Charleston, SC [www.charleston.net]- Sherri Russell, better known to a generation of pro wrestling fans as “Sensational Sherri” Martel, died Friday at the age of 49. She passed away at her mother’s home in Birmingham, Ala.

No other details were available at press time.

Russell, who was regarded as one of the greatest female heel managers in the business, was the only woman ever to win the Manager of the Year award.

Russell competed in most of the major wrestling organizations during her career and was enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.

[www.pwtorch.com]- HE LEE CIVIC CENTER, FT. MYERS, FL – JUNE 1, 1990: Hours before the opening bell rang on the evening’s card, and long before the cars had started packing the parking lot, a six year old boy roamed the endless hallways of an 8,000 seat arena. As much as he was looking forward to seeing Brutus Beefcake take on “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig in the night’s main event, he had other things on his mind. Namely, finding his Dad, whom he had wandered away from ten minutes before. He was starting to panic…

‘No Problem’ he thought. He would simply walk to the outside of the building and find his Dad in the portable office area where his company was stationed for their renovation of the arena. When he arrived, he found the offices empty, and to make matters worse, he was now locked out of the arena, which was hours away from opening to the public.

And now the panic was really starting to set in. He circled the building again, and noticed a few individuals standing by a small pond behind the arena. As he got closer, the faces came into focus. A few wrestlers he recognized were standing around with fishing poles, talking to some stagehands and a woman. The woman broke away from her conversation and approached the child. “Are you lost?” she asked. He nodded.

The woman was Sherri, and she helped him back into the building, and didn’t leave his side until he had found his father, who was also in a panic. They thanked her profusely, but she acted like it was no big deal, and before they knew it she had disappeared into the caverns of the arena.

Predictably, that little boy was me, and still some seventeen years later looking back on all the wrestlers I had an opportunity to meet through my Dad’s involvement with the arena, Sherri isn’t always the first to come to mind. There were bigger stars who I got to stand with, maybe pose beside for a picture, who feigned temporary interest but in retrospect seemed annoyed to be bothered. But looking back, with an adult perspective, Sherri was the only one who seemed like a real human being.

And this genuineness was what made Sherri so special. At the 2005 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, an event usually dominated by grown men half-clinging to their professional wrestling alter-egos and reveling in the chance to be cowboys for one more night, Sherri stole the show from far bigger stars simply by being herself. A warm, genuine person with contagious love and passion for professional wrestling.

One of the great performers of her time, and the most effective and female manager of the modern era, Sherri will continue to be the prototype of ringside excellence for many years to come.

Sherri’s story is a Cinderella story of sorts, rising from humble beginnings to achieve fame and fortune, but also another heartbreaking reminder of the price of admission all too often required for professional wrestling stardom.

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Born on February 8th of 1958 in New Orleans, LA, Sherri Russell’s early relationship with professional wrestling wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Born into a family without much and never knowing her father, Sherri was often left with the decision of babysitting her sister Vicki, or tagging along with her mother to the local wrestling card. In the middle of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling territory, her early teenage years were spent reluctantly attending wrestling cards in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

A high school athlete participating in basketball as well as track and field, it all seemed a little ridiculous to her at first. It didn’t help that the first show she ever attended was in an old cattle barn. But sitting in the stands, week after week, watching colorful characters like Rocket and Flash Monroe, she eventually realized at the age of 15 that this was what she wanted to do with her life.

In 1974, at the age of 16, Sherri found herself face to face with Grizzly Smith – father of Jake Roberts, Sam Houston and Rockin’ Robin. Grizzly Smith, tremendously respected and one of the biggest stars of the 1960’s, worked alongside Bill Watts promoting shows in the area, and Sherri wanted in. Predictably, Grizzly Smith questioned her conviction and told her to come back to him in five years when she was an adult.

And that was the end of Sherri Russell’s involvement with professional wrestling. At least for a few years.

In 1978 at the age of 20, Sherri packed her bags after a divorce and moved with her son to Memphis, Tennessee, knowing that the city housed the headquarters of “The King of Memphis” Jerry Lawler. Once again, she fell into the local wrestling scene and became a regular at the weekly shows at the Mid-South Coliseum, taking in the likes of Bill Dundee and the phenomenal “Dream Machine” Troy Graham.

Looking to get her foot in the door, Sherri was referred to the wrestling school of Butch Moore, a wrestler who, as Ted DiBiase would put it years later, “would train just about anyone.” With $500 in her hand, Sherri stood idle as Moore locked his eyes on hers and stalked forward. With full force, Moore wound up and slapped Sherri across the face. And as Sherri recounted proudly when telling the story some 25 years later, she asked Butch, “Is that all you’ve got?”.

