Deborah Szostecki (born April 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler better known as Debbie Combs.

Early life

Her mother, Cora Combs, was also a professional wrestler. Debbie Combs made her wrestling debut at Louisville Gardens for Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling (ICW) at the age of 16 in a seven-women battle royal where she was the first eliminated. Combs dated

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

for five years while they were both working for ICW.

Career

World Wrestling Federation and National Wrestling Alliance

Combs worked for the World Wrestling Federation from 1986–1987, where she challenged for the WWF Women's Championship against The Fabulous Moolah and

Sherri Martel Sherry Lynn Schrull (née Russell; February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri. Martel began her professional wrestling career in t ...

. She also worked in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

(NWA) and is a former NWA World Women's Champion. She originally won the title by winning a battle royal in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

in spring 1986. At some point, she was no longer recognized as the champion and defeated Penny Mitchell to become the champion again in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

on April 10, 1987. The Kansas City promotion withdrew from NWA in 1987 and closed in 1988. The NWA vacated Combs' title and awarded Misty Blue Simmes the reinstated NWA United States Women's Championship (a replacement of the prior NWA World Women's Championship held by Combs). Combs challenged Simmes to a title match at a Delta Tiger Lilies card in 1989, but Simmes was unable to accept due to an arm injury she had sustained.

American Wrestling Association

She also competed in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1980s. Upon joining the promotion, Combs wrestled against

as a babyface, but later turned

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

and became

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

partners with Madusa Miceli. The duo feuded with Heidi Lee Morgan and Brandi Mae.

Return to WWF and World Championship Wrestling

After leaving the promotion, she later returned to the WWF in 1994 to challenge

Alundra Blayze Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1963), better known as Madusa, is an American monster truck driver and retired professional wrestler. She is currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In professional wrestling M ...

. She wrestled Blayze once on an episode of ''Wrestling Challenge'' and was scheduled to face her at WrestleMania X, but was replaced by Leilani Kai. Combs briefly competed in

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW) in the mid-1990s during their brief attempt at a women's division. On the March 31, 1997 edition of ''

WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT (American TV ...

'', Combs lost to WCW Women's Champion Akira Hokuto.

Women's Pro Wrestling

In the early 1990s, she was also president and booker of Women's Pro Wrestling (WPW), an all-women's promotion that produced direct-to-video matches. Her organization featured "Awesome" Ondi Austin, Babyface Nellie,

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

, Candi Devine, Denise Storm, Jackie Moore, Lady Justice, Lisa Starr, Malia Hosaka, Olympia Hartauer, Peggy Lee Leather, Penelope Paradise, Penny Mitchell, Sandy Partelow, Susan Green, and Velvet McIntyre.

After Wrestling

Since her retirement, Debbie Combs has worked as a booking processor with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office in Nashville, TN.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Federation **AWF Women's Championship (1 time) * Cauliflower Alley Club **Other honoree (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

) *International Wrestling Association **IWA Women's Championship (3 times) * NWA Central States Wrestling **

NWA World Women's Championship The NWA Women's World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The title was first held by Mildred Burke in 195 ...

( 1 time) *Music City Wrestling **MCW Women's Championship (1 time) *North American All-Star Wrestling **NAASW Women's Championship (1 time) *Peach State Wrestling **

( 1 time) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

**Class of 2020 * Southern States Wrestling **

( 1 time) * St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2019 *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Women's Championship (1 time) *

United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...

USWA Women's Championship The USWA Women's Championship was a women's professional wrestling title in the American professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestli ...

( 2 times) * World Wrestling Alliance **WWA Women's Championship (1 time) *Other titles **AAWF Ladies' Championship (1 time) **SSWF Women's Championship (1 time) **WWWA Women's Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Debbie Combs at Cagematch.netDebbie Combs = Big Star! at FCI Women's Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combs, Debbie 1959 births Living people American female professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Kentucky Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum American sportswomen Stampede Wrestling alumni 21st-century American women 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers NWA World Women's Champions USWA Women's Champions Sportspeople from Kentucky 20th-century American sportswomen