Evelyn Jardine Riegle is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Evelyn Stevens.[2]
| Evelyn Stevens | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943 Tampa, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse(s) | The Spoiler Frank Riegle |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Evelyn Stevens |
| Billed height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 100 lb (45 kg)[1] |
| Debut | 1961[1] |
| Retired | 1984 |
Early life
editRiegle was born in Tampa, Florida and raised in Nashville, Tennessee.[1]
Professional wrestling career
editRiegle debuted in 1961 at the age of 23, using the ring name "Evelyn Stevens".[1] She worked as a heel in the Great Plains, Midwest, and Missouri regions before moving to Texas.[1][3]
In 1969, Riegle wrestled in Australia with World Championship Wrestling.[4]
From the late-1960s to the late-1980s she held the NWA Texas Women's Championship on five occasions. In October 1978, she held the National Wrestling Alliance World Women's Championship for two days, defeating the Fabulous Moolah in a bout in Dallas booked by Gary Hart.[1][3] In mid-1982, she wrestled a handful of matches for Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas.[5]
Riegle retired from professional wrestling in 1984.[6]
Personal life
editAt one point in time, Riegle was in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel.[7] At another point in time, Riegle was married to Donald Jardine who wrestled as "The Spoiler". Sometime after the couple divorced, she married again, this time to bodybuilder and gym owner Frank Riegle. In December 1986, she was arrested for shooting her husband three times in the face and chest in their home in San Antonio, killing him. She was convicted of murder and given a 20-year sentence, but was pardoned after five years.[1][3][8]
Championships and accomplishments
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Laprade, Pat; Murphy, Dan (2017). Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 16–20. ISBN 978-1-7730-5-014-0.
- ^ a b Cummings, Justin (June 22, 2019). "The Four GhostWomen of Wrestling". EWrestlingNews.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c Ojst, Javier (January 18, 2023). "Evelyn Stevens – from champion wrestler to murderer". ProWrestlingStories.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Evelyn Stevens - matches - 1969". Cagematch.net. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Evelyn Stevens - matches - 1982". Cagematch.net. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Evelyn Stevens". Cagematch.net. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (2004). Wrestling Observer Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-5826-1-817-3.
McDaniel's most famous lost fight may have been with his girlfriend at the time, Evelyn Stevens, a woman wrestler in Texas.
- ^ "Shooting leads to murder charge". Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. Seguin, Texas, United States. December 18, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved February 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Evelyn Stevens's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com