WWE called out for using wrong footage of Hall of Famer's induction
WWE has accidentally used the incorrect footage for Ethel Johnson’s induction into the 2021 Hall of Fame Legacy Wing.
Ethel Johnson is recognized as the first female African-American wrestler in history. She made her wrestling debut in 1950 when she was 16 years old and retired in 1976.
During her career, she competed in various promotions such American Wrestling Association and Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which would later become the World Wide Wrestling Federation and finally World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE, in 2002.
Apparently, Ethel Johnson's niece took to Twitter to call out WWE for using the wrong footage for her aunt's Hall of Fame induction.
She then urged WWE to represent her Johnson correctly.
WWE has since deleted the 2021 Legacy inductees tweet.
Who did WWE use in the footage in place of Ethel Johnson?
After training to become a wrestler, Ethel Johnson's sister Babs Wingo also began competing in the ring and they were later joined by their younger sister Marva Scott.
Ethel Johnson was a big attraction, drawing thousands of fans into the venue for her matches. She even challenged for the NWA World Women's Championship. She wrestled her final match in 1976 against her sister Marva Scott.
During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed the identity of the woman WWE used for Johnson's Hall of Fame footage.
“The footage of Ethel Johnson that they showed was not of Ethel Johnson it was of Sandy Parker, who was an African-American woman wrestler who came along probably, I’m going to say 15 years later. Ethel Johnson and Sandy Parker didn’t look anything alike.”
Meanwhile, former wrestlers Baron Michele Leone, Brickhouse Brown, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, Gary Hart and Ray Stevens were revealed as the inductees for the WWE Hall of Fame Legacy Class of 2020.