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00:00You want a piece of me, little girl? Well, come and get it, because you're looking at a woman that invented me.
00:07Sherry Martell was a chameleon, a performer who broke new ground for women in the wrestling business, an in-ring natural that made it all look effortless.
00:17She was an ace. Sensational Sherry was a top-line ringer.
00:22Look at the 80s, and you look at Sherry's role in some of the biggest storylines, the biggest moments, the biggest pay-per-views.
00:28My God, she was a huge star.
00:31Inside the ring and outside the ring, and on the microphone, and on camera, she was perfect.
00:36She was really the only great female manager of modern times.
00:42You, Hulk Hogan, are the one that had a Thelen career. You!
00:46Whatever the gimmick, she would do whatever it needed. Everybody in the business knew that.
00:51But few knew of the sacrifices that Sherry's total commitment to becoming a star demanded.
00:59Her demons took over. She said she didn't want to be a caged bird.
01:04And the high cost of her trailblazing success.
01:08She worked hard, man. She paid a price, too.
01:11I knew she was in pain, but you don't work, you don't get paid. It pushed her the wrong way.
01:16No punches pulled! No nothing!
01:20It became more obvious that she was having issues.
01:23If you can't get your act together, you need to step off Team Harlem Heat.
01:26There were skeletons throughout her whole life. Some people can get over it, and some people can't.
01:32There were skeletons throughout her head.
01:35There were skeletons throughout her heart.
01:36There were skeletons throughout her heart.
01:37The
01:43Luna Bashan picking Sherry off!
01:46And she planted Sensational Sherry right out here on the outside!
01:51Could you honestly tell me how much of that is fake?
01:56I got the job, and I go out there and I get everything that I got.
02:00I run all these miles up and down the road, and I wear my body out.
02:05That's not fake.
02:06My body gets slammed on that damn canvas, and on the outside of the ring,
02:11I sit in the hospital, I get glass in my damn eyes.
02:15That's not fake.
02:17Sherry was tough physically, but also she was tough somewhat mentally.
02:21She could take some of the abuse that she got from the fans or from the other wrestlers,
02:25and that's why the guys liked working with her.
02:28She was all in.
02:30I'm Jim Cornette.
02:31For almost 40 years, I've done everything in pro wrestling, especially managing,
02:35and Sherry Martell was the first person I ever managed.
02:39And I have signed up, and I would like to introduce Ms. Sherry Martell.
02:43I've had people ask me, how did you decide to take Sherry Martell as a client?
02:47Well, I didn't.
02:48Can I make an investment, or can I make an investment?
02:51In 1982, both of us were just getting started.
02:54Sherry was just a rookie wrestler, and we were kind of thrown together
02:57just because the promoter knew that I needed some kind of practice.
03:01So we looked at each other and said, you're greener than goose shit, and I'm even worse.
03:05How can this possibly go wrong?
03:07We bonded from that moment.
03:09Money talks, and you know what walks.
03:12She wasn't the over-the-top personality that you would see from Sherry Martell
03:16five years later or ten years later.
03:18But at that point, nobody knew she was going to be not only one of the great female wrestlers
03:24of the next generation, but also one of the most high-profile managers in wrestling.
03:29She was just a girl who wanted to be a wrestler at that point.
03:32You didn't know how far she was going to go.
03:34Sherry was a diva before the divas were divas.
03:44When she got in that ring, different person.
03:47The minute she got out of that ring, a sweetheart.
03:50I'm Kathy Fitzpatrick, and Sherry Martell was my best friend.
03:57We kind of had the same kind of childhood.
03:59She didn't know her dad.
04:00Her mom would take her to wrestling shows, and she liked it.
04:04My mom would go to wrestling matches in Henniesburg, Mississippi,
04:08and there was a livestock arena.
04:10It was a great wrestling atmosphere, and the seed was planted at that point.
04:16I would just always be rabble.
04:17I always wanted to do something different than everybody else.
04:20I met Sherry Martell in 1974.
04:26I'd say at the time she was probably 17, and I was 18.
04:32I was a referee for Mid-South Wrestling, and she was a fan.
04:37I remember Sherry being in the front row watching the shows.
04:42One night in Lafayette, Louisiana, we met, we talked,
04:47and it moved forward very fast.
