Ivory (wrestler)

Ivory

Ivory in March 2015
Birth name Lisa Mary Moretti
Born (1961-11-26) November 26, 1961
Inglewood, California, United States
Residence San Juan Island, Washington, United States
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Ivory[1]
Lisa Moretti
Nina[2]
Tina Ferrari[2]
Tina Moretti[2]
Billed height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1][3]
Billed weight 135 lb (61 kg)
Billed from Seattle, Washington[1]
Trained by Mando Guerrero[1]
Debut 1986
Retired 2006

Lisa Mary Moretti (born November 26, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, previously the World Wrestling Federation) between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory. Moretti began her career and first found national exposure in the independent promotion Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), where she performed as Tina Ferrari from the mid-to-late-1980s. Moretti debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 as the manager for the tag team of Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown. She won the WWE Women's Championship twice, before becoming a part of the villainous Right to Censor, a storyline stable of characters with harshly conservative sociopolitical views.

In her later years with WWE, she wrestled only sporadically. Moretti did, however, co-host The WWE Experience, and served as one of the trainers on WWE Tough Enough. After Moretti left WWE in 2005, she wrestled for Women Superstars Uncensored, winning two other titles, and was also inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame. Moretti also began working in the landscaping industry, and volunteered at her local animal shelter. In addition, Moretti opened an animal care and grooming facility named Downtown Dog, in her hometown in 2007.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1986–1999)

In her youth, Moretti wrestled with her two brothers and sister.[2] Later, while attending the University of Southern California (USC), Moretti was, in her own words, "dragged by a friend" to an audition held by the newly formed Las Vegas, Nevada-based Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW).[2] She was successful in her audition and went on to train under Mando Guerrero for six weeks,[2] before beginning to wrestle in GLOW under the ring name Tina Ferrari.[2] Moretti also formed a tag team with Ashley Cartier, known as T & A, with whom she won the GLOW Tag Team Championship.[4] She also defeated Colonel Ninotchka to win the vacant GLOW Championship, represented by a crown.[5] She later wrestled for the Powerful Women of Wrestling promotion and the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association under the ring names Nina and Tina Moretti, winning the POWW Championship.[2][4] On September 23, 1994 at UWF's Blackjack Brawl Lisa, under the name Tina Moretti, wrestled against Candi Devine for the vacant UWF World Women's Championship in a losing effort.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment / WWE

Debut and Women's Champion (1999)

In January 1999, Moretti returned to wrestling, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[2] Her first appearance in WWF was accompanying The Godfather, a "pimp" character who was accompanied by various women dubbed the "hos", to the ring.[6] On the February 13, 1999 episode of Raw, however, Moretti was introduced as Ivory, the storyline love interest of Mark Henry.[6] Ivory acted as the valet for the tag team of Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown,[7] and made her televised WWF in-ring debut on the February 15 episode of Raw as a fan favorite, teaming with Brown to face Jeff Jarrett and Debra in an intergender tag team match that ended in a no contest.[4] Ivory faced Debra in a singles match on the March 1 episode of Raw, defeating Debra by disqualification after she was attacked by the Pretty Mean Sisters (Jacqueline Moore and Terri Runnels).[4] At WrestleMania XV on March 28, Ivory accompanied D'Lo Brown and Test to the ring for their WWF Tag Team Championship title match against Jarrett and Owen Hart.[8] Jarrett and Hart retained their titles following interference from Moore, Runnels, and Debra.[8]

During this time, the women in the WWF were known more for their physical appearances and "sex appeal" rather than their wrestling abilities,[9] and featuring women in strip matches or farcical "slop matches", a match that takes place in a pool of slop, were common.[2] Ivory, who was a trained wrestler, won the Women's Championship on June 14, by defeating Debra and defended her title against Tori at SummerSlam on August 22.[10][11] Her feud with Tori turned Ivory into a villainous character. Ivory continued to feud with Tori in the weeks following SummerSlam, defeating her in the first ever WWF women's hardcore match on September 6.[12] Ivory was then challenged by Luna Vachon, who Ivory defeated in a farcical hardcore match at Unforgiven on September 26.[13] SLAM! Wrestling called the match "pointless and senseless".[13] In October 1999, Ivory feuded with The Fabulous Moolah, who defeated her for the Women's Championship on October 17, 1999 at No Mercy, in what John Powell of SLAM! Wrestling called the "worst match I've ever seen".[14][15] She, however, defeated Moolah in a rematch on the October 25 episode of Raw to win her second Women's Championship.[16] Her second title reign ended with a loss to Miss Kitty, an un-trained wrestler, in a Four Corners Evening Gown Pool match, a match where a wrestler wins by stripping the evening gown off of her opponents, on December 12 at Armageddon.[17]

