All language subtitles for Dark Side of the Ring - S05E08 - Sensational Sherri

You want a piece of me, little girl?
Well, come and get it, because you're

looking at a woman that invented me.

Sherri Martell was a chameleon, a
performer who broke new ground for women

the wrestling business, an in -ring
natural that made it all look

She was an ace.

Sensational Sherri was a top -line
ringer.

Look at the 80s, and you look at
Sherri's role in some of the biggest

storylines, the biggest moments, the
biggest pay -per -views.

My God, she was a huge star.

Inside the ring and outside the ring and
on the microphone and on camera, she

was perfect. She was really the only
great female manager of modern times.

You, Hulk Hogan, are the one that has a
failing career.

You! Whatever the gimmick, she would do
whatever it needed. Everybody in the

business knew that.

But few knew of the sacrifices that
Sherry's total commitment to becoming a

demanded. The demons took over. She said
she didn't want to be a caged bird.

And the high cost of her trailblazing
success.

She worked hard, man. She paid a price,
too.

I knew she was in pain. But you don't
work, you don't get paid.

It pushed her the wrong way.

No punches pulled!

No nothing!

It became more obvious that she was
having issues.

If you can't get your act together, you
need to step off Team Harlem Heat. There

were skeletons throughout her whole
life. Some people can get over it, and

people can't.

You can honestly tell me how much of
that is fake.

I got the job, and I go out there and I
get everything that I got. I've run all

these miles up and down the road, and I
wear my body out. That's not fake. My

body gets slammed on that damn campus,
and on the outside of the ring, I sit in

the hospital. I get blasted in my damn
eyes.

That's not fake.

Sherry was tough physically, but also
she was tough somewhat mentally. She

take some of the abuse that she got from
the fans or from the other wrestlers,

and that's why the guys liked working
with her. She was all in.

I'm Jim Cornette. For almost 40 years,
I've done everything in pro wrestling,

especially managing, and Sherry Martell
was the first person.

I've had people ask me, how did you

decide to take Sherry Martell as a
client?

Well, I didn't. Can I make an investment
or can I make an investment?

In 1982, both of us were just getting
started. Sherry was just a rookie

and we were kind of thrown together just
because the promoter knew that I needed

some kind of practice.

So we looked at each other and said,
you're greener than goose shit and I'm

worse. How can this possibly go wrong?

We bonded from that moment.

Money talks and you know what walks.

She wasn't the over -the -top
personality that you would see from

five years later or ten years later. But
at that point, nobody knew she was

going to be not only one of the great
female wrestlers of the next generation,

but also one of the most high -profile
managers in wrestling.

She was just a girl who wanted to be a
wrestler at that point. You didn't know

how far she was going to go.

Sherry was a diva before the divas were
divas.

Once she got in that ring, different
person.

The minute she got out of that ring, a
sweetheart.

I'm Kathy Fitzpatrick, and Sherry
Martell was my best friend.

We kind of had the same kind of
childhood.

She didn't know her dad.

Her mom would take her to wrestling
shows, and she liked it.

wrestling matches in Hennysburg,
Mississippi.

And there was a livestock arena. It was
a great wrestling atmosphere.

And the seed was planted at that point.

I was just always durable.

I always wanted to do something
different than everybody else.

I met Sherry Martell in 1974.

I'd say at the time she was probably 17.

And I was 18.

I was a referee for Mid -South
Wrestling.

And she was a fan.

I remember Sherry being in the front row
watching the shows one night in

Lafayette, Louisiana.

We met, we talked, and it moved forward
very fast.

Aurelian Smith is my legal name. Jake
the Snake Roberts is how most people

know me.

Sherry and I had spent some raw time
together.

We were going to get off again for about
four or five years.

Just her walking into a room, she was a
star.

I mean, that's just how captivating she
was.

She was beautiful, but she wasn't your
typical, oh, dainty, printy girl.

She was a kicking ass in your face girl.

Was I in love with her?

I was in love with something.

There was that connection.

Both of us wanting something that seemed
so far out of reality.

It seemed like we'd never get to the big
show or to the WWE or even Mid -South.

He's out for blood. He's not out to
wrestle.

Terry Martell wanted to be a wrestling
star from the get -go.

In those days, there were no training
programs that were advertised. You had

to... Just hang around until somebody
was willing to take a chance on you if

wanted to be involved in wrestling.

