{{short description|Canadian professional wrestler}} {{Use Canadian English|date=March 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox professional wrestler |name = Rhonda Sing |image = Bertha Faye in 1995.jpg |caption = Sing (as Bertha Faye) in 1995 |birth_name = Rhonda Ann Sing |names = '''Bertha Faye'''<ref name=oww/><br />'''Monster Ripper'''<br />La Monstra<br />Nitro Girl Beef<br />Rhonda Singh<ref name=oww/> |height = 5 ft 7 in}<ref name=oww/><ref name=taint/> |weight = 260 lb<ref name=oww/><ref name=taint/> |birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1961|2|21}}<ref name=oww/><ref name=fame/> |death_cause = Heart attack<ref name=ecwpress/> |birth_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada<ref name=oww/><ref name=taint/> |death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2001|7|27|1961|2|21}}<ref name=taint/> |death_place = Calgary, Alberta, Canada |billed = Walls, Mississippi, United States (as Bertha Faye)<ref name=Encyclopedia2009>{{cite book|title=WWE Encyclopedia|last1=Shields|first1=Brian|last2=Sullivan|first2=Kevin|page=[https://archive.org/details/wweencyclopediad0000shie/page/26 26]|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7566-4190-0}}</ref> |trainer = Mildred Burke<ref name=oww/> |debut = 1979<ref name=oww/> |retired = 2000 }} '''Rhonda Ann Sing'''<ref name=bret/> (February 21, 1961 – July 27, 2001) was a Canadian professional wrestler.<ref name=oww>{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/rhonda-singh.html|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|title=Rhonda Singh profile|access-date=September 11, 2009|archive-date=September 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926230701/http://onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/rhonda-singh.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After training with Mildred Burke, she wrestled in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling under the ring name '''Monster Ripper'''. In 1987, she returned to Canada and began working with Stampede Wrestling, where she was their first Stampede Women's Champion. In 1995, she worked in the World Wrestling Federation as the comedic character '''Bertha Faye''', winning the WWF Women's Championship. She also wrestled in World Championship Wrestling to help generate interest in their women's division.
==Professional wrestling career==
===Training=== While growing up in Calgary, Sing attended numerous Stampede Wrestling events with her mother.<ref name=taint>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBiosS/sing_01aug4-sun.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310152135/http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBiosS/sing_01aug4-sun.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2016|title=Mourners salute Sing|author=Wood, Michael|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=November 5, 2009|date=August 9, 2001}}</ref> She knew she wanted to be a wrestler from a young age and frequently beat up the neighborhood children, along with those in her kindergarten class.<ref name=fame>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBiosS/sing_rhonda_01jan-can.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707103706/http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBiosS/sing_rhonda_01jan-can.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2015|title=SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Rhonda Sing / Monster Ripper|author=Laroche, Stephen|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=August 23, 2008|date=January 9, 2001}}</ref> As a teenager, Sing approached members of the Hart wrestling family and asked to be trained, but she was rejected as they did not train women wrestlers at the time.<ref name=taint/> Bret Hart, however, claims it had more to do with scheduling conflicts.<ref name=bret/> During a trip to Hawaii in 1978, she saw Japanese women's wrestling on television and decided she wanted to pursue the sport.<ref name=bret/> She later wrote to Mildred Burke after a friend gave her a magazine with Burke's contact information,<ref name=fame/> and sent her a biography and photo.<ref name=bret/> Shortly thereafter, she joined Burke's training facility in Encino, California.<ref name=taint/>
===Japan, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico (1979–1995)=== After a few weeks of training with Burke, Sing was scouted by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), despite her inexperience.<ref name=taint/><ref name=bret/> Sing's debut match in Japan was a tag team match with partner Mami Kumano, defeating the Beauty Pair (Jackie Sato and Maki Ueda) in January 1979.<ref name=taint/><ref name=fame/> In Japan, she began wrestling under the name Monster Ripper.<ref name=taint/> Although she found adjusting to the Japanese culture difficult, Sing held AJW's premier title, the WWWA World Single Championship, on two occasions and was the first Calgary born wrestler to gain success in Japan.<ref name=taint/><ref name=bret/> During her time in the company, the Japanese female wrestlers gave her a hard time because they did not like losing to foreigners.<ref name=fame/><ref name=bret/> Sing also had difficulty because of her youth and inexperience in the ring.<ref name=taint/> Sing, however, was comforted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Dynamite Kid, who had trained in Calgary.<ref name=fame/><ref name=bret/> Sing won the WWWA World Single Championship from Jackie Sato on July 31, 1979.<ref name=fame/> Despite losing the title to Sato six weeks later, she regained it on March 15, 1980.<ref name=fame/> The title was vacated in August 1980.<ref name=fame/>
