05/17/99 Internet News
Sherri Martel is currently working in a couple of independent leagues. She has been working for the AWF (Apocalypse Wrestling Federation) and the UWF (United Wrestling Federation). She was seen recently at a show for the UWF in Pensacola Florida managing a tag team known as The Black Sheep.
05/30/99 Internet News
After spending time on the independent circuit both as a manager and a wrestler, Sherri signed with AWA Superstars in May of 1999, and was promptly declared the first AWA Superstars Ladies Champion by President Dale Gagne. Gagne has also stated that he would personally hand select all of Sherri's opponents, leading critics to question his relationship with her.
08/21/99 Internet News
She managed Ian Rotten in a "no rope, barbed wire match" against Axl Rotten at Mid American Wrestling's 7th Annual Summer Sizzler Spectacular in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
01/19/00 Wednesday Thunder
After several years in the "indies", Sister Sherri made her return to the WCW in dramatic fashion, clobbering Madusa from behind while she was busy confronting Oklahoma. Throwing Madusa into the ring, Sherri immediately went to work like the possessed individual she is. Unfortunately she tried to start a high-risk maneuver from the top rope and slipped to the mat which Madusa quickly capitalized on, suplexing her for the pinfall. For pics - Click Here.
01/19/00 Internet Rumor
Bringing in Sensational Sherri was just a one time deal. Vince Russo wanted her to manage the new Harlem Heat, but that idea was shot down once Kevin Sullivan took over. Since she was already at the show, they just had her put over Madusa. [Zach Zawarski]
10/27/00 Internet News
According to Wrestling Superstars, Sensational Sherri is one of the top stars of Iron Ring Wrestling, which is in Tennessee and Virginia. [Silver]
10/12/01 Internet Rumor
Sensational Sherri Martel is competing and managing in GCW (Global Championship Wrestling) where she is currently managing the World Champion, Mad Dog Dan Sawyer.
01/28/05 Internet News
We were just notified by an OWOW visitor that Sherri Martel has an official web site at SherriMartel.com. Check it out, some great "oldies but goodies" photos, as well as current information on her appearances.
03/24/05 Thursday SmackDown!
Kurt Angle came out to Shawn Michaels' music, dressed like HBK (except for an "X" written across his HBK T-Shirt). Angle danced out, then pointed to the entranceway and out came Sensational Sherri Martel, Michaels' former manager. Angle and Martel got into the ring, with Angle doing all of HBK's old poses with Sherri. Angle got on the mic, saying that he was going to prove that he was a better entertainer than Shawn Michaels tonight. Angle introduced Sherri to the crowd, saying she helped Michaels' early in his career. Angle said he didn't need help to win a gold medal. Angle said that it is Sherri's voice that screams out "Oh Shawn!" at the start of HBK's music. Angle had Sherri scream it out, then sang HBK's song, with new lyrics about "Sexy Kurt" who will make your "ankle hurt". Shawn Michaels appeared on the video screen, and commented that Sherri doesn't look as good as she used to. Michaels then said that, since Raw fans had to watch a Kurt Angle retrospective this week, the Smackdown fans were going to get to watch a video package on HBK's career. A video package then aired of Michaels' career highlights, ending with some hype for Angle vs. Michaels at Wrestlemania. As the video package ended, it appeared Martel was getting emotional about seeing all the old clips of Shawn. Angle went up to her, and they exchanged words. Angle then pointed to his cheek, and Martel kissed it, but Angle then threw Sherri to the mat and put her in an ankle lock. Martel screamed and tapped on the mat, and officials came in to get Angle off of her. Angle smirked in the aisle as he left and the officials tended to Sherri. PowerWrestling.com
03/06/06 Monday Night Raw - Birmingham, Alabama
It was announced that Sherri Martel will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, joining Bret Hart, Eddie Guerrero and Gene Okerlund. PowerWrestling.com
05/10/06 Internet News - Sherri Martel Lands A Job With Japanese Company
Sherri Martel, who was inducted into the WWF hall of fame last month, has agreed to become a booker for Zero-One Max's new venture into promoting a women's wrestling show. Zero-One Max is said to be close to landing a television deal for the show. WrestlingObserver.com
06/16/07 Internet News - WWE Hall of Famer Sherri Martel Passes Away At 49
Wrestling fans worldwide are mourning the loss of former WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer "Sensational" Sherri Martel after passing away at the age of 49 at her mother's residence on Friday. Martel began her wrestling career in the AWA, where in 1985, she defeated Candi Devine to become the AWA Women’s Champion. Their rivalry lasted more than a year, with the championship trading hands on several occasions. It was during this time that she began perfecting her skills as a manager, leading “Playboy” Buddy Rose and “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers to the AWA Tag Team Championship. On June 28, 1986, Martel would win the AWA Women’s Championship for a third and final time from Candi Devine. Martel would later move on to the WWE where she debuted on July 24, 1987, pinning her trainer and mentor the Fabulous Moolah to become Women’s Champion. Sherri defended