Grizzly Smith at the time was a road
agent and a matchmaker for Mid -South

Wrestling.

And if he would see prospective talent,
he would take an interest in them. I had

went to Grizzly Smith when I was 16
years old.

It was Jake Roberts' father, and I told
him I wanted to learn how to wrestle. He

told me to come back when I was 21.

Dreaming of being a wrestling star, but
with no avenue to begin her training, by

1976, Sherry is living and working in
New Orleans.

She was gorgeous, had a good sense of
humor, and just got along.

I'm Leroy Gonzalez, and I'm the ex
-husband of Sherry Martell.

June of 1976.

I was in training in a restaurant.

And she was sitting in a booth and
complained about Roach in the booth.

I just looked up at her and said, I wish
I'd have been that Roach.

So she says, later on, she says, why
don't you come and meet me and have a

drink? She was working across the
street.

I didn't know where I was going, really.
And so when I walked in, I realized it

was a club.

And she was on stage.

After her dance was over, she came and
sat down. We got to talking and she just

swept me off my feet.

She was wanting to get out of that
business.

And I bought a trailer and she moved in
with me.

One day I got men from work, got on her
knee and asked her to marry me.

But she'd go out with her girlfriends.

And party, yes.

But any drug, marijuana, uppers,
mollies,

downers, quaaludes, cocaine, we got into
some pretty heated

discussions about it, and, well, it just
never stopped.

At that time, she wanted to have a
family.

And we had Jared and...

July of 1978.

They wanted a child, now we have one.

Time to put your big girl pants on and
take care of the child.

Couldn't take it.

When she told me she was going to pursue
a career in wrestling, I laughed at

her.

Had no idea.

She left when the baby was like three
months old.

And I know I hurt and bother her.

But sometimes you have to do what you
have to do.

Sherry 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.

In those days, there was always some
independent or what we call outlaw

wrestlers around a major wrestling city.

And I went to a school that Butch Moore
had in Memphis.

I told him I wanted to learn how to
wrestle.

He got up, and he slapped the living
hell out of me.

And at that point, I looked at him, and
I said, that all you've got.

There you go.

Outlaw wrestler.

Here, let me slap you and see if you're
tough enough. What the fuck is that?

I would have been interested to see if
she slapped him back, if he could handle

it. I didn't care how male -dominated it
was.

I was going to succeed in this.

I went and I told Grizz, I've got a year
of training under my belt.

I threw my driver's license out at him.
I said, I'm 21 now. I'm ready. I had a

son. I'm divorced.

I said, this is what I want to do.

And he says, why?

I said, because I think that I can be
the best person that I possibly can be.

This is the career that I want.

He said, okay.

Tell me about your skill in the ring.

Great. That's my future.

Robin Robbins.

The first time I met Sherry was when she
would come in town, and often she would

stay actually at my father's house.

I'm Rockin' Robin, and I defeated Sherri
Martell for the WWF Women's World

title.

History made here, new ladies champion,
Rockin' Robin.

Like a lot of the other girls, if they
were in town, I would go and hang out

with them. I guess try to make them more
comfortable.

My father, Grizz, he had a liking, you
know, very much for younger

girls.

I mean, he was a no -good son of a
bitch, man.

Actually, she was a little old for his
wheelhouse.

I would go to the matches and watch her
wrestle.

Sherry could be strictly business, even
at that young of an age.

She had those rough edges, but that's
what made her Sherry.

After Grizzly saw, well, we've given her
the basics, she needs to go to work

with Moolah to continue her career.

Fabulous Moolah!

The Fabulous Moolah was not only the
world women's champion wrestler for 30

-something years, but also she booked
all the women wrestlers to the various

territories around the United States. So
if you were an aspiring female

wrestler, you almost had to not only be
trained by Moolah, but then stick with

Moolah and work as part of her troop.

And one of the most adhered -to rules
was that you have to give Moolah her

booking kickback.

or elsewise you're in serious trouble.

It was almost like a military school
type of operation for lady wrestlers.

We did what Moolah told us to do.

I figured that if I was going to make it
in this business and I got to her camp,

there was nothing that was going to stop
me.

Moolah had a lot of rules.

There were curfews. The girls had to be
in at certain times.

And Moolah said at the time, she was
just into that nightclub. And darling,

was just too much for me.

And Moolah asked her to depart the
compound.

Once Sherry got away from Moolah, she
was able to create more of her own

personality and get over on her own
merits rather than somebody else telling

promoter how to use her.

