#WCW: Molly Holly

I’ve been reading Daniel Bryan’s autobiography (review coming soon) and an anecdote about a familiar face struck a chord. While Bryan, Spanky, and the other developmental rookies paid their dues by setting up the ring, Molly Holly saw they might need help and joined the effort. Bryan said it changed the company mandate from then on, and I realized that was par for the course in Molly’s career.

Thus, our #WomenCrushWednesday is the perpetually underrated, bastion of charity known as Nora Greenwald Benshoof.

She was a superhero, a Holly cousin, a barefoot, cocktail-dressed brawler, Spike Dudley’s girlfriend, and one of Randy Savage’s valets.

But she’ll best be remembered as one of the most dominant Women’s Champions in the history of professional wrestling.

Trained under Dean Malenko, Molly displayed technical prowess superior to most of the women’s roster during the 2001-2006 Golden Age. Her in-ring skills complemented her self-righteous gimmick, appalled at the vulgarity of “puppies” chants and lingerie matches. Hell, Molly Holly ignited the Divas Revolution ten years before there was a hashtag.

Her matches with Trish Stratus, Gail Kim, and Lita consistently delivered big-time, but her most memorable match included Victoria. Desperate to make it onto the WrestleMania XX card, and hoping to shock fans on a night with The Rock and Undertaker’s returns, Molly decided to put her hair on the line against Victoria’s title. Of course, Molly lost and was shaved bald in a WrestleMania moment eclipsed only by Mickie James’ finger lick.

Poor Molly…still ended up on the losing side in her war against T&A.