Ask ACW: July 2006


Malaysia - apartmentwrestlers.com

Malaysia - www.apartmentwrestlers.com
Whatever Happened to Malaysia?

Malaysia, the Iron Temptress, seemed destined for great success as a mid-card powerhouse and an eventual run as the Inter-Condominium champion. As soon as she began rising in the rankings, she disappeared from ACW. Her departure was swift and her impact was impressive but Malaysia may be most remembered as the prototypical “could have been.”

While she was billed as hailing from Parts Unknown, Malaysia was believed to have been born in Hungary, but was discovered wrestling in Thailand.

She trained more as a martial artist than as a grappler but was especially skilled at judo takedowns and and submission holds. More than anything she was known for her legs. While many competitors in apartment wrestling, Malaysia were incredibly toned and enormously strong. After only four months of training within ACW, her leg locks were the most feared submission holds in the industry. The promotion considered banning her use of the leg lock after she broke Lauren Johnson’s leg and Tera Burton’s ribs.

Malaysia dominated in her early matches, putting together a string of victories over a number of highly respected industry veterans. Her highest point came when she caused former European champion Lisa Nash to tap out after Malaysia applied a leg-scissors hold around her waist. She seemed poised for a run at the Inter-Condominium belt after a successful tour of Ecuador. Ecuadorian catfight promoter Ernesto Silvio Delgado offered Tanako X $50,000.00 for the right to her contract but the ACW President chose to keep her in the mix with the promotion. Upon her return to the United States she won five straight matches, the final one being over the Tall Terror Taylor Wilson.

Malaysia - www.apartmentwrestlers.com
With her wrestling career on an upswing, Malaysia seemed to be on her way to stardom. She had developed a solid fan base who would chant crush at her at public appearances, was believed to be in good standing with ACW management and was young, healthy, attractive and marketable. Nothing seemed to be standing in her way…. and just like that, everything changed.

In her next match for the number one contender spots for the IC championship against Val Vincent, a moody Malaysia was very uncooperative in the prematch activities. She woldn’t speak to anyone in ACW management, wouldn’t speak during the press conference (the match was being broadcast in Ecuador) and wouldn’t interact with any of the ACW girls. When the match got underway, Vincent went after Malaysia’s legs, throwing several kicks at her thighs. Malaysia easily blocked them but then growled something uninterlligible and then turned and walked briskly out of the apartment. Regardless of management’s efforts to get her back to the match, she refused to speak to anyone, walking out of the building and into a waiting car.

For one month, the industry was abuzz with speculation about what had happened to her. It is known that management sent private investigators to follow her for three weeks and to track her activities over the course of the week before her walkout.  

For years ACW management remained tight-lipped over what their investigation turned up, but is believed the scenario focused on her trip to Ecuador. It is believed that while she was in Ecuador, Ernesto Delgado got in her ear, trying to persuade her to bolt from ACW to join his promotion. He was counting on a public spectacle of ACW filing lawsuits against Delgado and Malaysia and Delgado counted on that to generate enough publicity to generate enough interest to to boost his promotion to a primetime spot on Ecuadorian television. Instead ACW didn’t say a word and the silence made Delgado look foolish. With his failure to generate a buzz and the accompanying business interest, Delgado was unable to pay Malaysia what he had dangled in front of her. She quickly flew back to Chicago and set up a meeting with Tanako X. When she arrived at ACW headquarters, she found the entire ACW roster in attendance for a mandatory meeting. When Malaysia entered the room, everything went silent, save for Tanako’s footsteps as he walked across the dojo. In a very measured voice, X handed her a box and an envelope saying “I cleaned out your locker for you. Here is $20 for a taxi and a one-way ticket back to Thailand. Your tenure in ACW is over… Don’t ever come back.

Malaysia - www.apartmentwrestlers.com
The crash of the career of Malaysia was a spectacular one. Although Tanako X was measured and quiet in his actions, his words reverberated across the cafight industry. No other promoters would hire her, afraid that she would walk out on them and that X might still take legal action against them. The ACW locker room improved overnight as the girls realized that management would take a hard line with attitudes behind the scenes. Ernesto Delgado promotion toppled as he lost his local television programming (In a ironic coincidence, ACW would later hire his distant cousin Rosario Delgado as a competitor).

In the years that have followed her departure from ACW, Malaysia has remained in a self-imposed seclusion. She has refused all interviews and will not speak on the matter. It is believed that she has remained in Thailand, training in various martial arts. She was also rumored to be involved with a religious order near Tibet but that has not been substantiated. The only person who claims to have spoken with her was Lisa Nash. Nash said that Malaysia felt betrayed by Ernesto Delgado who was whispering in her ear that she was being taken advantage of by ACW and with promises to turn her into an international superstar. She also felt betrayed by ACW, feeling they just made an example out of her in reusing to take her back. She regrets that this all happened at the beginning of what looked to be a career full of potential.

While her career was brief, her impact was significant as it demonstrated how greed could bring an end to great promise. It changed Malaysia from being a burgeoning star into a “could have been.” Unfortunately for her, history has now labeled her as a “never was.”

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