The Overlooked Manager Of The Golden Era

[The Brain]

Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Slick, Mr. Fuji. These are the names that come to mind when discussing the managers of the Golden Era of the WWF. Elizabeth is frequently mentioned for her memorable roles in main event programs. There is one person that always seems to be overlooked. This person drew heat like Heenan, took bumps like Hart, was as sneaky as Slick, and as devious as Fuji. Some would say she even had the sex appeal of Elizabeth. I'm talking about Sensational Sherri.

I'm not sure why Sherri seems to be overlooked but from 1989 to 1992 she was an important part of WWF programming. Maybe it's because unlike the men mentioned above who managed multiple wrestlers at a time Sherri only managed one at a time. She was always with a top heel and made that heel even more hated. During her four years as a manger Sherri managed Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, and Shawn Michaels. That's a pretty good collection of talent. Savage and Dibiase were already established heels that she made even better and she was a major help to Michaels as he was transitioning from a baby face tag wrestler to a singles heel.

Sherri wasn't afraid to mix it up and get physical with the men. Many times she was thrown around by Hogan, Duggan, Piper, and Warrior among others. She was as tough as anyone and could not only take a beating but could dish one out too. I always thought Sherri was the most dangerous manager for an opponent to deal with. I'd pick her in a fight over any of the other managers of that time. Sherri certainly had a way of getting under the fans' skin. Maybe it was the shrill voice or the fact that a woman could have such a physical impact against their favorite stars but whatever it was Sherri was just as hated as those top hated heels she managed. She was with Savage for two years and was kind of the anti Elizabeth. Everyone loved Elizabeth and they were not happy when Savage left Cinderella for the wicked queen.

What are your thoughts on Sensational Sherri? Where does she rank among the managers of the time? Do you think she is overlooked and deserves more credit than given?

 

[thebarber]

forgotten how? She is in the WWE Hall of Fame, first female manager to be inducted I believe.
Her talent of Randy Savage and Ted Dibiase alone had her at the top of the card. On top of her excellent in ring career, then her WCW career managing Flair, Harlem Heat to name a couple. I dont feel she has been forgotten at all.

 

[mral82]

Sherri was one of the Top 3 greatest Manageress (as coined by Larry Nelson in the AWA). She managed in her AWA days the World Tag Champs "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers and I forget whom else but She did an Sensational Job then, Then the WWF called her up and built her up for the Macho King Reigns as the Scary Queen then she went from Savage to Ted DiBiase, Senior then HBK/Rick Martel before leaving after her short feud w/ Luna. Then she went to WCW and managed Booker and Stevie for a bit and I don't know whom else. All I can say is that Sherri was imo the Greatest Heel Valet/Manageress in Pro Wrestling History. She's imo not overlooked but underlooked as nobody rarely mentions her that much. Plus as a kid and watching her at WM 7 and now as an adult that outfit was my 1st boner as Sherri was a Gorgeous and Beautiful Woman but probably will get remembered for her Scream that Melina Perez, Awesome Kong/Kharma, Vickie Guerrero, Alicia Fox, and Paige and probably other Women try to honor her but doesn't do as great as she did. So to answer your question she hasn't gotten "overlooked" as she a Hall Of Famer as "Overlooking" means they haven't made it yet but Sherri Martel made the Hall Years ago.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Sherri wasn't underrated at all, if any "manageress" was it was Elizabeth.

Sherri wasn't a "valet" in the traditional sense, she was there as a heater... someone who could "fan the flames" for a heel talent to make them even more hated. Arguably Vickie was better at it but Sherri had the in ring nous to back it up, where as VG was only ever an outside the ring character.

When Savage went heel, it was logical that Sherri be the one to go with him, it was logical she hooked up with Ted DiBiase and later Shawn Michaels...but that was a stretch... it didn't work as well as people think it did, hence why they ended it quickly. Her and Martel made sense, they could have played off their names but sadly as Rick's wife had died I think he nixed it.

Later in WCW that they seemed to not get it. She seemed to not fit with Harlem Heat as well, the chemistry seemed a little "off" or perhaps it just seemed "sleazy", Sherri was the prototype "cougar" when that wasn't what made her character great...she was a bitch/witch... but in a world that had Madusa, Woman, FiFi and later Tammy, Major Guns and the Nitro Girls, she was quickly forgotten... Even Liz played the "older hottie" better when she got the chance.

She's not "the greatest", Vickie is up there, Sunny is up there and given more time, Lana could easily be up there... but it's like picking a prom date...do you go with the "good girl" and know you're not getting any, the older, more experienced or the wild one... Each offered their own edge to the wrestling business.

