Young appeared in Wrestlemania XXVII in a backstage segment with The Rock and Eve. At the May 2, 2011 edition of Monday Night RAW Young was a gift from Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler to The Rock for his birthday. After Ziggler and Guerrero laughed to The Rock, The Rock responded to the ridicule by kissing Young. On November 28, 2011. Young was in a Backstage Segment involving Eve Torres, Zack Ryder. This Segment was not aired on TV due to length of the show.

On April 10, 2012, Young made an appearance on WWE Smackdown: Blast from the Past, kissing The Great Khali after she had kicked him in the shin.

Personal life[link]

In 1991, Young quit the wrestling business and moved to California to become a Christian evangelist and take care of her mother, who was sick.^[14] She later quit the evangelist business.^[14] Beginning in 1991, she moved in with The Fabulous Moolah and Katie Glass in a house in Columbia, South Carolina, an arrangement which lasted until Moolah's death in November 2007.^[9][14]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Elbow drop

• Signature moves
  • Bronco buster
  • Scoop slam
  • Schoolboy Pin

• Wrestlers managed
  • Johnny Flex^[15]
  • Mark Henry^[3]
  • The Fabulous Moolah^[3]
  • The Kat (WrestleMania 2000)

• Nicknames
  • "The Matriarch of the Mat"
  • "The Original Diva"
  • "The First Diva"

• Entrance themes
  • "1965" by Steve Vaus
  • "Ooh Baby!" by Jim Johnston (Was first used by The Fabulous Moolah)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Women's Championship (1 time)^[16]
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • NWA United States Women's Championship (1 time)^[1][3]
  • NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ella Waldek^[17]
• World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)^[1][3]
  • Miss Royal Rumble 2000
  • Slammy Award for Knucklehead Moment of the Year (2010)^[18] Defeating Lay Cool at Old School Raw
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2004^[1]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• The Great Mae Young (2004). Lipstick & Dynamite - The First Ladies of Wrestling (DVD). 
• Ellison, Lillian (2003). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReaganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-001258-8. 

External links[link]

• Profile at Online World of Wrestling
• WWE Hall of Fame profile of Mae Young

Mae
Mae performing at the Soundwave festival 2008.
Background information
Origin	Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Genres	Emo[1][2] Alternative rock[3] Christian rock[4][5]
Labels	Tooth & Nail (2003-2007) Capitol (2007-2008) Cell Records (2009-2010)
Associated acts	River James
Website	http://www.whatismae.com/
Members
Dave Elkins Zach Gehring Jacob Marshall Rob Sweitzer Mark Padgett
Past members
William Clark Matt Beck Jacob Clemons

Mae is an American alternative/indie band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia^[6] in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience," based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University.^[7]

History[link]

Jacob Marshall and Dave Elkins began what would become Mae by writing their first song, "Embers and Envelopes", in Marshall's living room. The band signed with Tooth and Nail Records and released their first album, Destination: Beautiful, in 2003. They released their second full-length album, The Everglow, in 2005. The band toured extensively to promote it, and also performed on the Vans Warped Tour. Mae re-released The Everglow in 2006, adding three new songs and a two-hour DVD.

Later in 2006, the band signed to Capitol Records for their third full-length album. Mae began recording the album in the fall of 2006, working with producer Howard Benson (who has produced albums for Saosin, My Chemical Romance, Blindside, and Relient K). The album, titled Singularity, was released on August 14, 2007. On June 19, 2007, the band released the first single from Singularity, "Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone".

On September 24, 2007 Padgett and Sweitzer parted ways with Mae.^[8] The following year, Mae announced that they had split ways with Capitol Records.^[9] They also stated that they would embark on a new, experimental project, releasing one new song for each month of 2009. Each song would be available to download on their website for a minimum donation of $1, with proceeds going to humanitarian projects of Mae's choosing. Additionally, they would be compiling the monthly songs into three separate EPs entitled (m)orning, (a)fternoon and (e)vening, respectively.

In July 2009, Mae announced they were starting their own label called "Cell Records" through which they would release their three-EP set. In order to get in-store distribution Mae returned to their original label Tooth and Nail Records and signed a distribution agreement with the label. The (m)orning EP was released in stores and online on September 22, 2009. There was a limited edition scratch-and-sniff disk that was only available on their spring US tour and which was scented like the ocean (the band encouraged members in the crowd of their live shows to smell the disc during their song "The Ocean"). Mae released the (a)fternoon EP in stores and online March 30, 2010. The final EP, (e)vening, was initially available in a limited edition on the band's "Goodbye, Goodnight" tour. The EP was then released in stores and online on March 8, 2011 bundled with a DVD of their hometown farewell show filmed at The Norva in Norfolk, VA. The farewell show features 20 songs, with songs from each of their full length records and their three most recent EPs.