Right to Censor (2000–2001)

Main article: Right to Censor

In late 1999, Ivory began portraying a more conservative character. On January 23, 2000 at the Royal Rumble, she grudgingly took part in the "Miss Royal Rumble" swimsuit contest, which was won by Mae Young.[4][18][19] She challenged Jacqueline for the WWF Women's Championship on March 9, but she was unsuccessful.[4] After an absence, Ivory returned to WWF television in September 2000 as a member of a villainous alliance of conservative wrestlers known as Right to Censor.[4] The change in character saw her don less suggestive ring attire and more conservative hairstyles.[20][21] Ivory quickly began a rivalry with Women's Champion Lita, winning the Women's Championship for the third time by defeating Lita, Jacqueline, and Trish Stratus in a Fatal Four-Way match.[22] She retained the title against Lita at the Survivor Series on November 19, with the assistance of Right to Censor leader Steven Richards, in a match that SLAM! Wrestling claimed "illustrated to what heights women's wrestling is capable of reaching in North America if the right talent is permitted to strut their stuff in a wrestling ring and not a pit full of jello."[23] Ivory also retained her title in a Triple Threat match against Stratus and Molly Holly at Armageddon on December 10.[24]

Ivory and the Right to Censor began feuding with Chyna after the latter posed for Playboy in late 2000.[4][25] On the December 7 episode of Raw, Ivory and Val Venis delivered a double-team piledriver to Chyna, which in storyline, injured her neck.[4] Chyna challenged Ivory for the Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble on January 21, 2001.[26] Ivory retained her title when she pinned Chyna, who had appeared to re-aggravate her neck injury.[26] Chyna challenged Ivory for the title once more at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1 and defeated Ivory in a brief match, ending Ivory's third reign as Women's Champion.[27] The Right to Censor stable was finally disbanded on April 26, 2001.[28]

Various storylines (2001–2005)

Ivory during a WWE Raw live show in March 2003

Ivory returned to WWF television on the August 6 episode of Raw, joining The Alliance during The Invasion, a storyline where the former wrestlers of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) formed an alliance and "invaded" the WWF.[29] Ivory formed an alliance with former WCW wrestlers Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler after helping them defeat Jacqueline in a handicap match, but later turned on Wilson due to her budding romance with Tajiri. Ivory eventually became the valet for Lance Storm.[28] At No Mercy, Ivory accompanied Storm and The Hurricane to the ring, but the Hardy Boyz defeated the two men to retain their WCW World Tag Team Championship.[4][30] Ivory went on to compete in the women's division, and on November 18 at the Survivor Series, she participated in a six-pack challenge for the vacant Women's Championship, which Trish Stratus won.[31]

In early 2002, Ivory served as a trainer in the second series of Tough Enough.[4][6][7] After the World Wrestling Federation was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" and the roster was split into two "brands", Raw and SmackDown!, Ivory was drafted to the SmackDown! brand.[32] Continuing to portray a villainess, Ivory engaged in a brief feud with Tough Enough co-winners Linda Miles and Jackie Gayda, which led to her facing Miles on the June 8 episode of Velocity. Ivory won the match after Gayda shoved Miles off the top rope and costing her the match. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown!, Ivory teamed with Gayda in a losing effort against Miles and Trish Stratus. Along with several other SmackDown! wrestlers, Ivory was traded to Raw in exchange for The Big Show in November 2002.[33] Throughout the remainder of 2002, she teamed with Victoria in tag team matches and feuded with Trish Stratus.[34]

In 2003, Ivory became a fan favourite, and wrestled sporadically in the women's division. In June of that year, she had three pinfall victories over the WWE Women's Champion, Jazz, but never received a title match opportunity. Her only pay-per-view appearance in the course of the year was on December 14 at Armageddon, where she unsuccessfully challenged Molly Holly for the Women's Championship, after Molly grabbed her tights for leverage, and managed to capture the victory.[35] She also served as a trainer on the third season of Tough Enough, and did broadcasting duties at WWE events.[7][36][37] Ivory also spent eight weeks working as a trainer at WWE's then-developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).[7][38] In May of that year, she and Todd Grisham began hosting The WWE Experience, a weekly television show that recapped events from Raw and SmackDown!.[6][39] On July 22, 2005, several weeks before WWE Experience ended in August 2005, WWE announced that Ivory had opted not to renew her contract with the company.[7]

Part-time appearances (2015–2016)

Ivory returned to WWE during the WrestleMania Axxess in March 2015.