In the months after Sherry leaves her
husband and infant son behind to pursue

wrestling, Leroy struggles to put their
family back together.

I was trying to get her to come back
home.

I hired a private investigator to follow
her, and I found out where she was at

and some of the things that she was up
to.

I was making a night deposit at the
bank, and three big guys walked up to me

and point blank told me, hey, leave
Sherry alone.

She belongs to us.

I had no idea they were just friends of
Sherry.

If it ain't anything to the Wrestling
Association, when they said she belongs

us, well, she belongs to wrestling.

I left her alone after that.

After stints in Japan and Mid -South
Wrestling, by the mid -1980s, Sherry

Martell is working as a wrestler and
manager in the AWA, a regional promotion

based in Minneapolis.

Vern Gagne in the AWA, that's one guy
that had never had a relationship with

fabulous Moogla.

That was good for Sherry because he
could book any girl or anybody else he

wanted to book.

Now we know who's a better woman. I told
you she was crazy.

There were never a lot of lady wrestlers
in the AWA, but the ones that they

picked and that they did use were very
accomplished.

And Sherry was physical and she could
dish it out. Beating her over the head

with that belt.

Sherry knew the business, and her
psychology was on point.

Her timing was incredible.

Hey, guys, WWE Hall of Famer, known as
Alundra Blaze and Medusa.

From Robbinsdale, Minnesota, Medusa
Michele.

I looked up to her a lot, and kind of
trying to emulate what she did and how

strong she was, even though she was
bathing inside in so many ways.

I went over to her house, and I remember
her saying that her son was away.

Having a child in this business was
frowned upon for women.

So her son, I felt, was purposely not to
the forefront for she

was really trying to do something with
her career.

I think he has

cancer, even though he's never said it
straight out to me.

From what I understand, he lost part of
his tongue due to cancer.

This is what she left.

Don't judge her for what she did.

I was always taking care of her, and she
made sure of it.

In a way, she made the best decision for
me.

Sherry had him, but Pat raised him.

Jared was three years old when we told
him who his mother is.

My oldest memory was a magazine, and it
was published in

Japan.

We started making arrangements for Jared
to fly out and meet her. It

was supposed to be for a week and ended
up maybe two days.

She sent him back.

Did that make you angry as a kid that
you couldn't see your mom more often?

I'm so angry.

It was very difficult for women to even
have a relationship, let alone have a

child.

And I feel that it really took a toll on
women mentally because we were trying

to push the envelope harder than we
needed to to prove a point, to take

us seriously.

Basically, it's a whole thing in the
business. You just, you know, do what

you're told and do your job. And
hopefully, maybe you got escalated.

And Sherry Martel, she shows me a lot of
confidence.

I like that.

Two of the biggest stars that had worked
in the AWA that had since gone to the

WWF working for Vince McMahon were Jesse
Ventura and Kurt Hennig.

That's right, McMahon.

For once in your life, you're right. And
I just might let you keep your job.

Their word carried a lot of weight with
Vince, and they both put good words in

for Sherry.

As soon as Sherry arrives in the WWF,
she is pitted against her former mentor.

Fabulous Moolah, reigning women's
champion for quite some time. By 1987,

Moolah has had the women's world title
for most of 30 years, and she's in her

mid -50s.

And at that point, a change had to be
made, and Vince McMahon was the one to

able to pay Moolah what she required to
do that, and they put the belt on Sherri

Martell. Moolah well in control of this
one. Slams her back in.

Oh, look at that!

As a wrestler, that was the peak of
Sherry's career.

Me, myself, and I beat the fabulous
Moolah. I pinned her one, two, three,

That says a lot. Okay, I'm not finished
yet.

Rockin' 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.

They put me on a dark match with Sherry,
and then the next thing I know, I'm

working in the WWF.

We 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.

Those days, we were doing seven days a
week.

Every week.

There were no days off.

Are you kidding me?

The women were out there working their
tails off.

But Sherry probably worked harder than
she needed to.

She wanted to be a part of the show.

Big part.

Pat and I, which is my ex -wife, would
turn it on and watch wrestling.

Chad was jumping up and down as mom was
on TV.

I never even liked it. Took her away.

But then again, that was her choice.

My mind was so focused on wrestling.

Everything else took a second.

Everything. And that was including my
ex.

My family.

Every blend.

Sherry was emotionally wrecked.