04:50Aurelion Smith is my legal name.
04:55Jake the Snake Roberts is how most people might know me.
04:59What's going through there?
05:00Evil by the tremendous crowd.
05:02There it is!
05:03He did it!
05:03Sherry and I had spent some raw time together.
05:06We were going to get off again for about four or five years.
05:10Just her walking into a room, she was a star.
05:13I mean, that's just how captivating she was.
05:16She was beautiful, but she wasn't your typical, oh, dainty, printy girl.
05:20She was a kick-ass-in-your-face girl.
05:24Was I in love with her?
05:29I was in love with something.
05:31There was that connection.
05:32Both of us wanting something that seemed so far out of reality.
05:37It seemed like we would never get to the big show,
05:40or to the WWE, or even Mid-South.
05:43He's out for blood.
05:45He's not out to wrestle.
05:48Sherry Martell wanted to be a wrestling star from the get-go.
05:53In those days, there were no training programs that were advertised.
05:57You had to just hang around until somebody was willing to take a chance on you
06:01if you wanted to be involved in wrestling.
06:04Grizzly Smith at the time was a road agent and a matchmaker for Mid-South Wrestling.
06:09And if he would see prospective talent, he would take an interest in it.
06:16I had went to Grizzly Smith when I was 16 years old.
06:20It was Jake Roberts' father, and I told him I wanted to learn how to wrestle.
06:23He told me to come back when I was 21.
06:26Dreaming of being a wrestling star, but with no avenue to begin her training,
06:31by 1976, Sherry is living and working in New Orleans.
06:35She was gorgeous, had a good sense of humor, and just got along.
06:43I'm Leroy Gonzalez, and I'm the ex-husband of Sherry Martell.
06:49June of 1976.
06:52I was in training in a restaurant, and she was sitting in a booth
06:57and complained about Roach in the booth.
07:00I just looked up at her and said, I wish I'd have been at Roach.
07:07So, she says later on, she says, why don't you come and meet me and have a drink?
07:12She was working across the street.
07:15I didn't know where I was going, really.
07:17And so when I walked in, I realized it was a club.
07:22And she was on stage.
07:28After her dance was over, she came and sat down.
07:30We got to talking, and she just swept me off my feet.
07:36She was wanting to get out of that business.
07:40And I bought a trailer, and she moved in with me.
07:43One day, I come in from work, got on her knee, and asked her to marry me.
07:50But she'd go out with her girlfriends, and party, yes.
07:55But any drug, marijuana, uppers, mollies, downers, quaaludes, cocaine.
08:05We got into some pretty heated discussions about it, and it just never stopped.
08:13At that time, she wanted to have a family.
08:19And we had Jared in July of 1978.
08:26We wanted a child, now we have one.
08:30Time to put your big girl pants on and take care of the child.
08:35Couldn't take it.
08:37When she told me she was going to pursue a career in wrestling, I laughed at her.
08:43I had no idea.
08:48She left when the baby was like three months old.
08:54And I know I heard it bother her.
08:57But sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
09:00Sherry moves to Memphis, where she again finds work as an exotic dancer, while continuing her search for a way to break into the wrestling business.
09:09In those days, there was always some independent, or what we call outlaw wrestlers, around a major wrestling city.
09:16And I went to a school that Butch and Moore had in Memphis.
09:22I told them that I wanted to learn how to wrestle.
09:25He got up, and he slapped the living hell out of me.
09:28And at that point, I looked at him, and I said,
09:34Is that all you've got?
09:41There you go.
09:42Outlaw wrestler.
09:44Here, let me slap you and see if you're tough.
09:46And what the f*** is that?
09:47I would have been interested to see if she slapped him back, if he could handle it.
09:50For me, I didn't care how male-dominated it was.
09:55I was going to succeed in this.
09:59I went and I told Grizz,
10:00I've got a year of training under my belt.
10:04I threw my driver's license out at him.
10:06I said, I'm 21 now.
10:08I'm ready.
10:09I had a son.
10:10I'm divorced.
10:13I said, this is what I want to do.
10:15And he says, why?
10:18I said, because I think that I can be the best person that I possibly can.
10:20This is the career that I've worn.
