Madusa Discusses The Dark Side Of The Wrestling Business
Madusa – better known to WWE fans as Alundra Blayze — was interviewed by "The Wrestling Perspective Podcast" where she promoted her upcoming book, "The Woman Who Would Be King: The MADUSA Story." At one point during the interview, she segued from talking about her infamous 1995 return to WCW where she dropped her WWF Women's Championship belt in a wastebasket to the darker side of the wrestling business, discussing how that topic is handled in her memoir.
"In my book, I don't throw anyone under the bus, but I do change a few names," she said. "Not that some of these people don't need to be brought to the forefront, because this business was very Harvey Weinstein-ish that way. I have watched these people get what they deserved in other ways, so I think that people that want to throw people under the bus in a book for five seconds for pleasure, what, 30 years later? It's very harmful when they have kids and families who are innocent in the situation."
She continued, "Now, I say 'Harvey Weinstein-ish,' that b**tard probably got what he had coming, right? And there [were] a lot of guys like that, guys that you know. And it's just a matter of time, you know what I mean? I will take, probably, a lot of it to my grave, because it's just no one's business at this point. I explain a lot in my book. A lot of people...they'll understand."
Weinstein, the disgraced film producer, was convicted last Tuesday on three charges in a sexual assault trial in Los Angeles (per CNN). He was already serving a 23-year sentence from a similar 2020 conviction in New York City.
Madusa: 'These men...are people's idols today'
In a follow-up question, Madusa was asked if felt as if such sexual misconduct became less frequent as she became a bigger name. "With times, communications changed," she explained. "And words changed. And I think they found more 'eloquent' ways to communicate it so it wasn't so obvious. Back in the day, it used to be casting couch bulls**t, right? [...] I think people are very careful nowadays. [...] It's just...crap's gonna happen. Did I see a big change? Of course, I saw an evolution of [unintelligible] progressing to get better. Absolutely. And it's a lot better now than it was, I will say, yes."
Madusa then pivoted slightly to misogynistic bullying before returning to the larger topic. "When you have guys sh*tting in a woman's food, and watching her eat it, it's very...it's just...it is disgusting. This is what I'm saying: These men who did stuff like this are people's idols today. It's kind of like...when I say 'Harvey Weinstein-ish,' people would be shocked because of everything that Harvey did for everybody and all the stars he hung around with and all the big names...it'd be shocking like that in wrestling. It would really disappoint a lot of you."
As a full-time in-ring wrestler, Madusa's biggest stage was her WWF run as Alundra Blayze, where she was the perennial Women's Champion from December 1993 to December 1995, most memorably trading the title with Japanese legend Bull Nakano. She also had significant runs as both a manager and a wrestler in the AWA, WCW, and All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).