I got so much great and positive feedback to my New Years’ Countdown of the Top 100 Wrestlers of 1975 and also last week’s Top 30 List of the Best Tag Teams of 1975, I thought that we would not want to leave the female performers out of this recognition and celebration of the best of 1975.
As we tunnel back through the mists of 1975 in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel, my Top 30 Female Wrestlers list shines a well-deserved spotlight on a year when women’s wrestling was carving out its own rugged identity amid the territorial boom. While the Fabulous Moolah continued her iron-fisted dominance in the NWA and WWWF scenes, and Ann Casey earned widespread acclaim as PWI’s Girl Wrestler of the Year with her athletic fire in the Southeastern territories, the list captures a broader global picture.
Betty Niccoli defended the AWA Women’s World Title in front of raucous Canadian crowds, Sue Green and Donna Christianello traded stiff shots in the Northeast, and Leilani Kai along with Joyce Grable began turning heads as fresh faces with legitimate in-ring credibility. It wasn’t just the States, either—Japan’s All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling was exploding with technical brilliance, and my ranking gives proper due to the homegrown stars who were already rewriting the script for what women could do between the ropes.
NWA Regional and State Women’s Titles in 1975
Before we start the countdown, I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the regional and state National Wrestling Alliance Women’s Championships that existed in 1975.