Sherri isn't forgotten, but just not quite as good as you remember, in the above analogy, she's the crazy one... you know you're gonna have a wild night. But you wouldn't call her back...

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I honestly thought you were going to say Harvey Wippleman....

I don't think Sherri is forgotten by any means. I would say she receives more recognition than Slick, Fuji, Elizabeth (and Wippleman). She's in the HoF and is widely regarded by both fans and performers as one of the greatest of all time.

Harvey Wippleman is the guy who is always overlooked, and while I thought he did his job well, he was most certainly not on the level of Sherri, Heenan, or Fuji.

 

[The Brain]

Thanks for the responses. I want to clear up a couple things. Three of the four responses defend Sherri saying she isn't forgotten. The word forgotten was not used in my opening post or thread title. There is a difference between forgotten and overlooked. If I were to take a survey and ask people to name five wrestlers from the late 80s/early 90s I don't think Sherri would be mentioned on many lists. I could be completely wrong on that, and sorry, I don't plan on taking a survey to find out. Also I don't mean overlooked by WWE. I am aware she is in the HOF. I meant overlooked by members of forums like this. She just doesn't seem to be mentioned as much as the others when discussing old school managers. Not that she's forgotten but it's more like people quickly say Heenan, Hart, Sick, Fuji, and Elizabeth then there's a pause and then 'oh yeah, and Sherri.'

 

[FromGlasgow]

I think she's the best female manager of all time and she's managed or feuded against some of the biggest names of all time in wrestling, I think if she came a few years later she would have dominated the divas division but there wasn't much of a female division in the WWE back in the late 80's to mid 90s during her career.

 

[crazyeddie42]

All of the other managers you mentioned managed multiple people at a time. Sherri only had one person under her tutelage at any given time. I can think of at least 10 wrestlers that Heenan, Fuji, Hart, or Slick managed.

 

[justtxyank]

I actually agree with the OP that Sherri is often overlooked. Not really sure why, because when you discuss her with people it seems pretty unanimous that she was at least GOOD and then the opinions vary as to just how good.

For my money she has an argument for being one of the five best managers of all time. She could draw insane heat from a crowd and was good at transferring it or stealing it when necessary.

I can't say enough about Sherri. She was tremendous at everything she did. Would have been interesting to see her paired up with Austin in WCW had he not gotten injured.

Later in WCW that they seemed to not get it. She seemed to not fit with Harlem Heat as well, the chemistry seemed a little "off" or perhaps it just seemed "sleazy", Sherri was the prototype "cougar" when that wasn't what made her character great...she was a bitch/witch... but in a world that had Madusa, Woman, FiFi and later Tammy, Major Guns and the Nitro Girls, she was quickly forgotten... Even Liz played the "older hottie" better when she got the chance.

This is a weird argument. Sherri did very well in WCW, managing Flair during his 94 title run and the Hogan feud. The pairing with Harlem Heat actually worked pretty well I thought and so did the majority of the audience it seemed. The bookers for WCW certainly thought so because they kept them together for quite some time, even bringing her back after being fired and repairing her with the duo. She was very fond of the two men. She wasn't really playing the cougar role as I don't think it was ever implied she had any sexual relationship with the two whatsoever. In fact, a long running part of her relationship with Harlem Heat was the Col. Robert Parker affair.

Also, your "in a world that had..." argument was weird too. FiFi and Sherri never crossed paths, Sherri and Tammy never crossed paths (in WCW), Sherri and Major Gunns never crossed paths, Woman was never a consistent player in WCW, disappearing on and off, etc. Sherri was never forgotten in WCW. She was a featured manager throughout her run and had a feud with Madusa. Her manager/manager affair/feud with Parker was featured throughout WCW program, her debut was an integral part of the main event of the company (Sting/Flair) she was a HUGE part of the Hogan/Flair feud of 94, Harlem Heat was the top team in the company throughout her run...

She didn't get forgotten at all. She had a bad drug/alcohol problem that led to a really nasty incident that got her fired, came back and was featured again and then got into a nasty incident with Bischoff that got her fired again.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Sherri wasn't underrated at all, if any "manageress" was it was Elizabeth.

It was a matter of styles, that's for sure. The contrast between the two was one of the qualities that made them so compelling to watch, particularly when featured against each other.....not in a wrestling match, of course. It seemed as if the two would come to blows several times, although it never happened.

But that was the contrast; Elizabeth's quiet countenance versus Sherri the banshee. Sherri was a living, shrieking example of the woman you'd want at your side going into battle, yet hardly the girl you want to bring home to Mom.

That she was wild & crazy wherever she went was her stock in trade. The whole "Sister Sherri" bit in WCW was no different than her schtick in WWE.....and probably AWA too, although I never saw any of that.