There was a lot of pain and anger there.

Probably from her leaving people behind.

She was close -lipped about all that.

And she knew how to keep her nose to the
ground and grind.

In those days, the female wrestlers were
an attraction.

They were a special thing to put on the
card. So if...

Any of the female wrestlers wanted to be
taken seriously, they had to be

accepted in the locker room, and then
the guys would have greater appreciation

for their work in the ring.

And all the guys liked Sherri. She was
one of the boys, and that was the

ultimate compliment in those days that
any of the male wrestlers could give one

of the girls, is you're just like us.

You're tough, you're a partier, you're
stiff in the ring.

We accept you.

I think she probably could have drank
or, you know, snorted them under the

table. Absolutely.

Whatever Sherry did, she did to the max.

Sherry loved her pot.

And 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.

There were nights I wrestled Sherry and
she was going on 48 hours.

She was never late for a match, though.

She always showed up.

I think it was like an outdoor show.

I keep looking at her, and you know how
when somebody just kind of looks right

past you, and I'm like, I don't know if
she even sees me.

I was down on all fours on the mat, and
she threw a kick, and it caught me right

on the throat.

It was full force.

I couldn't breathe.

I just remember thinking, oh my God.

This is it. I'm going to die at a state
fair in the middle of a wrestling ring.

Intoxicated but still performing in the
ring, Sherri Martell has kicked Rockin'

Robin in the throat, leaving her
struggling for breath.

Finally, I was able to get that big
breath.

Then we got back.

to the dressing room, and she just
grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug,

she knew that it was bad.

She did like pot.

That was no big deal.

But if there was anything else that
really impaired you to do your job in

ring, you know, that's when it becomes a
problem.

They don't call me the sensational
Sherry for nothing. And in a moment, I'm

going to show you exactly how
sensational I am.

By 1990, Sherry Martell is a dominant
force in the WWF as one of its premier

female wrestlers. But that is about to
change.

Vince McMahon was never fully sold on
the idea back in those days of an entire

women's division.

I think he just decided to wrap it up.

He still had Sherri Martell there.

And Sherri was able to exhibit the fact
that she could do a promo and she was

this wild, over -the -top personality.

Then 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. Because 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. I think Vince McMahon probably
saw the same thing everybody else saw,

which is a very gifted, athletic,
physical woman that was very attractive.

camera loved her, and there's not a
microphone she couldn't own.

My name is Eric Bischoff, former
president of World Championship

I grew up as a young man, a fan of
Sherri Martell, and had the opportunity

work with her in the 90s.

Back when Sherri 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.

That's it.

Boom. Ready, set, go.

I look in there, what do I see?

I see Hulk Hogan laying flat on his
back.

She would figure out a way to...

tweak her personality and her appearance
and the way she dressed, the way she

acted, to kind of more closely fit the
guy she was with while still being at

root of it herself.

If 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.

really going to do it that well.

Oh, yeah.

As time went on, she just became very
famous.

Please welcome Sensational Sherry.

Jared would fly out and go and meet her
and a bunch of the wrestlers.

Sherry was completely different than
what any other female had been presented

in the WWF up to that point in time.
Introducing first, the manager,

Miss Elizabeth was brought in with Randy
Savage because she was his real -life

wife, and you had Sable and you had
Thunny, but they weren't trained

Sherry was.

Sherry wasn't afraid to get in there and
mix it up and do what needed to be done

in the finish to get the people on the
edge of their seat.

She didn't care if she was wearing a $5
,000 ball gown. She's going to be down

on the floor choking the guy that her
wrestler is opposing.

She was always taking bumps, crazy
bumps, big bumps, tall bumps, concrete

right? In a woman's frame, there's a
little left sometimes, right?

And she was banged up.

I'm sure she had injuries.

How bad is the question?

Do you know how she dealt with her pain?

I'm sure she took meds.

If I would have ever opened my mouth and
looked at her, I

wouldn't have been able to go back and
see her.

I don't ever wish her, if I know, to see
my mom's shoulder.

There's so much that we put our bodies
through on a daily basis.

Things that God did not intend us to do.
And in turn, people...

Find ways to compensate or to get
through.

I found ways to get through.

Thomas are a muscle relaxer that many of
the wrestlers

began to rely on and it began to become
a problem in wrestling in the late

80s and into the 90s like a number of
other substances did.

It was like candy.

