I’m probably a bit biased due to the fact that the women’s divisions in West Virginia are not always a monthly attraction on wrestling cards but one organization took a chance on a couple women wrestlers that have slowly been making all kinds of noise on the independent circuits. One of them is Jesse Belle McCoy & the other is Mary Elizabeth Monroe Hatfield or at least for three months that’s exactly who they represented in one of the oldest West Virginia & Kentucky feuds in modern history & now wrestling history.
It all started simply enough this past October when reigning Covey Pro Women’s Champion Jessie Belle was advertised to take on Mary Elizabeth Monroe which was a match I’d seen previously in 304 Wrestling but longed for more of what I liked about their encounter. So, when I saw that they were going to collide it didn’t matter I was going to drive five hours to Berkley Spring, WV to see a wrestling match. In fact that’s what professional wrestling is built on, traveling from place to place to keep your name circulating among the fans, promoters, & even other wrestlers. For me I’ve come to personal vested interest in both of these women because of magic they are able to perform on good nights.
The first match was very solid in which Jessie & Mary had a back forth classic that any women’s wrestling fan could admire. Jessie tried her best to multiple times to get Mary to give up or capture the pin fall. Mary would have none of that on that October evening. Jessie would lay out Mary thinking she had knocked her out with a final blow but Mary played possum & rolled up Jessie Belle to be only the third woman to claim the Covey Pro Women’s Championship. Jessie went on record saying that Mary clearly, “CHEATED!”
That set the stage for the Veteran’s Day show in Martinsburg, WV in which they wanted to up it a notch as it was the main event of the night. About five minutes in because of botched maneuver & some miscommunication this match ended dragging on & on. Jessie was knocked literally silly. If Jessie Belle were any lesser a woman would have ended the match & sacrificed the main event going short for their personal health. Nope, she continued on as Mary grappled her in hold after hold which lasted about nauseating 15 minutes. Yet Mary prevailed as Jessie Belle laid her out & declared they needed flag match to settle it once & for all. Yes, if you don’t believe me I think the match may be online by now & if can’t find the match look at my personal picture archive. I won’t identify which one told me not to post the pictures due to how poorly the match had ending up being, but that didn’t detour them from getting to the finish. Some nights it doesn’t work out in the wrestling ring the way it’s supposed to but I’m not counting this against them because I still believe it was the women’s feud of the year in professional wrestling.
Finally, on a cool December night the final encounter was set with a classic flag match. Jessie Belle vs Mary Elizabeth Monroe in which they performed wonderfully. Including a couple falls from the second rope which gave Mary the advantage through most of the match until another woman attacked Mary Elizabeth Monroe & cost her the Covey Pro Women’s championship as Jessie Belle recovered to capture the West Virginia flag & the Covey Pro Women’s championship for a second time. Barring the second match in Martinsburg, WV this was a spectacular women’s feud. And once again SHIMMER didn’t have this, SHINE didn’t this, & most certainly TNA or the WWE didn’t have this! Someone out there in the wrestling world is missing the boat on Jessie Belle and Mary Elizabeth Monroe. If you want two top notch stellar women to duke it out over three months then you want because they can do it all night long. So, if you happen to hear of either one of these coming to a town near you please run out & see there match. I guarantee it’s worth your admission.
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