History
For most of its history, women and men would rarely compete against each other in professional wrestling, as it was deemed to be unfair and unchivalrous. Intergender wrestling was first popularized in the late-1970s/early-1980s by controversial song-and-dance man Andy Kaufman. Kaufman participated in several filmed staged matches of this nature and proclaimed himself the "Intergender Champion", issuing an open challenge to any female challenger who can defeat him. This is the beginning of a famous crossover feud between him and wrestling legend Jerry "The King" Lawler.
From the mid-1990s into the early-2000s intergender matches experienced a surge of popular interest, and were often introduced to the roster of events in major North American promotions such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. Perhaps the most successful female wrestler who competed in intergender matches was Chyna. Regularly booked to wrestle her male counterparts during the WWF Attitude Era, she was a three-time Intercontinental Champion, a championship traditionally only contested by men. Other women wrestlers who had notable wrestling feuds with their male counterparts, and even portrayed as their equals in the ring during that time period include Luna Vachon, Jazz, Jacqueline, Madusa, Sable and Lita.
This match-type continues to meet controversy across North America as matches often straddle the line between sporting events and pure erotic entertainment, and also allegations over the depiction of gratuitous physical violence against hapless women.
In Mexican lucha libre promotions, intergender matches are more common in tag team matches. however, both male and female wrestlers are restricted to attack those of their own gender. Some tag teams of this kind are siblings (such as Cinthia Moreno and Oriental), trained simultaneously with the same instructor, or even are on a real-life relationship such as boyfriend/girlfriend (Cibernético and Estrellita) or, as an exceptional case, husband and wife (Billy Boy and Faby Apache).
Read more about this topic: Intergender Wrestling
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