It was ready available, and they took
the somas. They took the Vicodins. They

took whatever the hell else they took.

Sometimes you had doctors that wrote
these prescriptions out. It was crazy. I

saw it firsthand.

You can believe in the WWF and their new
testing policies and procedures.

When the WWE first started drug testing,
it was because of the steroid scandal

that Vince McMahon got himself into,
along with Hulk Hogan and a few of the

that were really over the top on the
steroids.

But they were testing for all kinds of
street drugs and illegal drugs as well.

And Sherry failed a number of times for
marijuana.

And I got called up to the office.

And it was J .J. Dillon, Bruce
Pritchard, and Vince McMahon sitting

And I said, Sherry, your drug test has
come back positive again.

We have to let you go.

What was the point?

I was getting up and yelling and
screaming.

I knew I screwed up.

In any wrestling promotion since the
dawn of time, if you showed up high and

screwed something up, you got fired.

Nobody gets sent to rehab.

Everybody gets sent packing.

Fired from the WWF in 1993.

Sherri Martell needs to figure out her
next move to stay working in the

that she loves.

Nobody could hurt me any more than I've
hurt myself.

When I got released, I went back home
and I started making phone calls.

Of all the things I've ever been so
excited about in my life is coming to

Parade of Champions.

The same year that she had been let go
from the WWF, I brought her down to

Knoxville for Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

Sherri Martell, give it up. She was the
same old Sherry and came in and did a

wonderful job for us.

But there was one night after one of the
shows, I could tell she was slowing

down a little bit. And I said, Sherry?

Oh, I'm okay.

I said, having a cruise on Lake
Havasoma. I see.

If you're heavily somed, not only are
you zombified mentally,

but you're...

The whole body is out of control.

She always had bad back pain.

And she sometimes took a little too
much.

And it was for the pain. It wasn't for
any other reason. It was for the pain.

It wasn't just to pop a pill.

She was medicating on her own, which had
gotten out of hand.

That never works out well in the end,
does it?

I couldn't see how indestructible I was.

I thought the drugs made me perform
better.

And I wasn't able to see what other
people saw.

Despite her ongoing issues with pain
medication, Sherry returns to the

spotlight with WWF Rival World
Championship Wrestling.

I am here for a reason, and that is to
find a man that can fulfill all of my

needs. I didn't ask Sherry why she was
let go from WWE. If she quit or was

fired, I didn't know. I didn't ask and I
didn't care. I hired her back in 93

because she was a great talent.

To be led for the ring by Sister Sherry.
Wow!

From Harlem Heat.

Sherry and Harlem Heat.

Booker and Stevie Ray, they looked great
together and they had not had a major

spot anywhere before in a big time
promotion or on a major television show.

she kind of gave them credibility that
they wouldn't have had because everybody

knew who Sherry was.

Sherry's passion and dedication to her
career comes at the cost of never having

enough time for her son, Jared.

There's many times she held me, begging
for my forgiveness,

and I would sit there and tell her, you
don't have to do that.

She seemed a little more lost and

uncertain.

My body had just gotten to the point.

And my brain had gotten to the point to
where I just could not do it. I could

not perform up to their expectations.

She was let go because she was no longer
good on camera.

She would show up under the influence of
something.

I'm guessing it was prescription drugs.
It didn't matter to me. She was under

something, and it was affecting her
ability to perform.

You can't fire me because I quit right
now.

I don't know what took place between
Sherry and Eric.

Maybe she was taking too many somas.
Maybe she wasn't herself. Maybe she

performing in the ring like she was
supposed to.

However, 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 men.

But it wasn't.

After WCW, there was no place to go.

At that point in time, Sherry was in her
40s.

And younger girls had come along.

So I think it probably was the worst
thing that happened at that point in

that she lost that spot.

I'd heard it over the grapevine that she
was deep into the oxys.

They were controlling her life.

You medicate.

I lost my job. I'm just going to get
f***ed up.

It's not like there's 20 wrestling
companies that you can go to. Jerry

probably five years up there.

And that's a great accomplishment.

It's never enough.

It's never enough.

As her wrestling career nears its end,
Sherri Martell marries her new

Robert Schroll.

She had gotten married in 1997, which
was during her WCW run.

And sometimes when a civilian marries a
celebrity, that civilian thinks that

celebrity is always going to be a
celebrity. And unfortunately, after the

run, Sherri was off television, out of
the business, and just a normal person.

