 A promotional photo of Martel | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sherry Lynn Russell (1958-02-08)February 8, 1958[6] Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.[6] |
| Died | June 15, 2007(2007-06-15) (aged 49)[6] McCalla, Alabama, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Drug overdose |
Spouse | Robert Schrull |
| Children | 1 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Peggy Sue[1] Queen Sherri[2] Scary Sherri[2] Sensational Sherri[2] Sensuous Sherri Sherri Martel[2] Sherri Martine[3] Sister Sherri[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 132–138 lb (60–63 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | New Orleans, Louisiana[4] |
| Trained by | Donna Christanello[2] The Fabulous Moolah[5] |
| Debut | 1980 |
| Retired | 2006 |
Sherry Lynn Schrull (néeRussell; February 8, 1958 – June 15, 2007)[2][6][7] was an Americanprofessional wrestler andmanager, better known by herring names,Sherri Martel andSensational Sherri.
Martel began her professional wrestling career in the Mid South after training inColumbia, South Carolina. She joined theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-1980s and held itsAWA World Women's Championship three times. In the late 1980s, she joined theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF), where she held theWWF Women's Championship. Also in the WWF, Martel continued to act as a manager to wrestlers such asRandy Savage,Ted DiBiase, andShawn Michaels. She appeared inExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1990s. In the latter, Martel acted as the manager for thetag teamHarlem Heat. After leaving WCW, she made few wrestling related appearances until her death in 2007. She also appeared inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling in September 2006 as a manager forBobby Roode which ended up being her last televised wrestling appearance. Her titular ring name, "Sensational Sherri", was used as the episode title in the fifth season ofViceland's docuseries,Dark Side of the Ring, aired on April 23, 2024.
Sherry Lynn Russell was born on February 8, 1958, inBirmingham, Alabama, and grew up playing basketball and participating in track and field.[8]
Martel was first introduced to professional wrestling as a child, when her mother took her and her sister to shows in Mississippi.[3] Their mother initially asked them whether they wanted to attend a wrestling show or go ice skating. In 1974, Martel approachedGrizzly Smith for advice on becoming a wrestler; as she was 16, he questioned her conviction and then told her to come back to him when she was an adult.[6] She eventually married her second husband and gave birth to a son named Jared, but she soon divorced her husband.[3][6] During this time, she again became interested in becoming a professional wrestler and sought training from "Mr. Personality" Butch Moore inMemphis, Tennessee.[6] She started wrestling as Sherri Martine, but decided she needed more training.[3] She continued to train atThe Fabulous Moolah's school, where Moolah changed her name to Sherri Martel and sent her to wrestle in Japan in 1981.[3] Moolah claims that Martel frequented night clubs and liked to party, which resulted in Moolah kicking her out of the school.[9]
After leaving the school, she traveled back to Tennessee.[3] In Memphis, she was managed byJim Cornette.[6] During a mixedbattle royal, Martel suffered an injury that removed her from wrestling temporarily.[6] She then worked as both a wrestler and manager for Pat Rose andTom Prichard.[6]
After Martel recovered,Larry Zbyszko helped her join theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA).[3] She eventually debuted in the AWA and, on September 28, 1985, atSuperClash inChicago, she defeatedCandi Devine for theAWA World Women's Championship.[4][10] She traded the belt with Devine, and on June 28, 1986, at "Battle by the Bay," Martel defeated Devine to win the AWA World Women's Championship for a third and final time.[10] Martel, however, only held the title briefly before vacating it.[4]
During this time, in addition to wrestling, Martel acted as themanager for the team of "Playboy"Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy"Doug Somers, whom she managed to win theAWA World Tag Team Championship.[10] Rose and Somers then engaged in a lengthy feud withThe Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels andMarty Jannetty),[11] who defeated Rose and Somers for the tag team title on January 27, 1987, inSt. Paul, Minnesota.[12]
After former AWA wrestlerJesse Ventura referred her to theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF),[3] she debuted on July 24, 1987, defeating The Fabulous Moolah for theWWF Women's Championship.[9][10] Renaming herself Sensational Sherri, she reigned as WWF Women's Champion for fifteen months before losing it toRockin' Robin on October 8, 1988, inParis.[4][9][10] At theSurvivor Series in 1987, Martel's team consisting of Martel,Women's World Tag Team Champions The Glamour Girls (Leilani Kai andJudy Martin),Dawn Marie, andDonna Christanello lost to The Fabulous Moolah's team consisting of Moolah,Velvet McIntyre, Rockin' Robin, and theJumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno andItsuki Yamazaki).[13] When the WWF phased out its women's division in 1990, Martel remained with the company and turned her attention to managing male wrestlers.[10]
Concurrent with her reign as WWF Women's Champion, Martel made several appearances in costume as "Peggy Sue," the girlfriend ofThe Honky Tonk Man, who was in the midst of a run as Intercontinental Champion. Her primary role was to irritate Honky's opponents—namely,Randy "Macho Man" Savage andBrutus "the Barber" Beefcake—and interfere in his matches.
