Melissa Coates

Melissa Lavinia Coates (June 18, 1969 – June 23, 2021) was a Canadian professional wrestler, bodybuilder, fitness model, and actress. She was best known for appearing in the first two seasons of the Game Show Network show Extreme Dodgeball. In professional wrestling, she was known for her appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment's developmental territories Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling, NWA Anarchy, and Women Superstars Uncensored. On the independent circuit, she was the valet of Sabu, under the ring name Super Genie. Prior to entering professional wrestling, Coates aspired to become a professional tennis player after watching Martina Navratilova. To train for tennis, Coates began weightlifting at 15, At that time she entered her first tennis competition in 1984, where she remained until the finals. She re-entered the following year and won the Mid-Canada Junior Girls Championship. She soon began to shift her attention from tennis to bodybuilding. She entered her first contest in the early 1990s, where she won the overall lightweight category of the Windsor Physique Contest. After gaining prominence, Coates moved to Los Angeles and worked for two gyms and two bars to support herself. After being granted professional status in 1995, she won the Jan Tana Classic in 1996. In 1999, she took a leave from bodybuilding and subsequently began working as a model. Coates competed in the first two seasons of Extreme Dodgeball on the Game Show Network. Her team, the Barbell Mafia team, qualified for the playoffs in the first season, but failed to qualify the next year. After training at both Killer Kowalski's training school and Ultimate Pro Wrestling's Ultimate University. In 2005, Coates made an appearance in the Naked Women's Wrestling League (NWWL), hosted by Carmen Electra. Coates wrestled April Hunter, in which both wrestlers appeared completely nude. Coates moved down to Louisville, Kentucky to begin training in World Wrestling Entertainment's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling.