Francine Fournier: The Queen of Extreme
Eric Schomburg
October 13, 2005
In the history of professional wrestling, women have been key figures to some of the most elite members of the squared circle. Miss Elizabeth, Sensational Sherri, Tammy Sytch, Sable, and Beulah McGillicutty have all been influential in professional wrestling.
One of those women who has been a major influence toward women in wrestling is non-other than Francine Fournier, or simply just Francine.
Francine debuted on ECW, Extreme Championship Wrestling, in 1995 when she was a ?devoted fan? of Stevie Richards, and eventually became his ?girlfriend". At that time, Francine was having a feud with Raven?s then ?girlfriend?, Beulah McGillicutty. Like all great twists and turns in professional wrestling, Stevie Richards would turn on Francine and side with Raven and Beulah.
Soon afterwards, Francine would seek revenge against Raven and Richards and team with the Pitbulls. Francine wore a bikini styled outfit in which she admits she disdains, but it fit the image of what her character was to be. Beulah and Francine would feud for a little longer, until a feud between Shane Douglas and Pitbull #2 would arise.
It was here that I first watched ECW, in fact one of the first matches I watched was Chris Jericho vs. Pitbull #2 for the ECW Television Title. I?ll be honest, when I first saw Francine in that match, she looked stunning, but she also looked irate in her beast master?s outfit. You can tell she wasn?t too happy wearing it.
Shane Douglas and Pitbull #2 would feud for a while before Francine would make a bold move in turning heel and siding with Shane Douglas. The combination of Francine and ?The Franchise? Shane Douglas was a perfect match, because the names ?Francine? and ?Franchise? go hand and hand, and Francine works better as a heel rather than a baby face. Why does Francine work better as a heel, you ask? Because when I was watching her wear outlandish outfits, acting like she?s better than everyone, and always interfering in wrestling matches, I, as a wrestling fan, hated her guts. I?ll be honest, she was stunning, but I wanted someone to break her in half. Therefore, she works better as a heel. Don?t worry, by me ?hating? her, it meant that her character was working. A hard hated heel meant easy money.
Francine, like other heel valets, would always support her man, just as long as he supported her ?needs,? and that usually meant winning a gold title belt; however, unlike most valets in other wrestling organizations in which the valet seemed to love the title belt so much that they would carry it around, Francine took it to another level. I remember one night in which Francine bent over to kiss Shane Douglas? TV title, but the title itself was still attached to his waist; therefore, it almost looked as if Francine was performing a fellatio style kiss to the belt. It was shocking, but it worked.
When Francine was with Shane Douglas, she was one of the most popular valets in wrestling. Not only could she play the devilish diva, but she can also take a bump. If she?s not being power bombed through a table by a Pitbull, she?s being piledriven by Tommy Dreamer. However, one of my fondest memories of Francine was the night Rick Rude got a hold of her.
At the time, Rick Rude was a commentator for ECW along with Joey Styles; however, Rick Rude would be sick of Shane Douglas? antics in the ring, and Francine?s antics outside the ring. One day, Rick Rude took it upon himself to take matters in his own hands. Despite that he despised Francine, he did find her ?attractive,? at least his character did. Shane Douglas and Francine made their way to the ring for an important match, and Francine was wearing a very short skirt. Rick Rude decided to even the odds against Shane Douglas. Rude would approach Francine, flip her over, and proceed in what, allegedly, would be sex, despite the image was blurred. I remember watching thinking, ?wow, this IS extreme.?
The sex was a bold move to say the least, and was a hot topic to wrestling fans. Francine?s star kept rising afterwards. Francine?s character would be even more extreme when Shane Douglas was not only her ?lover,? but also her ?pimp? as he would pimp her out to Rick Rude while he would wrestle in a match.
Francine?s character would not only be devilish, but also slutty. She played the slutty character well, no offence to her as a person, but the Francine?s character was dirty and gritty and she played it well.
After Shane Douglas went to WCW, Francine would turn baby face as she would be the manager of Tommy Dreamer. Soon she would turn on Dreamer and side with Justin Credible.
In 2001, ECW filed bankruptcy and Francine would be out of a job. It seemed the Queen of Extreme was no more; however, one thing is for sure, she would be one of the last original employees that was in ECW when the company "closed their doors."
A lot of wrestling fans, including myself, were surprised that Francine wasn?t going to receive a job from the WWE, who bought and own the rights to ECW. Francine would later explain that she never wanted nor intended to work for Vince McMahon.
After ECW, Francine once wrestled in TNA?s lingerie battle royal, did a couple of appearances for Major League Wrestling, and had became the ?general manager? to WEW, Women?s Extreme Wrestling.
Francine made an appearance on Shane Douglas? ?Hardcore Homecoming,? and a surprise appearance at ECW/WWE?s ?One Night Stand.? Francine is currently collaborating on a website with fellow wrestling diva, Missy Hyatt, and every Wednesday she calls in to the Wrestling Epic Center where she and co-hosts, James Walsh and Chuck D, discuss current events in professional wrestling.
In my opinion, Francine has been a great talent in professional wrestling, in fact, maybe the most underrated valet on the market. Not only is she beautiful, stunning, and kind, but she can also work a character and is trained to take bumps, which is sadly rare in wrestling.