the gold against Debbie Combs, Velvet McIntyre, and Desiree Peterson. Sherri quickly earned the reputation as someone who would do anything to win, even if it meant using unsavory tactics. Her rivalry with Moolah continued as they became the captains for the first-ever female Survivor Series teams in 1989. Sherri held the championship for 15 months before losing to Rockin’ Robin. Sherri would later go on to manage some of the all-time greats in WWE such as the "Macho Man" Randy Savage, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and finally a young up-and-coming breakout singles wrestler known as "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. She would later move on to WCW to align herself with the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and help guide Harlem Heat - Booker T & Stevie Ray - to seven WCW Tag Team Championships. Sherri was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Ted DiBiase and at WrestleMania 22 the next night, she took her final bow in the spotlight after being introduced to the sold-out crowd. There is no information on the cause of her death at this time. PowerWrestling.com -- Former ECW female Francine Fournier posted the following message on her MySpace page regarding Sherri Martel's passing: Sherri Martel I remember watching Sherri and just being in awe of her. She was so very talented and the more I watched her, the more I wanted to take what I'd had learned from watching her and apply it to my own character. She was my main influence when I started my training. I looked up to her in so many different ways. I will never forget the night I finally met her. It was one of my first nights being backstage at the ECW arena. I was still training and I went up to Sherri and introduced myself to her. She told me that she was looking forward to working with me in ECW. She said she was glad I had long hair, because it looked better when the girls fought and had lots of hair to whip each other around with. She told me stories of her times on the road, which scared me a bit. I was so green and listening to her talk of her tails made me think "What am I doing here?". But come on, it was SHERRI! I was so excited to get to work with the woman that I wanted to be like. That was the only time I ever met her. I never got to work with her. She left ECW and went to WCW after that. I was so sad. It would have been an honor to share the ring with such a lady. I am booked on a convention in October and so was Sherri. I was excited when I heard she was going to be there. Now our meeting will never happen and I can never thank her for all the help she had given me. Sherri, thank you so much for the years of entertainment you have given me and for all the knowledge that you passed onto me. I will never forget how great of an influence you were to me. God rest your soul. Francine -- Jim Ross had the following remembrance posted on WWE.com: Tough, but with a heart of gold
By Jim Ross
Written: June 15, 2007 Sherri was tougher than a $2 steak, but had a heart of gold. Her genuine enthusiasm and love of the business was so evident when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year. Sherri could out-cuss, out-drink, and could whip most men’s backsides, as she came up the hard way in the business during the male-dominated days of the old wrestling territories. I have personally never seen a woman as physically tough and fearless as Sherri Martel. She enhanced the career of so many Superstars, including her “Boy Toy” Shawn Michaels, among others. The Good Lord broke the mold when He created Sherri, and now He has the lady back. I hope Sherri takes it easy on the men folk up in Heaven. We are all going to miss her. -- NWS promoter Dapper Johnny Falco (aka Joe Panzarino) issued the following statement after learning about the untimely passing of Sherri Martel: Sherri worked for us on many occasions when it was one great night at the old convention hall in Wildwood NJ when Kahuna Moore booked a bout against Sherri and Debbie Combs. Our beloved Commissioner made it a Dog Collar Match (which Sherri was not too fond of). When Sherri was not too fond of something, she made sure everyone knew her feelings. Anyway, the bout ensued from the ring to the ringside chairs right out the entrance way to the arena, through the metal doors onto the Wildwood Boardwalk and back in again spilling everywhere, including on fans. When Sherri was done with the bout, she eyed the stage area out where management would sit and actually called me out. I, being the very quick thinking promoter at the time, pointed to somebody else and said "that's Joe Panzarino", and made a quick exit, not wanting to deal with the volatile Ms. Martel. Either way, a great bout and I believe we even brought it back. Some time within the 6 to 8 months I spoke with Sherri about a potential booking, but was informed she was no longer doing in-ring activities, only managing. I thanked her and promised to stay in touch. Sherri was always one of those larger than life figures and when she walked into a room, you knew she was special. I'm sure she will be missed by all including one former employee of the company who was very close to her and our condolences go out to her as well. A ten bill salute goes without question. National Wrestling Superstars
Joe Panzarino (and Gino Moore) -- Madusa posted the following note on her official website on Madusa.com regarding Sherri Martel:
We lost something SENSATIONAL..........
