He was a weird sort of goon as well. He decorated his face with rubber bands, and occasionally had flowers coming out of his then robust bellybutton. His image was that he was like an abusive father-type, ready to strike at any minute. He was part genius and part lunatic like any mad-scientist you can think of in the movies.

Anyway, at some point "Rowdy" Roddy Piper asked Albano to appear on his show Piper’s Pit to talk about the career of Lauper and what the Capt. did for her, and Albano happily obliged. When he appeared, Albano brought with him numerous newspaper and magazine articles, including one from Time Magazine. As he did, Albano continuously touted, "See what the Captain did for Cyndi." At the end of the Pit segment, Piper asked, rather humbly if Lou could possibly arrange for Lauper to appear on his show, the Pit and Albano said he would see what he could do.

Over the next few weeks Albano promised he would eventually have Lauper on the show. Finally, one week he said she would appear the following week, but when the time came Lauper failed to appear, while Piper showed up with his hair all moosed up and colored clothespins all over himself trying to look "hip" in a hilarious segment. Looking back, I’m not sure if the WWF was trying to make Albano look bad by continuously having Lauper no-show the TV tapings or if they were legitimately having trouble getting her to fit a WWF TV date in her busy schedule. It could also be that as long they kept advertising that Lauper would appear on the show, ratings would stay high from expectant viewers, but then ratings weren’t much of a money powerhouse then like they are today.

One week, Lauper finally did appear to the surprise of all the fans who, by now, had grown to believe that Albano was full of hot air (actually he was, but he produced Lauper anyway). When asked who does her hair she said, "We call him Pat Pat," which had to be another of the many subtle jokes about Pat Patterson’s homosexuality they used to do all the time. However, when asked if Albano really was her manager, she said, "No, a lot of people think that, but really he’s not my manager. I love Lou, but he’s not my manager." This was the first time the crowd really reacted to anything in this angle so far. Albano came out all fired up and began yelling a tirade at Lauper, saying she was nothing before he found her and that he made her what she is today. But Lauper would not take this lying down, and she got upset and a huge argument broke out. Lauper tore Piper’s shirt, and shoved Albano before storming off the set. Over the next few weeks, Albano said he would get even with her for double-crossing him and Lauper came back with a challenge that she could be a better manager than he could. Then she came up with her protégé, Wendy Richter.

Now, when I first heard the challenge, I was expecting them to both pick male wrestlers, so when Lauper picked Richter and said Albano could choose "Anyone you want," I really wanted Albano to pick his latest man, and WWF newcomer "Bulldog" Buzz Sawyer. (Sawyer didn’t stay in the WWF long, however.) But instead he chose the legendary lady wrestler, Fabulous Moolah, a woman who held the NWA (later the WWF) Ladies Title for 27 years up to this point.

Richter was actually trained by Moolah in the late 1970s. Then she became the World Ladies Tag Team Champions with Judy Grable as the Texas Cowgirls. Later, Velvet McIntre and a true vision of lovliness, Princess Victoria won the Ladies Tag straps. They toured the WWF defending the titles against Richter and her new partner, Peggy Lee, as heels. Apparently Richter really caught Vince McMahon’s eye because she was then thrust into this huge angle. Moolah, meanwhile, was in her waning years as a pro, and it was long overdue for someone to unseat her championship, so she probably figured what better candidate than her old protégé Richter. Besides, in exchange for dropping the Ladies Title to Richter in this angle, Vince agreed to use all of Moolah’s protégés in her female wrestling school, instead of those from the competing school run by Mildred Burke in California.

The match was set, and they announced it as the headliner of a card at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It made newspapers all over the country. MTV themselves, who had been a big part of publicizing the feud, agreed to air the match on live television as "The Brawl to Settle It All." Richter came down to the ring to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and the crowd went nuts. The match was long and plodding, without anyone clearly having an advantage. Moolah was clearly past her prime as she looked winded much of the time, but Richter was in the prime of her career and she exploded whenever she executed moves. At one point, Richter held Moolah so Lauper could wrap a towel around her fist and let her have it. It was a weak blow, but Moolah sold it big. Finally, Moolah sent Richter to the buckle and lifted her for a horizontal suplex. But Moolah was tired and she couldn’t bridge very well for the pin, so when Richter lifted her shoulder at two and the ref continued counting, the crowd was puzzled. At last, he held high the hand of Wendy Richter and crowned her the new ladies champion. On the replay, it was clear Moolah’s shoulders were on the mat while she attempted to pin Richter, so when Richter lifted her shoulder at two Moolah, if effect, pinned herself.

NEXT MONTH: 

I had planned to do this whole angle in one column, but it seems there is just too much information, so look forward to part two of "The Rock and Wrestling Connection" then. You’ve seen the glorious rise of Ms. Richter, now read about the tragic, Bret Hart-like fall of wrestling’s most popular female wrestler ever.