22. Torrie Wilson (Shane Douglas V Scott Overhosen, WCW Worldwide, 5/8/00)

Video: Shane Douglas V Scott Overhosen

Douglas & Torrie with Mean Gene

For our latest entry we catch up with Torrie Wilson during her period managing 'The Franchise' Shane Douglas in WCW. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, Torrie would prove to be a very useful addition for Douglas for his matches, as this example shows.

Mocking Billy Kidman...

Prior to the match with Scott Overhosen, Douglas and Wilson are interviewed by Mean Gene Okerland (1:58 in), during which Torrie mocks her former beau Billy Kidman, who would soon be facing Douglas at the New Blood Rising PPV.

With the overmatched Overhosen having made his way to the ring, Douglas makes his ringwalk accompanied by the beautiful Torrie. The blonde valet poses to the crowd, before a passionate embrace with The Franchise signals her departure ringside. The commentators then highlight that the match is Overhosen's WCW debut, making him easy pickings for a wrestler of Douglas's experience, and vulnerable to the interventions of his valet.

Torrie repositioning before her intervention

Douglas predictably gains the upper hand as the match starts, although Overhosen does enjoy some early success too. At 19:45 in, Torrie can be seen repositioning herself ringside following a knee-drop by Douglas, in what may have been a premeditated move. The decision bears fruit at 20:20, when the young opponent slips out of the ring very close to Torrie to avoid another attack from The Franchise.

A yank to the shorts

The beautiful valet has no hesitation in approaching Scott, and at 20:25 yanks back the shorts of Overhosen to prevent him re-entering the ring in full view of the referee. Overhosen then turns round to berate Torrie, before foolishly turning his back on her. At 20:32 in, Torrie then senses her opportunity an executes a nail-rake to the back of the young opponent, as Douglas connects with a kick through the ropes.

Torrie attacks as Douglas connects

As the action continues ringside, Overhosen somehow turns the tables as Torrie looks on in close proximity. The Franchise soon strikes back though, and rams his young opponent into the ringpost to leave him writhing in agony at the feet of Torrie. The valet then gets right into the face of Overhosen, verbally berating the young wrestler before both men return the ring.

A hurt Overhosen with Torrie looking on

Verbally berating the young opponent

As Overhosen enjoys more success, Douglas soon nails the youngster with his trademark Franchise finisher to seal a straightforward win. Torrie then applauds the efforts of Douglas before leaving with her man, turning to see Overhosen stricken in the ring as she departs.

Applauding the win

Torrie not only showed an ability to sense an opportunity to get involved to help Douglas, she also displayed a ruthlessness and cruelty in verbally attacking Overhosen while the young wrestler was clearly in pain. Meanwhile, her ringside intervention when Overhosen was in close proximity not only assisted Douglas, but was also carried out in full view of the referee, who allowed the valet total freedom to get involved without punishment. A 'Torrific' performance then from Ms Wilson in dominating and humiliating a young wrestler who lacked the exeprience to deal with her and The Franchise.

21. Paisley (The Artist V Ashley Hudson, WCW Worldwide, 15/7/00)

Video: The Artist V Ashley Hudson

An important but often under-utilised weapon in the arsenal of an effective valet is the verbal intimidation of opponents. This brief example, dating back to Paisley's purple reign as the valet of The Artist in WCW, is an excellent example of such tactics, skilfully executed before the opening bell has ring and setting the tone for the match.

Considering her actions

With their opponent Ashley Hudson having made his way to the ring, Paisley and her man begin their ringwalk at 10:35 in. As The Artist enters into conversation with a member of the crowd, Paisley wags a finger of warning at the spectator before elegantly climbing the steps to enter the ring.

Paisley points in Hudson's direction

Looking demure as she reclines on the ropes, Paisley then appears to get the nod from her man to go to work. Strutting over to their Australian opponent, she points a finger of warning in Hudson's direction before delivering a verbal volley to his face from close proximity. The referee, whilst half-heartedly attempting to stop Paisley, is powerless in preventing her intimidating antics.

