When Debrah Miceli threw the WWE Women's Championship in the trash live on WCW's Monday Nitro, it started a firestorm of controversy. But for Miceli, her career continued on. Competing under her original ring name, Madusa, she returned to the ring and took on old rivals like Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon. (PHOTOS)
"I loved wrestling her," Miceli said of the memorably twisted Luna. "I've always said that she had the prettiest smile in the business."
Following a brief hiatus from the ring, Miceli returned to television in 1999 as a member of "Macho Man" Randy Savage's on-screen entourage. Joining up with future WWE Diva Molly Holly, the beautiful blonde was always in the former WWE Champion's corner and often teamed with him in mixed tags.
"There's a real man," Miceli said. "A lot of respect out to him. It was a great run."
After watching Macho Man's back for a time, the talented grappler returned to singles competition, but there was a problem.
"There was no one for me to wrestle," Miceli said of WCW's nonexistent women's division. "So they said, 'Let's do something different.'"
It was at this point that Madusa began facing men in the ring, first entering a tournament for the vacant WCW World Championship and then kicking off a rivalry with a young high flyer named Evan Karagias.
"The whole Evan Karagias thing was hot."
The two battled off and on for months, leading up to a big match at Starrcade in 1999. At this event, Miceli would become the first woman to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
"I was so ahead of my time," Miceli laughed. "I feel like Prince."
Despite these successes, things were not all good in WCW. With ratings sagging and million of dollars being lost, the company was on its last legs.
"Towards the end, I was getting a whiff of what was happening," she said. "I wanted out of there."
After spending some time training future WWE Divas like Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson in the WCW Power Plant, Miceli parted ways with the failing company in 2001. It wouldn't be long, however, before she started pursuing her next career opportunity thanks to an unexpected call from the people at Monster Jam, a touring monster truck competition.
"They said, 'Hey, dude, what are you doing now?' I said, 'Still wrestling, probably retiring, why?' They go, 'Well, have you ever seen monster trucks?"
Believing Miceli would be the perfect fit behind the wheel of a 10,000 pound machine, the company offered her a test run to see if she had what it takes. After training briefly with racing legend Dennis Anderson, the man behind Gravedigger, Miceli wowed them and was offered a job on the spot.
"I got in the truck and it was a perfect marriage."
Driving a star-spangled, red, white and blue truck with the name Madusa emblazoned across it, Miceli began to compete all over the globe against trucks like El Toro Loco and Maximum Destruction and soon became one of the top drivers on the circuit.
"I won World Finals in 2004 in freestyle and then in 2005 I won World Finals in racing," Miceli said.
With her own toy trucks, video game characters and seriously loyal fans, Miceli is enjoying the same success in the driver's seat that she experienced in the ring.
"I still get the same rush," Miceli said. "I take the microphone right out of the interviewer's hand and I turn it on for 65,000 people."
When she's not crushing the competition in her monster truck, Miceli enjoys a much different kind of chaos. As the owner of Koolkats & Hotdogs, she runs a successful grooming center and spa for pets near her home in Florida.
"It's just serenity," Miceli said. "It's unconditional love."
Thanks to a helpful staff and loyal customers, Miceli's business has done well for the past four years and allowed her to recently expand.
"I opened a doggy bakery," Miceli beamed. "We have doggy birthday cake, little doggy lattes, doggy chicken bone cookies. It's so cute."
A true animal lover, Miceli also owns two toy poodles and actually raises wolves on her property in Florida.
"I have like three and a half acres of natural habitat," Miceli said. "I take rescues in and I've stayed out there so I can be accepted in the pack."
When she's not howling at the moon with timberwolves, Miceli finds the time to pursue yet another extreme passion.
"My sweetest hobby is still riding my Harley."
Although she owns a few motorcycles, Miceli is most fond of her magenta-colored 1992 Harley-Davidson Softtail, which she regularly rides to work with a colorful toy poodle securely strapped to her chest.
"I know for a fact that I've caused two accidents," Miceli said with a laugh.
And while the former Women's Champion keeps very busy with monster trucks, her grooming business and her many hobbies, Miceli doesn't completely rule out the possibility of a return to the ring.
"Once you have the wrestling blood in you, it's in you," she said. "You always have a bag ready to go. That's how it is."
Miceli thought for a moment and then let a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"You know, I still have that title. Wouldn't you want to have it back?"
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