10:24And he said, okay.
10:28Tell me about her skills in the ring.
10:31Great.
10:31Ask my sister.
10:34Rockin' Robin.
10:35The first time I met Sherry was when she would come in town.
10:38Often she would stay actually at my father's house.
10:43I'm Rockin' Robin, and I defeated Sherry Martell for the WWF Women's World title.
10:50History made here.
10:52New ladies champion, Rockin' Robin.
10:55Like a lot of the other girls, if they were in town, I would go and hang out with them.
11:00I guess try to make them more comfortable.
11:01My father, Grizz, he had a liking, you know, very much for younger girls.
11:11I mean, he is a no-good son of a bitch, man.
11:17Actually, she was a little old for his wheelhouse.
11:19I would go to the matches and watch her wrestle.
11:24Sherry could be strictly business, even at that young of an age.
11:29She had those rough edges.
11:32But that's what made her Sherry.
11:34After Grizzly saw, well, we've given her the basics, she needs to go to work with Moolah to continue her career.
11:41The Fabulous Moolah!
11:44The Fabulous Moolah was not only the world women's champion wrestler for 30-something years,
11:50but also she booked all the women wrestlers to the various territories around the United States.
11:56So if you were an aspiring female wrestler, you almost had to not only be trained by Moolah,
12:01but then stick with Moolah and work as part of her troop.
12:04And one of the most adhered-to rules was that you have to give Moolah her booking kick back,
12:11or elsewise, you're in serious trouble.
12:14It was almost like a military school type of operation for lady wrestlers.
12:19We did what Moolah told them to do.
12:21I figured that if I was going to make it in this business and I got to her camp,
12:25there was nothing that was going to stop me.
12:28Moolah had a lot of rules.
12:29There were curfews.
12:31The girls had to be in at certain times.
12:32And Moolah said at the time,
12:34she would just enter that nightclub and dialing that was just too much for me.
12:40And Moolah asked her to depart the compound.
12:44Once Sherry got away from Moolah,
12:47she was able to create more of her own personality
12:50and get over on her own merits
12:52rather than somebody else telling the promoter how to use her.
12:56In the months after Sherry leaves her husband and infant son behind to pursue wrestling,
13:01Leroy struggles to put their family back together.
13:05I was trying to get her to come back home.
13:08I hired a private investigator to follow her,
13:11and I found out where she was at
13:14and some of the things that she was up to.
13:17I was making a night deposit at the bank
13:21and three big guys walked up to me
13:24and point blank told me,
13:27hey, leave Sherry alone.
13:29She belongs to us.
13:32I had no idea they were just friends with Sherry.
13:35If it ain't anything to the wrestling association,
13:38when they said she belongs to us,
13:41well, she belongs to wrestling.
13:43I left her alone after that.
13:44After stints in Japan and Mid-South wrestling,
13:55by the mid-1980s,
13:57Sherry Martell is working as a wrestler and manager in the AWA,
14:01a regional promotion based in Minneapolis.
14:04No!
14:05Vern Gagne in the AWA,
14:07that's one guy that had never had a relationship with the fabulous Moolah.
14:11That was good for Sherry because he could book any girl
14:15or anybody else he wanted to book.
14:17Now we know who's a better woman!
14:19I told you she was crazy!
14:21There were never a lot of lady wrestlers in the AWA,
14:24but the ones that they picked and that they did use were very accomplished.
14:30And Sherry was physical and she could dish it out.
14:32Beating her over the head with that belt!
14:34Sherry knew the business,
14:36and her psychology was on point.
14:40Her timing was incredible.
14:44Hey guys, WWE Hall of Famer,
14:47known as Alundra Blaze and Medusa.
14:50From Robbinsdale, Minnesota,
14:52Medusa Michelli!
14:54I looked up to her a lot and kind of trying to emulate what she did and how strong she was,
15:01even though she was caving inside in so many ways.
15:04I went over to her house and I remember her saying that her son was away.
15:11Having a child in this business was frowned upon for women.
15:15So her son, I felt, was purposely not to the forefront for she was really trying to do something with her career.
15:28All right.
15:33I'm Jerry the driver.
15:36My mother, Mrs. Reds, and so on myself.
