WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.779 Imagine standing right in the center of Madison 00:00:02.779 --> 00:00:06.280 Square Garden. Oh, wow. Yeah, you have 20 ,000 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:09.880 people just screaming for your absolute destruction. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:14.500 Right. And they're cheering wildly as a 275 pound 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.179 man literally rips your skirt off, leaving you 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:20.320 completely humiliated in the middle of the ring. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:23.559 Which is just, I mean, an insane scenario. Completely 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.960 insane. But imagine enduring that entirely on 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.670 purpose, deliberately orchestrating your own 00:00:29.670 --> 00:00:32.109 public humiliation just to make sure the guy 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:34.070 standing next to you looks like a hero. That 00:00:34.070 --> 00:00:37.390 is dedication. It really is. And today we are 00:00:37.390 --> 00:00:39.869 validating that incredible curiosity of yours, 00:00:40.149 --> 00:00:42.329 taking you on a journey to learn something truly 00:00:42.329 --> 00:00:44.649 fascinating about the hidden mechanics of sports 00:00:44.649 --> 00:00:47.229 entertainment. Minus the usual information overload, 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:49.600 of course. Exactly. Our mission for this deep 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.200 dive is to explore the incredible barrier breaking 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:54.840 life of professional wrestling icon Sherri Martel. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.039 And we're using her Wikipedia page as our singular 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:01.219 roadmap for this. It is such a dense, revealing 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:04.000 document to parse through. It really is. And 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.340 just a quick note before we jump in. You know, 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.099 we are purely analyzing the narrative presented 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:12.560 in this source regarding her life and the industry's 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.099 darker eras. We're impartially reporting on the 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:18.099 material to understand the mechanics of her career. 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:20.700 Right. We're not here to endorse or judge the 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.239 personal choices detailed in it. Exactly. We're 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:25.260 just looking at the facts provided. And looking 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.840 at my backdrop today, I've actually got to set 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:32.010 to a classic Smoke -filled 1980s wrestling arena. 00:01:32.030 --> 00:01:35.129 Oh, I love that complete with the harsh spotlight 00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:37.609 cutting through the haze You know it because 00:01:37.609 --> 00:01:40.189 to really understand this story. You have to 00:01:40.189 --> 00:01:43.250 place yourself in that gritty Smoke -filled environment, 00:01:43.329 --> 00:01:46.569 right? We are looking at an era where the business 00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:50.010 was intensely territorial, fiercely protective, 00:01:50.349 --> 00:01:52.829 and honestly, deeply unforgiving. Okay, let's 00:01:52.829 --> 00:01:54.629 unpack this. Because we're not just looking at 00:01:54.629 --> 00:01:56.609 a standard wrestling biography today. We are 00:01:56.609 --> 00:01:59.510 tracking a literal master class in audience psychology. 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:02.689 Without a doubt. But before we get to the massive 00:02:02.689 --> 00:02:06.269 stadium shows and the championship gold, I really 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:08.409 want to look at the foundation. Because according 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:11.689 to the source, her entry into this world required 00:02:11.689 --> 00:02:14.889 a sheer, almost alarming level of willpower. 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:18.139 It really did. I mean, she was born Sherri Lynn 00:02:18.139 --> 00:02:21.580 Russell in 1958 in Birmingham, Alabama. Right. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.659 And her introduction to the sport is just fascinating. 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:27.180 Yeah. Her mother literally gave her and her sister 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:30.439 a choice. Did they want to go ice skating or 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.699 go to a wrestling show in Mississippi? It's just 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:34.819 one of those incredible sliding door moments. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.280 Exactly. You choose the ice skates. Yeah. And 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.340 maybe you live a quite conventional life. Right. 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:41.849 You choose the wrestling show and, well, You 00:02:41.849 --> 00:02:44.590 set off a chain reaction. That spark caught early. 00:02:45.189 --> 00:02:47.189 By the time she was just 16 years old, so this 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:51.009 is 1974, she approached Grizzly Smith. He was 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:53.349 a massive veteran wrestler, right? Huge guy, 00:02:53.530 --> 00:02:56.050 yeah. Yeah. She asked him for advice on how to 00:02:56.050 --> 00:02:57.889 get into the business. And he just brushes her 00:02:57.889 --> 00:02:59.509 off, tells her to come back when she's an adult. 