So who is Lisa Moretti?
Birth Name: Lisa Mary Moretti
Current Alias: Lisa Moretti
Previous Aliases: Ivory, Tina Ferrari, Tina Moretti, Nina Moretti
Birthplace: Inglewood, California
Birthday: November 26, 1961
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 135 lbs
Here's the wrestling story of a woman named Lisa...
After having being dragged to an audition for the "Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling," Lisa's wrestling career began in the 80's having been trained by Mondo Guerrero and given the alias Tina Ferrari. Her sparkly personality made her a fan favorite as she progressed through other organizations such as "Powerful Women of Wrestling" and "Ladies Professional Wrestling Association" with favorable success. These federations eventually came to an end, but seemingly gave Lisa a good foundation for what was to lie ahead.
Contrary to what some sites claim, Lisa was never one of the "Godfather's" ho's, that was Victoria. Lisa caught the eye of the WWF's J.R. and was introduced as Ivory on February 13, 1999 as a valet for D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry. At the time, Mark and D'Lo had been feuding with Double J, Owen Hart and Debra. It proved to be a bitter sweet debut when Ivory burst into the scene and gave Debra a smashing slap across the face; as Debra recoiled, she accidentally caught the top of Ivory's dress as she flung her arm and thus exposed one of Ivory's breasts! Some might say it was a double debut since it is rumored that she had her breasts enlarged just for the WWF. In any case, she certainly made a lasting impression with her combination of beauty and sheer ferocity that night.
Ivory would then help pioneer a new breed of wrestlers that not only could wrestle, not only were they bad, not only were they strong, but they were beautiful as well. She went on to win the Women's Championship 3 times facing many opponents such as Tori, Jacqueline, and Luna. She even faced Chyna during the "Right to Censor" period where she joined an extremely conservative clique where like minded wrestlers tried to stop all that they considered indecent. But before that period and much to the fan's delight, she also participated in WWF firsts such as Gravy Matches, Mud Matches, and Swimming Pool Evening Gown Matches! Of course, it was not all fun and games as she proved herself in unprecedented women's hardcore matches. So impressed was the WWF, that she was allowed to wrestle at major pay-per-views such as "SummerSlam" and "Wrestlemania," something rarely allowed for women.
As those days slowly started to wind down, she soon found herself often being kept out of the ring; instead she helped introduce Torie Wilson and Stacy to the WWE by being their mentor for a while. After that, she became a valet for "The Hurricane" and later Lance Storm. She had a few feuds and a few matches; but far from the glory days of before.
Her wrestling skills were undoubted as she was chosen to become a trainer on Tough Enough 2, lasting from Feb. to May 2002. It was later discovered that she would be joining the SmackDown roster for her television return where she was put into a brief angle with the winners of Tough Enough, Jackie Gayda and Linda Miles.
After very little air time on SmackDown, she was once again chosen to be a trainer on Tough Enough 3 where she remained for another 3 months.
It was not until November 2002 that Ivory finally made a return to television; but to the surprise of many, she returned to Raw were she quickly received a babyface (good girl/ hero) angle. 2003 certainly seemed like a comeback year since the eccentric diva was once again receiving a push from the WWE as she managed to score 3 separate pin falls against Jazz. Ivory's fans once again were greatly disappointed when Jazz was taken off the roster after suffering an injury and thereby ending the angle. Even though Ivory slowly drifted off of Raw, she was one of the main stars who took trips to the Middle East to visit the troops and help boost morale.
Since then, we have mostly seen Ivory's talented mic skills. She has been the host for various WWE programs including "Confidential" and "WWE Experience." She was even chosen to be a WWE representative as she helped "Rock the Vote" for the 2004 elections. Now as we start off 2005, the WWE claims that only time will tell if Ivory once again heads a triumphant return to the ring. Because of the WWE's current trend of hiring new divas by holding interactive diva contests, it is very doubtful in this fan's opinion that they will once again recognize the value of a diva like Ivory that can actually wrestle!
Headline: 7/22/05- Ivory's contract not renewed by the WWE!
The WWE released a statement saying that Ivory's
television contract would not be renewed as it expired the following
weekend. Her final appearance on WWE television was on "WWE Experience"
the following Sunday. Headlineplanet.com had the following to say;
"Ivory’s
release was not at all a surprise, as WWE has little need for excess
weekend
show
announcers.
Considering WWE Experience will not
get a pickup on USA, and WWE had no other use for Ivory, she was considered
an “easy” opportunity to cut some costs going into the USA
move."
In my own personal opinion, Vince and his WWE literally have crap for
brains!!! We all know the reason why they have been firing all of the
good wrestling divas: to cut costs and make room for non-wrestling Ho's.
They seem
to have the crazy idea that we (the fans) are just dying for no talent
sluts that are no different from the Ho's that the Godfather used to
bring
to the
ring
with him just a few years back. Don't get me wrong, Ho's are fun to watch
from time to time, but why are these Ho's being given the honorable title
of Divas?
Ivory almost single-handedly
revived and brought women's wrestling into the new millennium by slamming
and getting slammed in the ring; what have these Ho's done so far? Nothing!
They
pathetically clown around in the ring, have absolutely no mic skills,
and let's face
it- some of these buck faced Ho's have no beauty! Contrastingly, Ivory
helped pioneer a new breed of sexy beautiful Divas that fiercely fought
their way to the top. A refreshing mixture of beauty, wrestling skills,
and attitude.
Convinced that they have found the answer to their slumping ratings,
the WWE launched a number of television contests in order to find
new "talent."
The only contest that I considered O.K. was "Tough
Enough." I
had a little respect for Nidia since she and the rest of the participants
were at least being trained. So what happened to Nidia, the female
winner of the first Tough Enough? Just like Ivory, they would not
let her wrestle,
then was fired. So
first
she's
tough enough, then all of the sudden they change their mind in order
to make room for non talented Ho's? The ultimate slap in the face
are these recent Divas search contests were seemingly the only requirement
is to be willing to get naked for Playboy; participants with skills
and
a love of wrestling need not apply. What's worse is that not only
are the winners being given contracts, but the losers are being hired
as well!
Some Ivory fans were quick to criticize me for wanting to see a return
of the old style Divas matches from 5 years ago. Yes, I miss the
Evening Gown matches, Gravy matches, Evening Gown Swimming Pool matches,
and Mud
Wrestling matches. Yes, I miss them because Ivory would be in them
and she always seemed to do her damndest to give all of us our money's
worth!
While I kept wanting to see the return of Tori and Jacqueline, other
kept insisting that today's wrestling was still great and that the
WWE still
had some great wrestlers. Well, what do you have to say now??? All
I have to say is that I will not view or support any of their shows
nor
will I spend another penny on the WWE. This very well marks the end
of an era as one of the WWE's greatest female talents has fallen
victim to yet another one of the company's foolish decision.
Please note: The Webmaster does not claim that the above brief summary of Lisa Moretti's wrestling career is completely accurate. It is based on information gathered from television programs, internet pages, and magazines. Portions may be inclined toward the Webmaster's own point of view.