"wrestling is my addiction"

Sherri Martel can remember the times when, as a little girl growing up in New Orleans, she and her friends would go to the playground for an afternoon of unsupervised fun. Within 15 minutes, there would be a dozen parents on the scene trying to break up a disturbance. Little Sherri had done it again. 

“It got to the point after a while where none of the other kids would sit in the sandbox with me,” Martel fondly recalled. “To me, that was a little wrestling ring, and I’d just pick up the little kids and slam them in the sand. I guess I knew what I wanted to do with my life at an early age.”

Tamara Murphy Fytch has slightly different memories of her earlier years. Fytch didn’t punch, kick, or slam anybody, but she controlled her peers nonetheless. From 10th grade on, Fytch was president of her student council, head cheerleader, captain of the girl’s varsity soccer team, and president of the debating society. Not surprisingly, her peers voted her “Most Likely To  Succeed” During her senior year of high school. 

“Everybody knew me,” Fytch said. “I had my hand in just about everything, and you know what was the most awesome thing of all? Even with doing all that, I still pulled straight A’s. I’ve known I’m something special for a long time.”

Fytch and Martel are two of the very special women ruling the power meetings in wrestling these days. They are mentally and emotionally stronger than a lot of the men in the sport. Physically, Martel can give many of the guys a run for their money (did anyone catch her beating on The Nasty Boys at WCW Uncensored?). Anyone who still thinks wrestling is a man’s sport has another think coming when wrestlings power gals are around. 

Fytch. Martel. Woman. Miss Texas. Alundra Blayze, BullNakano. These are the women whose power, intelligence, and beauty shrink any man down to size when they’re around. Wrestling’s female power brokers wear the pants in this sport. 

Take Martel, who has managed Harlem Heat to the WCW World tag team title. Here’s a team that had little going for it until Sister Sherri joined the fold. Under her management, they have risen to the top of the tag team heap. 

[Woman doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. Sandman probably wouldn’t have accomplished nearly as much in ECW without her. Heck, she’ll even try to claw Cactus Jack’s eyes out if she sees fit.]

“Harlem Heat is great because I don’t let anybody step on them,” Martel said. “Anyone who thinks they can pull a fast one on my men is in for a big surprise. I’ve been around this game long enough to know the ins and outs, and one thing I know is that when you have the belts, you call the shots.”

Martel has also won the AWA and WWF Women’s titles and managed WCW World champion Ric Flair and WWF Intercontinental champion Shawn Michaels. She is not only the top female manager in the world, she is possibly the top manager in the world, period. 

“I don’t see who’s had more success managing more top wrestlers lately,” said broadcaster Tony Schiavone. “Sherri has power, and she knows how to use it.”

So does Fytch, who made relative unknowns Chris Candido and Brian Lee into somebodies… and champions. There’s little doubt Fytch’s star will soon rise much faster and shine much brighter. She’s just one of those self-made women who need only one little break to turn it into something big. Fytch is smart, beautiful, and aggressive.

Woman hides her intelligence behind a beautiful, though somewhat slutty exterior. She knows sex sells, and a sexy image can help advance a woman’s career. This Woman, who managed The Sandman in ECW and had managed former World tag team champions Doom in WCW, rules with a lace first.

Who can forget the night when Tommy Dreamer, despite being beaten to a bloody pulp by a Singapore cane-wielding Sandman, refused to kiss Woman’s feet? She said Sandman would stop only if he did this. But doing so would have been giving in to her power. There is no doubting who controls Sandman. 

“I don’t like men telling me what to do,” Women said. “It’s not my style. Men think they can have their way with me because I’m beautiful and sexy, but it’s all part of a power trip, and the power is mine.”

[Sherri Martel regularly assists in the physical assaults by The Nasty Boys and doesn’t care what the consequences are. Is it so hard to believe she bullied all the other kids in the sandbox when she was little?]

Kimberly, “Dirty White Boy” Tony Anthony’s “Dirty White Girl,’ has been a bit more subservient than most women in wrestling, but still plenty powerful. Last year, she knocked out a wrestler named The Hornet with a single punch. 

[Alundra Blayze is beautiful, but she’d rather be known as the woman who made women’s wrestling popular again. As for Bull Nakano, she’s as tough and powerful as most men.]

There’s no doubting Miss Texas’ beauty or power. She is still the only woman ever to be ranked on the “PWI 500.” Long live Missy Hyatt, who’s out of the sport, but not out of our hearts or minds. The image of Missy lives forever. And she wasn’t merely the blonde bombshell to end all blonde bombshells. She was an effective manager, valet, and Tv commentator. 

[Would Chris Candido ever have won the NWA title without Tamara Murphy Fytch’s expert guidance? No way, she says. In just two years, Fytch has become one of wrestling’s most powerful managers.]

Alundra Blayze, formerly known as Madusa Miceli, and Bull Nakano, the WWF World Women’s champion, do their work mainly in the ring. Although she is extremely beautiful, Blayze would rather be known as a world-class wrestler than a world-class beauty. Her goal is to make women’s wrestling as popular in North America as it is in Japan. 

[Miss Texas has made life hell for practically every woman who has appeared in the USWA… and a few men, too. After beating Hamie Dundee two years, she became the first woman ever to be ranked in the “PWI 500.”]

Nakano, who has never been accused of being beautiful, is one of the world’s most violent wrestlers. Many men are afraid to go one-on-one with her. Nakano is so tough that she has scared away a host of potential contenders to her title. 

Luna Vachon scared away many suitors before marrying the equally scary Vampire Warrior in 1994. It takes a strong man to simply look at Luna, much less confront her. But Luna is the prototype of today’s strong female in wrestling. She is much more concerned with actions than appearances. She isn’t afraid of being aggressive. Luna doesn’t care if men approve of her.