15:41I'm not in the best of health now.
15:44It's not easy.
15:48I don't want to pay.
15:51I think he has cancer,
15:53even though he's never said it straight out to me.
15:56From what I understand, he lost part of his tongue due to cancer.
16:01This is right before she left.
16:06Don't judge her for what she did.
16:09I was always taking care of her, and she made sure of it.
16:15In a way, she made the best decision for me.
16:21Sherry had him, but Pat raised him.
16:25Jared was three years old when we told her who his mother is.
16:30My oldest memory was a magazine, and it was published in Japan.
16:39We started making arrangements for Jared to fly out and meet her.
16:46Supposed to be for a week and ended up maybe two days.
16:49She sent him back.
16:51Did that make you angry as a kid, that you couldn't see your mom more often?
16:56I'm so f***ing angry.
16:58It was very difficult for women to even have a relationship, let alone have a child.
17:06And I feel that it really took a toll on women, mentally.
17:09Because we were trying to push the envelope harder than we needed to,
17:16to prove a point, to take us seriously.
17:19Basically, it's a whole thing in the business.
17:21You just, you know, do what you're told and do your job.
17:24And hopefully, maybe you got escalated.
17:28And Sherry Martell, she shows me a lot of confidence.
17:31I like that.
17:32Two of the biggest stars that had worked in the AWA that had since gone to the WWF
17:37working for Vince McMahon were Jesse Ventura and Kurt Hennig.
17:41That's right, McMahon.
17:42For once in your life, you're right.
17:44And I just might let you keep your job.
17:46Their word carried a lot of weight with Vince, and they both put good words in for Sherry.
17:51As soon as Sherry arrives in the WWF, she is pitted against her former mentor.
17:57Fabulous Moolah, reigning women's champion for quite some time, I might add.
18:03By 1987, Moolah has had the women's world title for most of 30 years, and she's in her mid-50s.
18:10And at that point, a change had to be made, and Vince McMahon was the one to be able to pay Moolah what she required to do that, and they put the belt on Sherry Martell.
18:22Moolah, well in control of this one, slams her back in.
18:25Oh, look at that, Sherry hooked, it takes her over.
18:28It's unreal.
18:30History has been made here.
18:32As a wrestler, that was the peak of Sherry's career.
18:35I alone, me, myself, and I beat the fabulous Moolah.
18:39I pinned her one, two, three, right?
18:42That says a lot.
18:43Okay, I'm not finished yet.
18:45Rockin' Robin, you can rock and rock and rock around the block all night long, but there will never come a date in your life to where you can defeat me.
18:54They put me on a dark match with Sherry, and then the next thing I know, I'm workin' in the WWF.
19:01Five, two, and three, four, workin' each other, and each other over.
19:05We were wrestling, we were working every night, and we were on the road with Hulk Hogan and Jake, Randy Savage, and we were at a different arena every single night, on a plane every single day.
19:17Those days, we were doing seven days a week.
19:20Every week.
19:21There were no days off.
19:23Are you kidding me?
19:25The women were out there working their tails off.
19:29But Sherry's probably worked harder than she needed to.
19:32She wanted to be a part of the show.
19:35A big part.
19:37Pat and I, which was my ex-wife, would turn it on and watch wrestling.
19:43Jared was jumping up and down.
19:45His mom was on TV.
19:47I never even liked it.
19:50Took her away.
19:51But then again, that was her choice.
19:54My mind was so focused on wrestling.
19:57Everything else took second.
19:59Everything.
20:00And that was including my ex.
20:02My family.
20:04Everybody.
20:06Sherry was emotionally wrecked.
20:09There was a lot of pain and anger there.
20:13Probably from her leaving the people behind.
20:15But she was close-lipped about all that.
20:18And she knew how to keep her nose to the ground and grind.
20:21In those days, the female wrestlers were an attraction.
20:26They were a special thing to put on the cards.
20:29So if any of the female wrestlers wanted to be taken seriously, they had to be accepted in the locker room.
20:36And then the guys would have greater appreciation for their work in the ring.
20:41And all the guys like Sherry.
20:44She was one of the boys.
20:45And that was the ultimate compliment in those days that any of the male wrestlers could give one of the girls.
20:51Is you're just like us.