On May 7, 2010 word began spreading of Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer rejoining Mae for their upcoming fall tour. On June 19, 2010, Mae played a show in Singapore, and it was the first show since 2007 that included both Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer. On June 22, 2010, Mae's Dave Elkins confirmed on the band's forums that Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer have reunited with Mae.^[10] On June 28, 2010 Mae announced that their upcoming "Goodbye, Goodnight" Tour would be their last for the foreseeable future, marking their indefinite hiatus.^[11] On August 23, 2010, the newly reunited Mae including Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer played their first show back home in the US at Eureka College in Eureka, IL - evidently gearing up for the Goodbye, Goodnight tour. On Saturday November 27, 2010, the band played what was billed as its last show at the Norva in Norfolk, VA. The show was filmed to be released on DVD. What were believed at the time to be Mae's actual final performances consisted of two shows played on February 23 and 24 2011 at the Shibuya and Shinsaibashi locations of Club Quattro in Japan.^{[12][better source needed]} However, in late December of 2011, the band announced on its web site that it would play eight shows in the U.K. and Europe as part of the Goodbye, Goodnight tour from Jan. 3-10, 2012.

Members[link]

Current members[link]

• Dave Elkins (born Dave Gimenez) – vocals, guitar (2001–Present)
• Zach Gehring – guitar (2003–Present)
• Jacob Marshall – drums, piano (2001–Present)
• Mark Padgett - bass (2002–2007, 2010–Present)
• Rob Sweitzer - keyboards (2002–2007, 2010–Present)

Former members[link]

• William Clark – bass (2001–2002)
• Matt Beck – guitar (now with Spitfire) (2001–2003)
• Jacob Clemons – saxophone (went on to host "One Cubed" (USA) which aired on ABC Family)

Touring Members[link]

• Josiah Schlater – bass (From the band Tokyo and Color)
• Robert Smith – keyboard (From the band Tokyo and Musicplayer)
• David Pogge – bass (For the (a)fternoon tour)
• Tyler Strickland - guitar (For the (a)fternoon tour)

Related projects[link]

Before forming Mae, Dave Elkins was co-founder and lead vocalist for the indie band Sky's the Limit. Two songs that Elkins originally wrote for Sky's the Limit have been recorded and released by Mae – "Skyline Drive", on Destination: Beautiful, and "Tisbury Lane", on Destination: B-Sides.^[13]

After Mae finished their final tour, Dave Elkins began a new project called This Is Schematic. The project focuses on collaboration between artists, producers, and their supporters. Elkins created Schematic as a label since he feels the "music industry is broken and that a drastic improvement is necessary." Submissions for the label are currently being accepted and Elkins is currently working his own EP also under the name Schematic.

Jacob Marshall has formed the band River James with members of the band Army of Me

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs and B-Sides[link]

Singles[link]

DVDs[link]

• From Toledo to Tokyo (Astorya Entertainment, 2005)
• The Everglow: Special Edition DVD (Tooth & Nail Records, 2006)
• Destination: Beautiful Five Year Anniversary (Mae Recording Company, 2008)
• (M)orning (Cell Records, 2009)
• (A)fternoon (Cell Records, 2010)
• (E)vening (Cell Records, 2011)

Compilation Appearances[link]

• Happy Christmas Vol. 4 (2005, contributed Carol Of The Bells)
• Punk Goes 90's (2006, contributed March of the Pigs)

Song of the Month[link]

Throughout 2009, Mae released 'Songs of the Month' (proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity and Donorschoose.org), with the first four tracks going onto the (M)orning EP, the second set of four going onto the (A)fternoon EP, and the final four on the (E)vening EP:

• January: The House that Fire Built
• February: Boomerang
• March: A Melody, The Memory
• April: Night/Day
• May: Over and Over
• June: The Cure
• July: The Fight Song
• August: In Pieces
• September: I Just Needed You To Know
• October: Seasons
• ^†November: Sleep Well
• ^†December: Bloom

† - Release delayed due to the theft of Mae's instruments and gear in Philadelphia

References[link]