RIP: Sherri Martel (Feb. 8, 1958-June 15, 2007)

ANOTHER one gone too damn soon.
At this time of writing, "Sensational" Sherri Martel is dead at the age of 49, of unknown causes.

I first became aware of Sherri watching the old WWF shows on TV in the late 80s - she was the heel women's champ at the time, feuding with Rockin' Robin.
Perversely, at the same time, I could see her on older AWA shows (just before she jumped to the WWF) screening on SKY cable TV at my local pub. There, she was AWA women's champ and also the manager of Kevin Kelly.
Years later, I got to see Sherri on videotape in her AWA prime, managing tag team champs "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Sommers in their awesome feud with babyfaces The Midnight Rockers.

Around that time, I also tracked down the nude shots Sherri allegedly posed for back in her much younger days. Feel free to check old issues of Celebrity Sleuth for those saucy snaps and make up your own mind.

While she was okay as a wrestler in the WWF (which had yet to reduce women's wrestling to T&A during that time period), Sherri really came into her own in 1989 when she became the manager of...

..."Macho Man" Randy Savage! As "Sensational" Sherri (then "Scary" Sherri), Martel kicked arse at ringside (taking plenty of lumps from the so-called babyfaces in the process) and on the microphone as she and Savage feuded with Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Dusty Rhodes.
She really was an annoying, hard-working, bump-taking dynamo.

After her run with Savage ended, Sherri managed Ted Dibiase and her old Midnight Rockers nemesis "HBK" Shawn Michaels. Who could ever forget her grating vocals for the original version of his entrance theme, Sexy Boy?

After a stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling and ECW, Sherri eventually headed to WCW in 1994 for the higher pay and lighter work schedule. She managed wrestlers such as Ric Flair and, more famously, multi-time tag team champs Harlem Heat. She even took on the nickname "Sister" Sherri.

I lost track of Sherri after her run with WCW ended in the mid-90s.
In recent years, she did some guest spots with WWE and even TNA.

She's gone now - and I still can't believe WWF/E has lost yet another worker at such a young age.
Rest in peace, Sherri...as trivial as this sounds, thanks for the memories.