Mae Young Johnnie Mae Young ( March 12 , 1923 - January 14 , 2014 ) was an American professional wrestler . Young is an influential pioneer in women ' s wrestling , helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers . She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada , and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling Alliance . Beginning in 1999 , Young had a high - profile " second career " in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . Young was part of a recurring comedic duo with best friend The Fabulous Moolah in appearances on WWE televised events . She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame . Young holds the distinction of being the only professional wrestler to wrestle documented matches in nine different decades , having her first in 1939 and her latest match in 2010 . Professional wrestling career . Early career . Johnnie Mae Young was born in Sand Springs , Oklahoma in 1923 . She was an amateur wrestler on her high school ' s boys ' wrestling team at the age of fifteen . Her brothers Fred , Eugen , Lawarence , and Everett taught her to wrestle and helped her join the team . She was the youngest of eight children ( one died at birth ) . Her mother Lilly Mae Young was a single mother ( her partner left to find work and never returned ) living during the Great Depression . Young ' s oldest sister Inie was severely disabled by whooping cough at a very young age . Young also played softball with Tulsa ' s national championship team . While still in high school , Young went to a professional wrestling show and challenged then - champion Mildred Burke when she visited Tulsa to wrestle Gladys Gillem . Because the promoters told her she could not wrestle the champion , she wrestled Gillem in a shoot fight , beating her within seconds . After the fight , promoter Billy Wolfe wanted Young to become a professional wrestler . She left home two years later to wrestle professionally . In 1941 , Young , along with Mildred Burke , opened up Canada for female wrestling . In Canada , they worked for Stu Hart . She was wrestling in Memphis , Tennessee on December 7 , 1941 , the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japan ese , which led to the United States entering World War II . During the war , Young helped women take advantage of the fact that the men were fighting overseas by expanding their role in the sport . She fought under the nicknames of " The Queen " and " The Great Mae Young " , but she used her real name for most of her matches . During the 1950s , she wrestled for Mildred Burke ' s World Women ' s Wrestling Association ( WWWA ) . In 1954 , Young and Burke were some of the first females to tour Japan after the war . In 1951 , she became the National Wrestling Alliance ' s ( NWA ) first Florida Women ' s Champion . Five years later in September 1956 , she participated in the battle royal to determine the new NWA World Women ' s Champion after June Byers was stripped of the title , but the championship was won by Young ' s friend The Fabulous Moolah . In 1968 , she became the NWA ' s first United States Women ' s Champion . As an instructor , her students included Ric " The Equalizer " Drasin and The Fabulous Moolah . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment . Early storylines ( 1999 – 2000 ) . Young made her World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) debut on the September 9 , 1999 episode of " SmackDown ! " , seated at ringside with The Fabulous Moolah . Jeff Jarrett invited Moolah into the ring and smashed a guitar over her head . When Young tried to help Moolah out , Jarrett put Young into the figure four leglock . After this appearance , Young and Moolah began appearing regularly on WWF televised shows . On the September 27 edition of " Monday Night Raw " Young and Moolah defeated then WWF Women ' s Champion Ivory in a Handicapped Evening Gown match , where Young got stripped to her bra and underpants . Young managed Moolah during Moolah ' s WWF Women ' s Title victory over Ivory at the No Mercy pay - per - view in October 1999 . Young and Moolah both competed at Survivor Series with Debra and Tori against Ivory , Jacqueline , Terri Runnels , and Luna . At the age of seventy - six , she was named the WWF ' s " Miss Royal Rumble 2000 " at the Royal Rumble by winning a bikini contest . Young appeared to remove her top during this pay - per - view show , which aired from Madison Square Garden . Young , however , was wearing a prosthesis and was not actually exposing herself . Also in 2000 , Young began a storyline where she dated WWF superstar Mark Henry , including an announcement that Young was pregnant . During this storyline , The Dudley Boyz , specifically Bubba Ray Dudley , powerbombed Mae through a table twice in back - to - back editions of " Raw " - the first being in the ring and the second , in which Young was bound to a wheelchair and neck brace , being off the entryway stage . The " child " was eventually delivered and found to be nothing more than a bloody rubber hand . Sporadic appearances ( 2002 – 2013 ) . On the July 29 , 2002 edition of " Raw " , Young returned with long time friend The Fabulous Moolah to promote Moolah ' s new book : " The Fabulous Moolah : First Goddess of the Squared Circle " until being interrupted by general manager Eric Bischoff and 3 - Minute Warning . 