But Sherri's role in the Randy Savage-Elizabeth saga was one of the damndest pieces of live theater I've ever seen. Without Sherri, it doesn't work....and that she wasn't there at the end (the in-ring reunion) is what made Sherri so effective at what she did.....her influence was felt even after she was banished from ringside.

Got to like a brassy broad like her.

 

[justtxyank]

It was a matter of styles, that's for sure. The contrast between the two was one of the qualities that made them so compelling to watch, particularly when featured against each other.....not in a wrestling match, of course. It seemed as if the two would come to blows several times, although it never happened.

But that was the contrast; Elizabeth's quiet countenance versus Sherri the banshee. Sherri was a living, shrieking example of the woman you'd want at your side going into battle, yet hardly the girl you want to bring home to Mom.

That she was wild & crazy wherever she went was her stock in trade. The whole "Sister Sherri" bit in WCW was no different than her schtick in WWE.....and probably AWA too, although I never saw any of that.

But Sherri's role in the Randy Savage-Elizabeth saga was one of the damndest pieces of live theater I've ever seen. Without Sherri, it doesn't work....and that she wasn't there at the end (the in-ring reunion) is what made Sherri so effective at what she did.....her influence was felt even after she was banished from ringside.

Got to like a brassy broad like her.

She was there. It was part of why it worked. Savage was a major heel going into Wrestlemania VII. After his loss, Sherri came into the ring and started beating him up. That setup Elizabeth running to the ring and throwing Sherri out, setting up the reunion with Savage. Sherri was vital in that role as that allowed the heel heat to transfer to her and give Savage the face turn momentum.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Not sure what you mean by overlooked since Sherri is in the WWE HOF. As far as the Forums are concerned several posters have risen to her defense as well.

Sherri's best work was in the AWA, where she really perfected her craft and was an active in ring competitor, although she is best known for her stints with Savage in WWE and Flair in WCW.

As one poster noted Sherri was a true manager in the sense that her character seemed involved in ringside strategy, physically interfered in matches, and she drew major heat for charges with her persona and promo style, ala great managers like Heenan, JJ Dillion, Jim Cornette, Blasie, Fuji, Gary Hart, etc. Most female characters in that role were simply eye candy and acted as little more than ringside valets. Did Prescious ever seem to be assisting Jimmy Garvin with match strategy, other than spraying hair spray at someone was she ever involved in helping Garvin physically get an advantage in matches the way all the others I mentioned above did ? Liz was a complete non entity at ringside for Savage, her whole purpose just to look mild mannered and demure to accent what jerk bully Savage was. She came out of that shell in WCW playing the Gold Digger Party Girl ("Don't worry Ric, this champagne's on Randy") but even there at ringside it was Woman who appeared as the real manager, consulting with Flair and often being involved in various physical scenarios to help gain/maintain advantages during matches while Liz just looked on. Female characters such as Liz, Prescious, Sunshine, Missy Hyatt, never contributed as much to the match presentation, the way the matches played out, and never appeared as involved with their charges as their male counter parts did. Sherri was one glaring difference. And she was very effective at various times.

if she is overlooked at all it's because she is improperly bunched in with the "valets" because she is a woman and not a guy but Id say her character as a manager was comparable to the way the top guys were presented as far helping and actually MANAGING their wrestlers.

 

[The Brain]

Not sure what you mean by overlooked since Sherri is in the WWE HOF. As far as the Forums are concerned several posters have risen to her defense as well.

Yes, several posters have risen to her defense because I brought up the topic. What if instead of this thread I created a thread that simply said name five managers from the Hulkamania era. How many responses would list Sherri then? The majority would have Heenan, Hart, Slick, Fuji, and Elizabeth. I'm not waving my disapproving finger at anyone or trying to lecture anyone on respecting Sherri more. I think people do respect her and remember her fondly when her name is mentioned. It just that her name doesn't seem to be mentioned as often as her peers. I do think more people would say her before Frenchy Martin though.

 

[Lowdown]

The only way I see Sherri being overlooked is by the younger generation of fans that never had the chance to see her in her heyday, wrestling and managing. There's no doubt she brought tremendous heat to whoever her charge was, especially Macho Man/King. You brought up excellent points, Brain. The downside is that Sherri was is the same mix as Heenan, Slick, and others. So she was overshadowed slightly, but during that period between '89 and early '93 she was arguably the best manager in WWF.