20:52You're tough.
20:53You're a partier.
20:54You're stiff in the ring.
20:56We accept you.
20:57I think she probably could have drank or, you know, snorted them under the table.
21:04Absolutely.
21:05Whatever Sherry did, she did to the max.
21:10Sherry loved her pot.
21:12And so when you get the mix of cocaine and marijuana and then drinking, I mean, I don't know how they kept going for two or three nights.
21:22There were nights I wrestled Sherry and she was going on 48 hours.
21:26She was never late for a match, though.
21:28She always showed up.
21:30I think it was like an outdoor show.
21:33I keep looking at her and you know how when somebody just kind of looks right past you.
21:37And I'm like, I don't know if she even sees me.
21:41I was down on all fours on the mat and she threw a kick and it caught me right on the throat.
21:50It was full force.
21:52I couldn't breathe.
21:53I just remember thinking, oh, my God, this is it.
21:57I'm going to die at a state fair in the middle of a wrestling ring.
22:02Intoxicated but still performing in the ring, Sherry Martell has kicked rockin' Robin in the throat, leaving her struggling for breath.
22:18Finally, I was able to get that big breath.
22:22Then we got back to the dressing room and she just grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug and she knew that it was bad.
22:33She did like pot.
22:36That was no big deal.
22:37But if there was anything else that really impaired you to do your job in the ring, you know, that's when it becomes a problem.
22:45They don't call me the sensational Sherry for nothing and in a moment I'm going to show you exactly how sensational I am.
22:56By 1990, Sherry Martell is a dominant force in the WWF as one of its premier female wrestlers.
23:03But that is about to change.
23:06Vince McMahon was never fully sold on the idea of, back in those days, of an entire women's division.
23:13I think he just decided to wrap it up.
23:16He still had Sherry Martell there and Sherry was able to exhibit the fact that she could do a promo and she was this wild, over-the-top personality.
23:26Then Vince figured, heck with women's wrestling, I'm going to put her in the corner of one of my main event male stars and make her more money than she's ever made.
23:37Because that's the thing, you could be the world women's champion wrestler and make eh, or you could be the manager for a main event male star in the WWF and make a fortune.
23:50I think Vince McMahon probably saw the same thing everybody else saw, which is a very gifted, athletic, physical woman that was very attractive.
23:59The camera loved her and there's not a microphone she couldn't own.
24:03My name is Eric Bischoff, former president of World Championship Wrestling.
24:07Hello, everybody!
24:08I grew up as a young man, a fan of Sherry Martell, and had the opportunity to work with her in the 90s.
24:14He likes what he sees.
24:15Back when Sherry was at her peak in managing, the producer would say to you, okay, you're going to be doing this and this, you're going to be doing it on this night, you're going to be in a ring with these two.
24:23That's it!
24:24Boom.
24:25Ready, set, go!
24:26I look in there, what do I see?
24:28I see Hulk Hogan laying flat on his back.
24:32She would figure out a way to tweak her personality and her appearance, the way she dressed, the way she acted, to kind of more closely fit the guy she was with while still being at the root of it herself.
24:45And in need we have a new macho king, Randy Savage, accompanied of course by Queen Sherry!
24:51If you go back and you look at the wrestling world and what the product was during the peak of Sherry's career, I think she had a ridiculously powerful impact on it.
25:01I had no idea that she was really going to do it that well.
25:07Oh yeah!
25:08As time went on, she just became very famous.
25:13Please welcome Sensational Sherry.
25:20She ever would fly out and go and meet her and a bunch of the wrestlers.
25:24When I was going to work with my mom, that's where I grew up.
25:33You know, my mom wasn't the movement every day.
25:40You know, my mom's a legend.
25:45And this is how legends were made.
25:48Sherry was completely different than what any other female had been presented as in the WWF up to that point in time.
25:57Introducing first, the manager, Elizabeth.
26:01Miss Elizabeth was brought in with Randy Savage because she was his real-life wife.
26:06And you had Sable and you had Sonny.
26:09But they weren't trained wrestlers.
26:11Sherry was.
26:12Sherry wasn't afraid to get in there and mix it up and do what needed to be done in the finish,
26:17to get people on the edge of their seat.
