Women's Wrestling Wednesday -- Jacqueline Moore

Welcome to a new feature that I have wanted to do for some time now, but I have kept tight lipped about it since the start of WWE's "Divas Revolution" - so I kept my mouth closed about this and sat back and enjoyed the shows like the rest of you. I have enjoyed the matches, but the sheer lack of knowledge and respect to the women that have paved the way for the women in WWE today - not just the NXT Divas, but women throughout the wrestling industry, past and present, LONG before NXT was a twinkle in his eye.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce you to Jackie Moore, or simply Jacqueline, as she was known throughout her WWE career. If I'm perfectly honest, she's the most deserving woman to garner a Hall of Fame induction at WrestleMania in Texas next year.

Jacqueline DeLois Moore (born January 6, 1964) is an African-American semi-retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her stint in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment from 1998 to 2004 as well as working for World Championship Wrestling in 1997-98 and later Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a wrestler, manager and road agent.

She began her career in the United States Wrestling Association, where she was an eight-time USWA Women's Champion. She later moved to World Championship Wrestling, where she briefly managed the team Harlem Heat. In 1998, she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later World Wrestling Entertainment). She began managing Marc Mero and had her first rivalry with Sable, which culminated in the re-establishment of the WWF Women's Championship, which Moore held twice during her time with the WWF. In 1999, she formed an all-female alliance with Terri Runnels and Ryan Shamrock called the Pretty Mean Sisters. In the early 2000s, Moore worked as both a referee and trainer for the WWF, and she also held theWWE Cruiserweight Championship, which was a title predominantly held by men. She was the third woman to accomplish the feat, but the only woman to do so under the WWE banner (following Madusa and Daffney in WCW). In 2004, she joined TNA, where she worked mostly as a manager and occasional wrestler. -- via Wikipedia

In an article for wwe.com, Jim Ross had this to say about Jacqueline's talent:

"Jackie Moore is one of, if not THE most underrated female performer ever to work in the wrestling business...
"People have to realize, Jackie was operating at a skill level that was far above many of her contempories, she had to adjust her game to the skill level of some of the ladies she was working with. A lot of women would not have done that. A lot of men in the same situation would have rebelled. But Jackie was a great teacher and did a tremendous job."

A lot of African-American (read: black) wrestlers tend to get overlooked, especially in World Wrestling Entertainment throughout their history. It was an absolute joy for me to grow up seeing Jacqueline competing against men AND women throughout her prestigious career. It wasn't a coincidence that Jacqueline was a part of roughly 4 very strong rosters of women's wrestlers - WWF's Attitude Era, WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era, and two generations of TNA Knockouts (from their humble NWA-TNA beginnings to the fruition and evolution of the proper Knockouts division throughout the years). When talking about classic Divas in wrestling, women's wrestling fans are quick to mention Lita, Trish Stratus, or Chyna, but when it comes to Jacqueline Moore, you knew it was going to be one hell of a fight. She was a solid (and unselfish) worker, always fierce in the ring, and definitely an ebony goddess of wrestling. I gladly tip my hat to the wrestling career of Jacqueline.

I hope more women's wrestling fans would learn to appreciate her contributions to this sport and realize that Jacqueline is MORE than deserving for a WWE Hall of Fame spot.

Sample Matches (I do NOT own this content): 

2003 05 25 Heat Molly Holly & Jazz vs Ivory & Jacqueline

2003 06 01 Heat Jazz with Theodore Long vs Jacqueline

TNA Lockdown Gail Kim vs. Jackie Moore Six Sides of Steel

TNA One Night Only: Hardcore Justice 2013 - ODB vs. Jackie Moore