According to an exclusive report from The Wrap, the WWE has agreed to change the name of the "Fabulous Moolah Battle Royal" at April's WrestleMania 34, following backlash from fans.
It was only Monday that WWE even announced the event, which would be the first-ever all-female battle royal at WrestleMania. Obviously it was named in honor of women's wrestling pioneer Mary Lillian Ellison (a.k.a. "The Fabulous Moolah") who died in 2007 at the age of 84.
Shortly after the name was made public a Change.org petition circulated asking for it to be changed due to Moolah's association with allegations that she pimped out female wrestlers to men in the business, as well as allegations that she skimmed large payments to those female wrestlers.
As the Change.org petition put it:
(...) But the big problem with that is the person who is associated with that award was an evil woman who did nothing for Women’s Professional Wrestling. Fabulous Moolah pimped out women ... we are currently in the #MeToo era, are you really trying to say that you endorsed her behaviour?
The plea for change racked up over 10,000 signatures which led the powers that be to give in to the demand. It will now simply be called the "WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal." Stephanie McMahon thanked the WWE Universe for voicing their concerns.
Thank you @WWEUniverse for using your voice. What remains most important is that the “@WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal” will be a historic match and is part of @WWE’s unwavering commitment to our Women’s Division. #WomensEvolution #ChangeTheName
You can catch it via pay-per-view on April 8.
