The original Spider Lady
The Spider Lady is a notable masked wrestling villainess who (most notably) appeared as Wendi Richter's opponent at a World Wrestling Federation event at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 1985.
Originally, The Spider Lady was the alter-ego of WWE Hall of Famer The Fabulous Moolah (who was actually the second wrestler to use the Spider Lady gimmick, following its originator Penny Mitchell), who was feuding with fellow Hall of Famer Wendi Richter. After losing the WWF Women's Championship to Richter, which ended her nearly six-year-long fifth reign with the title (she had four other previous reigns when the title was known as the NWA World Women's Championship, though WWE claims that Moolah had reigned uninterrupted for 28 years), Moolah donned a bodysuit and mask and competed against Richter at a WWF event at Madison Square Garden. Thanks to a fast count by the referee, The Spider Lady won the title from Richter, and she was later unmasked by Richter and revealed as Moolah. The event has been dubbed, "The Original Screwjob," being given that name in later years to separate it from the more notable Montreal Screwjob in 1997.
A different Spider Lady appeared on the final Monday Night Raw of 1998, doing so as a challenger against Sable for the Women's Championship, which Sable won a month prior at Survivor Series. The masked villainess attacked Sable from behind (after Sable was presented with a white rose by obsessed fan Tori) and continued her assault by removing her belt and whipping her with it. At that moment, members of the babyface Oddities faction, which had Sable and Luna Vachon as members, came out to separate the Spider Lady from Sable. In a shocking twist, the Spider Lady removed her mask and revealed herself as Luna, who turned heel as a result. After her reveal, the evil Luna stated that she wanted the Women's Championship; claiming that it was her time and she wanted respect. It led to a Women's Championship contest at the 1999 Royal Rumble, with Sable defeating Luna to retain.
In April 2014, seven years after Moolah passed away, a variation of The Spider Lady gimmick took center stage at SHIMMER Women Athletes in Berwyn, Illinois. At Volume 65, Thunderkitty received a phone call from a mysterious promoter asking her to face off against the promoter's client, at an unfair rate (the promoter wanted 80% of Thunderkitty's pay). Thunderkitty entered the ring upset about being stiffed and demanded to face her opponent, later revealed as The Spider Lady, who was portrayed by the evil Lexie Fyfe. The Spider Lady lost to Thunderkitty in the same fashion that the original Spider Lady defeated Wendi Richter: with a fast three count by the referee.
The Spider Lady gimmick returned on November 23, 2019 on an episode of Major League Wrestling's Fusion program. She was the mystery opponent for Zeda Zhang in what was MLW's very first women's match, which saw the Spider Lady unleash her rule-breaking heel persona against Zeda. The Spider Lady was disqualified due to her relentless use of the Mandible Claw while Zeda was on the ropes, and afterwards, she removed her mask and revealed herself as the evil Priscilla Kelly, who continued her attack on Zeda following her reveal.
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