AfterWrestleMania V, Martel confrontedMiss Elizabeth, manager of newly dethroned former WWF World champion Randy Savage, during an interview, leading to a confrontation between the two in which Savage firedMiss Elizabeth and repeatedly threatened to hit her.[14] Martel then attackedHulk Hogan from behind as he came toMiss Elizabeth's rescue, leaving him open to a chair attack from Savage,[15] Throughout the remainder of 1989, Martel and Savagefeuded with Hogan andMiss Elizabeth.[10] AtSummerSlam, Hogan and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake defeated the team of Savage andZeus.[16] After the match,Miss Elizabeth knocked out Martel with Martel's purse, and she, Hogan, and Beefcake cut Martel's hair.[6]
AtWrestleMania VI in 1990, Martel and Savage lost a mixed tag-team match againstSapphire andDusty Rhodes afterMiss Elizabeth, who was in the corner of Sapphire and Rhodes, interfered and shoved Martel.[17] During that same year, Martel and Savage appeared onLifestyles of the Rich and Famous withRobin Leach.[4] During a steel cage match atMadison Square Garden,The Ultimate Warrior pulled off an escaping Martel's miniskirt to reveal matching black garter belts and lace underpants. Practically in tears, Martel raced back to the locker room. AtWrestleMania VII, Savage lost a "retirement match" against The Ultimate Warrior, in which the loser would be forced (Kayfabe) to retire.[4][18] After Savage lost the match, an irate Martel attacked Savage but was thrown from the ring byMiss Elizabeth, who had been watching from the audience.[4][18]
Later on the WrestleMania VII card after she and Savage parted ways following the career match, Martel came to the ring to help"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in his assault on an injuredRowdy Roddy Piper, following which she managed DiBiase until 1992.[3][10]
Subsequently, Martel began managingShawn Michaels afterPat Patterson convinced Michaels to participate in the storyline.[19] In February 1992, duringPaul Bearer's interview segment The Funeral Parlor, Sherri declared she was now "in love" with Shawn Michaels, who had just turned on his longtime tag team partnerMarty Jannetty. She also sang Michaels' theme song called "Sexy Boy".[10] As part of his gimmick, Michaels would admire himself in afull-length mirror before his matches.[20] At Summerslam in 1992 Sherri was ringside for a rare heel vs heel match involving Michaels and Rick Martel. The stipulation of the match was that neither man could hit the other in the face which was attributed to the arrogant yet handsome characters of both men. Both Michaels and Martel fought for the affections of Sherri after the double count out result of the match when Sherri feigned fainting requiring both men to come to blows and attempt to carry Sherri backstage. In 1992, before a match, Jannetty grabbed the mirror and attempted to hit Michaels with it, but Michaels pulled Martel in front of him.[20] After being hit with the mirror, she was absent from television until theRoyal Rumble in January 1993.[20] At the Rumble, she was in a neutral corner for the match between Michaels and Jannetty but eventually turned on Michaels during the match, cementing a face turn.[20] Backstage, Michaels confronted her and Jannetty came to her rescue.[20] The storyline, however, was cut short as Jannetty was released from the company in the midst of the feud.[20] Martel spent the remainder of the year aligned withTatanka, who aided her in her feud withLuna Vachon andBam Bam Bigelow. She was released from the World Wrestling Federation during the summer. Two reasons have been given for Sherri's departure: her decision to enroll incosmetology school and failed drug tests.[21][22]
Towards the end of her time in the WWF, Martel participated in a WWF invasion angle in theUSWA, reuniting with Savage. Martel would suffer a similar embarrassment to that which she had suffered at the hands of Warrior when she ran in the ring to aid Savage in a steel cage match in Memphis against his old enemy in the area,Jerry "The King" Lawler, but after accidentally knocking Savage from the ring, she had her dress yanked off by Lawler as she climbed the cage to escape.