Sheri Martel leaves us with heartful memories no could forget.... Tuesday, June 19, 2007
I am so angry and hurt by the loss of my friend and mentor, Sheri Martel. Why does this happen so much in our business.. I am sick and tired of losing so many co-workers to this business. I wish I could change a lot of things especially the death of Sheri. She was a very Jovial person and if you were her friend you were for life!! We the people of this business need to step up to the plate and make change for a better future, or should I say a longer future in this business. There are so many of us that makes Pro wrestling our life, I have and have seen good and bad.. I choose to move on and not get caught up in the riff raff of sh*t and was also blessed to not be easily influenced by the drugs and steroids. I get so saddened by the constant demand of physical attributes needed for this business and it goes on by the neglect of the higher anarchy of employment not to do better for our talent, young or seasoned. Before we loose another I really hope to see a division addressed to the veterans and a support system to a better life and help them out of the life of pro wrestling when retired.... what I am saying if the NFL can have a programs for all the guys after their career we can too.... Vince McMahon is the leader in this industry, and he could also be a great influence to every one after the retirement -- Ted DiBiase posted the following message on his MySpace page regarding Sherri Martel:
Thank you to all who wrote about Sherri...
I appreciate the notes of sympathy for Sherri. We were friends, and I will miss her; as she will be missed by all of her wrestling family.
My heart and prayers go out to her husband and family. Please keep them in your prayers, they are the ones who need them most.
-- Victoria posted the following regarding Sherri Martel on her MySpace page:
On a much sadder note, Hall of Fame wrestler "Sensational Sherri" Martel passed away this weekend. I had the honor of working with her in an OVW show, and I just spoke to her at Wrestlemania when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. She is one of my role models in this business, and she was a sweet, down to earth person. My thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.
Lisa Marie aka Victoria
-- Former WWE manager Paul Bearer posted the following on Sherri:
Remembering Sherri...
Go onward into the night my friend. Thanks for the memories.
-- April Hunter's comments on Sherri Martel:
Her passing is very sad...one of those you didn't really see coming. I LOVED Sherri. She was one of the women who influenced me into wrestling and probably the best female manager of all time. I have all her Japan wrestling matches. 49 seems far too young.
I guess instead of mourning her, we could think more about how lucky she was to have seen the world, lived the life and how she got to do things for our entertainment...how she lived her dream. She did a lot for the world of wrestling, that's for sure.
I always try to do that when people die...think about how they lived instead. She certainly lived up to the name "SENSATIONAL".
-- OVW's Katie Lea posted the following message on her MySpace page:
Sherri Martel
I was very very sad today to hear that Sherri Martel passed away. I met her once in Germany back in 2001 and she was wonderful to me, very gracious and very respectful.
At the time I didn't know much about her career but since then I have had the opportunity to see more of her work both as a manager and an active wrestler and she is someone I admire greatly and feel inspired by.
Of course my personal experience with her was very brief, but she made a huge positive impression on me and working with her was an experience I'll never forget...
