Eris

[Sable’s popularity with WWF fans drives Mero nuts with jealousy.]

He may think that he is “Marvelous,” but Marc Mero has been acting like a louse in regards to the lovely Sable. It seems that the man who thinks he is simply “Marvelous” is very envious of all the attention that has been showered on Sable.

Sable’s first appearance in the WWF came as Hunter Heasrst Helmsley’s valet at Wrestlemania XII. Before Chyna came on the scene, HHH fashioned himself as a ladies man. Living up to his reputation, the “Blue Blood” from Greenwich, CT. would always choose a different lovely lady to escort him to the ring. While others escorted Helmsley to Poughkeepsie, Stamford, Allentown or other cities throughout the country, the beautiful Sable drew the plumb Wrestlemania assignment. Although HHH chose Sable to be his personal escort at Wrestlemania, this was the last time that the two of them were seen together. Soon thereafter the lovely Sable became a fixture on Marc Mero’s arm.

At the time, however, Sable was just an extra. While she would walk Mero to the ring and offer her ringside support, the attention was squarely on Marc Mero. On September 23, 1996, the night that Mero defeated Faarooq in the finals of a tournament to crown a new International Champion, Sable started to come out of her shell. Although Mero held the gold, the fans seemed to be more enamored of Sable than they were of the champion. In a twist of irony, on October 21, 1996 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Marc Mero lost the gold to the man who had introduced Sable to the WWF, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

[A lot of fans and wrestlers alike have been upset with the way Mero mistreats Sable in public.]

For the next several months Mero and Sable became the hottest couple on the WWF scene. During this time Sable’s popularity soared. However, for one reason or another, MArc Mero never really caught on with the WWF faithful.

Toward the latter part of 1996 Marc Mero suffered a very serious knee injury that needed immediate medical attention. Sable soon found herself out of work. But this didn’t last for long as the WWF, knowing of her tremendous popularity, asked her to come back as their spokeswoman. On her return, Sable was a huge sensation! During this time she was linked romantically to several WWF Superstars and she became so popular that she won two awards at the 1997 Slammies: The “Dressed to Kill” award and the “Miss Slammmy: swimsuit competition.” To capture the “miss Slammy” award, Sable bested her arch rival, Sunny, and to say that Sunny was a little annoyed would be an understatement.

After her Slammy-winning performance an even hotter commodity. Meanwhile, Marc Mero was 

At home in Atlanta trying to work himself back into shape so that he could regain the spotlight.

In the summer of 1997, Mero finally returned to the wrestling scene, but due to his long layoff, he wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was prior to his injury. After a couple of months trying to regain his form, Mero disappeared from sight and began a new training regiment. On his return he wore boxing trunks; he had his hair cropped short and proclaimed himself to be “Marvelous” Marc Mero. Harking back to his days as an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer, Mero also had a new attitude towards Sable. Where he once looked upon Sable for support. Mero now thought of her as a distraction. In fact he even accused Sable of playing up to his opponents instead of devoting all of her time and energies to him. 

[No good deed goes unpunished, of course Mero responded to Brandi’s interference with a chairshot!]

As “Marvelous” Marc Mero challenged heavyweight boxer Butterbean to a match after he accused Butterbean of making inappropriate advances towards Sable. Their battle took place on the D-Generation X pay-per-view in Springfield, Massachusetts. Butterbean was well on his way to knocking out Mero when the “Marvelous One” hit him with the ringside stool in between rounds three and four. Mero was disqualified for his action and the victory was awarded to Butterbean.

Following his match with Butterbean, Mero became embroiled in a feud with Tom Brandi, the former Salvatore Sincere. Mero didn’t like the fact that Brandi came to Sable’s aid after Mero berated her in front of millions of fans on Raw is War. It was obvious to all that Mero felt threatened by Brandi's sudden attention towards Sable. Actually, Brandi didn’t do anything wrong at all, but the jealous Mero though otherwise and attacked him. Since then Mero has battled Tom Brandi several times, and each time he has ordered Sable to leave the ringside area  after accompanying him to the ring. In each one of these matches the man who claims to be simply “Marvelous” needed to use a pair of brass knuckles to knock out Brandi.

[One wrestler who took exception to Mero’s abuse was Tom Brandi, formerly known as Salvadore Sincere. Here, he charges into the ring to save the damsel in distress.]

Photography by: Tom Buchanan, Rich Freeda and David McLain.