00:02:59.669 --> 00:03:01.669 Yeah, which goes pretty standard for the time. 00:03:01.949 --> 00:03:04.590 Now, this is where the Wikipedia timeline hits 00:03:04.590 --> 00:03:07.629 you like a ton of bricks. Because her path back 00:03:07.629 --> 00:03:09.990 in the ring involved working as an exotic dancer, 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:13.150 marrying a man named Leroy Gonzalez in 1976, 00:03:13.650 --> 00:03:16.110 and having a son named Jared. But then it takes 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:18.810 a sharp turn. Right. She divorces her husband 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:21.610 and leaves her family entirely behind to enroll 00:03:21.610 --> 00:03:24.150 in a wrestling school in Memphis run by Butch 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:26.129 Moore. Yeah. I mean, I have to stop you there. 00:03:26.430 --> 00:03:28.590 Just looking at the mechanics of breaking into 00:03:28.590 --> 00:03:31.189 the industry, why was walking away from her life 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:33.289 the necessary step? That's a great question. 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:35.650 Like, why couldn't she just train locally or 00:03:35.650 --> 00:03:38.189 treat it like a normal, conventional career path? 00:03:38.590 --> 00:03:40.849 It feels like the obsession of a method actor 00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:44.250 or a driven artist. Is it fair to say that to 00:03:44.250 --> 00:03:47.069 break into such a closed -off, carny -like business 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:49.750 in the 70s, you needed a level of obsession that 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:52.430 bordered on destructive? What's fascinating here 00:03:52.430 --> 00:03:56.110 is the absolute reality of the territorial era. 00:03:56.550 --> 00:03:58.289 You have to remember there was no corporate training 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:00.550 center you could just commute to. No performance 00:04:00.550 --> 00:04:03.569 centers back then. Exactly. This was a closed 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:06.710 network of regional promoters who actively locked 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:10.400 outsiders out. You had to fully immerse yourself 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.400 in the nomadic, honestly grueling lifestyle of 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:16.259 the territories to even be considered. Wow. Proving 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.259 your commitment meant showing you were willing 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:21.259 to bleed for the business. And that often required 00:04:21.259 --> 00:04:23.319 completely detaching from your previous life. 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.579 So it was an all or nothing sacrifice? Completely. 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:28.339 She wrestled initially under the name Sherri 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:31.160 Martin, but Moore eventually told her she needed 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:33.120 more advanced training. Which leads her right 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.939 to the fabulous Moolah. Moolah essentially held 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:40.160 a total monopoly on booking female wrestlers 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.180 in North America at the time. She controlled 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:44.439 everything. Everything. She changed Sherri's 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:46.660 name to Sherri Martel and sent her to Japan in 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:49.839 1981 to really hone her craft. But even that 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.019 critical relationship fractured, didn't it? It 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:54.939 did. Moolah ended up kicking Sherri out of her 00:04:54.939 --> 00:04:57.399 school. The source actually claims it was because 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.339 Sherry liked to party in frequent nightclubs. 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.680 That seems like a massive career -ending setback. 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:05.040 You get kicked out by the one person who controls 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.600 the entire women's booking landscape. For most 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:09.680 people, it would be the end. But she doesn't 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.500 quit. She travels back to Tennessee, gets managed 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:15.519 by Jim Cornet in Memphis, and even suffers an 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.779 injury in a mixed battle royal. She was relentless. 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:20.279 She just keeps pushing through the regional circuits 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:22.819 until Larry Zbysko helps her get into the American 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:25.839 Wrestling Association, the AWA. Right. And by 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:30.180 September 1985, at Super Clash in Chicago, she 00:05:30.180 --> 00:05:33.319 defeats Candi Devine for the AWA World Women's 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.360 Championship. Which is huge. Yeah. She ends up 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:38.300 trading that belt with Devine, holding it three 00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:41.839 times in total. Wow. And this is a really crucial 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.399 period because it's where she starts to establish 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:46.680 her multitasking abilities. Doing more than just 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:49.279 wrestling. Right. While she's wrestling, she 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:52.560 also begins managing. She takes on the team of 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:55.180 Playboy Buddy Rose and Pretty Boy Doug Summels. 