Bruce Prichard Sees Sensational Sherri As Possibly 'The Best Female Performer Ever'

At the 2006 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, Ted DiBiase recalled how "Sensational" Sherri Martel broke into professional wrestling. After saving her money, Martel walked into Butch Moore's office and said, "I want to become a professional wrestler." Moore slapped Martel as hard as he could, to which she said, "Pal, is that the best you got?"

It was that tenacity and determination that made Martel an industry trailblazer. Her work as a wrestler and manager, according to Bruce Prichard, makes her one of, if not the best all-time female performer.  "She could do it all," he said on the "Something to Wrestle With" podcast. "And would enhance anything she was added to."

Martel's managerial career started in the AWA when her team of "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers and "Playboy" Buddy Rose won the AWA Tag Team Championships in May 1986. The following month, Martel defeated Candi Devine to win the AWA Women's World Championship for a third time. Her reign lasted 391 days before vacating the championship due to signing with WWE in July 1987.

That month, Martel pinned The Fabulous Moolah in her WWE debut to become the first woman to win the WWE and AWA Women's Championships. During her 441-day reign, Martel donned a blonde wig and sunglasses to accompany The Honky Tonk Man as "Peggy Sue." After losing the championship to Rockin' Robin in October 1988, Martel slowly shifted to a full-time manager, starting with "Macho Man" Randy Savage in the aftermath of WrestleMania V.

Their two-year pairing, which saw them ascend to "Macho King" and "Queen Sherri," ended at WrestleMania VII when Savage lost a "Career Ending Match" to The Ultimate Warrior. Frustrated he lost, Martel turned on Savage post-match by kicking him while he was down on the mat, which brought Miss Elizabeth out from the crowd to throw Martel out of the ring. Later that night, Martel aligned herself with DiBiase.

In February 1992, Martel found her "boy toy" in Shawn Michaels, and enhanced the arrogant "Heartbreak Kid" persona by singing the original version of his "Sexy Boy" entrance theme. "It was a huge boost for my career to have her in my corner," said Michaels in Martel's Hall of Fame video package. Following her WWE exit in 1993, Martel made a few appearances for Smoky Mountain Wrestling and managed Shane Douglas in ECW.

By 1994, Martel signed on with WCW and was known as "Sensuous Sherri." Her pairing with Ric Flair ended at Halloween Havoc that year when Flair lost a "Career vs. Career" Steel Cage WCW Championship match against Hulk Hogan. As was the case several years prior, Martel quickly rebounded as she became the manager of Harlem Heat. Known as "Sister Sherri," Martel guided Harlem Heat to seven reigns as WCW Tag Team Champions from January 1995 through October 1996. Martel exited the team – and company – on the July 7, 1997, episode of "WCW Monday Nitro."