Sable: From The 1990s Catwalk To WWE Diva

WWE's Attitude Era was not family friendly at all, with many stories and angles that included blood, and raunchy segments to boot. Modern day wrestling has made many strides to elevate women, with divisions that now prioritize their wrestling ability. However, back in the days of the Divas, sex appeal was the most important, and nobody excelled quite like Sable did at this time, especially in the aforementioned raunchy segments.

While her run in wrestling doesn't measure up to many of the biggest female stars of the modern era, Sable was involved in many iconic moments during the Attitude Era, and even had another brief stint during the early years of Ruthless Aggression, where she seemingly passed the torch to another Diva who would carry the division for the next few years. However, even during the height of her career, Sable wasn't known for her in-ring prowess, and other Divas like Ivory or Jacqueline could have wrestled laps around her, despite having captured gold on one occasion.

Sable's accolades might be few and far between when it comes to in-ring wrestling, but her quick rise from a valet to a champion to a trailblazer is a unique story either way.

Way before she became physical in the ring, Sable made her WWF debut as the arm candy for Triple H, then known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania 12, when he faced off against The Ultimate Warrior. However, later that night, the two split up after Helmsley began "mistreating" her, leading to her then real-life husband, Marc Mero, rescuing her from the villain.

This then led to Sable managing Mero, where she quickly began to gain popularity with fans, which allegedly made Mero resent her, ultimately spilling into their onscreen partnership. However, in 2013, Mero spoke on this time and denied that this was the case, and instead praised her for becoming as popular as she did while he was injured, and that the jealously bit was simply an angle that he went along with.

Following the fallout with Mero after weeks of tension, Sable was replaced by Jacqueline, leading to her transition into wrestling. In 1999, Sable had an interview with the "Ottawa Sun," where she looked back at her former career modeling for companies like L'Oreal, Guess, and Pepsi, and how far off wrestling was as a dream.  "I always wanted to be an entertainer — a singer, maybe a famous model — but I never dreamt I'd become a wrestler," Sable said. (Per People).

Sable's first actual feud in the WWF would come in the form of Luna Vachon. Things quickly turned violent during a 1998 episode of "WWE Raw," when Sable and Vachon had to be restrained by Mero, Goldust, and scores of security guards as they tried to tear one another apart. The two women would finally have a chance at one another during WrestleMania 14, where they teamed up with Mero and Goldust respectively in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

Mero ultimately replaced her with Jacqueline, as mentioned above, who became Sable's second rival. The two eventually clashed at Fully Loaded 1998, in the infamous bikini contest where Sable stripped down to reveal her barely covered body with black paint in the form of handprints. The two once again clashed at that year's Survivor Series, where Sable would defeat Jacqueline and capture the WWF Women's Championship.

She quickly gained mainstream popularity with her championship run and an appearance in "Playboy Magazine." In the realm of wrestling, Sable went from a beloved babyface to a vain heel. Unfortunately, things weren't looking too good backstage, which Vince Russo claims was a result of sexism. On a 1999 episode of "Raw," Sable would lose the Women's Championship to Debra.

Following her title loss, Sable parted ways with the WWF and even opened up a $110 million lawsuit against them, claiming that she was sexually harassed and that she experienced an unsafe working environment. Her time away from wrestling allowed her to appear in a few low-budget films and television series, as well as the 2001 mafia comedy "Corky Romano."

Despite this, Sable eventually returned to WWE in 2003, shortly after WrestleMania 19. After a brief feud with then-breakout Diva Torrie Wilson, Sable ended up in an onscreen romance with none other than Vince McMahon, in an attempt to get under the skin of Stephanie McMahon. The two women then entered into a feud, leading to a few brawls before they had a No-Count Out Match at Vengeance 2003, where Sable walked away victorious. 

Controversially, the feud between Sable and Stephanie, led to a I Quit Match between Stephanie and Vince at No Mercy 2003. Vince shockingly choked Stephanie with a pipe, before Linda McMahon stepped in to throw in the towel on her daughter's behalf. Unfortunately, Sable had no role in the I Quit Match, and the whole storyline arguably did nothing for all those involved.

Sable might have set up the foundation for the WWE Divas division, but Torrie Wilson perfected it. Much like Sable, Wilson isn't really known for her in-ring prowess and unlike her predecessor, she never captured any gold, but in many ways she was given far more exposure. Naturally, upon Sable's return to WWE, Wilson and her quickly entered into a feud.

Wilson clearly occupied the space Sable used to, and even posed for "Playboy Magazine," which of course meant that the crux of their rivalry was to determine who was "hotter" than the other. Their first clash led to a bikini contest during Judgment Day 2003, where Wilson shockingly walked away with the victory. Sable then began her aforementioned storyline with the McMahons, before finding common ground with Wilson and teaming up not only in the ring, but for a shared "Playboy" photoshoot.

Sable and Wilson had their highest profile tag team match at WrestleMania 20, where they faced off with Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie (Jackie Gayda). The two former rivals then reignited the heat between them, leading to their matches at Great American Bash 2004, and Sable's final WWE and wrestling match on the "WWE SmackDown!" following the pay-per-view, where she lost to Wilson.

While Sable could have arguably remained with WWE, she ultimately parted ways with the promotion in 2004 when her future husband, Brock Lesnar, walked away and took an eight year hiatus from wrestling. Lesnar and Sable eventually tied the knot in 2006, and have two children together. Controversially, the couple's love story began with cheating, as they began seeing each other while Sable was still married to Mero. Over the years, Mero has hilariously told the story of how he found out about the affair, and quickly learned to forgive when he found out that the person his wife was seeing was "The Beast Incarnate."

Sable and Lesnar's love story has seemingly always been tumultuous, and according to the former Universal Champion in his autobiography "Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival," he had to break into their house to see her and eventually propose to her when she refused to talk to him. While she hasn't returned to any in-ring competition, Sable did accompany Lesnar to NJPW as his special guest, and stood by him in his UFC debut.

Considering that Lesnar's status with WWE is still unknown, it's safe to assume that Sable wouldn't be making any return appearances to the promotion either way, but despite the bad reputation the WWE Divas division has today, it wouldn't have reached the heights it did without Sable.