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.079 Oh, yeah. She manages them to the AWA World Tag 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.379 Team Championship. and she sparks a massive bloody 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:04.319 feud with the Midnight Rockers. Which was a young 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.120 Shawn Michaels and Marty Gionetti, right? Yeah. 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:08.839 Put a pin in Shawn Michaels because that relationship 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:12.180 is going to pay massive dividends later. But 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:14.980 right now, her drive takes her to the absolute 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:18.319 top of the mountain. The very top. In 1987, Jessie 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.019 Ventura refers her to the World Wrestling Federation. 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:24.480 She debuts in July, completely skips the line, 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:26.759 and immediately defeats her old trainer, the 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:30.300 fabulous Moola for the W. Women's Championship. 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:33.160 Talk about full circle. Seriously, she renames 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:36.100 herself Sensational Sherry and holds that title 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:39.040 for 15 straight months. She reaches the ultimate 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.939 pinnacle, but you know in this industry you are 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:43.879 entirely at the mercy of the promoter's vision. 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:47.740 Always. In 1990... The WWF makes a sweeping, 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:50.339 systemic decision. They completely phase out 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:51.779 the women's division. Wait, I really need to 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:53.680 stop you here. I'm genuinely confused by this 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:55.699 maneuver. Yeah, it's drawing. She is the reigning 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:57.879 face of the division. The company decides to 00:06:57.879 --> 00:06:59.899 just close up shop on women's wrestling. Why 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:02.360 doesn't she just leave? Right. Why not take her 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:05.779 star power to Japan or go back to the AWA? Instead, 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.360 she accepts a pivot to being a full -time manager 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.829 for the men. From the outside that looks like 00:07:10.829 --> 00:07:13.129 a massive demotion. If we connect this to the 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:15.370 bigger picture, you'll actually see it wasn't 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:17.480 a demotion at all. It was a brilliant survival 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.959 instinct. Really? How so? Well, the WWF in 1990 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:23.279 was the undisputed king of national television 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:27.220 exposure. The AWA was dying and Japan, while 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:30.240 prestigious, just didn't offer the massive mainstream 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.319 American audience. That makes sense. When the 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.540 system literally erased her division, she looked 00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:38.160 at the landscape and realized where the real 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:41.560 power and the TV time were concentrated. And 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.720 that was the men's main event scene. Here's where 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:46.509 it gets really interesting. I see where you're 00:07:46.509 --> 00:07:49.170 going. She wasn't stepping down. No. She was 00:07:49.170 --> 00:07:51.389 attaching herself to the engine because she wasn't 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:53.829 filling out paperwork. She was a hype woman, 00:07:54.310 --> 00:07:56.490 a stunt double, and an on -screen instigator 00:07:56.490 --> 00:08:00.250 all rolled into one. Precisely. She made herself 00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:03.509 indispensable to the top heels by absorbing the 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:06.410 audience's hatred. The heat? Exactly, the heat. 00:08:06.730 --> 00:08:09.310 In wrestling, heat transfer is a very delicate 00:08:09.310 --> 00:08:11.860 mechanic. If a heel does something despicable 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:14.259 to generate heat, the crowd naturally demands 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:16.300 to see them punished. Right, they want payback. 