Virago
| Virago | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | San Francisco, USA |
| Years active | 1998 - 2004 (approximately) |
Virago was a production company and agencies based in San Francisco, run by the legendary Helen Von Mott.
Virago offered a variety of services including mail order videos, session wrestling and wrestling shows. The company was co-founded by a wrestling fan named Tony or Polypus in Internet circles. Helen and Tony ran Virago for several years before Tony left to focus on other pursuits in the early 2000s.
Here’s a description of the philosophy behind Virago. This appeared on Virago’s official website.
The company began as a video-production house. Helen and her partner, Tony wanted to give a counterpoint to the T&A; video companies promoting playful, erotic matches as being actually 'competitive'. Tony and Helen didn't have a problem with sexual wrestling per se, but they felt that the public was missing out on the excitement of seeing women REALLY wrestle.
As Helen became more involved in bikini wrestling videos, she became more and more hungry for knowledge. Enrolling in a martial arts class led by one of the top fighters in the world (Ralph Gracie), Virago brought something to the women's wrestling industry that up to that point in time had never been seen before…actual technique.
Going up against the old school bikini wrestlers who knew two or three fantasy holds with her new arsenal of proven submission wrestling techniques, Helen found the old methods of gaining submissions to be woefully lacking. Not only did Helen find that with her new training she steam-rolled her female competitors, the excruciatingly painful and effective holds taught to her by the Gracie family, proved equally effective against men. Conditioning and technique properly applied by a woman could win over a man's brute strength and power almost every time. Simply put, using the 3000-year-old art of jiu jitsu, Virago started a modern revolution.
History of Virago
Virago made a name for itself at the first edition of the Women's Wrestling Convention (WWC) in 1998. Fans could meet Virago wrestlers at their both and wrestlers like Helen Von Mott, Momo & Josephine competed at the event. Virago wrestlers became mainstays at all four editions of the convention, including both 1998 and 1999 when Virago wrestlers went head-to-head against various DWW wrestlers in a battle of production companies.
In addition to producing and selling their own videos, Virago wrestlers were featured in videos produced by many other top companies including DWW, Joan Wise Productions, Video Sports, Academy wrestling, KenStar Productions, Les Femmes Fatales and many others.
Virago also worked for a time with Tsunami Wrestling (a San Francisco company specializing in private shows and bachelor parties) to book private matches and wrestling shows.
Notable Wrestlers
Virago has a number of San Francisco area wrestlers on their roster over the years. Some of these wrestlers appeared in videos, offered sessions or both. Names included Amy O, Annabelle, Betty, Dallas, Demona, Desiree, Gabrielle, Gianna, Grace, Jennifer, Josephine, Kat, Kelly Dobbins, Lonnie, Lupe, Marti, Momo, River, Scooby, Serenity, Stephanie, Tempest and Yana Jordan
There were also wrestlers affiliated with Virago in other cities called The Virago Sorority and had profiles on the Virago website. Names included Debbie Lewis, Gia Primo, Goddess Severa, Kathy Gifford, Kyla Luciano, Sandrine Nourray, Shannon Logan and Valeria
Various other wrestlers have appeared in Virago videos as well. This includes names like Fuchsia, Denise, Elena V, Eva, Hana, Jezebel, Raquel and Ziggy
Gallery
Team Virago - Helen Von Mott, Kelly Dobbins, Tempest, Violet, Josephine, Annabelle, Amy O (© Virago)
Virago website in 1999
Virago website in 2006
