The First Black Women’s Champion: Ethel Johnson

In 2022, women’s wrestling is finally being brought to the forefront of the industry. The days are becoming fewer in between where female stars have limited ring time or are treated as eye candy for the casual male audience. Today we have superstars, women that are paving a path for generations to come. Women like Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks made history last year as both stars became the first black women to main event WrestleMania, only the second women’s main event in the show’s history.

Some pioneers paved the way for these two ladies to shine under the brightest lights. Of course, we must give credit to Jazz, Alicia Fox, Awesome Kong, Jacqueline, and many black women who opened the door for the stars of today to showcase their worth. I want to take it back generations before and highlight the first black woman to hold a championship in professional wrestling, Ethel Johnson.

Born Ethel Blanche Wingo, Ethel was the middle child of 2 other wrestling sisters. Babs Wingo, the first black woman to grace a wrestling ring and younger sister, Marva Scott. Johnson wrestled in the early 50s through the late 70s. Wrestling across the NWA territories, AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions, Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling From Florida, & the eventual WWE, Capitol Wrestling Corporation. Ethel, much like many black wrestlers at the time, was not allowed to wrestle white counterparts. In many of her bouts throughout the years, she would face Babs and Marva.

A mother by day and wrestler by night, Johnson made a valiant effort to separate her two lives. Johnson has been described as “Black Wonder Woman” as she did it all, wife, mother, and wrestling superstar. She had 3 children, Nina, Shelly, and Pam as she lived a dual life ensuring her children had a normal life without word getting out their mother was a wrestling superstar. As noted in Chris Bournea’s Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring, Shelly mentions the reason she found out of her mother’s other life was after channel surfing with her friends and stumbling across one of her matches.

In 1950, at the young age of 16-years-old, she would get her to break into the wrestling business signing with promoter Billy Wolfe. Wolfe, a proponent for women’s wrestling, led a stable of 30 women that he would make available for NWA channels during a time when integration was slowly beginning in sports. Trained under Mildred Burke, Johnson would make her official debut in 1952, now 18-years-old.

A standout in every match she wrestled in front of thousands of fans across the country. Noted for her smaller stature but quick offensive much like today’s wrestling style. It’s said Johnson may have been the first woman to incorporate a standing dropkick in her matches.

A crowning achievement in Johnson’s career would happen on July 9, 1956, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Defending NWA Women’s World Tag Team Champions Penny Banner and Betty Jo Hawkins would lose their championships to Ethel Johnson and June Byers. The team would hold the championships until the next recorded champions Lorraine Johnson and Millie Stafford would be crowned as champions. While the NWA title is undoubtedly the pinnacle of championships in Johnson’s career she also was a 2-time Texas Colored Women’s Champion, Ohio Women’s Tag Team Champion with Marva, and a 3-time Colored Women’s World Champion.

Johnson’s legacy will forever be celebrated as she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021 legacy wing. This didn’t come without controversy as the WWE used the wrong footage when remembering Johnson. Instead, they used another women’s wrestler, Sandy Parker who wrestled from 1969 to 1986.

Ethel Johnson alongside her sisters laid the groundwork for black women’s wrestlers for generations to come. Their contributions and sacrifice of working in a business where little to no black wrestlers were succeeding at the highest level had ensured the future and present. If there weren’t Ethel Johnson winning championships, there’s no Bianca Belair, Sasha Banks, Jade Cargill, Naomi, and so many other incredibly talented women.

Thank you, Ethel Johnson, your sacrifice is much appreciated, and thank you to her family for sharing a wonderful, athletic, humble, Black Wonder Woman with the world. Ethel Johnson passed away in September 2018 and her presence and wonderful spirit are missed immensely. 

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• Ethel Johsnon
• Black History Month

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