Imagine hearing the news that your grandmother will be a character in a major motion picture. Now, imagine hearing that same beloved grandmother has been cast as… the villain!
The news certainly did not surprise the grandchildren of June Byers. They’ve heard the story before of how the lady some called June Bug (though most called Grandmother, at her insistence) manipulated her way to the top and took the title from Mildred Burke without winning a decisive fall.
They’ve heard other stories too. Like the false claims by a later world champion to have pinned and defeated June Bug for her world title.
For the most part, June’s family is thrilled. Former NWA Women’s World Champion Kamille plays June in Queen of the Ring, the biopic from director Ash Avildsen opening March 7. June’s granddaughter Kay was present at Actor’s Theatre in Louisville the week the climactic match between Byers and Burke was filmed. They even took a photo together.
But June’s family would want people to know there’s another side to the story – at least from June’s perspective. Like her arch rival, June got into the business to make a better life for herself. She became an icon of feminism, a woman in a man’s world and a man’s business, fighting to reach the top.
There were some lucky breaks, and a few “right place, right time” moments, especially in Baltimore, 1953, but June Byers took advantage of those moments because she was ready. She worked hard in the gym. She worked through pain and injuries. She paid her dues, she became a world champion.
And she never relinquished that title. Not to anyone. She retired as champ on January 1, 1964.
They say the best villains are those who do not see themselves as villains. They see their motives and actions as justified. They’re also colorful, charismatic, and in their own unique way, likable. June Byers checks all those boxes. She was beautiful, strong, powerful, and above all, driven.
She was also an animal lover, a successful business woman, and a kind, sweet grandmother who always smelled of orange blossoms.
There are two sides to every story. By all accounts, Queen of the Ring tells the Mildred Burke story in the most beautiful way. Hers is an inspiring tale of chasing a dream, of fighting the odds, of fighting back against the patriarchy, one that every wrestling fan should know.
But so is the story of June Byers, and every other woman who worked alongside Burke and Byers in the glorious first golden age of women’s wrestling.
Click here to order your copy of The Great and Inimitable June Byers.