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:19.339 But if the heel is a massive main event star, 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:21.800 you don't want them getting beaten up every single 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:24.420 week. It completely diminishes their aura. So 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.980 the manager takes the punishment instead. Exactly. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.339 Sherri absorbed the physical consequences to 00:08:30.339 --> 00:08:32.399 keep her wrestlers looking strong. Let's look 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.240 at the mechanics of that with Randy, Macho Man 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:36.759 Savage, because this is legendary television. 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.679 Oh, absolutely iconic. Savage loses his title 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:43.539 and fires his manager, the beloved, totally angelic 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:46.299 Miss Elizabeth. And Sherry immediately steps 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:49.340 in, creating this perfect, jarring dichotomy. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:52.220 Night and day. Right. Elizabeth was elegant and 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:55.799 quiet. Sherry is aggressive, loud, wearing intense 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.039 face makeup and just completely unapologetic. 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.100 She actively elevated Savage's villainous persona. 00:09:01.309 --> 00:09:03.129 She wasn't just standing there looking pretty. 00:09:03.169 --> 00:09:05.490 She was a combatant. She got involved. Big time. 00:09:05.850 --> 00:09:07.950 She attacked Hulk Hogan from behind with a chair. 00:09:08.429 --> 00:09:11.669 And at SummerSlam 89 during a tag match, Miss 00:09:11.669 --> 00:09:13.850 Elizabeth actually knocked Sherry out with a 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:16.850 loaded purse. Oh, wow. And then Hogan and Brutus 00:09:16.850 --> 00:09:20.529 Beefcake literally cut Sherry's hair in the middle 00:09:20.529 --> 00:09:22.809 of the ring. But look at the psychology of that 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:26.450 for a second. You have male baby faces, the supposed 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:28.909 heroes physically cutting a woman's hair against 00:09:28.909 --> 00:09:31.909 her will. Yeah. Why does the crowd cheer that? 00:09:32.049 --> 00:09:34.309 If she's a woman, wouldn't the audience instantly 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:36.909 turn on the baby faces for bullying her? What 00:09:36.909 --> 00:09:39.470 is the psychological trick there? This raises 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:42.049 an important question about how Sherry subverted 00:09:42.049 --> 00:09:45.789 traditional tropes. Okay. The standard narrative 00:09:45.789 --> 00:09:50.110 of that era was the damsel in distress. Sherry 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:52.470 inverted that completely. She was so vicious, 00:09:52.870 --> 00:09:55.710 so relentlessly aggressive that the crowd stopped 00:09:55.710 --> 00:09:57.730 viewing her as a vulnerable woman. Oh, I see. 00:09:57.789 --> 00:09:59.830 They started viewing her as an equal combatant. 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:02.639 She transcended the gender barrier through pure 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.279 malevolence. That is brilliant. When Hogan and 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.720 Beefcake cut her hair, the crowd didn't see a 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.200 woman being victimized. They saw a dangerous 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.480 villain finally getting her comeuppance. And 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:15.080 she sold every single second of it. Which brings 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:18.399 us to WrestleMania VII in 1991. Savage is in 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.240 a retirement match against the Ultimate Warrior. 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:23.360 If he loses, his career is over. The stakes couldn't 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.980 be higher. Right. And he loses. And instead of 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:30.480 comforting him, Sherry absolutely snaps. She 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.500 attacks him in a fit of rage, kicking him repeatedly 00:10:33.500 --> 00:10:35.980 while he's down. Which is the essential mechanical 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:38.320 trigger for what happens next. Miss Elizabeth, 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:40.720 who is sitting out in the audience, jumps the 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:43.399 barricade, throws Sherry out of the ring, and 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:45.759 reunites with Savage. It's widely considered 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.039 one of the greatest emotional payoffs in wrestling 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:50.299 history. Without a doubt. But that payoff doesn't 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.440 work without Sherry. If she just walks away in 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:55.399 disappointment, Elizabeth coming to the ring 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:58.179 is nice, but it doesn't have urgency. Exactly. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.779 By actively assaulting Savage, Sherry forces 00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:04.879 Elizabeth to become the savior. She masterminds 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.279 the emotional manipulation of 80 ,000 people. 