The 60's dawned with the big Swede as champion, but her reign would last only until May of 1960, when Jayne Mansfield
got another shot. Like the first match, this one was a classic brawl, but, this time, it was Jayne who came out on top and
walked away with the strap. Mansfield's second reign lasted until December of 1960, when Loren reclaimed the strap. No one
knew it at the time, but, things were about to change in the FCWF. The belt had been held by either Brigitte, Jayne, Anita,
or Sophia since June of 1956, but, in October, 1961, 6-foot beauty Julie Newmar crashed the party, laying waste to the lovely
Loren and marking the end for the champions of the 1950s. All the top studio execs figured Newmar for a long-time champion,
and I agreed, but, Julie was surprised in 1962 by stunning blonde Ursula Andress. The Swiss beauty's athleticism and toughness
proved enough to hold the belt until May of 1963, when another Swede would claim the crown. Red-head Ann-Margret used her
famous flying crossbody to stop Ursula, who remains, to this day, the only Swiss woman ever to hold the strap. Ann's athleticism
and beauty were a perfect combination, and she made a wonderful champion. She bit off more than she could chew, however, when
she battled 6-foot red-head Tina Louise in March of 1964. Louise simply overpowered Ann, bloodied her, and took her belt.
Tina also had the look of a long-term champion, but Newmar put an end to that in January of 1965.
By the beginning
of 1965, some television starlets had made their way into the FCWF, but the movie studio foofs, who still ran the federation,
did all they could to keep the TV types down. Only Tina Louise, among all the champions, had done a lot of TV work. Finally,
though, it became obvious that we had to give the TV actresses an equal opportunity. I had to drag the movie people kickin'
and screamin' into the new decade, but, the FCWF changed that year, with an executive board named to run the federation and
a champeenship committee appointed to determine number one contenders. Newmar faced one of those contenders, Linda Evans from
TV's "Big Valley" in November, 1965, and dropped the belt to the rangy blonde. Linda remained champion until July of 1966,
when Ann-Margret claimed the strap a second time. Ann's second title reign was ended by the busty and powerful newcomer Raquel
Welch in March of 1967. Raquel was stopped by another TV type, athletic "Girl From Uncle" Stephanie Powers in January of 1968.
Stephanie
kept the belt until November of that year, when another French beauty claimed the strap. Catherine Deneuve won the bout like
she always won, both outsmarting and outwrestling the champion. Deneuve both outsmarted and outwrestled tall, strong Martine
Beswick in April, 1969. It didn't matter, though. The big woman was simply too much for Catherine, battering the blonde helpless
and taking her title. Beswick's "Waterloo" came in February of 1970 to the buxom Welch in a classic, back-and-forth bout that
could have gone either way.
As the new decade arrived, ol' Cy did somethin' that really ticked off the federation foofs.
Ya see, the gang runnin' the FCWF at the time was still tied to the major Hollywood studios and the TV networks, and they
wanted to make SURE that no woman who wasn't involved with either TV or the movies would get into the federation. Of course,
ol' Cy, as the commissioner o' this-here federation, had the power to sign ANY young talent he wanted to, and that's what
he did in February, 1970, when he inked one Claudia Jennings to a contract. Cy KNEW this woman was somethin' special, stunning,
athletic, and tough as nails. Cy's BOSSES, however, were more than a little ticked, since Jennings' claim to fame was her
Playmate of the Year status and she'd done almost no acting. Imagine how stressed the foofs got when the lovely red-head shot
to the top of the rankings and defeated Welch for the belt in November of 1970! As much as they might rail and rant, this-here
genie was out of the bottle and the federation was now open to Playmates and models as well as actresses. In the wake of Jennings'
victory, things changed again in the FCWF, with an actual rulebook being written. (Hey, it was only 15 freakin' YEARS after
the federation started....why rush?) Anyway, the eligibility rules adopted in January, 1971, remain in effect today. ANY female
celebrity is eligible, with the exception of athletes....and the commissioner still has the power to sign anyone who meets
the eligibility criteria.
Now, like Marilyn Monroe, there's been a lot of talk about what kind a' champ Jennings was.
Let Cy tell you that, when this woman was in shape she was one o' the best wrestlers Cy ever saw. Claudia, unfortunately,
developed a drug problem that ruined her as a wrestler, but, before that, she was dynamite. Jennings held the belt until July,
1971, when she was stopped by the bigger, stronger Beswick. Martine's second reign ended like her first, with a loss to a
strong, busty woman. This time, though, the victor wasn't Welch, but Jacqueline Bisset, who became the first woman to claim
the crown for England. Bisset is thought of as one of the greatest FCWF champions ever, and Cy'll tell ya', she was. Jackie
dropped the belt in December of 1972 to Jennifer O'Neil. The stunning Brazilian beauty kept the strap until she ran into rangy
singer Carly Simon in May of 1973. Simon held the belt until she was beaten by Bisset in January, 1974. Jackie's second reign
was one of the longest in the history of the FWCF. She was champion nearly an entire year, dropping the strap to the awesome
Pam Grier, the federation's first black champion, in December, 1974. Grier is also regarded as a great champion, and well
she should be. There's little doubt that she'd have had multiple reigns except for the fact that the championship committee
held her down in the rankings because of her race and her association with "Blaxploitation" films. Pam lost the belt in one
of the best matches in the history of the FCWF. She fell to Lynda Carter in November of 1975 after nearly pinning Carter twice.
