LuFisto is a name that fans independent female wrestling know very well.
Unfortunately, due to the tremendous strain on her body throughout her career, she has revealed in a blog that she is nearing the end of her career. Following a fall down the stairs, LuFisto is citing an incredible amount of damage to her knee as the main reason for her decision.
In her blog, LuFisto also talks about coming up in a time in the industry where you didn’t discuss if you were injured:
In the past years, the same knee felt weird and sometimes weak but nothing alarming. I ignored aches and pains… Such behavior comes with being a professional wrestler from my generation.
Yes, it makes me sound old (well, I just turned 39) but back in my days, when you were injured, you didn’t talk about it. Being the only girl around and wrestling the boys, it was even worst. I just couldn’t mention anything about being in pain. If I did, you can be sure I would hear things such as “just a girl; she don’t belong; look at this weak moron or what a pussy!”
So, when I hurt my knee back in 2002, I got it cleaned up and went back in the ring only 2 months after the surgery. I had no time to wait a year to reconstruct everything. I couldn’t say I was hurt and I wanted to prove wrong everyone who doubted me and laughed at me for wanting to be an equal to my male colleagues. Courageous or stupid? Today, I would say the latter. Different times, I guess.
She also talks about being heartbroken about not being able to prove the naysayers wrong considering she never had a major TV run:
I’m not bitter. I’m heartbroken.
Heartbroken that I didn’t prove wrong all those people who were telling me that I was wasting my time, that I was a loser, that I wouldn’t go anywhere… Today, I feel like they’ve won. I’m grateful for every single opportunity and for all the promoters who let me step into their ring. However, I have that emptiness that there is something missing because I didn’t reach my goal of joining one of the major promotions. No matter how hard I try, it just won’t go away.
All in all, it’s sad to see that one of the better independent names hanging up her boots. LuFisto was somebody who paid the price in an effort to put women’s wrestling in a more credible light, and even though she never made it to WWE, it’s hard to deny the work ethic of her and her peers and the role they’ve played in the modern women’s evolution. To read her full blog, click here.