26:19She didn't care if she was wearing a $5,000 ball gown.
26:22She's going to be down on the floor choking the guy that her wrestler is opposing.
26:27Hold it to mid-wire!
26:29What sensational!
26:30Green Sherry!
26:31Down they go!
26:33She was always taking bumps.
26:35Crazy bumps.
26:36Big bumps.
26:37Tall bumps.
26:38Concrete bumps.
26:39Right?
26:40In a woman's frame, there's a little less sometimes, right?
26:43And she was banged up.
26:48I'm sure she had injuries.
26:50How bad is the question?
26:52Do you know how she dealt with her pain?
26:54I'm sure she took meds.
26:56If I would have ever opened my mouth and looked at her, I wouldn't be able to go back and
27:09see her.
27:10I don't ever wish her and thought, no, if she had my mind showed her.
27:19There's so much that we put our bodies through on a daily basis.
27:24Things that God did not intend us to do.
27:26And in turn, people find ways to compensate or to get through.
27:32I found ways to get through.
27:35Somas are a muscle relaxer that many of the wrestlers began to rely on.
27:44And it began to become a problem in wrestling in the late 80s and into the 90s like a number
27:51of other substances did.
27:52It was like candy.
27:54It was ready available.
27:56And they took the somas.
27:58They took the Vicodins.
27:59They took whatever the hell else they took.
28:01Sometimes you had doctors that wrote these prescriptions out.
28:04It was crazy.
28:05I saw it firsthand.
28:07You can believe in the WWF and their new testing policies and procedures.
28:11When the WWE first started drug testing, it was because of the steroid scandal that Vince
28:16McMahon got himself into along with Hulk Hogan and a few of the guys that were really over
28:21the top on the steroids.
28:23But they were testing for all kinds of street drugs and illegal drugs as well.
28:28And Sherry failed a number of times for marijuana.
28:33I got called up to the office and it was JJ Dillon, who is Pritchard and Vince McMahon sitting
28:42here.
28:43And I said, Sherry, your drug test is kind of positive again.
28:48We have to let you go.
28:50What was the point of getting up yelling and screaming?
28:54I only was screwed up.
28:56In any wrestling promotion since the dawn of time, if you showed up high and screwed something
29:01up, you got fired.
29:02Nobody gets sent to rehab.
29:04Everybody gets sent packing.
29:05Fired from the WWF in 1993, Sherry Martell needs to figure out her next move to stay working
29:20in the industry that she loves.
29:22Nobody could hurt me any more than I've hurt myself.
29:26When I got released, I went back home and I started making phone calls.
29:30Of all the things I've ever been so excited about in my life is coming to the Parade of Champions.
29:36The same year that she had been let go from the WWF, I brought her down to Knoxville for
29:41Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
29:42Sherry Martell giving it to Tammy Fitch.
29:45She was the same old Sherry and came in and did a wonderful job for us.
29:51But there was one night after one of the shows, I could tell she was slowing down a little bit.
29:57And I said, Sherry?
29:59Oh, I'm okay.
30:00I said, ah, having a cruise on Lake Havasoma.
30:03I see.
30:04If you're heavily soma-ed, not only are you zombified mentally, but your whole body is out of control.
30:14She always had bad back pain.
30:17And she sometimes took a little too much.
30:20And it was for the pain.
30:22It wasn't for any other reason.
30:23It was for the pain.
30:25It wasn't just to pop a pill.
30:28She was medicating on her own, which had gotten out of hand.
30:32That never works out well in the end, does it?
30:35I couldn't see how destructive I was.
30:38I thought the drugs made me perform better.
30:42And I wasn't able to see what other people saw.
30:45Despite her ongoing issues with pain medication, Sherry returns to the national spotlight with WWF rival World Championship Wrestling.
30:57I am here for a reason, and that is to find a man that can fulfill all of my needs.
31:05I didn't ask Sherry why she was let go from WWE.
31:08If she quit or was fired, I didn't know.
31:11I didn't ask and I didn't care.
31:12I hired her back in 93 because she was a great talent.
31:16To be led to the ring by Sister Sherry.
31:20Wow!
31:21From Harlem Heat.
31:22Woohoo!