Sherri would spend the next year and a half training with predominantly male wrestlers under Butch Moore, and instructions were given not to take it easy on her. Unsure if she was headed down the right path, things were about to come full circle. Over coffee one morning, Sherri sat down with Grizzly Smith, reminding him of the talk that they had shared some four years earlier. Impressed by the fortitude and resilience of the young woman, Grizzly Smith made a phone call to to the World’s Women Champion.

In August of 1979, Sherri Martel reported to the camp of the Fabulous Moolah in Columbia, South Carolina, where she would remain for over six months, learning the craft of women’s wrestling under Moolah and Donna Christianello. Every day from 7:00am until 1:00pm she would get beaten up and come back for more, and then work a full time job in the evenings to support herself. While Sherri would later admit to not always seeing eye to eye with The Fabulous Moolah, she had a world of respect for the pioneer of women’s wrestling, and through Moolah she arranged to spend some time in Japan in 1980 before finally returning to America with the complete package.

In 1980, in Jerry Jarrett’s Memphis territory, Sherri was given her first real opportunity on the American wrestling scene. Splitting her duties between competing as a female wrestler and managing the tag team of Pat Rose and Tom Pritchard, Sherri slowly began carving a niche for herself. A 20 year old photographer turned wrestling character named Jim Cornette was paired with Sherri and was simply trying not to screw up his first managerial assignment in the business.

Unfortunately, that assignment wouldn’t last for long. Competing in a mixed battle royal, an accident occurred. That accident was 6’10” and approximately 450 lbs, and went by the name of Stan “Plowboy” Frazier. At 130lbs, Sherri lacked the facilities to absorb such a force awkwardly coming down across her leg, and the result was a dehabilitating injury that took her out of action for over a year. Dejected, Sherri moved out of the Memphis area and settled in Rochester, New York, as uncertain as ever as to what her future held.

In 1985, after spending the better part of two years recovering from injury, Sherri’s called in a favor from friend and mentor Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko, who Sherri has credited as being an enormous influence, arranged a meeting with Verne Gagne who eventually gave Sherri a role in his fading American Wrestling Association.

Debuting with the territory on August 24, 1985 with a quick win in Monroe, Wisconsin, Sherri Martel would end the Women’s World Title reign of Candi Devine some 34 days later in only her second match with the AWA in front of a reported 20,347 fans at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

Over the course of the next two years, without much talent depth in the women’s division, Sherri Martel and Candi Devine would trade the title several times. In the end, Sherri would wind up a three time World Women’s Champion with a record of 16 documented wins and 10 losses in the series.

Like her time in Memphis, Sherri split her time in the AWA between wresting and managerial duties, most notably guiding Doug Somers and Buddy Rose to the AWA World Tag Team Championship as well as managing Kevin Kelly (who would later go on become Nailz in the WWF) in a feud against Tommy Rich on the fledgling ESPN Network.

It was a tense time in the AWA, with the World Wrestling Federation cherry-picking talent from other promotions at will and exposing once insulated regions to a glossier version of professional wrestling.

In the early part of 1987, Verne Gagne approached Sherri Martel with a contract. It was a two year deal, paying $500 weekly at a time when the promotion was running three or four live events per week. Not wanting the commitment, Sherri refused to sign, and went forward without a deal. It would wind up being perhaps the best professional decision she would ever make.

After former AWA standout Jesse Ventura put in a good word for Sherri with the World Wrestling Federation, she received a phone call from Blackjack Lanza that would change everything. Better money, more security and the opportunity to be a part of an American wrestling movement. Verne Gagne wasn’t happy when his women’s champion gave her two weeks notice, and smoke must have been coming out of the aging promoters ears when Sherri immediately won the WWF Women’s Championship before losing his belt, making her the only singles wrestler in the modern era to ever simultaneously hold a World Championship in two of the “Big 3” promotions.

On July 24, 1987, the WWF was running three crews in Detroit, Nashville and Houston. In a card headlined by Randy Savage defeating the Honky Tonk Man by DQ in front of 2,704 fans, everything was once again coming full circle for Sherri Martel. In an arena called The Sam Houston Coliseum (the ring name of Grizzly Smith’s son), Sherri Martel defeated the woman who trained her in 7:56, ending the title reign of The Fabulous Moolah. Sherri would go on to defend the women’s title almost every day, sometimes twice a day, for the next fifteen months before finally dropping it to Rockin’ Robin, the daughter of Grizzly Smith, at Bercy Stadium as part of a major WWF event in Paris, France.