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:09.659 Given the physical risks she took and the character 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:12.299 work she did, wasn't she actually carrying the 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:14.200 narrative weight for some of these male stars? 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:17.600 She absolutely was. And she endured incredible 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.919 physical indignities to achieve those reactions. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.000 You mentioned the Madison Square Garden steel 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.500 cage match earlier? Or the skirt. Yeah, where 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:26.340 the ultimate warrior pulls off her miniskirt 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:28.649 as she tries to escape. leaving her in matching 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:30.950 black garter belts and lace underpants. Right. 00:11:31.210 --> 00:11:33.289 And the source notes that Jerry Lawler in the 00:11:33.289 --> 00:11:37.350 USWA and Jimmy Hart in WCWA later did the exact 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:39.809 same spot to her. She was constantly put in these 00:11:39.809 --> 00:11:42.789 compromising, humiliating positions. But she 00:11:42.789 --> 00:11:46.600 owned it. She was a master psychologist. willingly 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.240 weaponizing her own humiliation. To get a reaction. 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:52.019 Yes. When she was stripped or attacked by the 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:55.179 baby faces, she absorbed that punishment to make 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.820 the men she managed look more despicable for 00:11:57.820 --> 00:11:59.779 letting it happen. Or to make the heroes look 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:02.059 more dominant. Exactly. She carried the narrative 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:04.200 weight for them entirely. And she did it across 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:07.440 multiple eras too. After Savage, she managed 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.840 the million dollar man Ted DeBias, and then she 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:14.279 reunites with that face from her AWA past. Shawn 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:16.799 Michaels. Oh, the Shawn Michaels era. Yeah, in 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.820 early 1992, Michaels turns on Marty Gennetti. 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:22.419 Sherry declares she is, quote unquote, in love 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:25.840 with Michaels. And this pairing was just pure 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.460 unadulterated arrogance. Sherry orchestrated 00:12:29.460 --> 00:12:32.200 his presentation perfectly. She carried a full 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.519 length mirror to the ring so Michaels could admire 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:37.230 himself during his entrance. It's so good. And 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:39.450 the source mentioned she sang his theme song, 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:42.610 Sexy Boy. Wait, really? Was she the actual original 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:44.590 vocal track for that? It was. I always assumed 00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:46.730 that was a studio singer hired by the company. 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:49.529 No, that was Sherri Martel herself on the original 00:12:49.529 --> 00:12:51.970 recording. That's amazing. It was entirely her 00:12:51.970 --> 00:12:54.870 voice echoing through those arenas, adding just 00:12:54.870 --> 00:12:57.809 another layer to the obnoxious vanity of the 00:12:57.809 --> 00:12:59.710 character. Totally. And there is a brilliant 00:12:59.710 --> 00:13:01.909 match detailed in the Wikipedia article from 00:13:01.909 --> 00:13:05.679 SummerSlam1992 that perfectly encapsulates her 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.639 ring IQ. She's managing Michaels against Rick 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.100 Martell. Which is a rare heel versus heel match. 00:13:11.460 --> 00:13:14.480 Two incredibly arrogant, handsome villains fighting 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.519 each other. Right. And the stipulation is that 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.399 neither man is allowed to hit the other in the 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.399 face. Because they're both too obsessed with 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.980 their own looks. But Sherry completely steals 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.559 the show without ever taking a bump. The match 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:28.419 ends in a double count out because Sherry feigns 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:31.080 a fainting spell at ringside. She just pretends 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:34.659 to pass out. Yeah. Both men are so narcissistic 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:37.179 and so obsessed with looking like the hero who 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:40.019 saves her that they stop fighting the match and 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:42.299 start fighting over who gets to carry her backstage. 00:13:42.620 --> 00:13:44.740 That is genius. She controlled the entire finish 00:13:44.740 --> 00:13:47.539 of a major pay -per -view match just by pretending 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:50.320 to pass out. She was the absolute center of gravity. