Debbie Combs
| Debbie Combs | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Deborah Szostecki |
| Born | April 18, 1959 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Darling Debbie Debbie Dahl Debbie Combs Lady Satan Princess Dee[1] |
| Trained by | Cora Combs |
| Debut | 1975 |
| Retired | 1998 |
Debbie Szostecki (born April 18, 1959) is a retired professional wrestler better known as Debbie Combs.[2]
Early life
[edit]Her mother, Cora Combs, was also a professional wrestler.[3] Debbie Combs made her wrestling debut at Louisville Gardens for Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling (ICW) at the age of 16 in a seven-women battle royal where she was the first eliminated.[4] Combs dated Randy Savage for five years while they were both working for ICW.[4]
Career
[edit]World Wrestling Federation and National Wrestling Alliance
[edit]Combs worked for the World Wrestling Federation from 1986–1987, where she challenged for the WWF Women's Championship against The Fabulous Moolah and Sherri Martel.
She also worked in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and is a former NWA World Women's Champion. She originally won the title by winning a battle royal in Honolulu, Hawaii in spring 1986. At some point, she was no longer recognized as the champion and defeated Penny Mitchell to become the champion again in Kansas City, Missouri on April 10, 1987.[5] The Kansas City promotion withdrew from NWA in 1987 and closed in 1988. The NWA vacated Combs' title and awarded Misty Blue Simmes the reinstated NWA United States Women's Championship (a replacement of the prior NWA World Women's Championship held by Combs).[6] Combs challenged Simmes to a title match at a Delta Tiger Lilies card in 1989, but Simmes was unable to accept due to an arm injury she had sustained.
American Wrestling Association
[edit]She also competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1980s. Upon joining the promotion, Combs wrestled against Sherri Martel as a babyface, but later turned heel and became tag team partners with Madusa Miceli. The duo feuded with Heidi Lee Morgan and Brandi Mae.
Return to WWF and World Championship Wrestling
[edit]After leaving the promotion, she later returned to the WWF in 1994 to challenge Alundra Blayze. She wrestled Blayze once on an episode of Wrestling Challenge and was scheduled to face her at WrestleMania X, but was replaced by Leilani Kai.
Combs briefly competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s during their brief attempt at a women's division. On the March 31, 1997 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Combs lost to WCW Women's Champion Akira Hokuto.
Women's Pro Wrestling
[edit]In the early 1990s, she was also president and booker of Women's Pro Wrestling (WPW), an all-women's promotion that produced direct-to-video matches. Her organization featured "Awesome" Ondi Austin, Babyface Nellie, Bambi, Candi Devine, Denise Storm, Jackie Moore, Lady Justice, Lisa Starr, Malia Hosaka, Olympia Hartauer, Peggy Lee Leather, Penelope Paradise, Penny Mitchell, Sandy Partelow, Susan Green, and Velvet McIntyre.[7]
After Wrestling
[edit]Since her retirement, Debbie Combs has worked as a booking processor with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN.
Championships and accomplishments
[edit]- American Wrestling Federation
- AWF Women's Championship (1 time)[8]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Other honoree (1992)
- International Wrestling Association
- IWA Women's Championship (3 times)[8]
- NWA Central States Wrestling
- Music City Wrestling
- MCW Women's Championship (1 time)
- North American All-Star Wrestling
- NAASW Women's Championship (1 time)
- Peach State Wrestling
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- Class of 2020
- Southern States Wrestling
- St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2019
- Ultimate Championship Wrestling
- UCW Women's Championship (1 time)
- United States Wrestling Association
- World Wrestling Alliance
- WWA Women's Championship (1 time)
- Other titles
- AAWF Ladies' Championship (1 time)
- SSWF Women's Championship (1 time)
- WWWA Women's Championship (1 time)
References
[edit]- ^ "Debbie Combs - Women's Pro Wrestler". Lethalwow.com. April 18, 1959. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Debbie Combs: Profile & Match Listing - Internet Wrestling Database (IWD)". Profightdb.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - PWHF announces 2007 induction class". Slam.canoe.ca. November 24, 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ a b "Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Lipstick, Dynamite and Glowworms, Part 4". Online World of Wrestling. September 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "N.W.A. World Women's Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Women Wrestling Video and DVD". Retrieved October 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "USWA Women's Title".
External links
[edit]- 1959 births
- Living people
- American female professional wrestlers
- Professional wrestlers from Kentucky
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- American sportswomen
- Stampede Wrestling alumni
- 21st-century American women
- 20th-century female professional wrestlers
- 20th-century American professional wrestlers
- NWA World Women's Champions
- Sportspeople from Kentucky
- 20th-century American sportswomen