After her WWF release, Martel had a brief spell inSmoky Mountain Wrestling, siding withTracy Smothers in a feud withTammy Sytch,Brian Lee, as well as several intergender matches withJim Cornette.
She began working inEastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1993, managingShane Douglas.[23] Sherri turned on Douglas in a tag match withBrian Pillman, costing Douglas the match on behalf ofRic Flair. AtNovember to Remember on November 13, Martel facedMalia Hosaka in a match.[24]
Martel signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. The original plan for her was to manageKevin andDave Sullivan againstMissy Hyatt andThe Nasty Boys, but after Hyatt was fired in February 1994, the proposed rivalry went on with no managers for either team.
Martel made her debut on the April 23 edition ofWCW Saturday Night, under the name Sensuous Sherri, this was because the name Sensational Sherri was trademarked by the WWF. In an interview withGene Okerlund, she said her goal was to find a man that can bring her theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. She was ringside atSlamboree on May 22, during the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match betweenRic Flair andBarry Windham. On June 24, a title unification match took place at theClash of the Champions XXVII between WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and theWCW International World Heavyweight ChampionSting. Although she revealed in the beginning of the match she sided with Sting (including wearing his signature face paint), it turned out to be a double cross, as she sided with Flair, who won the match and unified the titles, double-teaming Sting, until the newly signedHulk Hogan made the save.
AtBash at the Beach, Martel tried to help Flair to defeat Hogan in a match by giving him brass knuckles, but failed.[25] At the feud's climactic battle, a steel cage match at Halloween Havoc, Martel climbed the cage to aid Flair and in the process had her dress pulled off by Jimmy Hart, Hogan's manager, leaving her dangling from the cage in black lingerie.
Next, Martel began managingHarlem Heat (Booker T andStevie Ray) using the name Sister Sherri.[10] She managed the team to sevenWCW World Tag Team Championship reigns.[2] In late 1994 (while still managing Harlem Heat in WCW), Martel made a return appearance in ECW managing Shane Douglas andBrian Pillman againstRon Simmons and2 Cold Scorpio.[26]
In 2000, she made three wrestling television appearances with WCW. The first was at theSouled Out 2000 pay-per-view event, watching at ringside during theChris Benoit vs.Sid Vicious matchup for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. The second was on the January 19, 2000, edition ofWCW Thunder where she had a match withMadusa, which she lost. In her third and final appearance in WCW, she had a match withMona, which she also lost.
After leaving WCW, Martel won theIWA Mid-South Women's Title defeatingDebbie Combs on August 28, 1997. A few weeks later she dropped the title back to Combs.[27]
Early in 1999, Martel competed in a mixed-tag team match for the Apocalypse Wrestling Federation's Heavyweight Championship, a title held predominately by men.[28]Missy Hyatt pinned Martel to win the title.[28] In October 1999, she appeared on theHeroes of Wrestling pay-per-view managingGreg Valentine in a match againstGeorge Steele.[29] Also in 1999, she was awarded theAWA Superstars Women's Championship.[2]
She wrestled her very last match atWrestleReunion on January 29, 2005, teaming withPeggy Lee Leather,Amber O'Neal andKrissy Vaine losing toWendi Richter,Malia Hosaka,Bambi and Jenny Taylor.
In 2005, she returned to WWE to take part in a storyline with her former client,Shawn Michaels, andKurt Angle shortly before their match atWrestleMania 21.[4] She made a return toSmackDown!, singing Michaels'theme song (the original recording of Michaels' theme song featured Martel on vocals) with Angle.[4]
She was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame by Ted DiBiase in April 2006.[6] Later that year, she worked forTNA Wrestling, taping a backstagevignette trying to offer her managerial services to "free agent"Bobby Roode that aired on the September 21, 2006TNA Impact!; it was her last wrestling television appearance.[6]
By 2003, she was living in Tennessee with her husband, Robert Schrull, where she helped him renovate houses.[3] She was married and divorced at least twice during her life.[3] She had one son.[6]
On June 15, 2007, Martel died at her mother's residence inMcCalla, Alabama, nearBirmingham. She was 49 years old.[6] On September 11, 2007,homicide investigators inTuscaloosa, Alabama, released the toxicology report stating that she died of an accidental overdose with multiple drugs in her system, including high amounts ofoxycodone.[30] She wascremated after her death.
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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