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:52.799 But, you know, the lifespan of a wrestling career 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:55.379 is notoriously brutal, and the journeyman years 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.700 that followed paint a very different, much more 00:13:57.700 --> 00:14:00.100 grueling picture. They really do. The descent 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:03.500 begins in 1993. She's released from the WWF. 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.080 The source gives two alleged reasons for her 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.220 departure. What's where? Either her decision 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:11.500 to enroll in cosmetology school or failed drug 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:14.840 tests. That second point introduces a dark shadow 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:16.960 that kind of looms over the rest of her story. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:19.480 It does. But she doesn't stop working. She hits 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.059 the regional road again. She goes to Eastern 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:25.259 Championship Wrestling, ECW, managing Shane Douglas. 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:27.299 Right. She works in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. 00:14:27.549 --> 00:14:30.649 And in 1994, she signs with World Championship 00:14:30.649 --> 00:14:34.210 Wrestling, WCW. Where she continues to be a major 00:14:34.210 --> 00:14:37.529 tactical player, she debuts as sensuous Sherri. 00:14:37.669 --> 00:14:40.210 Because the WWF owned the sensational trademark, 00:14:40.350 --> 00:14:43.789 right? Exactly. And she manages Ric Flair. She 00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:46.090 actually pulls off a massive double cross at 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:48.210 Clash of the Champions. Oh, what happened? She 00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:50.830 wears Sting's signature face paint to trick him 00:14:50.830 --> 00:14:53.330 into thinking she's an ally, only to turn around 00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.610 and help Flair win the unified World Heavyweight 00:14:55.610 --> 00:14:58.289 Championship. That visual deception is brilliant. 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:01.669 But her most enduring run in WCW was managing 00:15:01.669 --> 00:15:04.990 the tag team Harlem Heat, Booker T., and Stevie 00:15:04.990 --> 00:15:07.710 Ray. Right. She became Sister Sherry. And she 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:09.950 wasn't just standing ringside holding their belts. 00:15:10.190 --> 00:15:12.850 She added this layer of chaotic legitimacy to 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:16.240 that. managing them to an incredible seven WCW 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:18.960 World Tag Team Championship reigns. She was still 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.220 at the absolute top of her game managerially, 00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:24.620 but as the 90s bled into the 2000s, her television 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:26.960 appearances became highly sporadic. She started 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:30.129 fading out. Yeah. She makes a few final TV appearances 00:15:30.129 --> 00:15:33.649 for WCW in early 2000. She wrestles her final 00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:36.230 match at a Wrestle Reunion show in 2005. Wow, 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:39.529 2005. She does a brief cameo for WWE in 2005 00:15:39.529 --> 00:15:42.509 too, and her very last televised wrestling appearance 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:45.730 is a backstage vignette for TNA Wrestling in 00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:49.409 September 2006. So what does this all mean? Amidst 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:51.710 all of this fading spotlight, her personal life 00:15:51.710 --> 00:15:54.429 is jarringly quiet compared to the chaos of her 00:15:54.429 --> 00:15:57.549 persona. It's a stark contrast. By 2003, she 00:15:57.549 --> 00:15:59.769 and her husband, Robert Trull, are living in 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:02.110 Tennessee renovating houses together. Just doing 00:16:02.110 --> 00:16:04.629 drywall. Right. You have this woman who stood 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:07.149 in front of massive stadiums, orchestrated the 00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.690 emotions of millions, took falls onto concrete 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:12.269 floors, and now she's quietly putting up drywall 00:16:12.269 --> 00:16:15.200 in Tennessee. It highlights the deeply human, 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.019 almost fragile reality behind this indestructible 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:19.960 character. And that fragility caught up with 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:21.940 her in the most devastating way. It really did. 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:25.519 On June 15th, 2007, Sherry Martell passed away 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.659 at her mother's residence in McCalla, Alabama. 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:31.139 She was only 49 years old. 49 is just tragically 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:33.860 young. It is. And the toxicology report released 00:16:33.860 --> 00:16:36.340 by homicide investigators stated she died of 00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.899 an accidental overdose with multiple drugs in 00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:41.259 her system, including high amounts of oxycodone. 