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The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story
Through four decades of entertaining, in the wrestling ring and on the monster truck circuit, Debrah “Madusa” Miceli never could sit still. But her desire to learn, grow, and inspire legions of followers masked deep secrets … Her upbringing was a lie from the start, and the dark truths of her childhood, revealed here for the first time, are the earliest examples of Debrah’s determination to persevere.
Professional wrestling may have been an odd choice for a nursing student, but Madusa went all-in, toughening up in Japan before conquering WWE as Alundra Blayze. She held the WWE Women’s belt … until being fired. In the rival WCW, Madusa infamously tossed the WWE belt in the garbage on live TV.
Then, in 1999, Madusa changed lanes and revolutionized the monster truck world. At meet-and-greets, girls in pink “Queen of Carnage” t-shirts would wait alongside ogling fanboys. By 2004, she was the world champion in a sport dominated by men.
Only one thing has eluded motherhood.
This is the spellbinding story of how one woman survived child abuse, financial disaster, death-defying injuries, heartbreak, and chaos to emerge triumphant.
Professional wrestling may have been an odd choice for a nursing student, but Madusa went all-in, toughening up in Japan before conquering WWE as Alundra Blayze. She held the WWE Women’s belt … until being fired. In the rival WCW, Madusa infamously tossed the WWE belt in the garbage on live TV.
Then, in 1999, Madusa changed lanes and revolutionized the monster truck world. At meet-and-greets, girls in pink “Queen of Carnage” t-shirts would wait alongside ogling fanboys. By 2004, she was the world champion in a sport dominated by men.
Only one thing has eluded motherhood.
This is the spellbinding story of how one woman survived child abuse, financial disaster, death-defying injuries, heartbreak, and chaos to emerge triumphant.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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May 17, 2023More wrestling stars and former wrestling stars than ever before are writing their memoirs. Many of us know the performers based solely on their persona in the ring, not knowing a lot about them in general. On the same token, baring their souls and telling us about their life in and out of the ring, would never have been considered decades ago. Now many cannot wait to tell of life outside the squared circle.
Debrah Miceli is one of the latest to talk about her life and times. The foreword is from wrestling manager Paul Heyman, who was known as Paul E. Dangerously when Miceli first got in the ring. He is certainly someone who looked out for her, and encouraged her throughout her career, even responsible for the title of the book.
When he first met her in 1987, she had started working for the AWA (American Wrestling Alliance), who Verne Gagne was head of. From the beginning, she let it be known based on her attitude, that she was not going to be anyone’s stepping stone, and that she was going to show people how she could battle it out with the best. And she never stopped doing that during her career.
Within the pages of the book, Miceli talks about becoming champion in the AWA. She raised eyebrows, and in turn became the first female wrestler to be named the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year. She then went to WCW (World Championship Wrestling), and was part of the stable, with Paul E. Dangerously acting as her manager.
Of course it was logical for her to jump to the WWF (now WWE), her name changed from Madusa to Alundra Blayze. She became a three time woman’s world champion there, feuding with such opponents as Bull Nakano. Then she made the unprecedented decision to head back to WCW, taking the championship belt with her and dumping it in a trash can. The caused very bad blood with owner Vince McMahon, blacklisting Miceli for two decades, before later being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
While the majority of the book focuses on wrestling life, she also stepped aside from wrestling for a while, joining the wild world of Monster Trucks. Her truck is named Madusa, and she called herself the “Queen of Carnage” of that sport. She won several titles there, and got great recognition.
The book also looks at her life in general, including talking about sexual abuse from childhood, trying to have children even through IVF, and many more darker moments from the past. But she has proven that perseverance and confidence win out in the end, finding happiness outside the ring and respect from fans the world over. Long live this king, who has seen and done it all.
Debrah Miceli is one of the latest to talk about her life and times. The foreword is from wrestling manager Paul Heyman, who was known as Paul E. Dangerously when Miceli first got in the ring. He is certainly someone who looked out for her, and encouraged her throughout her career, even responsible for the title of the book.
When he first met her in 1987, she had started working for the AWA (American Wrestling Alliance), who Verne Gagne was head of. From the beginning, she let it be known based on her attitude, that she was not going to be anyone’s stepping stone, and that she was going to show people how she could battle it out with the best. And she never stopped doing that during her career.
Within the pages of the book, Miceli talks about becoming champion in the AWA. She raised eyebrows, and in turn became the first female wrestler to be named the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year. She then went to WCW (World Championship Wrestling), and was part of the stable, with Paul E. Dangerously acting as her manager.
Of course it was logical for her to jump to the WWF (now WWE), her name changed from Madusa to Alundra Blayze. She became a three time woman’s world champion there, feuding with such opponents as Bull Nakano. Then she made the unprecedented decision to head back to WCW, taking the championship belt with her and dumping it in a trash can. The caused very bad blood with owner Vince McMahon, blacklisting Miceli for two decades, before later being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
While the majority of the book focuses on wrestling life, she also stepped aside from wrestling for a while, joining the wild world of Monster Trucks. Her truck is named Madusa, and she called herself the “Queen of Carnage” of that sport. She won several titles there, and got great recognition.
The book also looks at her life in general, including talking about sexual abuse from childhood, trying to have children even through IVF, and many more darker moments from the past. But she has proven that perseverance and confidence win out in the end, finding happiness outside the ring and respect from fans the world over. Long live this king, who has seen and done it all.
March 30, 2023
An intriguing read on wrestling character that not much has been written on in the past.
A light read as Madusa doesn’t go heavy on details from her wrestling days. A lot of the book also goes into her days as a Monster truck driver.
A very interesting life story written in a very blunt tone. She has no issues talking about very personal issues and giving her opinions.
An important part of women’s wrestling and well worth the read.
A light read as Madusa doesn’t go heavy on details from her wrestling days. A lot of the book also goes into her days as a Monster truck driver.
A very interesting life story written in a very blunt tone. She has no issues talking about very personal issues and giving her opinions.
An important part of women’s wrestling and well worth the read.
April 4, 2023
You will be surprised
Debrah Miceli has lived a very public life. So you'll be surprised at how little you know about her.
Be warned that you will be reluctant to put this down once you start reading. Madusa tells her story in a fast-moving series of vignettes, but you won't have any problem following along. You don't need to be either a wrestling or monster truck fan, either.
It's a wild ride, written in brutal honesty. It's definitely worth your time.
Debrah Miceli has lived a very public life. So you'll be surprised at how little you know about her.
Be warned that you will be reluctant to put this down once you start reading. Madusa tells her story in a fast-moving series of vignettes, but you won't have any problem following along. You don't need to be either a wrestling or monster truck fan, either.
It's a wild ride, written in brutal honesty. It's definitely worth your time.
January 1, 2024
An inspiration!!
A great book! Madusa is an inspiration to ladies evrrywhere. Reading her story makes you think you can do anything!
A great book! Madusa is an inspiration to ladies evrrywhere. Reading her story makes you think you can do anything!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews