Mae Young -- NOT DEAD ... But Gravely Ill

WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Mae Young is gravely ill ... BUT NOT DEAD ... this according to local reports.

Young -- the only wrestler to compete in NINE DIFFERENT DECADES (her first match in 1939; her last in 2010) -- was hospitalized and placed on life support in South Carolina last month.

The Post and Courier initially reported 90-year-old Young passed away, but later updated the story ... saying the wrestling legend is alive but very sick.

Mae and fellow pioneer female wrestler The Fabulous Moolah returned to the WWE back in 1999 -- when they were both in their 70s -- and were involved in numerous iconic moments like being powerbombed through a table by the Dudley Boyz ... and the birth of "hand."