Sherry didn't do normal well.

She was still in a lot of pain.

Sadly, I think if she had another outlet
and it got whatever she needed, from

what I understand it was a surgery, but
she couldn't afford it, I don't think

she would have ever gotten hooked on
pills.

At 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, because

you're addicted.

But I don't think that her husband was
any benefit to her in that particular

situation.

The night she was inducted to the Hall
of Fame.

In 2006, after several years away from
the wrestling business, Sherry becomes

the second woman to be inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame.

The amazing thing about this business is
I had the ability to walk beside some

of the most wonderful people in the
world. This was her time to shine, and

spoke from the heart.

And then I met a man named Eric
Bischoff.

And we all know where he's at now,
right?

You were gone.

Everything my mom ever worked through, I
was just happy she was alive

to be there.

That was the path from her to this.

My son, Jared.

My husband, Robert. My best friend,
Chappie Fitzpatrick.

I love you, baby.

She didn't look at it as a great
occasion because that meant, you know,

over. That'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.

That's where a big part of the struggle
can be.

Although it seems her career might be
over, Sherry spends the next year

optimistic for her future in the
business.

I was on the phone with her.

She was in the best mood ever.

She was sitting on the front porch with
her mom, drinking sweet tea, playing

with the puppy they just got, and said
to me, I have some news to tell you, but

I don't want to jinx it.

From what I had heard, they were going
to bring Sherry back, get her her

operation, get her backs fixed, and they
were going to have her train the women.

I know she wanted to go back to the WWE.

Whether 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.

I

believe

their

sister or somebody called me.

And that's when I got in my vehicle and
drove to Alabama so I could be there.

Empty.

Empty.

Sherry's sudden death at age 49 causes
local Alabama police to open an

investigation.

It just seemed so

ironic that she was so happy the night
before.

And 10 o 'clock the next morning I get
this phone call.

Following a brief investigation, Sherry
Martell's death is ruled an accidental

overdose.

I knew she could go to extremes, but I
guess I did not know that it was just an

ongoing life -threatening problem.

It floored me.

Regrettably, the addiction struggles
that plagued Sherry's life are also on

display at the funeral.

I know we had...

A few people there that were probably
coked out of their mind and drugged out

and whatnot.

I think Jake was so out of his freaking
mind.

Oh, my God.

And I think he was leaning over the
casket. He was just hot of it.

I remember Stevie Ray being there and
Booker T.

But other than that, I can't remember
anything about it.

I mean, I was at my very lowest right
then.

They asked me to have a few words, and I
did.

And I remember looking at her saying,
how dare you leave me behind?

Right, I was angry.

Because I thought we were friends
forever.

Not counting dying.

We were just alike.

We both came up hard.

And we both had to fight and scratch and
claw for everything.

She was one of my loves, man.

You know, she was somebody that I
identified with and somebody that I

I honored our friendship.

I honored her.

Always will.

Terry was my best friend.

I don't think anybody could ever take
that friendship away from us.

Even if she's gone, I know she's with
me.

I don't think you can think about women
in wrestling and not put Sherri Martell

at the very top of your list.

A lot of the fans loved and respected
her. Maybe some of them didn't respect

enough because they didn't know the work
that it took and the perseverance and

the dedication it took for her to get
there.

This is a picture that Sherry gave to me
at a fan fest like 20 years ago or

whatever. She signed to me. It says, To
Jimmy Cornette, remember always, I was

your first.

Loving you forever, Sherry Martell.

And boy, she looked good.

But everybody in the business had a high
opinion of Sherry and her talent.

These are letters that my mother wrote
to me.

Everything is.

Never held anything against her except
for the fact that she left.

Jared, to me, he's special.

And I do what I can to keep him going.

My dad is a good provider.

My mom and my stepmom love

each other.

She couldn't have picked a better person
to raise me.

Can I have her?

Can I have her right now?

That's my heart.

She's my everything.

This is why I'm here today.

Shelly was my mother, but this was her
touching brother.

She used to tell me all the time, I
would never find someone as good as you

take care of my son.

She was awesome. She really was.

She chose her career, you know.

My mom, that's all she knew. And I don't
hate

her. I sacrificed.

So it's my life, my family times, and
I'd like to know that the mistakes that

made, people won't remember me so much
for those, but for the good

that I tried to do, I hope people will
look back and maybe learn something from

my mistakes.

Yeah.

Yeah.