"For so many years I ran from being a performer... but everyone was right," Moretti told Raw Magazine recently.

Lisa Moretti grew up just south of Los Angeles in the small community of Torrance, California. The energetic beauty was barely out of college when a friend introduced her to the world of G.L.O.W.--the popular Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling organization that followed on the heels of the World Wrestling Federation in the late '80s. Although we know Lisa Moretti today as Ivory, her road to superstardom began under the name of "Tina Ferrari" in the all women promotion. For the college grad, her first job was anything but what she had imagined.

"It was right after I graduated and at the time, I was a professional cheerleader for the U.S.F.L's Los Angeles Express," Ivory recalled. "So, I had all these dancer and actress girlfriends for a while, and one of them ended up dragging me down to an audition for G.L.O.W. in 1986. We all met in an old dirty boxing gym in Watts, which is a very dangerous location. They had guys with guns protecting us to make sure we got into the gym and got back to our cars OK. Ninety percent of the girls couldn't cut it--the physical aspect--but I loved it."

With such personalities as a Southern belle named the "Farmer's Daughter," pseudo streetwalkers dubbed "Hollywood and Vine" and a mammoth Samoan called "Mt. Fiji," the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling--better known as G.L.O.W.--didn't exactly cater to the highbrows of society. Nevertheless, almost a decade after the promotion's demise, even people who aren't fans of wrestling remember the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. With their big hair, make-up and lingerie, G.L.O.W.'s final product often resembled a marriage between the slapstick comedy of the Three Stooges, the flare of MTV videos and the sex appeal of Victoria's Secret models.

Among dozens of athletes, aspiring actresses and centerfold pin-ups who comprised the contingent of athletes in G.L.O.W. was Moretti, who quickly captured the attention of producers. Those who were chosen to shoot the pilot episode were trained by longtime wrestling veteran Mondo Guerrero, enlisted by G.L.O.W. to educate the newcomers. Lisa selected the name of Tina Ferrari, while her girlfriend went by the moniker of Ashley--or "T & A."

After six weeks of training in the basics, the women headed to Las Vegas to begin filming--and it was indeed a big gamble for them. Not only were many of them leaving their personal lives behind, but there was no guarantee G.L.O.W. would even survive.

The creator of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling is an Indiana businessman by the name of David McLain, who today heads up various roller derby promotions. Originally, McLain wanted it to be strictly a women's wrestling league, but nobody was buying the idea. Convinced by a Hollywood director, McLain changed the concept and with financial backing from a wealthy Israeli millionaire, the G.L.O.W. project finally got off the ground.

"It started to take on a real Hee Haw-type slant, and they thought that was the only way they could get it on the air," Moretti said. "For promotion, they brought in Jackie Stallone--the mother of Sylvester Stallone--and she managed a few of the girls. At that point, some of the other competitors were still lame when it came to actual wrestling, but surprisingly people started to watch it."

For nine months the athletes and producers of the program lived and filmed the matches at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Owners of the hotel/casino designated one of the rooms for the show--a 700-seat arena--which the girls used exclusively to go over their matches throughout the week. On Saturdays camera equipment was brought in and television tapings took place, in which Tin Ferrari would sometimes wrestle two or three times.

During her time touring with P.O.W.W., top female fighters such as Luna Vachon, Wendi Richter, Bambi and Heidi Lee Morgan were brought in. According to Moretti, this gave her a golden opportunity to develop under veteran competitors. Before long, however, G.L.O.W. was in its last days and Moretti made the decision to devote all her time to P.O.W.W. Without the original crew, Moretti claims, G.L.O.W. began to go downhill with rampant stealing, lying and cheating. No one had any expectations of the product making money when it started, but when it did, some people became greedy. In addition, management started to pay the women less and wouldn't sign them to contracts. Its downfall notwithstanding, Moretti still thinks the show was a success judging by the cult following it developed in subsequent years. As a result of her time in G.L.O.W., Moretti found herself fighting a stigma among her new peers.

"Boy oh boy, did I get a lot of heat from other women when I started getting indoctrinated into other organizations," Moretti said. "They would all whisper, 'Oh, she's just one of those G.L.O.W. girls.' They didn't give us any respect; but I think once they got to know me and fight me in the ring, then they realized I could work. G.L.O.W. was responsible for putting me on the map, and I was finally being recognized for the athlete I had become."

To support herself financially, Moretti took a succession of other jobs, including working for Revlon and performing stunts at Universal Sutdios, while maintaining close ties throughout the industry. In February '99 Lisa received a call from Titan Sports officials during a Federation West Coast tour. Originally planning to bring her in for a live event to portray one of the Godfather's "hos," the Federation made further plans after seeing her in action. Following her appearance, Moretti received a second call--this time offering her a contract. Thanks to G.L.O.W. and P.O.W.W., the athlete had built a solid reputation as a skilled fighter in the ring, which had finally paid off in a big way.

"It surprises me that with everyone's attention spans being so short today as far as the sport goes, people still remember G.L.O.W.," Moretti exclaimed. "It was really one of a kind and there's never really been anything quite like it. I still get recognized sometimes as Tina Ferrari. It was a great experience in laying the groundwork for what I was destined to do--performing for people. G.L.O.W. created that arena for me to do it. Here I am 10 years later, and I'm still loving it."