With a beaten down body and a general WWF deemphasis on women’s wrestling, Sherri became a full time manager at the main event level, being paired with Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase and eventually Shawn Michaels, reinventing herself each step along the way. Perhaps she had her best chemistry with Shawn Michaels, and as an act the duo were so raunchy that Vince McMahon himself had to insist they tone it down. Upon finding out she was being paired with Shawn Michaels, whom Sherri had crossed paths with in the AWA while managing Doug Somers and Buddy Rose, Sherri remarked in relief that she had another “boy toy” to keep her off the WWF chopping block. Jimmy Hart (whom Sherri had met in 1978 in Memphis and had visited her in Rochester while injured) was within earshot, and campy magic in the form of the theme song “Sexy Boy” was born.

While Sherri seemed on top of the world to wrestling fans, behind the scenes she struggled with multiple divorces and the demons that eventually wound up taking so many of her peers. A self-admitted victim of substance abuse, on several occasions her sister Vickie who sat beside her all those years before at wrestling shows would bail her out of jail. And despite the pleas of friends, she wasn’t slowing down.

“Drugs cost me my job… personal friendships. I thought that drugs would make me perform better, and I wasn’t able to see what other people saw” Sherri said in a 2005 interview with RF Video.

In the spring of 1993, Sherri Martel got the call that she was needed in Vince McMahon’s office. JJ Dillon and Bruce Pritchard sat beside Vince McMahon. They informed her that her drug test had come up positive again, and that this was the end of the road.

“In the end the drugs won out. I made the choice,” Sherri said.

She knew there was no sense in protesting, so she simply gave Vince McMahon a hug and walked away from the World Wrestling Federation.

After severing ties with the WWF, Sherri tried to conquer her demons, but couldn’t shake the ghosts of the wild lifestyle that comes with professional wrestling. Over the course of late 1993 and early 1994, Sherri worked for the NWA, Jim Cornette’s Smokey Mountain Wrestling and eventually ECW. She also appeared in the corner of Jake Roberts for the main event of AAA’s Triplemania 2, taking on Konnan in culmination of a feud that began one year before in front of 48,000 fans at Triplemania I.

Through Kevin and Nancy Sullivan, whom Sherri had spent time with in ECW, negotiations with WCW were opened. Gary Juster invited her to attend television tapings in Orlando, and soon Sherri was signed with the company. Managing Dave Sullivan at first, and later Ric Flair (whom she had watched wrestle with her mother all those years before in Mississippi) Sherri found herself right back in the middle of the main event picture. When the decision was made to separate Sherri and Ric Flair, Kevin Sullivan wanted to pair her with Ron Simmons as a play on the Nicole Brown / OJ Simpson drama that engulfed the nation, but cooler heads prevailed and Sherri was paired with The Harlem Heat and forged an instant and enduring friendship with the duo.

In early 1996, Sherri became involved in a strange worked shoot feud between Kevin Sullivan and Brian Pillman. On the February 5th Nitro, a match between Kevin Sullivan and Brian Pillman appeared to break down inside of the ring, with Arn Anderson coming out to break the fight up. The two continued backstage off camera, with Sherri standing up for Brian Pillman and Nancy Sullivan standing up for her then husband Kevin. The story that reached the hotlines was that in the heat of the argument, Sherri spit on Nancy Sullivan, who’s husband was part of the front office, and was fired on the spot. Sherri disappeared from television for several weeks, presumably to sell the reality, but unfortunately in the end she wouldn’t need to pretend.

In early February of 1996, Sherri was fired by WCW for not being in condition to work at a television taping. She was scheduled to destroy Rob Parker’s automobile as part of an ongoing storyline, but was instead sent home. Sherri would make a brief return to the company several months later, and depart shortly thereafter after butting heads with Eric Bischoff.

After leaving WCW, Sherri did her best to shake her demons, checking into a 21 day rehab program at one point. When asked about recovery in 2005, Sherri replied “I slip back every now and again, but I am trying my best”.

In 2000, Vince Russo asked Sherri to return to the ring and work a program with Madusa, but Sherri turned down the offer, not wanting to put herself in the position to potentially travel back down the dark road that accompanies the physical and emotional stresses of professional wrestling. Sherri also turned down an offer several years later from Jeff Jarrett to work a program with Trinity in TNA.

Working an odd date here or there, Sherri has spent the last few years mainly with her family. Recently relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, she has been involved in the commercial construction business with her husband and enjoying life away from the travel and grind of the wrestling business.

Appearing at the 2005 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, the tragedy of it all was on display front and center. Sherri, looking beautiful and full of life, brought happiness to everyone in the audience and beamed enthusiasm and love for the wrestling business, but at the same time seemed to be be struggling with her own sobriety. And is normally the case with wrestling fans, the audience was far too busy being entertained to worry.

Sherri Russell passed away on June 15, 2007. The cause of death is currently unknown.

“Every day when I wake up I thank God, because I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be alive,” Sherri said in 2005.

Thankfully, Sherri Russell was given a little more time to bring those around her happiness, and just maybe to lend a helping hand to a few more little kids who couldn’t find their parents.