Jean Antone (July 17, 1943 – August 4, 2016) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. After debuting in 1961, she worked a series of mixed tag team matches with partner

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

. In the early 1970s, she went to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to work for

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held the ...

. While part of the company, she held the

WWWA World Single Championship The was the top singles women's professional wrestling championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1970 until it closed in 2006. It was also known in ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' and other London Publishing wrestling magazines as ...

once and the

WWWA World Tag Team Championship The World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA) World Tag Team Championship was the top doubles championship in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) from 1971 until it closed in 2005. During those years the title was held by many of the most famo ...

twice with partner Sandy Parker. Back in the United States, she wrestled in Oregon's first women's match in over 50 years in 1975.

Professional wrestling career

Antone first decided to be a professional wrestler after watching a match at the age of 14. After high school, her mother offered to buy her a new car or pay for college. Antone refused both, instead wanting her mom to pay for her wrestling training in Florida. She debuted in 1961. In the 1960s, Antone wrestled in a series of mixed tag team matches with partner

against Jack Cain and Kay Noble. She twice teamed with Gil Hayes in a mixed tag team match against Betty Niccoli and Paul Peller in early February 1971. In the early 1970s, Antone competed in

. In March 1972, she won the

from Aiko Kyo, but lost it to Kyo six days later. She also held the

twice in 1974 with partner Sandy Parker. The duo first won the title on April 24 from the team of Junko Sasaki and Peggy Kuroda, but they re-lost the title to them during a rematch on May 21. Their second reign began on July 30 after defeating Mariko Akagi and Miyuki Yanagi. On August 5, however, Akagi and her new partner

Jumbo Miyamoto Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...

defeated Antone and Parker for the title. Back in the United States in 1975, Antone wrestled against Parker in the first women's wrestling match in the state of Oregon in 50 years. She also wrestled in the Midwest, including at

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW), also known as Super Slam Wrestling (SSW), is a British professional wrestling promotion founded by Brian Dixon in 1970 and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, i ...

. In the Midwest, she was the California, Kansas, and Central States Champion.

Personal life

Antone married her high school sweetheart in a wrestling ring in Mississippi, as she had a wrestling match immediately afterward. They had a daughter in the early 1960s. The couple later divorced. Antone died on August 4, 2016, at the age of 73."'Little Miss Dynamite' Jean Antone dies", by Greg Oliver, ''SLAM! Wrestling''
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Championships and accomplishments

(1 time) **

(2 times) – with Sandy Parker *

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 United States Women's Championship The NWA United States Women's Championship was a sporadically used women's professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance from 1957 until 1988. Title history Footnotes See also *List of National Wrestling Allianc ...

(2 times) *

NWA Central States Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

**NWA Central States Women's Championship (3 times) *

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

**Stampede Wrestling North American Women's Championship (1 time) *Other titles **California and Kansas Championships

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Antone, Jean 1943 births 2016 deaths American female professional wrestlers People from Laurel, Mississippi Professional wrestlers from Mississippi Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century American sportswomen 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers WWWA World Tag Team Champions NWA United States Women's Champions