Rockin' Robin On Almost Losing Her WWE Women's Championship Belt During Hurricane Katrina

In an interview with Wrestling Epicenter, Rockin' Robin talked about her time with WWE and winning the WWE Women's Championship. Robin defeated Sherri Martel to win the title in Paris in October of 1988. To this day she doesn't know why the title change took place there.

"I really don't have an answer to that," Robin said. "There was not really a rhyme or reason for a lot of what happened. What I do remember is it was filmed in Paris but didn't air here for almost 3 months. So every night for 3 months Sherri and I would wrestle and she would have the belt. I was like, 'come on! Oh man! I want to wear it! It is time!' Then when it finally aired, Sherri and I made our rounds and I think that lasted for over a year. Just her and I, every night. There were so few girls to draw to. There seemed to be just so few girls coming in. I don't know if there just weren't enough girls out there or if they just didn't have any interest in us other than us being what they call a popcorn match."

Robin would hold the title until it was deactivated in 1990. She still has the title and explained that WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson told her to keep it after informing her the title would no longer be defended.

"It is fairly common knowledge, and sometimes when I do signings, I still have the WWF Women's Title Belt," Robin revealed. "After the women were over and done in the WWF and weren't around, I spoke with someone, I think it was Pat Patterson, he told me I could no longer say I was the WWF Women's Champion. I had to say former champion, yada, yada, yada. So, I said, 'I have the belt. What do you want me to do with it?' He said, 'Keep it! No one's asked for it. It is yours.' I was like, 'Oh! OK! Cool!' And, I've still got it!"

Robin recalled almost losing the title while living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. While much of her other wrestling gear was lost, the title survived.

"I was living in New Orleans," Robin recalled. "I had lived there for almost 12 years. Actually, my house was less than 2 miles from where the first levy breached. I had a few boxes in the attic. It is probably just as well because the whole house, the water reached probably within a foot or two of the ceiling. That is how high the water line was. But I opened the boxes and low and behold, I had the WWF belt, the UWF belt. I no longer have that, a belt collector has that now, wink wink. (laughs) And, I had a pair of boots with Rockin' Robin on them. That is actually it. All of the outfits, all of the ring gear, nothing else made it."

Only three years after being discontinued, the WWE Women's Championship would return, being built around stars like Alundra Blayze. Robin wouldn't however, and revealed that WWE never contacted her about making a return.

"They sure didn't," Robin said. "After they shut that thing down, I never really heard anything from them."

Robin's ring name came from the song "Rockin' Robin", recorded by the likes of Bobby Day and Michael Jackson. While the song was never used as Robin's entrance in WWE, she looks back on it fondly and doesn't mind the association.

"I still dance around to it," Robin said with a laugh. "The funny thing is, I'm never really recognized anymore as Rockin' Robin from wrestling 35 years ago. Occasionally, it is kind of funny, I'll be out at a restaurant with a few friends where you can request music, and someone will play Rockin' Robin and we'll all have a big laugh. But, the WWF never used that song. There was never an intro song for me. That was another difference. The girls never got intro songs."

You can watch the full interview below.