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Rough ride rolls on for Madusa

January 12, 2006 12:50 am

By MICHAEL ZITZ

Get out of the way, Hillary Clinton.

Here comes Madusa, the kind of woman leader who makes the 2008 presidential aspirant look like a pasty-faced, knock-kneed 89-pound thumb-sucker.

Area fans can get a glimpse of her Friday and Saturday when Monster Jam comes to Washington's MCI Center.

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a monstrous female character whose gaze could turn people to stone.

And this Madusa is getting her share of stony gazes from the male opponents she's passing on the monster truck racing circuit filled with macho names like "Superman."

"I'm a true door-opener and a leader for the future of women," boasts the mighty Madusa, a former professional wrestler turned monster truck racing champion.

She was a pro wrestler for 17 years before Monster Jam owner Clear Channel decided it wanted a cross promotion between wrestling and monster trucks and added one very tough woman to its previously all-male monster truck lineup.

"They wanted a woman with a name," Madusa told The Free Lance-Star about her wrestling resume. At first, the move was looked upon as a publicity stunt. "They hired me, then they went, 'Oh [deleted], she's good!'" Madusa recalled.

She became the 2004 freestyle champ and the 2005 racing champ.

"I was kicking ass and taking names," Madusa said. "I believe in myself."

Even though she won a freestyle title first, "I like focusing on the racing--it's more competitive," she said.

"Freestyle is like wrestling," she said, "like I'm wrestling with my truck. I get my ass kicked in by a truck more than I did in the wrestling ring."

The 42-year-old Madusa had been a nurse before becoming a wrestler two decades ago.

Then she was introduced to a Hollywood stunt coordinator who had been dating her friend. The stunt coordinator said Madusa looked like an entertainer, to which she responded disbelievingly, "I'm a jock."

Then to his suggestion of pro wrestling, she initially said, "Absolutely not," before the idea grew on her.

But, "I quit my job and here I am," she said last week.

Yes, here she is, with Clear Channel releasing "The True Life of Madusa" on DVD.

She called the film calm and "kid-friendly."

Madusa said that when she entered monster truck driving, the men in the sport were anything but friendly and accepting to her.

"Uh-uh," the Tampa, Fla., resident said.

"Women were looked at in wrestling as a circus act, and with monster trucks, I knew what to expect. They didn't respect me at all. "I told them I didn't want any special treatment, that I wanted to travel on the road and change my own tires, and I got what I asked for."

Still, she said her truck was sabotaged and the men played jokes on her, "and I was talked about."

"I know how a man thinks, eats, sleeps and goes to the bathroom, she said. "And I can tell you they didn't take me serious. I was prepared for it."

You can bet that they're taking Madusa seriously now.

Keeping her head up and her eyes wide open, she said, "has brought me to being a champion in both wrestling and monster trucks."

She was prepared by a hard-knock life. Madusa was out on the streets and on her own at age 14.

"I didn't have a real mom, and I never knew my dad," she said. "I've always been a loner.

"Since 14, I've been my own mom, dad, sister and brother."

The loneliness taught her to depend on herself and never give up.

"I set high expectations for myself," she said.

To reach MICHAEL ZITZ: 540/374-5408
Email: mikez@freelancestar.com