Rhonda Singh
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Rhonda Ann Sing (February 21, 1961 – July 27, 2001) was a Canadian
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 training with
Mildred Burke Mildred Burke (August 5, 1915 – February 18, 1989) was an American professional wrestler. She is overall a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions. Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1 ...
, she wrestled in
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 ...
under the name Monster Ripper. In 1987, she returned to Canada and began working with
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 ...
, where she was their first Stampede Women's Champion. In 1995, she worked in the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
as the comedic character Bertha Faye, winning the
WWF Women's Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
. She also wrestled 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 ...
to help generate interest in their women's division.


Professional wrestling career


Training

While growing up in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, Sing attended numerous
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 ...
events with her mother. She knew she wanted to be a wrestler from a young age and frequently beat up the neighborhood children, along with those in her kindergarten class. As a teenager, Singh approached members of the
Hart wrestling family The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadians, Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur a ...
and asked to be trained, but she was rejected as they did not train women wrestlers at the time.
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
, however, claims it had more to do with scheduling conflicts. During a trip to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
in 1978, she saw Japanese women's wrestling on television and decided she wanted to pursue the sport. She later wrote to
Mildred Burke Mildred Burke (August 5, 1915 – February 18, 1989) was an American professional wrestler. She is overall a three-time women's world champion under different incarnations and recognitions. Burke's heyday lasted from the mid-1930s to the mid-1 ...
after a friend gave her a magazine with Burke's contact information, and sent her a biography and photo. Shortly thereafter, she joined Burke's training facility in
Encino, California Encino is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History Etymology The name Encino is the misspelling in masculine of Encina, the Spanish language, Spanish word for "holm oak” (Quercus ilex). The Spanis ...
.


Japan, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico (1979–1995)

After a few weeks of training with Burke, Sing was scouted by All Japan Women (AJW), despite her inexperience. Sing's debut match in Japan was a
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 ...
match with partner Mami Kumano, defeating the
Beauty Pair The Beauty Pair were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jackie Sato and Maki Ueda. Formed in 1976 in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, the Beauty Pair would become an extremely popular group throughout their run, propelling AJW to main ...
(
Jackie Sato , better known as , was a Japanese professional wrestler. In the 1970s, while wrestling for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), she formed the tag team, the Beauty Pair, with Maki Ueda. Following in the steps of , the Beauty Pair was part o ...
and Maki Ueda) in January 1979. In Japan, she began wrestling under the name Monster Ripper. Although she found adjusting to the Japanese culture difficult, Sing held AJW's premier title, 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 ...
, on two occasions and was the first Calgary born wrestler to gain success in Japan. During her time in the company, the Japanese female wrestlers gave her a hard time because they did not like losing to foreigners. Sing also had difficulty because of her youth and inexperience in the ring. Sing, however, was comforted by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
's
Dynamite Kid Thomas Wilton Billington (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), best known by the ring name the Dynamite Kid, was a British professional wrestler. Trained by former wrestler "Dr Death" Ted Betley, he competed in the World Wrestling Federatio ...
, who had trained in Calgary. Sing won the WWWA World Single Championship from Jackie Sato on July 31, 1979. Despite losing the title to Sato six weeks later, she regained it on March 15, 1980. The title was vacated in August 1980. After another stint in Japan, Sing returned to Stampede Wrestling in late 1987 and was renamed Rhonda Singh by Bruce Hart, the owner of the company. There were plans to pair her with
Gama Singh Gadowar Singh Sahota ( Punjabi: ਗਦੋਵਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ); born December 8, 1954) is an Indo-Canadian retired professional wrestler known as Gama Singh ( Punjabi: ਗਾਮਾ ਸਿੰਘ) and Great Gama Sahota was a villa ...
, but they never came to fruition. During 1987, she was named their first Women's Champion because she had defeated
Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1960) is an American former professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...
prior to returning to Stampede. She held the title until September 22, 1988, when she lost to
Chigusa Nagayo is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the Crush Gals with long-time tag team partner Lioness Asuka. In 1995 she founded GAEA Japan and in 2014 created its successor Marvelous ...
. Over the next few years, Sing once again traveled throughout the world and wrestled for a number of companies, holding several titles. Between 1987 and 1990, Sing worked in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
for the
World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...
(WWC), where she held the
WWC Women's Championship The WWC Women's Championship was the top title for women's professional wrestling in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a profe ...
on five separate occasions by defeating Wendi Richter,
Candi Devine Candace Maria Rummel (January 1, 1958 – February 9, 2022) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name Candi Devine. She won singles championships in several Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, most notably in ...
, and Sasha in matches for the title. As Monster Ripper on the WWC 18th Anniversary Show on July 6, 1991, she faced and beat El Profe in an
intergender match Intergender wrestling, also known as mixed wrestling, is a type of professional wrestling (staged and choreographed) match between a man and a woman and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team. History For most of ...
. In 1992 she worked as La Monstra for
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...
in Mexico, where she won the WWA World Women's Title.


