What came to be known as the first annual Clairol Tournament was to be one of the biggest unpublicized events of 2002. Its success, despite the complete absence of TV, radio and Internet advertising, paved the way for another tournament to take place the next year. This first one was planned in secret, so as not to have the press learn get wind of it and create a stir in the media. Everyone seemed to know such a stir would cause more waves than the usual inter-actress rivalry to coincide with their same-month releases. Word was passed around behind closed doors to any actress who might be interested in competing. Considering how many rivalries existed between Hollywood actresses, upon learning there was to be an amateur celebrity fighting event, there was a far bigger response than was expected, as evidenced by the high turnout at what was to be the location of the week long mid-summer convention in Southern California. Care was taken to keep the turnout in secrecy and not to allow it to leak out into the magazines due to the possible effect it could have on the public image of many of the contestants, but word got around quickly enough nonetheless.

The invited guests who were to watch this event included studio and music executives, film producers and directors and, of course, representatives from the major companies involved in the making of female fight videotapes, CDs and Internet streaming video. The word got around through the actresses agents and publicity teams, who were instructed not to allow their clients to air the news in public. But once word began to circulate, it spread like wildfire throughout nightclubs and rumor mills alike. Before a week had gone by, it was all over Hollywood although the efforts to keep it out of the media were successful and there was practically no mention of the event in magazines or evening entertainment programs. At the designated time and place where they were instructed to appear for the preliminaries, interested women were met by promoters and directed where to sign up. Before long a legion of women from every slice of the entertainment world were making their way through the convention center, quite eager to test their skills against prospective opponents.

While many top actresses and singers indicated enthusiasm and willingness to participate in this major, invitation-only event, in many cases there were stumbling blocks getting in the way. Filming schedules, magazine shoots, tour bookings or other commitments, which required they be out of the country or otherwise unavailable during the week the tournament was held, prevented some from entering. Everyone who signed up was placed into an audition match against experienced wrestlers and catfighters from such companies as Triumph Studios, Golden Girls, Napali Video, Joan Wise, Double Trouble and Steel Kittens among many others. Many women who showed up had to drop out after suffering some injury during the qualifying phase; others decided it was a little too rough for their tastes; still others who showed promise were regardless pulled out at the last minute by their studios or production companies - ostensibly because they feared injury to a major star and the loss of revenue that could have resulted from this.

The first auditions were grueling to say the least, and many personalities who hoped to make it onto the schedule found they either weren't hungry enough or experienced enough to make it all the way when pitted against ladies who had been doing female fighting for far longer and against a much higher level of competition! Naturally, when a woman pulled out for any reason, their rivals rapidly circulated nasty rumors to explain the 'real reason' she had dropped out. Some were like the one about a tall, willowy, country singer of whom one actress said, "That uppity blonde bitch was afraid she'd break a nail!" or the one concerning a buxom blonde who declined to participate despite being taunted by the three costars of her former syndicated show: "She probably has her mind on overload trying to prepare for the lines on that new cartoon she's been in talks for!" "She must be worried her body will fall apart from all that plastic surgery!"

But despite all that, many women made it, but even that list of lucky winners had to be narrowed further to avoid having tournament last too long. The convention hosts had but one week to work with, so of the hundred-plus who wrestled their way into consideration, that number had to be reduced to just forty-eight women (sixteen blondes, sixteen brunettes and sixteen redheads) who would fill an event that could last no longer than the week the hall was booked. Hearing this, the actresses and singers were incensed that they'd have to go through the entire audition process a second time, which in many cases led to their working even harder to be included on the final roster. Most of the women who made it were actresses, who seemed more determined to continue than many of the singers, although the vocalists who made it were some of the toughest. Still, as events unfolded, it was primarily an actresses' tournament.

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy," head director Irving Clauswitz said shortly before the signups began, and in the case of the promoters of this tournament it proved to be true as well. When the potential competitors began signing up, the gossip, catty remarks and backbiting began. At first subtly, but as the stakes increased the verbiage did as well. Obviously the first questions raised were over the question of "eligibility"! Was, for example, Beyonce Knowles REALLY a blonde? And if she was, which or how many possible opponents were going to suddenly into her dressing room and demand proof? And if THIS happened to happen, what would come of it? There were a couple of blonde actresses and singers who were eager and willing to "get to the root of the matter," so to speak, and weren't shy about voicing specifics about how they'd go about "putting Ms. Knowles in her place with the rest of the brunettes!" There were similar cases as well; one of them involved former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell who had gone back and forth between being a blonde and a redhead at different times, which caused more than a little animosity to be directed at her from the natural blondes who had been there, raising similar questions as to which category SHE should be in.

