The Straight Shooter
January 2007
By: Dan Murphy
Nora Greenwald opened the invitation, took a look at her calendar, and dialed Lisa Moretti’s phone number.
Nora (best known to wrestling fans as Molly Holly) asked Lisa (best known to wrestling fans as Ivory) whether she had also received the invitation to Trish Stratus’ wedding on October 1 in Toronto to her long-time sweetheart, Ron. “Want to split a hotel room?” Nora asked.
“I told her that doesn’t sound like any fun,” Lisa told me by phone, two days after Trish’s wedding, calling from somewhere near Madison, Wisconsin. “I said why not take your camper and turn this into a road trip.”
And so the great Wedding Tour Wrestling Road Trip, also known as the “Kickin’ Ass For Gas” tour, began.
Like a grappling version of Thelma and Louise, the two former WWE women’s champions decided to hit the road, driving from Nora’s home in Minnesota up to Toronto, Ontario. “I suggested we take some gigs along the way to pay for gas and meals, and Nora started checking with her contacts,” Lisa said. “Within a couple of days, we had four bookings.”
Then Lisa reached out to a media contact, Internet radio show host The Big Mosh. He would use his program, Monday Night Mayhem, to sponsor the tour, and Lisa and Nora were off.
Having learned a few lessons in the art of promotion during their time in WWE, Lisa and Nora packed up a trunk full of merchandise, including T-shirts, DVDs, and — since this was a wedding tour after all — commemorative bridal veils. They also brought cards for fans to sign that they could present to Trish on her wedding day.
“Trish and Ron were finally getting married after 14 years together,” Lisa said. “Considering that, and her retirement, it just seemed like the right time to celebrate and do this right.”
The first stop on the Wedding Tour was Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Lisa and Nora made an appearance for promoter Eddie Sharkey’s Midwest Pro Wrestling. Lisa worked as a guest referee, but fell victim to the dreaded ref bump, allowing Molly to run in as a backup ref and restore law and order to the bout.
Then it was on to a campsite in Wisconsin, where the girls caught a few winks before driving out to another campsite in Port Huron, Michigan. On Thursday afternoon, they got back on the road, crossing the border and making their way to Cambridge, Ontario, where Lisa wrestled the Pure Wrestling Association women’s champion 21st Century Fox in a “Bridal Veil On A Pole” match, and Nora served as guest referee. The champion ended up popping Nora in the head with her title belt and stealing the win from Lisa. But, after Nora reluctantly raised her hand in victory, the former Molly Holly attacked 21st Century Fox to the delight of Cambridge fans.
From there, it was off to an autograph signing in Simcoe, Ontario. That same night, Ivory wrestled The Anti-Diva in a stiff contest (another “Veil On A Pole” match), with Nora working as referee. “The indies are so fun. So friendly,” Lisa said. “You meet all kinds of characters.”
I asked how the backstage atmosphere on the independent level compares to the atmosphere in the WWE locker room. “I call it the indy enthusiasm,” Lisa said. “You see all these young guys and girls with these bright eyes and their dreams of wrestling for their career. I try to leave them with a little seasoning, and try to explain to them that wrestling is hard work, that it’ll probably be the most difficult thing they’ll ever do. But I’ll never tell someone not to try, or to just stick with their day job. I always hated that when people said that to me. At 20 years old, they should be able to feel like they can do anything they want. That’s healthy.”
Lisa and Nora spent another night roughing it at a campsite before getting up early and making the drive to Toronto on Saturday for the big wedding. Rain was pouring down and Lisa and Nora hit construction that slowed them to a crawl. “It’s raining, and we’re inching along, time is ticking by,” Lisa said. “We thought, after all that, we were going to be late and miss the wedding.”
As it turned out, the wedding ceremony was scheduled to take place on a rooftop facing Lake Ontario. The inclement weather delayed the ceremony, and it was moved indoors to a small theater. Lisa and Nora showed up just in time.
“It turned out to be perfect, intimate setting,” Lisa said. Trish and Ron exchanged vows on a stage, which struck Lisa as an appropriate platform. Then Lisa and Nora met up with a contingent of other past and present WWE Divas, including Torrie Wilson, Lita, Maria Kanellis, Mickie James, Victoria, Ashley Massaro, and Lilian Garcia. “All the girls were at Table 12, which was the rowdy table,” Lisa said.
The road trip was more than just a road trip for Nora and Lisa. It was also an affirmation.
“When you’re in WWE, you always think of the people you travel with and work with as your family,” Lisa said. “Then, when you’re not there anymore, you wonder if you really were family, if those friendships can survive. Nora and I have been gone for about a year now. To be back and see the girls and see those friendships didn’t miss a beat, and to see those friendships alive with the new girls — the next wave — it reaffirmed I’ve got better friends than I ever realized.”
On a long drive from the Midwest to the “Great White North,” Lisa and Nora set out to make a little money and have a little fun. They ended up getting back to the roots of wrestling and discovering friends, fans, and family along the way.