On January 27, 2016, she appeared on WWE Network's program Table for 3, along fellow wrestlers Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly.[40]

Return to the independent circuit (2005–2006)

After leaving WWE, Moretti began wrestling sporadically on the independent circuit under her birth name. On November 19, 2005 in Spartanburg, South Carolina at A Tribute to Starrcade, she teamed with Bambi to defeat Team Blondage (Krissy Vaine and Amber O'Neal) for the CCW Tag Team Championship.[4] On April 21, 2006 in Surrey, British Columbia, Moretti defeated Rebecca Knox for Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW)'s NWA SuperGirls Championship.[38] She also successfully retained her title in a match the following night.[38] Afterward, Moretti decided to stay with ECCW to help create a strong women's division.[38] She held the title for approximately five months before losing it to Nattie Neidhart on October 8, 2006.[41]

On March 5, 2011, Moretti appeared at the Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) 4 Year Anniversary event, where she was inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame. She also appeared on the event, preventing Rick Cataldo from interfering successfully in the WSU Spirit Championship bout, hitting Cataldo with the Poison Ivory, between Brittney Savage and Sassy Stephie. As a result, Stephie was able to win, capturing the championship and thanking Ivory for her help.

Personal life

Moretti was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.[2] She has three siblings: two brothers and one sister.[2] She studied public relations at the University of Southern California (USC),[2][36] and she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League in the mid-1980s.[4][42] Prior to beginning her career in wrestling, Moretti worked as a make-up artist for the cosmetic brand Revlon.[3]

After leaving WWE, Moretti began working in the landscaping industry.[43] Moretti also worked with her niece to help the pet population affected by Hurricane Katrina.[3] In addition, Moretti volunteered for an organization called Best Friends Animal Society, which is a no-kill animal shelter (a shelter that does not euthanize to control animal populations) in Utah.[3] She also worked with her local animal shelter on San Juan Island in northwestern Washington,[3] where she has resided since 2000.[38] While working at the shelter, she met her eventual business partner Jessica Ray, with whom she opened Downtown Dog in 2007.[3] The facility is an animal daycare, as well as a training, grooming, and cat boarding company located in Friday Harbor, Washington.[3] In June 2007, they expanded the business to include veterinary care and later the Bow Wow Bus, which takes the dogs on outings.[3] Moretti has taken classes to learn how to groom animals and now grooms them as part of the business.[3]

In wrestling

Ivory setting up to perform a scoop slam on Trish Stratus

Championships and accomplishments

Ivory being inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame in March 2011