In the end, the event organizers hastily called a meeting and told the girls they were going with whatever 'color of the day' a woman happened to have had her greatest success with (and keeping in mind the Clairol folks made their living making a brunette's dream of 'living life as a blonde' come true!). After this, a waves of bad blood seemed to pass through the sea of potential competitors which many had a feeling would spill over into the tournament itself. There was more than enough grumbling, and heightened resentment from the natural blondes directed at the artificial. But as far as the promoters were concerned, just one more roadblock had been successfully negotiated and it was time to move on. Besides, there were a few rivalries between actresses that existed already from interviews, the word-of-mouth reputations of certain actresses who'd a history of competing in even more hush-hush independent celebrity wrestling leagues and a few issues here and there of who replaced who as America's sweetheart, et cetera.

But most importantly, combatants had to rely not only on the size and strength in each fight, but also their wits, resilience and determination. Each competitor understood, both from being briefed on the tournament and from the announcement of the hosts, that they could win by forcing an opponent to submit, knocking her out or by making her orgasm! The last way turned out to be of particular interest to many of those scheduled to wrestle, primarily because a chance to engage in compromising positions with another woman wasn't something they could do under normal circumstances; more than a couple personalities looked forward to the chance to show up a prospective opponent in a unique, titillating and sexy manner! The rounds were spread over six days and, during the early rounds where there were the most contestants still involved, the fights took up a large part of the evening!

As potential competitors were eliminated during these "auditions," many left in disgust but others hung around; socializing with big-wigs, hanging out with friends and/or coworkers or acting as advisors, coaches or just offering a friendly shoulder to lean (or cry) on to fellow competitors with whom they were friends. Needless to say, the conduct during, and the results of, a few matches led to hard feelings between several of the competitors whom the parties involved couldn't - or wouldn't - let go. Naturally, those women may well be looking to 'settle things' in the traditional way at a later date and place. There would turn out to be some surprising upsets in this tournament despite height differences and especially who the audience expected to win based on how they looked in their movies, so there was bound to be a few incidents such as these!

The final 48 women who made it into the tournament and the first round schedule of matches:

Friday - Blonde Division
Amy Smart (5'6") vs. Tara Reid (5'5")
Gena Lee Nolin (5'9") vs. Kirsten Dunst (5'7)
Heather Donahue (5'8") vs. Christina Applegate (5'5")
Reese Witherspoon (5'2") vs. Melissa Joan Hart (5'3")
Julia Stiles (5'7") vs. Ali Larter (5'8")
Cameron Diaz (5'8") vs. Gwyneth Paltrow (5'9")
Jessica Cauffiel (5'4") vs. Michelle Williams (5'4")
Beyonce Knowles (5'6") vs. Alicia Silverstone (5'8")

Saturday - Brunette Division
Angelle Brooks (5'5") vs. Rose McGowan (5'2")
Thora Birch (5'4") vs. Rachael Leigh Cook (5'2")
Selma Blair (5'4") vs. Eliza Dushku (5'5")
Jessica Alba (5'7") vs. Demi Moore (5'5")
Christina Ricci (5'1") vs. Alanna Ubach (5'1")
Angelina Jolie (5'7") vs. Vivica A. Fox (5'7")
Catherine Bell (5'10") vs. Lucy Lawless (5'10")
Michelle Rodriguez (5'6") vs. Halle Berry (5'7")

Sunday - Redhead Division
Alyson Hannigan (5'6") vs. Shirley Manson (5'7")
Sarah Michelle Gellar (5'3") vs. Natasha Lyonne (5'3 1/2")
Gillian Anderson (5'3") vs. Geri Halliwell (5'2")
Nicole Kidman (5'10") vs. Laura Prepon (5'10")
Erica Leerhsen (5'5") vs. Molly Ringwald (5'8")
Alicia Witt (5'8 1/2") vs. Isla Fisher (5'3")
Carrie Fisher (5'1") vs. Marilu Henner (5'7")
Gates McFadden (5'6") vs. Tawny Kitaen (5'6")