Lady Wrestler: The Story Behind the Story

Episode 6: History Trailblazers

Chris Bournea

This episode describes the impact that trailblazing Black women wrestlers made on history. Featuring interview clips with wrestling legends Ethel Johnson and Ramona Isbell, Ohio State University African-American Studies professor Hasan Jeffries, and Washington Post reporter Jeff Leen. Leen is the author of the acclaimed book “Queen of the Ring,” a biography of Mildred Burke, the first women’s world wrestling champion and wife of notorious promoter Billy Wolfe. 

You can learn more in the feature-length documentary “Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring,” now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.