While some younger pro-wrestling fans might recognize Mae Young for being the older woman taking on opponents in the ring throughout the '90s and 2000s, many fail to realize that she was a pioneer in the sport in the 1940s and '50s. Mae Young was a roughneck and extremely aggressive wrestler during her prime years, known for being a striker and submission specialist. She and her opponents helped popular the sport that is now televised around the world with her hardcore in-ring style, grace, and poise. Mae Young can easily be considered one of the first world-renowned wrestlers ever becoming the first woman alongside Mildred Burke to tour post-war Japan in 1954.
There has been conflicting reports on when Mae Young officially started her professional wrestling career. According to Young, she has stated that re first match was in 1939 and later stated that her first match was 1940. However, records have shown that she began wrestling in Memphis, TN in 1941. Young wrestled for several independent promotions from the 1940s to the 1970s winning the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) United States Women's Championship (1x), the NWA Women's Tag Team Championship (1x), and the NWA Florida Women's Championship (1x). In 1999, Young signed a contract with the WWE where she would make sporadic appearances until close to her death in 2013. Prior to passing away, Young was inducted in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum and WWE Hall of Fame for her contributions to the sport.