06/29/07 Internet News - Fox News Channel Now Reporting On The Death Of Sherri Martel
The Fox News Channel is now reporting on the death of former WWE manager Sherri Martel. It's currently a front page headline on their website, with a big graphic posted as well. Furthermore, they just mentioned the story on Studio B With Shepard Smith. There doesn't appear to be any new details regarding her death, although they are mentioning that there was a backstage incident involving Martel and the then-Nancy Sullivan in early 1996. Reports of the incident say that an argument between the two escalated with Martel spitting on Nancy Sullivan. Martel reportedly was later fired. Fox News is getting all this information from the Pro Wrestling Torch, which is what they were reporting at the time. While that incident may have happened, in actuality, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is his obit on Sherri last week, she was let go by WCW in early 1996 because she "showed up in condition to work" at a TV taping. That also explains why her feud with Madusa, who crashed Sherri's "wedding" with Col. Robert Parker, was suddenly cut off. In July 1996, Sherri was brought back to manage Harlem Heat again, but she was let go again a year later for reasons undisclosed. Fox News is also saying that the Pro Wrestling Torch reported that Kevin Sullivan, then married to Nancy, tried to pair Martel up with Ric Flair as a play on the Nicole Brown/O.J. Simpson story at the time. That seems to be incorrect as Sherri herself said during her WWE Hall of Fame induction last year that she was going to be paired up with Ron Simmons. She said the storyline was nixed by the people at Turner because it would have been too controversial. Here is the article from Fox News: Another Mysterious Death
Alabama cops search for clues in death of ex-pro wrestler Sherri Martel, whose body was found June 15. Another Pro Wrestler Found Dead Days Before Benoit Murder-Suicide
Thursday, June 28, 2007 A week to the day before pro wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his wife Nancy, former pro wrestler and manager Sherri Martel was found dead of unknown causes at her mother's home. Martel, a pro wrestler in the WWE Hall of Fame who later managed the likes of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, was found dead in her mother's home in McCalla, Ala., on June 15, according to published reports. Linking the deaths of the Benoits with Martel is former pro wrestler Kevin Sullivan, a man once married to Nancy Benoit and who also was Martel's friend and booker. Martel, who wrestled under the name "Sensational Sherri," was found dead by her husband, Robert Schrull, according to a report in the Tuscaloosa News. Following World Wrestling Entertainment's announcement of Martel's death, wrestling Web sites quickly began speculating about case. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Live told his audience that she did not die of natural causes, saying "this was not a typical wrestler's death," according to reports. But Capt. Loyd Baker of the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit told the Tuscaloosa News that foul play was not suspected in her death. "The cause of death is pending her autopsy and toxicology report," he said June 19. An officer in the homicide unit told FOXNews.com that those results could take months to be finished. Martel began her career in the early 1980s and later went on to manage more than 15 wrestlers including Ric Flair and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. “Everyone respected her," said Bruce Mitchell, a columnist for the Pro Wrestling Torch newsletter and Web site, told the Tuscaloosa News. "She was an attractive lady, but she wasn’t just eye-candy. "She was really a pioneer and a trailblazer." One popular wrestling site, PWTorch.com, reports that Kevin Sullivan, then married to Nancy, tried to pair Martel with wrestler Ric Flair as part of a scripted Nicole Brown/O.J. Simpson ring drama, but that "work" was abandoned. PWTorch.com writes that in early 1996, Martel became involved in a strange "work" -- or scripted -- feud between Sullivan and wrestler Brian Pillman. The match reportedly got out of hand, and spilled into a backstage confrontation involving Martel and the then-Nancy Sullivan. Reports of the incident say that the argument escalated with Martel spitting on Nancy Sullivan. Martel reportedly was later fired. Several wrestling blogs reported that Martel had a drug problem and had entered a 21-day rehab program, but investigating police would not comment. PWTorch.com quoted her in 2005 saying, "I slip back every now and again, but I am trying my best." Rajah.com
09/19/07 Internet News - Autopsy Results For Sherri Martel Discover Drugs In System
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Tuscaloosa homicide investigators say WWE Hall of Famer Sherri Martel had multiple drugs in her system when she died, including a high amount of oxycodone. A homicide spokesperson said her June death in McCalla was ruled an accident. Martel, who was 49, was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame last year and won championship titles in the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation. At the time of her death, Captain Loyd Baker of the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit had said foul play isn't suspected, but that Martel didn't die of natural causes. PowerWrestling.com
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Sherri (Sherri Martel) has had quite a career. She started as a wrestler winning the AWA Women's Championship belt on 3 separate occasions, and holding onto the WWF Women's Championship belt for over a year. 
