Sharmell On Reality Of Wrestling's Expansion And Rok-C's Success
They say behind every great man is a great woman, and for Booker T, that is his Queen Sharmell, who has been there every step of the way during the evolution of Reality of Wrestling. Their Texas-based promotion helped provide a platform for young dreamers and emerging stars to hone their skills. ROW recently signed a deal that will increase its presence throughout the country with its episodic show running various new markets. For Sharmell, the recent development means everything.
"We really started as a mom-and-pop organization," she said. "Booker and I just worked tirelessly from sun up to sun down to bring the best product that we could to all the wrestling fans. It means that our fans across the country can watch our programming. We're looking forward to traveling to these different sites and seeing the fans in person because that is what makes it worth it, knowing you're entertaining the people and bringing smiles to their faces."
The former Nitro Girl-turned-valet-turned-WWE superstar wears many hats within ROW. She and Booker are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and put in hard work for the business.
"Booker and I have done it all, from actually mopping and cleaning, painting, that sort of thing," she said. "On the technical part of work from ticketing to websites, human resources, running the day-to-day that I oversee. I make sure everyone is supposed to be where they are supposed, to be when they are supposed to be there. A lot of our wrestlers call us mom and dad. We tend to help them out with a lot of things personally. We do it because we love what we do. We really love our students and fans. It's constant, from manning the phones to troubleshooting everything. There is a lot that goes into it."
Sharmell has really found a new love for the business on the opposite side of the curtain. She finds this phase of her career most fulfilling. Helping the industry by fostering the next generation alongside her ROW duties, the mom and businesswoman has been able to also focus more on acting. There are also other opportunities to explore beyond the ring.
"I have a television show I'm writing that we're going to produce and film," she said. "The sky's the limit with us. There are so many avenues we can take. What's funny is a lot of times, these different things we've done haven't necessarily been our idea or goal. It has been a company or organization that has come to us who said, "Can you do x,y,z?" We get it done. We had a couple of situations like that happen back-after-back. We realized we can expand this organization and take it as far as we want. We're definitely doing more production work and getting into other aspects of entertainment, but the focus is definitely the reality of wrestling. ROW is on the go. We're so excited to bring it to our fans nationwide."
Sharmell is proud of the legacy ROW has already created while watching the likes of the Usos and Ember Moon perform in WWE. She also takes pride in watching the success of teenage dynamo Rok-C become the Ring of Honor women's champion.
"I love Rok-C. My daughter Kennedy is her biggest fan," she said. "One of my fondest memories of Rok-C is when she first came to Reality of Wrestling. With me running around all the time, I didn't know she knew her. She volunteered to be one of the coaches for our kids' camp. Over the summer, we have camps for kids ages 8-15. She volunteered to be one of the coaches. On the first day of camp, I'm in a rush all over the place, trying to get everyone together. I'm trying to corral her into the group of kids because she was so tiny, I mistook her for one of the kids camp kids. She is so sweet and said, 'Mrs. Sharmell, it's me Rok-C.' She has grown into this incredible young woman. I love the way she carries herself and handles herself on the mic. Of course, her in-ring work is excellent. I'm so proud of her and expect big things for her in the future."
As for the future of ROW, Sharmell and Booker have big plans. Their overall vision of the promotion being a top destination for the next iteration of sports entertainment superstars is slowly becoming realized.
"We are trying to be the AAA because we want to produce the next generation of sports entertainment superstars," Sharmell said. "We want to be the go-to company for that. Also, we like to completely live up to our name. We are already doing it. Being the flagship of Texas wrestling but also expanding that, we want to start regional and create this territory where Reality of Wrestling is the brand. We are well on our way to that. I think we will accomplish that in the next few years. We just need the fans' support and we are well on our way."
You can follow Sharmell on Twitter @RealSharmell
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