Face to face with the Australian, the referee powerless to stop her

Hudson then foolishly attempts to return fire with fire, to which Paisley arrogantly turns her back and executes the dismissive 'talk to the hand' gesture. Satisfied with her work, the Purple Princess retires ringside to allow the match to commence.

Talk to the hand!

Despite spirited resistance, Hudson is nailed by the flying DDT at 15:00 in as The Artist clinches the win. Paisley then enters the ring to celebrate another victory for her man. An excellent cameo then of how to use verbal taunting and intimidation by Paisley, before humiliating a frustrated opponent by treating him with arrogant disdain. All valets would do well to study such tactics.

Celebrating the win

20. Missy Hyatt (Nasty Boys V Ken Kendall & Frank Rose - WCW Worldwide, 22/01/94)

Video: Nasty Boys V Ken Kendall & Frank Rose

It's time to step back to the mid-1990s now as we drop in with Missy Hyatt and her spell managing the Nasty Boys to WCW Tag Team gold.

Strutting to the ring with the Nasties, Missy exudes ultimate confidence. Following the introduction of the hapless Kendall and Rose, Hyatt then proceeds to provocatively show them the title belts and verbally intimidate the opponents before the opening bell has rung - an excellent move in putting Ken and Frank in their place.

Taunting her opponents pre-match

Upon Missy leaving the ring, the match commences with Jerry Sags in first with Kendall. A brutal attack by the Nasty leaves his valet applauding enthusiastically, before she points at Ken and launches a verbal volley in his direction.

Applauding the efforts of Sags

A double backdrop by the Nasties then leaves Kendall face-down on the canvas, giving Hyatt another opportunity to verbally humiliate the overmatched wrestler. With Sags leaving the ring, Brian Knobbs then decides to give the young Kendall a closer encounter with the Nasties' valet.

Kendall down and out as Missy mocks

Sensing her opportunity....

At 4:58 in, Kendall is taken over to the ropes right in front of Missy, with Knobbs choking his opponent to the objection of the referee. As the official then becomes occupied again with Sags, the blonde valet then senses her opportunity and at 5:02 executes a hurtful slap to the face of Kendall as Knobbs holds him securely in place. The valet then turns away gloating, with the referee oblivious of her intervention.

The slap lands with force and accuracy

Kendall continues to be beaten up by Knobbs, as again Missy can be seen humiliating him from ringside. Somehow, Kendall manages to escape his predicament though with a kick to the face of Sags, tagging in Frank Rose.

Hyatt celebrates even before the count has started

Soon enough, Rose is also in deep trouble, with Knobbs hurling him to the canvas to set up the trademark Sags elbow-drop finisher from the top turnbuckle. Even before the winning move is executed, Missy can be seen celebrating, carefully putting her sunglasses back on and counting the 1-2-3 with the referee as the win is clinched. As a final gesture, Missy shoves the referee out of the way as he lifts the arms of the Nasties in victory.

Pushing the official away to celebrate

As a valet performance, this one rated highly. Vocal throughout, Missy made absolutely sure the Kendall and Rose knew from the outset that they had no chance of troubling the Nasties. The constant pointing and mocking reinforced their inferiority as Knobbs and Sags dominated. The faceslap was the clear highpoint though, delivered out of view of the referee and leaving Kendall writhing in pain. An excellent performance from Missy, leaving the Nasties' opponents drained of confidence and feeling the accuracy of her right hand.

A stricken Kendall is mocked by Missy

19. Lana (Alexander Rusev V Kofi Kingston - WWE NXT, 01/01/14)

Video: Alexander Rusev V Kofi Kingston

Addressing the crowd

Watching any of the major wrestling federations over the last few years, you would be forgiven for thinking that the days of the beautiful, devious, calculating valet in wrestling had gone. But with the introduction of man-mountain Alexander Rusev has come his Russian valet Lana to accompany him to the ring, and she has already shown a talent to influence his matches.

In this bout against Kofi Kingston, Lana firstly emerges from backstage wearing a tight-fitting business suit to introduce Rusev, despite the crowd showing her little respect. With the Bulgarian beast Rusev joining his valet, the two Eastern Europeans make their way to the ring, with Lana joining her man on the ring apron.