After another stint in Japan, Sing returned to Stampede Wrestling in late 1987 and was renamed Rhonda Singh by Bruce Hart, the owner of the company.<ref name=taint/> There were plans to pair her with Gama Singh, but they never came to fruition.<ref name=taint/> During 1987, she was named their first Women's Champion because she had defeated Wendi Richter prior to returning to Stampede.<ref name=fame/><ref name=bret>{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBretHart/010804-sun.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310030322/http://slam.canoe.com/SlamWrestlingBretHart/010804-sun.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2016|title=Singh earned much respect within wrestling circles|author=Hart, Bret|publisher=SLAM! Wrestling|access-date=August 22, 2008|date=August 4, 2001|author-link=Bret Hart}}</ref> She held the title until September 22, 1988, when she lost to Chigusa Nagayo.<ref name=fame/>
Over the next few years, Sing once again traveled throughout the world and wrestled for a number of companies, holding several titles. Between 1987 and 1990, Sing worked in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council (WWC), where she held the WWC Women's Championship on five occasions by defeating Wendi Richter, Candi Devine, and Sasha in matches for the title. As Monster Ripper on the WWC 18th Anniversary Show on July 6, 1991, she faced and beat El Profe in an intergender match.<ref name=profe>{{cite web|url=http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/faye.html|title=Bertha Faye|access-date=November 4, 2010|archive-date=April 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412112112/http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/faye.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1992 she worked as La Monstra for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración in Mexico, where she won the WWA World Women's Title.
===World Wrestling Federation (1995)=== thumb|Sing (as "Bertha Faye") in 1995
In 1995, Sing was contacted by the World Wrestling Federation to help their ailing women's division.<ref name=fame/> She was repackaged as "Bertha Faye", a comedic character who lived in a trailer park and dated Harvey Wippleman.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Laprade|first1=Pat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_lsDQAAQBAJ&q=bertha+faye&pg=PT256|title=Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling|last2=Murphy|first2=Dan|date=April 11, 2017|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-77305-014-0|language=en|access-date=July 27, 2021|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107234220/https://books.google.com/books?id=f_lsDQAAQBAJ&q=bertha+faye&pg=PT256|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=taint/><ref name=fame/> WWF management originally wanted her to have an on-screen feud with Bull Nakano, but there was a change of plans after Nakano was charged with cocaine possession.<ref name=fame/>
Sing made her WWF debut on the April 3, 1995, episode of ''Monday Night Raw'' participating in a sneak attack on Alundra Blayze, making it appear as if Blayze's nose had been broken.<ref name=fame/> At SummerSlam on August 27, Faye defeated Blayze for the WWF Women's Championship, holding the title until the October 23 airing of ''Monday Night Raw'', where Blayze regained the title, ending Faye's reign at 57 days.<ref name=wwe>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/women/304454132121112115|title=Bertha Faye's reign|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment|access-date=August 22, 2008|archive-date=June 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605021151/http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/women/304454132121112115|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=list>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/greatestwhoamances/greatwhoamances9|title=List This #9: Harvey's whipped|author=McAvennie, Mike|publisher=World Wrestling Entertainment|access-date=September 23, 2008|date=February 15, 2007|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224147/http://www.wwe.com/inside/listthis/greatestwhoamances/greatwhoamances9|url-status=live}}</ref> As the WWF continued to neglect their women's division, Sing became tired of working there. Moreover, she was frustrated with her Faye gimmick, once recalling that she felt like a prostitute due to the sexualized and comical way that she was often portrayed.<ref name="bret" /> WWF management asked her not to perform the same power moves as the male wrestlers, so instead, Faye was forced to act as comic relief.<ref name="fame" /><ref name="bret" /> After a year with the company, Sing asked for a release from her contract.<ref name="fame" /> She briefly returned to Japan but did not like the new system, which did not guarantee payouts.<ref name="fame" />
===Return to Mexico and Canada (1995–1999)=== After leaving the WWF, Sing returned to AAA in Mexico in 1996. During this period, she also worked in the independent circuit in Alberta, Canada.
