Like any form of popular media, wrestling has experienced its fair share of fads and trends. In the 90s, the blood-soaked lawless world of hardcore wrestling was all the rage. The early 2000s saw a surge in the number, reach, and popularity of independent promotions. And, for a brief period of time in the 1970s into the early 80s, the wrestling world was captivated by the erotic spectacle of apartment wrestling.
Although its precise origins are unclear, the phenomenon known in its heyday as apartment house wrestling - or simply apartment wrestling for short - reached its apex under Manhattan millionaire, playboy, and eccentric Dave Moll. The idea was simple enough - at gatherings with his friends and members of his social circle, Moll would gather the most beautiful women his connections could get a hold of - models looking for extra cash, third-string actresses, girlfriends of friends of friends - and hold private wrestling matches between them in his Midtown apartment, combining pretty girls with athletic action to produce a perennially fascinating result.
In most regards, the rules of these contests hewed closely to the standards of professional grappling. Matches at Moll’s penthouse were contested to pinfall, submission, or knockout, just as they were in Madison Square Garden a few blocks over (interestingly enough, as with prostyle wrestling itself, early apartment matches were typically contested as two-out-of-three falls with a one-minute rest period between each, but as time went on, a single fall became the norm). However, there were certain aspects that set apartment wrestling apart from its more famous cousin.
Perhaps the most noticeable quirk of apartment wrestling is the attire used. For Dave Moll, the womens’ bodies were as much a part of the spectacle as their performance, and they wrestled barefoot and in bikinis. The venues presented their own limitations, too. With competitors usually facing each other on gym mats (if they didn’t just use the carpet) rather than in a ring, their fighting style shied away from moves that necessitated ropes, such as high-flying maneuvers or the Irish whip. Additionally, without the padding a ring could provide, apartment wrestlers were less likely to use slams or throws - though they did happen, and no doubt produced no small amount of excitement when they did. As a result, apartment wrestling tended toward a softer style of wrestling, with smothers, sleeperholds, and scissor holds being favored. In addition to being less dangerous in an apartment, these moves carried the advantage of being easy to learn and to master, which helped when few of the girls Moll had on his payroll came from athletic backgrounds.
That isn’t to say, however, that apartment wrestling was all fun and games. Just as in any competitive venue, there were times when tensions ran high. On more than one occasion, a bout got nasty and the participants started tearing into each other - in this case, often using tactics such as hair-pulling, eye rakes, and even biting that led to arranged matches devolving into all-out catfights.
Even at its height, apartment wrestling was a loosely organized spectacle at best, and a formal set of rules or a governing body was never created. As such, the precise nature of what was and wasn’t allowed varied from match to match, depending on the whims of both the wrestlers and the promoter. Because of this, even at the most heated of bouts, the men and women organizing the events had a laissez-faire attitude when it came to enforcing rules - after all, when things got brutal, they often only grew more interesting. The first recorded apartment matches were only stopped for the inevitable wardrobe malfunctions that occurred when you had two scantily-clad women rolling around and grabbing at each other, and within the first few years even that was left to happen (much to the delight of many watching, I’m sure). Even today, the precise regulations of each match are often agreed upon in advance by mutual consent of the participants.
For a time, apartment wrestling was a pastime unknown to the general public, and it may have remained the domain of Dave Moll and a few associates inspired to hold similar contests of their own, were it not for the fateful turn of events in 1973 that opened the door to a nationwide audience. One of America’s biggest wrestling magazines was facing a downturn in sales, and they needed a new hook to boost readership. It was then that one of their reporters reached out to Moll, securing a seat at one of his shows. He was convinced that the alluring spectacle provided a novelty that would captivate readers - and he was right.
The report of the match was published later that year, introducing millions across the country to apartment wrestling. Sales for the magazine saw a spike, and the demand rolled in for further coverage on the erotic sport. Not everyone was enthused, of course. Some wrestlers of the day complained that they were losing space in the magazine to what they viewed as “not real wrestling”. Others refused to have their pictures printed in the same publications they accused of peddling smut. Others still welcomed the articles - some for the fact it was putting more eyes on the magazines, and others were just as fascinated by apartment wrestling as any other reader.
But perhaps the biggest proponent of all was Dave Moll himself. Eager to see his creation get widespread attention, he signed an exclusive deal with the publishing house for them to report on his apartment matches - and soon, they became a regular feature, the match recaps lavishly illustrated with expertly taken photographs. With more and more eyes on apartment wrestling, Moll was encouraged more than ever to expand his empire.
With visions of turning apartment wrestling into a recognized sport, the eccentric millionaire grew more ambitious over the coming years. In January 1975, after a lengthy tournament, apartment house wrestling crowned its first champion, a busty blonde from Los Angeles named Cynara “the Queen” Morgan - though that title was vacated by the end of next year. In 1983, there were even discussions of bringing the spectacle to cable TV, though the proposal was ultimately rejected as “too risky.”
It likely wouldn’t have lasted long anyway. By the 80s, the craze was dying down, and many of the promoters and fans who had made the expansion of apartment wrestling possible had moved on to other things.
However, around the same time its mainstream coverage was waning, the sport experienced another revolution. Home video was making it more accessible to record and distribute tapes, which meant anyone could become a producer. Apartment house affectionados began arranging and taping matches in their own or rented apartments, and fans were able to buy videos and photoshoots of the bouts, first through newsletters and catalogues - and later, as the internet connected distributors and consumers across the globe, online. Apartment wrestling was just one of the niche genres kept alive by the home video boom, even if it might not have been sustainable in the mainstream market. Furthermore, the advent of video not only made it easier to distribute matches, it also granted access to the full experience, as close as it could come to being there in person. To many fans in the 70s, who followed new developments in the sport but couldn’t hope to have the money or connections necessary to sit in on a bout, the prospect of watching each match in full color, sound, and motion would have seemed too good to be true.
Although not as hot (in terms of popularity!) as it once was, apartment wrestling is by no means a thing of the past. Today, there are many companies out there producing content for apartment wrestling fans, and even more wrestlers making it all possible. After its initial wave of popularity, the phenomenon spread as far as Europe and Japan, bringing an influx of new talent wherever it went. Even some wrestlers from the professional scene have crossed over to the apartment world, and sometimes even vice versa. While some companies produce scripted, staged matches for the entertainment of enthusiasts, others prefer a more competitive approach, with both women fighting to win; there’s something for everyone out there. The fad that started it all might have come and gone, but in some form or another, apartment wrestling likely be around for many years to come.
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Acknowledgments
The characters and events referenced in this article were created by Dan Shockett for the London Publishing wrestling magazines (“Apter mags”). Additionally, this article would not be possible without the help of ahwgallery.com (link NSFW), which has scans of many of the original apartment wrestling articles and stories archived as well as original content. If you’re interested, they’re definitely worth a look.