WWE is changing the name of the Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal to the "WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal."
This week, WWE announced an upcoming battle royal would be held at WrestleMania 34 in honor of WWE Hall of Famer The Fabulous Moolah. Once regarded as an important, trailblazing name in professional wrestling for women, the last decade has seen Moolah's name discredited as she's been accused of sex trafficking, among other things. After WWE's announcement, they were hit with a barrage of responses criticizing the move.
On Thursday afternoon, a WWE representative issued a statement to media, announcing that WWE opted to re-name the battle royal to omit any mention of Moolah.
"After further consideration, we believe it’s best to proceed with the name ‘WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.’ What remains most important is that this historic match is part of WWE’s unwavering commitment to the Women’s Division.”
I was told that Snickers, the sponsor of WrestleMania was very unhappy about the negative publicity associated with The Fabulous Moolah name. They received hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and tweets in response to the situation and told many of those who inquired that they were taking the concern "very seriously." Shortly after this article ran, Snickers issued the following statement.
We were recently made aware of the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc's (WWE) decision to honor a former wrestler during the upcoming WrestleMania 34 event. As a principle-based business that has long championed creating inclusive environments that encourage and empower everyone to reach their full potential, this is unacceptable. We are engaging with the WWE to express our disappointment.
Several WWE Superstars, including Becky Lynch and Dakota Kai, deleted their tweets heralding the match following the controversy.
You can see Fightful.com's panel discuss the Moolah controversy below.