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ivory's WWE Alumni Bio". WWE. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Oliver, Greg (April 13, 2000). "'Slop' matches haven't stopped Ivory". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lohr, Marsha (2008). "The Power of the Paw" (PDF). petboutiqueandspa.com. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Ivory's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  5. ↑ GLOW: The Early Years (DVD). Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. 2006.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Barnwell, Bill (June 13, 2008). "Friday Wrestling List: Ten Divas We Want To Return". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Waldman, Jon (July 22, 2005). "Ivory, WWE part ways". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  8. 1 2 Powell, John (March 29, 1999). "Austin wins title at WM15". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  9. ↑ Baines, Tim (March 4, 2000). "WWF's sexy stars have charisma and talent, too". Ottawa Sun. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Tori vs. Ivory: SummerSlam 1999 - WWE Women's Championship Match". WWE.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ Powell, John (August 23, 1999). "Foley new champ at SummerSlam". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  12. ↑ Dumas, Amy (2004). Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D – The Reality of Amy Dumas. WWE Books. p. 206. ISBN 0-7434-7399-X.
  13. 1 2 Yang, Rich (September 27, 1999). "HHH regains title at Unforgiven". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  14. ↑ Ellison, Lillian (2002). The Fabulous Moolah: First Goddess of the Squared Circle. ReganBooks. p. 7. ISBN 0-06-039397-1.
  15. ↑ Powell, John (October 18, 1999). "Steph betrays Vince at Armageddon". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Fabulous Moolah's fourth reign". WWE. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  17. ↑ Powell, John (December 13, 1999). "Steph betrays Vince at Armageddon". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  18. ↑ Powell, John (January 24, 2000). "Rocky wins the Rumble; A bloody Triple H defeats Cactus Jack". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  19. ↑ Lawler, Jerry (2002). It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes. WWE Books. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-7434-5768-2.
  20. ↑ Dumas, Amy (2004). Lita: A Less Traveled R.O.A.D – The Reality of Amy Dumas. WWE Books. p. 216. ISBN 0-7434-7399-X.
  21. ↑ Oppliger, Patrice (2004). Wrestling and hypermasculinity. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 173. ISBN 9780786481361.
  22. ↑ "Ivory's third reign". WWE. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  23. ↑ Powell, John (November 20, 2000). "Weak stunt ruins Survivor Series". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  24. ↑ Powell, John (December 11, 2000). "Armageddon: WWF saves the worst for last". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  25. ↑ Inness, Sherri A. (2004). Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture. Macmillan. p. 201. ISBN 1-4039-6396-7. One recent feud was with the wrestling group 'Right to Censor,'... . The group's conflict with Chyna focused on her posing in Playboy and her 'flaunting' of her body...
  26. 1 2 Powell, John (January 22, 2001). "Surprises dominate Rumble 2001". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  27. ↑ Powell, John (April 2, 2001). "Austin turns heel at WM X-Seven". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  28. 1 2 "Right to Censor's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  29. ↑ M., Steven (December 3, 2007). "The Invasion, Part II (Climax At InVasion)". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  30. ↑ Powell, John (October 22, 2001). "McMahons ruin No Mercy". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  31. ↑ Powell, John (November 19, 2001). "WWF pulls out Survivor Series win". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  32. ↑ McAvennie, Michael (2003). "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition". Pocket Books. p. 102.
  33. ↑ McAvennie, Michael (2003). "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition". Pocket Books. p. 288.
  34. ↑ McAvennie, Michael (2003). "WWE The Yearbook: 2003 Edition". Pocket Books. p. 335.
  35. ↑ Tylwalk, Nick and Dale Plummer (December 15, 2003). "WWE Armageddon a flop". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  36. 1 2 Oliver, Greg (April 10, 2003). "Ivory enjoyed All-Day-Long". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  37. ↑ Madigan, TJ (October 19, 2002). "Think outside the box". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Johns, Fred (April 25, 2006). "Ivory proud to be independent". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  39. ↑ "Debut of "The WWE Experience" Marks Start of Initiative to Attract a New Generation of WWE Fans". WWE. April 19, 2004. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
  40. ↑ "WWE WWE Network: Molly Holly reveals the lengths she was willing to go to compete at WrestleMania on Table for 3". WWE.com. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  41. ↑ "SuperGirls Championship: Title History". Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
  42. ↑ Kelley, Patrick, Nick Lane, & Josh Diaz (February 6, 2006). "Weekend Warriors of Wrestling, Guest: "Ivory" Lisa Moretti". Wrestling Epicenter. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2008. Recap by Lords of Pain
  43. ↑ "Interview Highlights: Ivory talks about leaving WWE, state of women's wrestling, Diva Search (archived December 8, 2005)". Pro Wrestling Torch. August 24, 2005. Archived from the original on December 8, 2005. Retrieved August 16, 2008.
  44. 1 2 "Ivory vs. Molly Holly: Sunday Night Heat, May 4, 2003 (2:17)". WWE.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 "WWE Alumni: Ivory vs. Trish Stratus (2:26)". WWE.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  46. 1 2 "Ivory vs. Victoria: Sunday Night Heat, December 7, 2003 (3:13)". WWE.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  47. ↑ "The Ladies Sports Club: Glitz and Glamour in the Ring", Wrestling Eye Presents: Women of Wrestling, Spring 1990
  48. ↑ Pedicino, Joe; Solie, Gordon (hosts) (March 19, 1988). "Pro Wrestling This Week". Superstars of Wrestling. Syndicated. WATL.
  49. ↑ "Women's Title History". WWE. Retrieved December 13, 2008.

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