00:16:41.450 --> 00:16:44.649 That's heartbreaking. It is. We have to contextualize 00:16:44.649 --> 00:16:46.690 this tragedy within the broader history of the 00:16:46.690 --> 00:16:49.370 industry though. The Wikipedia page we are pulling 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:53.370 from specifically categorizes her under drug 00:16:53.370 --> 00:16:56.090 -related deaths in Alabama and links directly 00:16:56.090 --> 00:16:58.789 to a list of premature professional wrestling 00:16:58.789 --> 00:17:01.629 deaths. It's a sobering reminder of the physical 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:03.870 cost of the art form. The scripted entertainment 00:17:03.870 --> 00:17:07.490 that we unpack and analyze often masks very real 00:17:07.490 --> 00:17:10.089 excruciating physical pain. Absolutely. When 00:17:10.089 --> 00:17:12.650 you spend decades throwing your body onto wood 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.390 and steel, traveling non -stop and putting yourself 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:17.130 through a meat grinder just to keep your spot 00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:20.150 on television, the toll is immense. The reliance 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:23.069 on painkillers in that era is a well -documented 00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:26.049 epidemic, and Sheri sadly became a part of that 00:17:26.049 --> 00:17:28.940 statistic. Her dedication to her craft ultimately 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:31.500 contributed to her physical undoing. It is a 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:33.720 heartbreaking end to a life that was lived at 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.519 maximum volume. It really is. But as we wrap 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:39.119 up this deep dive into the source material, I 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:41.920 really want to address you directly. When you 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.630 look at the legacy of Sheri Martel, It is vital 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:47.170 to remember that she was never just a side character 00:17:47.170 --> 00:17:50.210 or an accessory. Never. She was inducted into 00:17:50.210 --> 00:17:53.730 the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Ted Dibbius. 00:17:54.210 --> 00:17:56.130 She's in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame 00:17:56.130 --> 00:17:58.130 and the Women's Wrestling Hall of Fame class 00:17:58.130 --> 00:18:01.109 of 2024. Well deserved. She was a pioneer who 00:18:01.109 --> 00:18:04.130 forced her way into an exclusive boys club, broke 00:18:04.130 --> 00:18:06.349 the mold of what a female performer could be 00:18:06.349 --> 00:18:09.769 and laid the literal groundwork for modern character 00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:12.430 psychology. She wrote the playbook on how to 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:15.269 manipulate a crowd. without ever needing to be 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:17.970 the one pinning shoulders to the mat. Absolutely. 00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:20.549 And looking at the entirety of her journey from 00:18:20.549 --> 00:18:22.509 the grid of the territories to the heights of 00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:25.190 WrestleMania leaves us with a fascinating final 00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:27.410 thought to chew on. What's that? Well, look at 00:18:27.410 --> 00:18:30.309 how performers are created today. Major promotions 00:18:30.309 --> 00:18:32.569 have massive multi -million dollar corporate 00:18:32.569 --> 00:18:34.990 training facilities. They teach safe bumping, 00:18:35.109 --> 00:18:38.089 promo classes, and character development in a 00:18:38.089 --> 00:18:40.170 highly controlled, sanitized environment. Right. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.140 But Sherry Martell was forged in the brutal, 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:46.980 unforgiving fire of the 1970s territorial system, 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:49.799 a system that demanded she sacrifice her family, 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:52.740 endure physical humiliation, and navigate an 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:54.720 industry that actively tried to keep her out. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.700 Wow. Yeah. So it makes you wonder, could a modern, 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.259 safe corporate system ever actually produce a 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.859 performer with the visceral edge and terrifying 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:04.980 commitment of Sherry Martell? That's a great 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:08.640 point. Or was her genius inextricably tied to 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:10.920 the absolute brutality of the era she had to 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.859 survive? Furthermore, if she were in her prime 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:16.980 today, where women made event for millions, would 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:19.579 she even need a male star to manage? Or would 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:21.619 she simply be the biggest box office draw in 00:19:21.619 --> 00:19:24.420 the world entirely on her own? That is a profound 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:26.839 question. Does a safer industry mean we'll never 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:28.960 see another sensational Sherry? Something to 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.500 think about the next time you watch a perfectly 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:32.140 polished performer walk down the aisle.