"Jacqueline, former Miss Texas, ready to take on the competition at Cove
"
by By TOM CONWAY - South Bend Tribune Correspondent - June 24, 2005
Racing fans and the media justifiably praised Danica
Patrick when she made history last month by finishing
in fourth place in her debut at the Indianapolis 500.
But she is hardly the first woman to excel in a male-dominated
sport.
Consider Jacqueline, the former World Wrestling Entertainment
diva who will be pitted against Vanessa Harding in the
ladies match at Clash at the Cove on Saturday at Coveleski
Stadium in South Bend, as part of an Independent Association
of Wrestling event.
Jacqueline is a woman of many firsts in the professional
wrestling circuit. She was the first woman to be ranked
in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers poll.
She was the first African-American women's champion
in the WWF (now known as WWE). As Miss Texas, she was
the first women's champion in the United States Wrestling
Association (USWA). And she was the first woman to win
the WWE cruiserweight title.
In a recent phone interview from her home in Dallas,
Jacqueline said she is proud of her accomplishments.
"I am very honored," she said. "I hope that I am a positive
role model for up-and-coming young African-American
females. Not just African-American females but any female."
Jacqueline (whose last name is Moore but who wrestles
under her first name) knew since she was a child in
her hometown of Dallas what she wanted to do with her
life.
"I used to watch wrestling growing up," she said. "I
knew from the start that was what I wanted to be: a
wrestler."
She enrolled in a wrestling school that she discovered
in Dallas.
"I was the only female in the class with a bunch of
guys," Jacqueline said. "They didn't take it easy on
me. They tossed me around like I was one of the guys.
That is what wrestling is all about. There is no easy
shortcut."
Wrestling men early in her career helped prepare her
for the cruiserweight title match she won in 2004, which
she considers to be the highlight of her career so far.
At about
5-foot-3 and 119 pounds, Jacqueline defeated the 5-6,
210-pound Chavo Guerrero Jr., although Guerrero took
back the title 10 days later.
"Winning the cruiserweight title, even participating
in the cruiserweight, was exciting," Jacqueline said.
"It wasn't like this was my first time wrestling guys.
All through my career, I have wrestled a lot of guys.
I have wrestled more males than females."
Jacqueline said that while most of her fans can separate
the fantasy of the persona that she has created in the
ring from the reality of who she is outside the ring,
she still runs into fans who confuse that distinction.
"People tend to think that the way that I act in the
ring is the way that I act in real life," she said.
"Meaning, I am brutal, that I am rough, that I have
a mean streak. But when I am away from the ring, I am
a pussycat. I am easygoing. I love to have fun."
Jacqueline said she is somewhat dismayed at the current
state of professional wrestling.
"They tend to do more soap opera than wrestling," she
said. "Have you noticed that? That's OK. We need that.
But I think they need to focus more on wrestling. They
need to bring it back.
"Right now, they are using a lot of Playboy models,
a bunch of T & A. I have nothing against that. There
is plenty of room for that, but there is room for both.
People love to see pretty women, but you can see them
anywhere. Get back to wrestling."
Jacqueline said that a change away from the dramatic
story lines and beautiful women that permeate the wrestling
world today probably will not be coming anytime soon.
"Apparently, it is working for WWE," she said. "They
are still on TV."
