PRECISELY 39 years ago this coming Saturday, the pioneering queen of British women’s wrestling came to what was still called the Oasis Pleasure Dome.

Her mission at the Swindon venue was to tackle a deadly rival – and she duly did.

“Glamorous grappler Miss Mitzi Mueller reckons she’s a match for any man,” an Adver reporter – a male one - wrote afterwards.

“And after seeing her in action I was glad we hadn’t got into a few clinches.

“The last shreds of male chauvinism were well and truly buried when it became obvious she would have torn me limb from limb.

“Wrestling may be a complete fake but it was not worth taking the risk.”

Mitzi, 27, was in Swindon to fight one of the few other prominent British female wrestlers of the era, Hellcat Haggerty. Mitzi took victory with a series of moves including a nasty-looking leg lock.

This was no mean feat against a rather heavier opponent but Mitzi had an added challenge – she’d broken her finger a few days earlier while shifting concrete slabs at her home in the Midlands.

Thanks to World of Sport’s weekly broadcasts of wrestling and the popularity of grapplers such as Big Daddy, the sport was very popular, although women’s wrestling wasn’t seen as often. In some places, notably London, it was banned because of obscure laws.

Hamburg-born Mitzi, we said, had lived in England since she was three and been a professional wrestler since she was 14. Her father had been a wrestler and her grandfather a bare-knuckle boxer.

Mitzi told our intrepid reporter: “I train with men because if I can throw a man then I will have no problem throwing a female.”

She was looking forward to the possibility of mixed bouts, and added: “I have no doubt I would fare well against a man.

“I will be a wrestler until my health breaks. Eventually I want to set up my own business.”

Mitzi remained in the ring for another decade. According to various historians of British wrestling, she retired following a bout at the Royal Albert Hall.

She and her husband, now based in Birkenhead, run a long-established wrestling promotions firm.