First Toughwoman champion Shannon “Dallas” Hall

The first Toughwoman championship was won by former “TV gladiator” (a participant of the athletic TV show “American Gladiators”) Shannon Hall (“Dallas”) who had not boxed a day in her life until she won the title. She was just tough (see the animation below). She then moved on to land the IFBA Platinum Championship in 1998 and fought for the I.B.A. Women’s Heavyweight Championship of World being defeated by powerful Suzette Taylor.

Shannon Hall, a two time World Toughwoman Champion and national class fitness and bodybuilding champion, as well as an All-American cheerleader and gymnast while in college, she loves to wrestle and never loses! At 5’10” and 170 lbs., she actually breaks a guys rib with her body scissors. You’ll see it and maybe hear it. It really did happen, no theatrics here! She’s very sexy and soft spoken, but incredibly strong!

In 1996, a Toughwoman Contest was added to the Toughman Contest circuit. Hall won the Toughwoman title in 1996 and successfully defended it in February 1998, both times before a Pay-per-view audience. Hall went undefeated in ten fights in Toughwoman contests.

In 1998, she won the IFBA Platinum Heavyweight Championship. She once faced off against Suzy Taylor. Going to the ninth-round, she lost via TKO. The 10-round bout was stopped at 1:30 in the ninth round when she was trapped in a corner after fading heavily. Hall reportedly had lucrative contracts waiting for her if she had won the fight, but she lost to Taylor. Hall broke her nose during the fight and took a bit of a sabbatical from boxing thereafter.

Hall-Trujillo was signed by the World Wrestling Federation in 1999. She trained alongside many other future WWF Divas, but was never brought onto television. She was eventually released alongside Nicole Bass and Alicia Webb (Ryan Shamrock) on July 19, 1999.

SHANNON “DALLAS” HALL