Whatever Happened to Ivory?

Brian Damage

Her real name is Lisa Moretti but most fans will know her as “Ivory” during her days with the WWF/E. She was one of the last true female wrestler’s before the WWE transitioned from women wrestlers to “Divas.” Today we look back on her unique career and find out ‘Whatever Happened to‘ Ivory?

Lisa Moretti got her start in the “entertainment business” back in the early 1980’s when she became a cheerleader for the United States Football League’s (USFL) Los Angeles Express. She got her start in pro wrestling by auditioning and getting a spot with the upstart women’s pro wrestling show called Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling aka GLOW. She was trained to wrestle by Mando Guerrero, a member of the legendary Guerrero wrestling family.

She was dubbed Tina Ferrari and her real life friend who auditioned with her became Ashley Cartier. Together, Tina and Ashley became the tag team known as T and A. They would win the GLOW tag team championship and Ferrari would win the GLOW singles championship as well. Moretti was making about $400 a week wrestling for GLOW, working nine months out of the year.

When GLOW folded, the co-founder of that promotion started another version of it called POWW (Powerful Women of Wrestling) Tina Ferrari would win that version of the championship but Moretti wasn’t happy. She quit POWW over a money dispute and went on to work several jobs including a makeup artist and a stunt woman. She would be completely out of pro wrestling for the next 10 years.

By chance, Jim Ross, who was familiar with her GLOW work, asked her to be an extra as one of the Godfather’s Ho’s at Monday Night Raw. That led to a tryout and Moretti was signed to the then WWF and renamed “Ivory.” She was initially the valet to Mark Henry but soon enough went on to become a full-time wrestler on the WWF’s roster.

Ivory would become a WWF women’s champion on three separate occasions. She would also become a key member of the ultra conservative faction known as ‘The Right to Censor.’ As the years went by, the WWF was focusing more on “Divas” than women wrestlers. Pillow fights, mud wrestling matches and Diva Search contests were replacing good old fashioned wrestling matches. Moretti slowly started to be phased out of her active WWF wrestling career. She became a trainer on Tough Enough and also hosted WWF programs as a host.

In 2005, Moretti decided she had had enough and opted not to renew her contract with the company, so the WWE released her. Moretti continued her career on the independent circuit, winning a few titles along the way. Then, Hurricane Katrina hit the southern part of the United States, leaving a path of destruction. Moretti traveled down to the hardest hit areas to help in the relief efforts. She saw so many animals were now abandoned and alone and she helped rescue countless animals when down south.

So, whatever happened to Lisa “Ivory” Moretti? Her passion for animals led her to retire from professional wrestling. She moved to a small town in the state of Washington called Friday Harbor. The population of the town is roughly a little over 2,100 people. Moretti started a dog grooming and dog day care center in her home. She also took acting and singing lessons and has performed in some musicals at her local theater.

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You can read all previous ‘Whatever Happened to?’ pieces here.

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