World Wrestling Federation (1995)

In 1995, Sing was contacted by the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
to help their ailing women's division. She, however, was repackaged as Bertha Faye, a comedic character who lived in a trailer park and dated
Harvey Wippleman Bruno Lauer (born October 27, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, and occasional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Harvey Wippleman and Downtown Bruno. Wippleman began his career working in professional wrestlin ...
. (in an OWW radio interview Wippleman revealed that the two never got along well) WWF management originally wanted her to have an on-screen
feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
with
Bull Nakano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional golfer better known as . She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often team ...
, but there was a change of plans after Nakano was charged with
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
possession. Sing made her WWF debut on the April 3, 1995 episode of ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
'' participating in a sneak attack on
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 ...
, making it appear as if Blayze's nose had been broken. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, Faye defeated Blayze for the
WWF Women's Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
and held the title until the October 23, 1995 airing of ''Monday Night Raw'', where Blayze regained the title, ending Faye's reign at 57 days. As the WWF continued to neglect their women's division, Sing became tired of working there. Moreover, she was frustrated with her Faye gimmick, once recalling that she felt like a prostitute due to the sexualized and comical way that she was often portrayed. WWF management asked her not to perform the same power moves as the male wrestlers, so instead, Faye was forced to act as comic relief. After a year with the company, Sing asked for a release from her contract. She briefly returned to Japan but did not like the new system, which did not guarantee payouts.


Return to Mexico and Canada (1995–1999)

After leaving the WWF, Sing returned to AAA in Mexico in 1996. During this period, she also worked in the
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...
in Alberta, Canada.


World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000)

In late 1999, she worked with
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) briefly, appearing on several telecasts to help generate interest in a women's division. She was also a contender for both the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship 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 ...
and
WCW Hardcore Championship The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the ...
. In addition to competing in matches using her Singh and Monster Ripper gimmicks, she also appeared with the
Nitro Girls The Nitro Girls were a dance team in World Championship Wrestling introduced in July 1997. Centered around Kimberly Page, the group generally consisted of a roster of seven members, all of whom had some degree of professional dance experience. T ...
dance troupe providing comic relief.


Personal life

Rhonda was born in Calgary on February 21, 1961 to Jack Mah Sing, a grocery store operator, and Elsie Beatrice Sing. She had Chinese ancestry on her father's side. She was one of four children, having three brothers. She spoke fluent Japanese and Spanish. Backstage, Sing was friends with the male, rather than the female, wrestlers. During her time in the WWF, she developed a close friendship with
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
. After leaving WCW, Sing took a break from wrestling. In 2001, she worked as a caregiver to the handicapped. According to her brother Tom, she had a "big heart" and "liked to look after people". On July 27, 2001, Sing died of a heart attack at the age of 40. She never married or had children. Sing was buried on August 3, 2001 in Mountain View Cemetery in Calgary, and her funeral was attended by fellow wrestlers including
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
,
Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...
,
Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith ...
,
Smith Hart Smith Stewart Hart (November 28, 1948 – July 2, 2017) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and a member of the Hart wrestling family. His parents were Stu and Helen Hart. Smith was the first of their twelve children, being one of th ...
,
Allen Coage Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the Judo at the 1 ...
, and
Ben Bassarab Benjamin Bassarab (born March 3, 1960) is a Canadian former bodybuilder and professional wrestler, best known for his appearances for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion throughout the 1980s. Bassarab is a two time Stampede International Tag ...
.


Championships and accomplishments

*
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 ...
**
IWA World Women's Championship The IWA World Women's Championship was a major women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. It had its origins with Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta in 1987. Title history See also * List of professional wr ...
( 1 time) **
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 ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...
) **AJW Hall of Fame (1998) *
Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...
**Posthumous Award (
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
) *
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 Women's Championship ( 1 time) *
World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...
** WWA Women's Championship ( 1 time) *
World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...
**
WWC Women's Championship The WWC Women's Championship was the top title for women's professional wrestling in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a profe ...
( 8 times) **
AWA World Women's Championship The AWA World Women's Championship was the women's professional wrestling title in the American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ...
( 1 time; unofficial) *
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
**
WWF Women's Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
( 1 time)


See also

*
List of premature professional wrestling deaths According to a 2014 study by Eastern Michigan University examining professional wrestlers who were active between 1985 and 2011, mortality rates for professional wrestlers are up to 2.9 times greater than the rate for men in the wider United State ...


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sing, Rhonda 1961 births 2001 deaths 20th-century female professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers AAAW Single Champions AWA World Women's Champions Canadian female professional wrestlers Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers IWA World Women's Champions Professional wrestlers from Calgary Stampede Wrestling alumni WWWA World Single Champions WWF/WWE Women's Champions 20th-century Canadian sportswomen WWC Women's Champions