With Kingston making his entrance, Lana calmly retains her position despite the African opponent's proximity to her as he enters the ring, displaying an air of confidence and superiority. As the Russian valet stares down Kingston from the corner, she swiftly points in his direction to set Rusev into action.

Looking on from ringside

Kingston is in trouble from the outset as Rusev launches a brutal attack on his opponent, much to Lana's satisfaction. He soon has Kingston in trouble as he throws Kofi over his head onto the canvas, but a failed two-count draws scornful glances from Lana towards the referee.

Rusev attacks Kingston to his valet's approval

The commentators soon refer to Lana's calming influence on Rusev, before Kofi Kingston somehow manages to gain the upper hand. Rusev is soon lying prone on the canvas as Kofi launches a leg-drop on his opponent. A missed clothesline from Rusev then allows Kofi to cross-body his opponent and attempt the pin, which only yields a two-count.



At 6:00 in, a dazed Rusev can be seen staggering in the ring as Kingston goes to the turnbuckle to launch an aerial move. Like all good valets, Lana senses the danger, as well as the opportunity to influence the match.

Lana steps in as the referee tries to stop her

Calmly walking over to the corner and climbing the steps, she berates Kingston who becomes momentarily distracted by the Russian valet. The referee can be seen warning Lana not to get involved, but her intervention makes the difference as Rusev recovers and throws Kingston down onto the canvas. The Bulgarian then executes his 'Accolade' finishing hold to make Kofi tap out, as Lana watches proceedings from the apron.

The damage is done as Rusev recovers

Pointing mockingly at a beaten Kofi

Displaying many of the attributes of a great valet, Lana showed great potential in helping Rusev in this match, which bodes well for his fledgling career in the WWE. Her timing was impeccable in spotting Kingston go for the high-risk move, so much so that she could calmly walk into position without having to rush. When in place, she then interfered in full view of the official, who understandably allowed the beautiful Russian some leeway in allowing her influence on the result go unpunished and stay on the apron to watch the match-finishing submission. An excellent performance then from the calculating Russian, who seems destined to follow in the footsteps of great valets from the past.

18. Jeannie Clark (Stunning Steve Austin V Danny Davis - USWA)

Video: Steve Austin V Danny Davis

Given the importance of Lady Blossom in the success achieved by Steve Austin in the WCW, today we take a look back to Austin's debut in USWA wrestling, where he is accompanied by Jeannie Clark before she adopted her familiar moniker.

A pre-match interview has Austin gloating after being named Rookie Of The Year, before Jeannie grabs the mic off the presenter and announces that Austin is destined for big things. Austin and his valet then make their way straight to the ring to start the match against Danny Davis.

Clark assumes her position ringside as the action commences, with the young referee Jamie Dundee seen pointing a warning finger to the valet not to get involved in the bout. A fast start by Austin is quickly reversed by Davis, who rolls up his opponent for the pin. However, Jeannie had anticipated the danger, and can be seen grabbing the hand of the referee and engaging in conversation to distract the official. By the time Dundee's attention returns to the ring, he only manages to count to 2 before Austin kicks out.

The referee is distracted as Austin is pinned

As Austin regains the upper hand, he is accused of pulling the hair of his opponent, with the commentators also spotting the offence. They then highlight the lack of experience of Dundee in officiating, as Austin persuades the young referee that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

With Davis breaking free, he then manages to lift Austin over his back into a pin position, ready for the count of the referee. However, Austin's valet steps in again, luring the naive referee over to her to leave a frustrated Davis pinning his opponent for a full six seconds before the count starts. Dundee only reaches a count of 1 before Austin kicks out.

Jeannie again steps in with Austin in trouble

Austin once again goes on the offensive, landing his signature Stun Gun finisher. A pin sees Davis wrap his legs on the ropes to stop the count at 2. Seemingly on top, Austin then lets his attention slip as Davis quickly rolls him up for another pin attempt. Unbelievably, the referee has again drifted over to Austin's valet to engage in conversation, obviously distracted by Clark's feminine wiles. A one-count is again all that results once Dundee spots the pin. The commentators then criticise Dundee, stating that he needs to pay more attention on the action in the ring.

