Ella Waldek
| Birth name | Elsie Schevchenko |
|---|---|
| Born | Custer, Washington |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Trained by | The Fabulous Moolah |
Elsie Schevchenko (December 2, 1929 – April 17, 2013) better known as Ella Waldek (Mecouch), was a former American professional wrestler. She was one of the subjects of the 2005 documentary film Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling.
Ella Waldek was born as Elsie Schevchenko in Custer, Washington and grew up as a self-described "farm girl". Originally a roller derby performer, Waldek's professional wrestling career began in 1952 after a male friend took her to a professional wrestling event. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing” she claimed years later. She was trained by The Fabulous Moolah.
Despite her limited knowledge of professional wrestling at the time, Waldek began a career in Chicago, Illinois. She adopted the name "Ella Waldek" because, in her words, “who could stand in a ring and autograph an eleven letter last name?” Waldek earned the nickname "The Policeman" and also worked under the names "Jackie Lee" and "Charming Carmen". She adopted the short arm scissor lift as one her signature maneuvers. Over the course of her career, Waldek worked matches with other female wrestlers, including Mae Young.
Janet Boyer Wolfe died after a body slam she had received from Waldek during a tag team match, though she was not injured by the move. Wolfe rolled out of the ring and collapsed at ringside. Waldek called for the timekeeper to assist her and get her away from the ring. Though Wolfe's death was eventually ruled to be an accident, police initially arrested Waldek and the other participants in the match—Mae Young and Eva Lee. The police reportedly considered charging the three with manslaughter, but all three women were eventually released. Ironically, as a result of the incident, people attended wrestling events to see Waldek, who had to endure crowd chants of "murderer" directed at her.
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