 

[justtxyank]

Yes, several posters have risen to her defense because I brought up the topic. What if instead of this thread I created a thread that simply said name five managers from the Hulkamania era. How many responses would list Sherri then? The majority would have Heenan, Hart, Slick, Fuji, and Elizabeth. I'm not waving my disapproving finger at anyone or trying to lecture anyone on respecting Sherri more. I think people do respect her and remember her fondly when her name is mentioned. It just that her name doesn't seem to be mentioned as often as her peers. I do think more people would say her before Frenchy Martin though.

I agree with Brain.

That she is overshadowed by names like Slick and Fuji is a flat out embarrassment really as neither could compare to her. Elizabeth wasn't even really a manager, more like eye candy with some character development occurring every few months.

Sherri SHOULD be on everyone's short list of modern managers. Her name should be next to people like Heenan, Heyman, Cornette, and Dillon, not Fuji and Slick.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

By the same token you could say Woman or Missy Hyatt could fit into the same mould and be equally valued, but they're not.

When people think of great managers the first 3 names instantly WILL be Heenan, Heyman and Cornette from any serious wrestling fan. Those of an older age will add either Dillon, Blassie, Elizabeth or Paul Bearer possibly Jimmy Hart to that mix.

Then come next tier and Sherri should rightfully be in that conversation early... but all of the above people on balance did more than she did. She had 3 major WWF clients as an official manager... Savage, DiBiase and Shawn... Two were on the "downswing" portion of their careers and Shawn was literally just starting out. She helped them but those clients didn't do anything that couldn't have been done without her or with someone else. Indeed Savage could easily have joined the Heenan Family and made that post title run work just as well.

In WCW, Flair didn't need her.. neither did Harlem Heat... but that's no different than Fuji, Slick, Madusa, Woman, Harvey Wippleman and the myriad other lower tier managers throughout the 80's and 90's. They weren't "needed" but they were there to add variety to the roster... Fuji only really came into his own when Yokozuna came around and Slick's 5 minutes of fame ended when the Bossman left him...he was a good vehicle for the Twin Towers, but not much else. When you truly look back, managers back then were SO hit and miss and almost a lottery. Warlord could have been huge had he gone with Heenan instead of Barbarian, someone like Sherri would have been perfect for Rick Martel and maybe even the Hollywood Blondes in WCW rather than Harlem Heat. You can almost make a game of swapping managers around from that era and most would have worked better with different clients...

Imagine these pairings/stables:-

Elizabeth & The Rockers (post Savage)
Slick & Bad News Brown and Akeem post Bossman turn
Jimmy Hart & The Rockers for a heel turn in place of the Nasty Boys
Sherri, Rick Martel, Power and Glory and Jim Neidhart
Bam Bam Bigelow and Bobby Heenan in 1987

All of those could have impacted positively on the careers of those involved. Liz wasn't known for "rockin' and rollin'" but she'd have given the Rockers a reason for tension... likewise as heels turning on the Harts to take their titles by hooking up with the guy who knew them best, their old manager.

Sherri with Martel always seemed so logical, but I feel it was nixed by Rick after his wife's death... but her and Power and Glory or Neidhart, great idea... hell even a heel Bret and Sherri would have been great. Bam Bam got Humperdink, and it died a death... All of those changes and you could have seen the talent s involved become more valuable or better used...


It's not a given that Sherri makes that top 5... she genuinely doesn't on merit...other people managed higher profile clients in a more meaningful way... but she was the first "proper" Manageress in terms of being a rounded out character and not just a valet. She deserves her due for that.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Not to be distracting but just WWE speaking when I think of the "Great Mgrs" of the "Golden Era" Slick doesn't come to mind but Classie Freddie Blassie & Capt Lou Albano do. Just sayin

 

[FlairFan2003]

Then come next tier and Sherri should rightfully be in that conversation early... but all of the above people on balance did more than she did. She had 3 major WWF clients as an official manager... Savage, DiBiase and Shawn... Two were on the "downswing" portion of their careers and Shawn was literally just starting out. She helped them but those clients didn't do anything that couldn't have been done without her or with someone else. Indeed Savage could easily have joined the Heenan Family and made that post title run work just as well.

In WCW, Flair didn't need her.. neither did Harlem Heat...

.

The job of a manager as a character is to help the wrestler "get over" and be established with the audience. He/she must add something significant to the package.

With Harlem Heat they were a talented tag team that wasn't very good on the mic at a time tag wrestling was struggling, adding Sherri's character helped give them instant credibility with the audience "who are these guys, why is Sherri with them ?" - In that sense she more than did her job.

