Post by Talon Karrde on Jun 19, 2007 20:35:37 GMT -5
"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