31:23Sherry and Harlem Heat, Booker and Stevie Ray, they looked great together.
31:28And they had not had a major spot anywhere before in a big-time promotion or on a major television show.
31:34So she kind of gave them credibility that they wouldn't have had because everybody knew who Sherry was.
31:40Sherry!
31:41Sidney hit first!
31:43Sherry's passion and dedication to her career comes at the cost of never having enough time for her son, Jared.
31:51That's good!
31:52That's good!
31:53That's good!
31:54That's good!
31:55That's good!
31:56That's good!
31:57That's good!
31:58That's good!
31:59That's good!
32:00That's good!
32:01Wait a second!
32:02There's many times she held me, begging for my forgiveness.
32:05And I would sit there and tell her, you don't have to bet.
32:14She seemed a little more lost and uncertain.
32:21My body had just gotten to the point and my brain had gotten to the point to where I just could not do it.
32:28Right.
32:29I could not perform up to their expectations.
32:32She was let go because she was no longer good on camera.
32:36She would show up under the influence of something.
32:40I'm guessing it was prescription drugs.
32:43Didn't matter to me.
32:44She was under something and it was affecting her ability to perform.
32:47You can't fire me because I quit right now!
32:50Oh!
32:51Wait a minute!
32:52Is that official?
32:53I don't know what took place between Sherry and Eric.
32:56Maybe she was taking too many somas.
32:58Maybe she wasn't herself.
33:00Maybe she wasn't performing in the ring like she was supposed to.
33:04However, if that was true and he acted and said, I'm just going to get rid of her, then that should have been done twofold on a handful of, excuse me, a handful of men.
33:20But it wasn't.
33:22After WCW, there was no place to go.
33:25At that point in time, Sherry was in her 40s and younger girls had come along.
33:32So I think it probably was the worst thing that happened at that point in time that she lost that spot.
33:38I'd heard it over the grapevine that she was deep into the Oxys.
33:43They were in control of their life.
33:46You medicate.
33:48F*** it, I lost my job.
33:50I'm just going to get f***ed up.
33:52It's not like there's 20 wrestling companies that you can go to.
33:56Sherry spent probably five years up there.
34:01And that's a great accomplishment.
34:03But it's never enough.
34:05It's never enough.
34:07As her wrestling career nears its end, Sherry Martell marries her new boyfriend, Robert Schrull.
34:21She had gotten married in 1997, which was during her WCW run.
34:28And sometimes when a civilian marries a celebrity, that civilian thinks that celebrity is always going to be a celebrity.
34:36And unfortunately, after the WCW run, Sherry was off television, out of the business, and just a normal person.
34:45Sherry didn't do normal well.
34:47She was still in a lot of pain.
34:50Sadly, I think if she had another outlet, and it got whatever she needed, from what I understand it was a surgery.
34:57But she couldn't afford it.
34:59I don't think she would have ever gotten hooked on pills.
35:02At some point, when you get addicted to prescription pills or anything else, you're taking it because you have to whether you're injured or not.
35:11Because you're addicted.
35:12But I don't think that her husband was any benefit to her in that particular situation.
35:17Robert was always trying to put a rage in between my mother and her family, pinching her away from us.
35:32The last time I saw my mother was the night she was inducted to the whole thing.
35:45In 2006, after several years away from the wrestling business, Sherry becomes the second woman to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
35:58Sherry! Sherry! Sherry!
36:00You know, the amazing thing about this business is I had the ability to walk beside some of the most wonderful people in the world.
36:10This was her time to shine, and she spoke from the heart.
36:15And then I met a man named Eric Bischoff.
36:17And we all know where he's at now, right?
36:24Who? Outta here!
36:27What? Oh no! He's here!
36:32Damn, I thought you were gone!
36:35Everything my mom ever went through, I was just happy she would rise to be there.
36:47That was the path of her to it.
36:52My son Jared, my husband Robert, my best friend Kathy Fitzpatrick.
36:57I love you baby!
36:58She didn't look at it as a great occasion because that meant, you know, it's all over.
37:07That's one of the hardest things in the world for a lot of people is to find your place in life when all you've ever known is wrestling and all that goes with it.
37:18That's where a big part of the struggle can be.