===World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000)=== In late 1999, she worked with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) briefly, appearing on several telecasts to help generate interest in a women's division.<ref name=fame/> She was also a contender for both the WCW Cruiserweight Championship and WCW Hardcore Championship. In addition to competing in matches using her Singh and Monster Ripper gimmicks, she also appeared with the Nitro Girls dance troupe providing comic relief.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ddtdigest.com/updates/1999122m.htm|title=WCW Monday Nitro|author=Wade|publisher=DDT Digest|access-date=August 18, 2008|date=December 13, 1999|archive-date=December 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216082805/http://www.ddtdigest.com/updates/1999122m.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ddtdigest.com/updates/2000072m.htm|title=WCW Monday Nitro|author=Big Mike|publisher=DDT Digest|access-date=August 18, 2008|date=July 10, 2000|archive-date=February 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207023458/http://www.ddtdigest.com/updates/2000072m.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Personal life== Rhonda was born in Calgary on February 21, 1961, to Jack Mah Sing, a grocery store operator, and Elsie Beatrice Sing.<ref>March 3, 1999, ''Calgary Herald'', pg 36.</ref> She had Chinese ancestry on her father's side. She was one of four children, having three brothers. She spoke fluent Japanese and Spanish.<ref>Saidman, Sorelle "She's real bad," The Province, August 21, 1984, pg 28.</ref> Backstage, Sing was friends with the male, rather than the female, wrestlers.<ref name=bret/> During her time in the WWF, she developed a close friendship with Owen Hart.<ref name=bret/> After leaving WCW, Sing took a break from wrestling.<ref name="fame" /> In 2001, she worked as a caregiver to the handicapped.<ref name="taint" />
On July 27, 2001, Sing died of a heart attack at the age of 40.<ref name=ecwpress>{{cite book|title=Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal|author=Muchnick, Irvin|publisher=ECW Press|year=2007|isbn=978-1-55022-761-1|page=148}}</ref><ref name=pwtorch>{{cite web|url=http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Annual_Obituaries_39/article_24601.shtml|title=List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart|author=Gallipoli, Thomas M.|publisher=PWTorch|date=February 22, 2008|access-date=August 23, 2008|archive-date=July 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705045443/http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Annual_Obituaries_39/article_24601.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> She never married or had children. Sing was buried on August 3, 2001, in Mountain View Cemetery in Calgary, and her funeral was attended by fellow wrestlers including Bret Hart, Stu Hart, Davey Boy Smith, Smith Hart, Allen Coage, and Ben Bassarab.<ref>Williamson, Kerry "Wrestlers say goodbye to queen of the ring," Calgary Herald, August 4, 2001, pg 20.</ref>
==Championships and accomplishments== *'''All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling''' **IWA World Women's Championship (1 time)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/iwa-wm.html|title=IWA Women's World Title (Japan)|access-date=January 8, 2013|archive-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917055649/http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/iwa-wm.html|url-status=live}}</ref> **WWWA World Single Championship (2 times)<ref name=oww/><ref name=taint/> **AJW Hall of Fame (1998)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/hof.html|title=All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame |access-date=October 9, 2007|year=2003|publisher=Puroresu Dojo}}</ref> *'''Cauliflower Alley Club''' **Posthumous Award (2003) *'''Stampede Wrestling''' **Stampede Women's Championship (1 time)<ref name=oww/><ref name=bret/> *'''World Wrestling Association''' **WWA Women's Championship (1 time)<ref name=oww/><ref>{{cite book | author=Royal Duncan & Gary Will | title=Wrestling Title Histories | publisher=Archeus Communications | chapter= MEXICO: WWA Tag Team Title | page= 401 | year= 2000 | isbn=0-9698161-5-4}}</ref> *'''World Wrestling Council''' **WWC Women's Championship (8 times)<ref name=oww/> **AWA World Women's Championship (1 time; unofficial)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPgsvoQPRw |title=WWC: Monster Ripper vs. Candi Devine (1990) - YouTube<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=YouTube |access-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-date=April 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406064731/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPgsvoQPRw |url-status=live }}</ref> {{Ref|1|1}} *'''World Wrestling Federation''' **WWF Women's Championship (1 time)<ref name=oww/><ref name=wwe/>
{{small|1 {{note|1}} The WWC briefly recognized Sing, then wrestling as Monster Ripper, as the AWA World Women's Champion following her victory over Candi Devine on July 7, 1990. However, the American Wrestling Association did not recognize Sing's title win.}}
==See also== *List of premature professional wrestling deaths
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Rhonda Ann Sing}} * {{IMDb name|name=Rhonda Sing}} * {{Find a Grave|7752346|Rhonda “Bertha Faye” Singh}} * {{Professional wrestling profiles}}
{{AWA World Women's Championship}} {{WWE Women's Championship}} {{WWC Women's Championship}} {{WWWA World Single Championship}}
{{good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sing, Rhonda}} Category:1961 births Category:2001 deaths Category:20th-century female professional wrestlers Category:20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers Category:AAAW Single Champions Category:AWA World Women's Champions Category:Canadian female professional wrestlers Category:Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Category:Canadian expatriate professional wrestlers Category:IWA World Women's Champions Category:Professional wrestlers from Calgary Category:Sportswomen from Alberta Category:Stampede Wrestling alumni Category:WWWA World Single Champions Category:WWF/WWE Women's Champions Category:20th-century Canadian sportswomen Category:WWC Women's Champions