Evelyn Stevens

Evelyn Stevens was a tall, athletic heel who made her name in the Great Plains and Midwest before becoming a fixture in the Texas wrestling scene. She worked a rough, physical style and was willing to lean into sex appeal and villainous tactics, fitting the kayfabe expectations of women’s wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s.​

Her biggest career highlight came in October 1978 when she pinned The Fabulous Moolah in Dallas to briefly hold the NWA World Women’s Championship, a rare clean televised loss for Moolah that cemented Stevens as a legitimate top‑level performer. She also held the NWA Texas Women’s Championship five times, making her one of the most decorated women’s champions in that territory.​

Outside the ring, Stevens’ life took a dark turn when she shot and killed her then‑husband, gym owner Frank Riegle, in 1986. She was found guilty of murder and received a 20-year sentence. She served about five years before being released on parole due to a movement for clemency for battered women.

Later accounts portray her as largely withdrawing from public life, with her story framed as both a trailblazing wrestling career and a cautionary tale of domestic violence and its fallout.