Makeup Coordinator/Artist: Jill Clark, Makeup Artist: Janet Ventrigila

Photography by: Tom Buchanan, Rich Freeda and David McLain.

Makeup Coordinator/Artist: Jill Clark, Makeup Artist: Janet Ventrigila

Photography by: Tom Buchanan, Rich Freeda and David McLain.

Makeup Coordinator/Artist: Jill Clark, Makeup Artist: Janet Ventrigila

Not since the Rockers in the late ‘80s have two sports-entertainers induced such frenzy amongst adolescent female fans. From tons of fan mail to near-stalking at the hotels the Hardy Boyz stay in, the brothers are the Beatles of sports-entertainment. Did Matt and Jeff Hardy ever imagine that along with Success in the World Wrestling Federation, they would be the objects of such affection?

“I didn’t really expect this kind of response from the female fans with the way our imagine was,” Matt told RAW Magazine. “When we first got with Michael [Hayes], we were real dark and were the furthest thing from being pretty and prim. I figured some of the girls would probably dig us because we’re young and we have bodies that are in good shape. But we didn’t expect girls to react to us like we’re the Backstreet Boys!”

“Our image is somewhat young and hip now,: Jeff said. “And the clothes we wear are considered pretty cool–it’s what all the young people wear out there."

But it's more than their clothes–or fine bodies and good looks, for that matter–that evoke such an impassioned response from the young female fans. It’s their attitude. Matt and Jeff Hardy certainly don’t personify the “All American Boy” image. No, there’s an element of danger to them. With their long locks and daring athleticism, they defy the image of main-stream America-and that’s what makes them so attractive to young girls. The Hardy Boyz sure beat the pimple-faced boy next door, not to mention the super-perfect jock in 3rd-period history class.

The question is: Just how far will these girls go to get the Hardy Boyz’ attention?

“One thing that sucks for Jeff and me is that Matt and Jeff Hardy are our real names,” Matt said. “We've had girls call our hotel rooms at all hours of the night, and we’ve even been on the road and have had girls waiting to follow us when we leave the arena–that happened a couple times. As a matter of fact, when we were in Texas at the last TV [taping] there were some girls who followed us for about nine miles.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty insane when stuff like that happens,” Jeff said. “Especially when you check into your hotel room and there’s three messages from people you don’t know–young ladies saying ‘Hey, if you want to get together and have some fun!’

“I say to myself, ‘Wait a minute–how did you know we were staying here?’ I guess when we’re in a town and they know Matt and Jeff Hardy are our real names, they’ll just call around to all the hotels to find out where we’re booked.”

But perhaps the area where one can gauge just how much of an impact the Hardy Boyz have had on young girls’ hearts is their fan mail. At RAW and World Wrestling Federation Magazines, one out of every four letters is either addressed to Matt and Jeff Hardy–or discusses them.  Girls write in pouring their hearts out, sharing their almost frantic feelings of love for one–or both–brothers, or they’re waiting to request tuxedo and chocolate-pudding matches involving the two! The Hardy Boyz have had the same kind of responses at their website (www.mattandjeffhardy.com).

“We get a lot of poetry,” Matt said. “And now that it’s springtime, we’re getting a ton of girls writing to us, asking us if we'll go to the prom with them!”

At their website, Jeff’s personal page includes poetry he written himself. After reading it, it’s no wonder the girls love these guys. Contrary to their “bad boy” image, the Hardys have a sensitive side–a fact that makes these brothers seem all the more approachable. 

While it must be flattering, one has to wonder if it ever gets tiring being the object of such adoration. 

“You know. I’m glad that they’re supportive and they’ll pay money to see us and buy our stuff, and that they’re behind us 100%.” Matt said. “And it’s also really, really flattering whenever we do appearances.

“You feel bad for them because there’s a lot of times that girls come through and they actually get to meet us and speak to us and shake out hands, and they’ll start crying and shaking and go through that whole deal, which you know is just so hard.” Matt added. “You just want to grab them and jug them to make them feel comfortable. But you know whenever that happens it’s just amazing that somebody can be that dedicated to you without ever actually meeting you.”

Photography by: Tom Buchanan, Rich Freeda and David McLain.

Makeup Coordinator/Artist: Jill Clark, Makeup Artist: Janet Ventrigila

Photography by: Tom Buchanan, Rich Freeda and David McLain.

Makeup Coordinator/Artist: Jill Clark, Makeup Artist: Janet Ventrigila