As
1975 ended, so did the reign o' yours truly as commissioner. Ol' Cy decided to hang 'em up, and was replaced by one Charlie
Fife as the commissioner. The first title change of Fife's commissionership came in September, 1976, when Carter was soundly
defeated by a six-foot beauty named Margaux Hemingway. The powerful, athletic 21-year-old stunner looked to have a looong
future as FCWF champion. Sadly, Hemingway had the same problems as Jennings. She was dreadfully out of shape in May of 1977,
when she was defeated by the much smaller and less talented Susanne Somers. Many thought Somers wouldn't hold the belt more
than a month or two, but she surprised the experts by staying on top until January of 1978, when she was wasted by Bisset.
Jackie's third run with the strap was ended by Lynda Carter in October of 1978. Carter held the belt untl July of 1979, when
she fell to teen scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis. The rangy Curtis was another excellent champion and might have set a record
for the longest title reign had she not been upset by Marilu Henner in January of 1980.
Henner's reign was a short
one. The busty red-head went down to defeat to Loni Anderson in April, 1980, and Anderson could hold the belt only until September,
when Curtis reclaimed the strap. Jamie Lee's second run was stopped by 6-foot brunette Sigourney Weaver in July, 1981. Weaver
had TONS of power and some real wrestling smarts, but she was upset by another tall, powerful beauty, Kathleen Turner, in
March of 1982. Turner held the belt until history was made in December of '82. For the first time ever, a sister of a former
champion won the belt. Mariel Hemingway stopped Weaver to reclaim the belt her sister lost six years before. Hemingway, like
her sister, would be a one-time champion. Her reign ended in October, 1983, when Playmate Shannon Tweed outlasted her in a
classic battle. Tweed held the strap until June of 1984, when she was upset by Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Shannon demanded,
but never got a rematch with the leggy blonde, and Tiegs held the belt until yet ANOTHER leggy blonde, Daryl Hannah, took
it away in February, 1985. Just when it looked like blondes might hold the belt forever, one of the greatest champions ever
to appear in the FCWF arrived.
The FCWF has probably never seen a complete package of ability like 6-foot brunette
Geena Davis. A certified genius with incredible power and athleticism, Davis overwhelmed Hannah in December, 1985, sending
the former champ into a six-month hiatus from the ring. Davis dominated opponent after opponent until June of 1986, when,
despite having the better of things most of the way, she was upset by former champ Turner. Kathleen's second reign lasted
until a rematch with Davis in March, 1987. This time, the big brunette made no mistake, forcing Turner to submit to the human
torture rack. Geena remained the champion until a titanic matchup in December, 1987 against awesome blonde Brigitte Nielsen.
Nielsen stopped Davis and claimed the belt for Denmark. The brutal Gitte remained champion until a rematch with Davis in September,
1988. The match was a bloodbath, but Davis managed to pin Nielsen and reclaim the belt. A third battle between the two Amazons
took place in June, 1989, and the blonde stopped the brunette a second time to regain the title. Brigitte would batter and
humiliate opponent after opponent until March, 1990, when athletic Tracy Scoggins put an end to the Dane's reign of terror.
Scoggins
retained the belt through January of 1991, when Davis, fresh off a victory over Nielsen, stopped the lovely Texan to win the
belt for an unprecedented fourth time. Gina's fourth reign ended in December, 1991, when 6-foot Aussie Elle MacPherson defeated
the 34-year-old champion. As 1992 began with MacPherson as champion, the FCWF got a new commissioner. Charlie Fife retired
and Ed Schohn (Mr. Vanilla) took over the as head foof. The first title change of the Schohn era happened in October of 1992,
when Terry Farrell beat MacPherson. Elle reclaimed the belt in June, 1993, but fell to Scoggins in April, 1994. In January,
1995, Scoggins was stunned by former Miss America Vanessa Williams, who held the strap until October, 1995, when she fell
to stunning red-head Debbe Dunning. Dunning was upset by lovely blonde former-gymnast Elisabeth Shue in June, 1996. The busty
blonde remained champion until she was simply overpowered by 6-foot Brooke Shields in April, 1997. Shields' title reign ended
at the hands of Scoggins in January, 1998. Tracy then dropped the belt to Debbe Dunning in November of that year, and Scoggins
reclaimed it in a rematch in January, 1999. Elle MacPherson defeated Scoggins in July, 1999, and MacPherson's second run as
champion was ended by Uma Thurman in May, 2000. Also in 2000, Commissioner Vanilla, er Schohn decided to institute a tag-team
belt.
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