Jackie Moore hopes that she made a difference for women of color in wrestling.
When the WWF Women’s Championship was brought back into the fold of the company in 1998 after Alundra Blayze (Madusa) left, the first individual to win the title was Jacqueline Moore. With that win, Moore became the first Black woman to capture the WWF Women’s Championship.
She told Slam Wrestling’s Kari Williams that she did not set out to achieve that goal and just wanted to do her very best. She went on to express that representation is very important and hopes she was able to open doors for women of color in wrestling and the current generation of wrestlers can open doors for the next group.
I didn’t go out to be the first African-American women’s champion. I went out there to do my very best… When I won the title, it meant a lot. Little girls, like I say, I can inspire little girls. They see someone [who] look[s] like them. Representation is very important.
I hope I opened a lot of doors for women of color. Young girls and young ladies can be inspired by what I did for the business, some sense that I’m an inspiration for them. And I hope women today – they are main eventers now. You see, and I think people come to watch the women now because they put on a good show and they’re fun and exciting. So, I mean we had a great time when I was wrestling. I think they have more opportunity now than we did back then. But hopefully I opened the door for them, and they can do it for the next generation.
The backend of Moore’s full-time in-ring career was spent with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling. She enjoyed her time there, but wishes she could have done more. Jacqueline feels that her talents were not fully showcased.
I like TNA, but I wish they could have done more with me. They didn’t showcase my talent, they didn’t let me do a lot.
Earlier this month, Moore expressed that she’d be interested in having one more match and named Charlotte Flair and Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair as potential opponents.
