SPLIT PERSONALITIES: WOMEN'S CHAMP: SILLINESS, THRILLS ARE BIG DRAWS

Lisa Moretti makes no secret about why she's in the World Wrestling Federation.

"Two reasons -- sex sells tickets, and anything light-hearted in sports entertainment sells tickets," she said. "It's silly and campy and it's popular."

Moretti's WWF character, Ivory, has been silly, camp and wildly popular to the point of becoming the WWF's women's champion, a title she holds now. Early in her two-year WWF career, she was among the business' biggest targets by groups who berated it for lewd sexual content.

Don't expect to see Moretti in skimpy outfits Sunday at the Show Me Center, exposing body parts for the sake of ratings in a business that thrives on its sex appeal. Her character has defected to the "Right to Censor" faction, a takeoff on the Parents Television Council group that led recent efforts to tone down the WWF's content.

As one of five members of RTC, Moretti wears slacks, a white shirt and tie and espouses the company's other women wrestlers.

"She's so righteous, so passionate about her beliefs," said Moretti, 38. "It's challenging to play a bad guy, really. You have to play somebody that nobody wants to be around. But we have such a great time."

Ironic that Moretti graduated with a degree in public relations from the University of Southern California. After spending time in two all-women's wrestling groups -- "I likened that to Hee-Haw with wrestling," she said -- Moretti found her place in the WWF. Her first show was in front of a sellout audience at the Toronto Skydome.

She said the dynamic of today's WWF -- a mix of storytelling and wrestling -- allows for more character development for women than ever before.

"It used to be that women's wrestling consisted of foxy broads slapping each other around, but nobody had any real personality," she said. "Now you have a lot of control with the audience -- you know you've done a good job pushing their buttons. And it's rewarding to know you're largely responsible for the applause and celebrations the good guys get."

But could there be more skimpy outfits in Ivory's future? Maybe a switch back to the slinky side?

"You have to be pretty much prepared for anything here," she said. "If you're not, you don't belong."