37:20Although it seems her career might be over, Sherry spends the next year optimistic for her future in the business.
37:30I was on the phone with her.
37:32She was in the best mood ever.
37:35She was sitting on the front porch with her mom, drinking sweet tea, playing with the puppy they just got.
37:41And said to me, I have something, some news to tell you, but I don't want to jinx it.
37:47From what I had heard, they were going to bring Sherry back, get her her operation, get her backs fixed.
37:54And they were going to have her train the women.
37:57I know she wanted to go back to the WWE.
38:00Whether they were receptive or not to giving it to her, I don't know, and I guess we won't ever find out at this point.
38:07930, June 15th, I told that my mother passed away.
38:24I believed her sister or somebody called me.
38:28And that's when I got in my vehicle and drove to Alabama.
38:35So I could be there.
38:37And how did you feel?
38:41Empty.
38:43Empty.
38:44Empty.
38:47She deserved to die.
38:49The race and death.
38:59Sherry's sudden death at age 49 causes local Alabama police to open an investigation.
39:05She survived in the washing chair on the porch with my grandmother.
39:15It just seemed so ironic that she was so happy the night before.
39:23At 10 o'clock the next morning, I get this phone call.
39:27Following a brief investigation, Sherry Martell's death is ruled an accidental overdose.
39:32I knew she could go to extremes, but I guess I did not know that it was just an ongoing, life-threatening problem.
39:42It floored me.
39:44Regrettably, the addiction struggles that plagued Sherry's life are also on display at the funeral.
39:49I know we had a few people there that were probably coked out of their mind and drugged out and whatnot.
39:57I think Jake was so out of his freaking mind.
40:01Oh, my God.
40:03And I think he was leaning over the casket.
40:06He was just out of it.
40:08I remember Stevie Ray being there and Booker T.
40:13But other than that, I can't remember anything about it.
40:17I mean, I was at my very lowest right then.
40:19They asked me to have a few words and I did.
40:24And I remember looking at her saying, how dare you leave me behind?
40:28F***ing right I was angry.
40:31Because I thought we were friends forever.
40:34Not counting dying.
40:36We were just alike.
40:38We both came up hard.
40:41And we both had to fight and scratch and claw for everything.
40:47She was one of my loves, man.
40:49You know, she was somebody that I identified with and somebody that I cherished.
40:54I honored our friendship.
40:58I honored her.
41:00Always with.
41:03Sherry was my best friend.
41:08I don't think anybody could ever take that friendship away from us.
41:13Even if she's gone, I know she's with me.
41:17I don't think you can think about women in wrestling and not put Sherry Martell at the very top of your list.
41:26A lot of the fans loved and respected her.
41:30Maybe some of them didn't respect her enough because they didn't know the work that it took and the perseverance and the dedication it took for her to get there.
41:40This is a picture that Sherry gave to me at a Fan Fest like 20 years ago or whatever.
41:46She signed to me. It says,
41:48To Jimmy Cornett, remember always, I was your first.
41:51Loving you forever, Sherry Martell.
41:54And boy, she looked good.
41:56But everybody in the business had a high opinion of Sherry and her talent.
42:03The things are the levers that my mother wrote to me over the years.
42:14Never held anything against her except for the fact that she left.
42:17Jared, to me, he's special.
42:22And I do what I can to keep him going.
42:26My dad is a good provider.
42:29My mom and my step-mom
42:35love each other.
42:38She shouldn't take the better person to raise me.
42:42Can I help her?
42:46Can I help her?
42:47Can I help her?
42:51That's my aunt.
42:53He's my everything.
42:55This is what I'm here today.
43:00Sherry was my mother.
43:03But this was her top-teens brother.
43:06She used to tell me all the time,
43:09I would never find someone as good as you to take care of my son.
43:14She was awesome.
43:16She really was.
43:18She chose her career, you know.
43:23My mom, that's her she knew.
43:27And I don't hate her, Sherry, at all.
43:31I sacrificed so much in my life, my family time.
43:37And I'd like to know the mistakes that I made.
43:41People won't remember me so much for those,
43:46but for the good that I tried to do.
43:49I hope people will look back and maybe learn something from my mistakes.
43:54My mistakes.
43:58Yeah.
44:00Yeah.
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