3 - Minute Warning then destroyed Young by performing a scoop slam and top rope splash . In 2003 , Young made an appearance at Bad Blood , where she stripped in the ring and performed a bronco buster on Eric Bischoff . In 2004 , Young and The Fabulous Moolah were invited to tour , as guests of honor , with the WWE ' s modern stars as part of that organization ' s fiftieth anniversary . Also in 2004 , she was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame . Young , along with several other lady wrestlers of her era , starred in a 2005 documentary about their 1950s heyday . Moolah and Young appeared on " Late Night with Conan O ' Brien " to promote the film . Young re - appeared in 2006 at New Year ' s Revolution during the Bra and Panties Gauntlet match , where she entered the ring and did a strip - tease , whilst Moolah watched . She was attacked by Victoria as she left the ring , which led to Moolah and Mae removing Victoria ' s top , which helped Ashley Massaro . Mae made an appearance at WrestleMania 22 in April 2006 in a backstage segment with Gene Snitsky , in which he " fondled " her feet . On March 31 , 2007 , Young , along with The Fabulous Moolah , attended the WWE Hall of Fame 2007 Ceremonies on the eve of WrestleMania 23 . At WrestleMania 23 , she appeared dancing backstage with several other WWE superstars of the past and present . Mae and Moolah appeared at the 2007 WWE Draft on June 11 . Young also made a special appearance on " WWE SmackDown ! " on August 24 winning a bikini competition . Her last WWE appearance with Moolah before her death was at SummerSlam in August 2007 , in a backstage segment with Vince McMahon and Raw General Manager William Regal , two months prior to Moolah ' s death . On March 29 , 2008 , Pat Patterson inducted Mae Young into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2008 . She along with Wendi Richter , Sunny and Trish Stratus are the only living females currently in the WWE Hall of Fame . Young was on the 800th episode of " Raw " where she competed with the current divas in a 16 - diva tag match . Young was later pinned in the match by Beth Phoenix , costing her team the win . In 2008 , she made an appearance at Armageddon in the " Santa ' s little helper " diva match , kissing The Great Khali after the match ' s conclusion . On April 5 , 2009 , Young was the special guest time keeper for the 25 Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania 25 . On the November 15 , 2010 " Old School " edition of " Raw " , Young wrestled and won a Falls Count Anywhere handicap match against LayCool , thus becoming the first person ever to wrestle in nine different decades . Young appeared at WrestleMania XXVII , in a backstage segment with Dwayne Johnson and Eve Torres . During the May 2 , 2011 edition of " Raw " Young was a " birthday gift " from Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler to The Rock . After Ziggler and Guerrero laughed at The Rock , The Rock responded by kissing Young . On April 10 , 2012 , Young made an appearance on " SmackDown : Blast from the Past " , kissing The Great Khali after kicking him in the shin to make him bend over . Young also made a backstage cameo at " Raw 1000 " on July 23 , 2012 when AJ Lee was getting ready for her wedding with Daniel Bryan . During the appearance , she was escorted by a man dressed in a giant hand costume ; the man claimed to be Young ' s " son " who was born at the conclusion of the 2000 Mark Henry storyline . On September 24 , 2012 on " Raw " , Young took part in one of Kane and Daniel Bryan ' s " Anger Management " skits . On the December 31 , 2012 edition of " Raw " , Mae Young was warming up for her match with then - Divas Champion Eve Torres and began experiencing stomach cramps . It was determined that she was once again pregnant . Later in the broadcast , Young gave birth to " Baby New Year , " played by Hornswoggle . On the March 4 , 2013 special edition of " Old School " " Raw " , Mae Young featured in a segment where several performers celebrated her 90th birthday , until former WWE Champion CM Punk crashed the party . After the show Vince McMahon and Triple H presented her a replica of the WWE Divas Championship , which had been made for Mae ' s birthday . They proclaimed her to be " Forever The Divas Champion . " This would be Young ' s final on - screen appearance . Personal life . In 1991 , Young quit the wrestling business and moved to California to become a Christian evangelist and take care of her mother , who was sick . She later quit the evangelist business . In 1991 , she moved in with The Fabulous Moolah and Katie Glass in a house in Columbia , South Carolina , an arrangement which lasted until Moolah ' s death in November 2007 . Death . On December 30 , 2013 , Young was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and placed on life support . On January 9 , 2014 , she was taken off life support and placed under hospice care at home . Later that day , The Post and Courier erroneously reported Young ' s death , which was retracted citing incorrect information . Mae Young died on January 14 , 2014 .