With Flair he certainly didn't need help "getting over" - he was WCW champ at the time and it was first time WCW had seen an uptick in their TV ratings in what seemed like forever (probably since before Flair, Luger, etc all left for WWE). What he did need was help getting the audience to boo him since Hogan wanted his upcoming feud with Flair to be a traditional match up of their 80s characters and not a "good guy vs good guy" tilt like he did with Ultimate Warrior. Sherri was a very quick solution, have her screw job Sting (who was beloved and was Flair's friend storyline wise at the time) with Flair's permission to secure the title unification and be an obnoxious, heat drawing magnet at ringside and in promos for the next month leading up to the Hogan-Flair match on PPV. It was still hard to get Flair universally booed against Hogan because of the strong "WCW vs WWE" component, especially among older fans who appreciated Flair's ring work and charismatic character more than Hogan's more one dimensional character, but I think adding Sherri did make Flair a lot less likable and more believable as a heel in that story than if he simply swerved Sting or another fan fave on his own. In that sense I think she did a good job.

No doubt she was a huge part of Savage's successful heel turn and run as "The Macho King" - she was essential in getting that angle over and turning Savage from a guy as beloved by fans as Hogan & Dusty Rhodes to probably the most disliked character in wrestling. Savage's character also fit much better as a "lone wolf" type, not part of a conglomerate like The Heenan Family, plus that would have been a re do of Andre's heel turn on Hogan only about a year or so after the fact, this was something that not only made sense given how his character was presented in the past but worked very well. It also made Savage more hated with fans than another manager could have done because of the relationship component between them, Sherri was the "anti-Liz" and drew extra heat for Savage because it seemed like he dumped everyone's favorite sweetheart for the trashy bar girl, making him an even bigger jerk. Likewise, years later in WCW Savage looked even more sympathetic when he turned to Liz for help in his feud with The Horsemen and she swerved him, openly bragging about spending his money and partying with his enemies.

With HBK she did what managers are typically most responsible for - she helped someone who wasn't established or over with the audience get over. Without Sherri HBK, who wasn't nearly as good on the mic in his early days as he would later become, is just another too small tag team guy without a partner. Sherri was a major part of creating the whole Heart Break Kid persona and making it popular with fans which HBK needed because he was still viewed as the teeny bopper tag team guy from that Rock & Roll Express rip off team, not exactly main event material. He obviously had the talent, but he wasn't connected to the audience, the creation of that HBK persona which relied heavily on Sherri in those early days was a huge part in Michaels becoming a big deal with the fans. A different manager, especially a male, never could have accomplished that. Michaels might still have been successful but it wouldn't have been in that persona, which fit him to a tee, especially since he was such a huge Flair mark (essentially he was able to update the Nature Boy persona which was his fave and play it himself which made him more comfortable).

 

[justtxyank]

Poster above me knows what's up.

Also, comparing Sherri to Elizabeth or Missy Hyatt is insulting. Elizabeth was beautiful and classy, and she played her role well, but her relevance was always directly tied to the person she was connected with. She couldn't speak and when she was called on to act she was a dud.

Hyatt might have the most annoying voice in wrestling history and bombed at everything she was ever asked to do by the two big companies (WCW and WWF) other than look sexy. She was abysmal as a commentator, she was abysmal as a manager...her only value came from dressing sexy/****ty and getting a rise out of the male audience. Of course, that's what most valets are expected to do.

Sherri was NOT that. Sherri was a heat magnet. Why was she only paired with one person at a time? Because she was normally paired with someone the company placed a lot of value in and was expected to play an instrumental role in keeping heat on that worker.

Sherri was vital to Flair getting over as a heel again in 94, vital to the Savage heel to face progress from as Macho King to Wrestlemania VII, vital to the early days of Harlem Heat, etc.

Whether fans remember her value though is irrelevant, because the companies she worked for knew it. The WWF paired her with Savage, DiBiase and future superstar Shawn Michaels. In ECW they paired her with "Franchise" Shane Douglas and then briefly Brian Pillman. In WCW they paired her with Ric Flair, teased an alignment with Sting, were planning to put her with rising star Steve Austin until his injury and ultimately put her with the hottest tag team in the company, Harlem Heat. Yes, she managed other people for brief spurts when storylines fell apart and she needed something to do, but since 1989 she was a manager that was given major clients for the two biggest promotions for nearly a decade.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I don't think Sherri is nearly as "under rated" as Harley Race, an extremely effective mouth piece and ring side manager for both Lex Luger & Vader in the early 90s. Race almost single handedly turned Luger heel after a long fan fave run and gave him major bad guy cred with the audience during his title run. Vader's size and athleticism meant he didn't need as much help getting his villain character over but Vader was an essential part of Vader's "un-beatable" nature as Champ, and magnified the "uncontrollable" monster part of his character being portrayed as the only guy who could control the beast.