Posted: 9/10/03

Sheís bad because she wants to be

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

Itís not every day you hear a girl say she wasnít to become a professional wrestler, not to mention become a two-time title holder. Forest Lake native Nora Greenwald wasnít think that she would grow up and become one.

Greenwaldís mom Bonnie Greenwald of Linwood Township said she thought Nora might grow up to be an actress or playwright, but not a wrestler.

Greenwald first got into wrestling when she was working at a Subway sandwich shop in Tampa, FL. There was a wrestling school in the area and one of the students invited her to come by and check it out.

ìI didnít know much about it and as a kid I watched it a little bit on TV, but didnít know women wrestled,î Greenwald said. ìI saw grown people throwing each other around and I thought I might like to try it.î

After deciding that wrestling is what she wanted to do, Greenwald had to tell her parents about it. ìWhen I very first broke the news, my mom started laughing hysterically,î Greenwald said. ìMy dad just told me to be careful and he was happy that I had a job that I enjoyed.î

ìI almost fell off my chair I was laughing so hard Bonnie Greenwald said. ìShe wasnít really telling me exactly what she was doing for a while so I was thinking maybe she was a bricklayer or working for Amway by the descriptions of what she was doing.î

Greenwaldís dad Rick said he just sat there trying to comprehend what she said.
Greenwald began her career wrestling at small events around Florida. She got her big break when she was given a tryout match with World Championship Wrestling.

ìA lot of the front office people watched my match and they were impressed so whenever wrestling was in town I got to do a preliminary match before the filming started,î Greenwald said.

A few months after her tryout match in the WCW, Randy Savage asked her to wrestle his girlfriend Gorgeous George. After the match she was asked to become part of Savageís entourage. ìThat was awesome,î Greenwald said.

Once Greenwaldís parents finally got to see a live match, they appreciated wrestling a little more too.

ìI couldnít believe how entertaining it was,î Bonnie said. ìI had been to performances at the Ordway and stuff and I thought this was the best show I had ever seen.î

Greenwald has succeeded in the ring as she is the current womenís World Wrestling Entertainment title holder, and is a two-time title holder.

Greenwald's parents are proud of their daughterís achievements. ìThere is defiant pride,î Bonnie said. ìIt is more fun to watch her win than to see her loseóeven if she does cheat a little.î

ìWhen I am talking to people about Nora, (her career) tends to come up,î Rick said. ìItís also fun to throw her title into conversations.î

Free time

When she is not wrestling, Greenwald says she spends most of her time preparing to go back on the road. She enjoys attending church and reading, but also enjoys working in the yard. Her favorite thing to do is test her cooking skills on her new grill.

Characters

Professional wrestlers are entertainers and act as if they are a certain character. Greenwald is no different.

Since joining World Wrestling Entertainment, Greenwald has played several characters. She started out a ìblond bumpkinî with blond hair and pigtails from Mobile, AL, then became a superhero sidekick named Mighty Holly.

From the Mighty Holly, Greenwald became a self-righteous prude bad guy. Right now Greenwald is known as Molly Holly, a bad guy.

ìNow I am just a bad guy for no other reason than that I want to be bad,î Greenwald said.
ìIf it were up to me I would go back to the country bumpkin character,î Greenwald said. ìI love playing the underdog girl next door.î

Greenwald says she became a bad guy because one of the other bad guys sustained a knee injury and they needed someone to step up into the role.

ìAs a mom I am glad she chose not to be the Diva kind,î Bonnie said.

When it comes to choosing what kind of character a wrestler wants to be, Greenwald says the WWE has a team of writers that come up with ideas and names. Some wrestlers will use their real names, and others have stage names like Greenwald.

WWE head Vince McMahon is the one who ultimately decides what name is used though.
ìI am glad they gave me a cute name like Molly Holly,î Greenwald said. ìBecause the name Nora Greenwald is not very theatrical.î

Another important part of a wrestling character is their outfit. Greenwald says that it is up to the wrestler to decide what they wear and to buy it. Some wrestler hire seamstresses and others design their own costumes she said.

Greenwald says McMahon likes outfits that are fancier than a T-shirt and jeans.
ìAll thought the fans liked the Mighty Molly superhero outfit the most, I like the self-righteous prude outfit because I never worried about falling out of it when I was wrestling,î Greenwald said of the many outfits she has worn.

Highlights

With the dream job that she has, Greenwald says it has many perks.

Since the WWE does not have any one home arena, wrestlers are able to live anywhere they want. Greenwald did her homework on real estate investments and found a house she liked in South Carolina where she lives now. With her family still living in Linwood, Greenwald says she comes home every two or three months to visit.

From performing in an arena rich in history like Madison Square Garden in New York City to arenas with great crowds in the Carolinas, Greenwald says that just being able to be a part of the WWE and make people happy for two hours is the best part.

ìPeople can forget about their jobs or their problems and sit back and scream and yell and cheer and have a good time and I am very happy to be able to do that and be a part of that,î Greenwald said.

Greenwald also sees the fact that she has traveled to nine nt countries while part of the WWE as another perk.

ìMost people are lucky to even see Canada,î Greenwald said. ìI have been able to travel all over the world.î

Action figure

A wrestler knows they have made it big time when an action figure is made to resemble them. Greenwald had this honor when she was still the blond bumpkin.

ìThe first time the Jacks toy people showed me the prototype of my action figure was so exciting,î Greenwald said. ìI thought they did a good job with it.î

To replicate Greenwald's face, she had to go into an electronic studio where her face was scanned with computers as it created a topographic map of her face.

ìItís also fun for my cousins and kids that have my action figure,î Greenwald said. ìItís fun for my family too and they get a big kick out of it.î

Life after wrestling

Like any professional sport, there comes a day when the athlete will compete for the last time. Greenwald has thought about that, but is not too sure what sheíll do when that time comes.
ìI am leaving all my options open,î Greenwald said. ìI havenít had a set plan in my mind as to what I am going to do next. I may get married and be a housewife, maybe a massage therapist, or a laundromat attendant, who knows. Maybe I can save enough money so I can retire when I am 30.î

Greenwald says she wouldnít mind getting involved in the TV production side of the WWE when she is done wrestling.

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