I hope she realizes how much wrestling fans appreciate her. She may never receive a plaque to the wrestling hall of fame, but she doesn?t need to, because as far as this wrestling fan is concerned she?s the queen of extreme, and that?s all she needs to be.
One of those women who has been a major influence toward women in wrestling is non-other than Francine Fournier, or simply just Francine.
Francine debuted on ECW, Extreme Championship Wrestling, in 1995 when she was a ?devoted fan? of Stevie Richards, and eventually became his ?girlfriend". At that time, Francine was having a feud with Raven?s then ?girlfriend?, Beulah McGillicutty. Like all great twists and turns in professional wrestling, Stevie Richards would turn on Francine and side with Raven and Beulah.
Soon afterwards, Francine would seek revenge against Raven and Richards and team with the Pitbulls. Francine wore a bikini styled outfit in which she admits she disdains, but it fit the image of what her character was to be. Beulah and Francine would feud for a little longer, until a feud between Shane Douglas and Pitbull #2 would arise.
It was here that I first watched ECW, in fact one of the first matches I watched was Chris Jericho vs. Pitbull #2 for the ECW Television Title. I?ll be honest, when I first saw Francine in that match, she looked stunning, but she also looked irate in her beast master?s outfit. You can tell she wasn?t too happy wearing it.
Shane Douglas and Pitbull #2 would feud for a while before Francine would make a bold move in turning heel and siding with Shane Douglas. The combination of Francine and ?The Franchise? Shane Douglas was a perfect match, because the names ?Francine? and ?Franchise? go hand and hand, and Francine works better as a heel rather than a baby face. Why does Francine work better as a heel, you ask? Because when I was watching her wear outlandish outfits, acting like she?s better than everyone, and always interfering in wrestling matches, I, as a wrestling fan, hated her guts. I?ll be honest, she was stunning, but I wanted someone to break her in half. Therefore, she works better as a heel. Don?t worry, by me ?hating? her, it meant that her character was working. A hard hated heel meant easy money.
Francine, like other heel valets, would always support her man, just as long as he supported her ?needs,? and that usually meant winning a gold title belt; however, unlike most valets in other wrestling organizations in which the valet seemed to love the title belt so much that they would carry it around, Francine took it to another level. I remember one night in which Francine bent over to kiss Shane Douglas? TV title, but the title itself was still attached to his waist; therefore, it almost looked as if Francine was performing a fellatio style kiss to the belt. It was shocking, but it worked.
When Francine was with Shane Douglas, she was one of the most popular valets in wrestling. Not only could she play the devilish diva, but she can also take a bump. If she?s not being power bombed through a table by a Pitbull, she?s being piledriven by Tommy Dreamer. However, one of my fondest memories of Francine was the night Rick Rude got a hold of her.
At the time, Rick Rude was a commentator for ECW along with Joey Styles; however, Rick Rude would be sick of Shane Douglas? antics in the ring, and Francine?s antics outside the ring. One day, Rick Rude took it upon himself to take matters in his own hands. Despite that he despised Francine, he did find her ?attractive,? at least his character did. Shane Douglas and Francine made their way to the ring for an important match, and Francine was wearing a very short skirt. Rick Rude decided to even the odds against Shane Douglas. Rude would approach Francine, flip her over, and proceed in what, allegedly, would be sex, despite the image was blurred. I remember watching thinking, ?wow, this IS extreme.?
The sex was a bold move to say the least, and was a hot topic to wrestling fans. Francine?s star kept rising afterwards. Francine?s character would be even more extreme when Shane Douglas was not only her ?lover,? but also her ?pimp? as he would pimp her out to Rick Rude while he would wrestle in a match.
Francine?s character would not only be devilish, but also slutty. She played the slutty character well, no offence to her as a person, but the Francine?s character was dirty and gritty and she played it well.
After Shane Douglas went to WCW, Francine would turn baby face as she would be the manager of Tommy Dreamer. Soon she would turn on Dreamer and side with Justin Credible.
In 2001, ECW filed bankruptcy and Francine would be out of a job. It seemed the Queen of Extreme was no more; however, one thing is for sure, she would be one of the last original employees that was in ECW when the company "closed their doors."
A lot of wrestling fans, including myself, were surprised that Francine wasn?t going to receive a job from the WWE, who bought and own the rights to ECW. Francine would later explain that she never wanted nor intended to work for Vince McMahon.
After ECW, Francine once wrestled in TNA?s lingerie battle royal, did a couple of appearances for Major League Wrestling, and had became the ?general manager? to WEW, Women?s Extreme Wrestling.
Francine made an appearance on Shane Douglas? ?Hardcore Homecoming,? and a surprise appearance at ECW/WWE?s ?One Night Stand.? Francine is currently collaborating on a website with fellow wrestling diva, Missy Hyatt, and every Wednesday she calls in to the Wrestling Epic Center where she and co-hosts, James Walsh and Chuck D, discuss current events in professional wrestling.
In my opinion, Francine has been a great talent in professional wrestling, in fact, maybe the most underrated valet on the market. Not only is she beautiful, stunning, and kind, but she can also work a character and is trained to take bumps, which is sadly rare in wrestling.
I hope she realizes how much wrestling fans appreciate her. She may never receive a plaque to the wrestling hall of fame, but she doesn?t need to, because as far as this wrestling fan is concerned she?s the queen of extreme, and that?s all she needs to be.
Print
Email