A roll-up pin is again unseen by the referee

Jeannie repeats the trick for a fourth time!

Austin's domination of the match soon to comes to an end, as a charge from Davis ends in a reverse backbreaker. As the move is executed, the referee can be seen turning his back on the action, and with Jeannie spotting her man in trouble she once again draws the gaze of the official and then engages in a full 20 seconds of conversation with Davis pinning Austin unseen.

Dundee in conversation yet again with Austin's valet

This prompts a USWA official to demand that the match is stopped, before he berates Dundee as not being ready to officiate matches. Jeannie can be spotted behind him looking innocently on, as the young referee loses his job as a USWA referee.

The referee is fired as Jeannie looks on

In what is at times was a dominating performance by Steve Austin, Jeannie nevertheless prevented a loss for Austin with her numerous well-timed interventions. Jamie Dundee seemed vulnerable to Clark's distractions from the outset, and the blonde valet seemed to cast a spell over the young referee. The final distraction, lasting a full 20 seconds, was particularly crucial as Austin was clearly about to lose if the referee had kept his attention on the action in the ring. Ultimately though, he could not take his eyes off Jeannie, in what must be the only case of a valet causing a referee to be fired.

17. Lady Blossom (Stunning Steve Austin V Z-Man - WCW Fall Brawl, 5th September 1991)

Video: Steve Austin Vs Z Man - Fall Brawl

A confident Blossom leads Austin to the ring

As Lady Blossom showed on numerous occasions during her valetship of Steve Austin, she needed little encouragement to get involved in matches and swing the result her man's way. This match-up against Tom Zenk would be no different.

Eyeballing Z-Man from outside the ring

After walking to the ring in a cleavage-baring dress (which would prove useful at the end of the match), Blossom takes up position ringside before verbally engaging with the Z-Man, prompting an angry Zenk to try and leave the ring to get closer to Austin's valet. Luckily, the referee stops the over-reaction from Austin's opponent, leaving Lady Blossom to point a warning finger in Zenk's direction for his insolence.

An early warning for Zenk

With the match started, Jim Ross refers to the valet as an 'evil woman', no doubt in reference to her numerous interventions in Austin's matches. As the match progresses, Blossom can then be seen posing and pouting into the camera as Tony Schiavone describes how Austin seeks the approval of his valet for his offensive moves in the ring.

Posing at ringside

As Austin has Zenk in a headlock in the ring, his valet casts a menacing stare as the commentators describe how Zenk needs to develop a meaner streak. The Z-Man soon starts to have more success though as the action spills out of the ring. However, a failed aerial move from Zenk turns the tide back in Austin's direction, and another energy-sapping headlock on the Z-Man has Blossom jumping up and down in excitement.

Happy with Austin's work

With the 10-minute time limit approaching, Zenk turns the tables and puts a sleeper-hold on Austin, leaving the champion staggering towards the ropes. Luckily for Stunning Steve, his valet is ready and waiting to lend her assistance.

Blossom intervenes with the referee distracted

The knucks are handed over....

As Austin makes it over to the ropes, referee Nick Patrick is preoccupied with monitoring the sleeper, allowing Blossom to grab Austin's hand at 10:18 in and hand a set of brass knucks unseen to the champion. She then issues final instructions to Austin as Zenk is moved back by Patrick. As the Z-Man attempts a falling suplex, Austin lands a punch to make full use of the knucks before pinning the challenger for the 1-2-3. A knowing Lady Blossom has already started to make her way into the ring before the 3-count is complete ready to celebrate with Austin, although not before making sure the brass knucks are safely hidden in her ample cleavage.

.... before being concealed down Blossom's cavernous cleavage

Choosing her moment impeccably as always, Lady Blossom once again was the deciding factor in this match. While her verbal assault on Zenk before the match was a useful distraction, the valet waited until she could execute a match-winning intervention before she got involved. As usual, Lady Blossom managed to hands the knucks over out of view of the referee, and then was careful to conceal the foreign object before celebrating with Austin. Zenk ultimately had no answer to such tactics, and was left to writhe in pain as the blonde valet revelled in victory.

Zenk down and out as Lady Blossom celebrates