Sable
Inducted by JCool
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I don’t think Rena Mero (Sable) ever could have imagined just where life would take her when she accompanied her then-husband, Marc Mero, to his meeting with WWE in 1996. Marc had just left WCW and a fairly successful mid-card run, holding the Television Championship three times. Vince McMahon wanted to sign Marc, but he also wanted to sign Rena. He saw a woman whose beauty, presence and poise could draw a lot of attention to his wrestling shows. He saw a woman who could make (and make him) a lot of money.
When Sable accompanied Triple H to the ring for his Wrestlemania XII match against The Ultimate Warrior, fans were immediately drawn to the stunning, buxom, blonde-haired woman. Later, Triple H would toss her to the curb and the newly named “Wildman” Marc Mero would come to her rescue. It was that pairing with her husband that would push her to become the “original diva” of the WWE.
For many wrestling fans growing up during the Attitude Era, myself included, Sable was very noticeable and very easy on the eyes. She captivated our demographic and became one of the top reasons why we tuned into Monday Night Raw each week. The cameras followed her every move, even during Mero’s matches, and she received plenty of praise from commentators like Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler. And why not? She, along with Sunny, were the definition of beauty in the WWF in the late 1990s.
For some time, she was content to simply be a valet for Mero, but as her popularity grew, the WWE decided to give Sable her own opportunity to shine. She received a feature match at Wrestlemania XIV, teaming up with Mero against Goldust and Luna Vachon. It was only the 3rd mixed tag match in Wrestlemania history and the first match involving women wrestlers since late 1995. It can be argued that her popularity and her desire to be more than just a valet contributed to WWE deciding to bring back the Women’s Division.
Although the matches were short and often won by ripping clothes off of an opponent, Sable handled her role well, fascinating fans with her creative and revealing dresses and swimwear. Her outfit at Fully Loaded 1998 blurred the lines of what defined a bikini when she lifted her crop-top to reveal latex-painted hands over her breasts. It was a must-see (often replayed) moment of the summer that year. Sable commented, during an interview with WWE Confidential in 2003, how she enjoyed coming up with creative ways to wear revealing outfits. This would eventually bring Playboy magazine calling and she would accept their offer to pose in their magazine on three occasions.
Sable would win the WWF Championship in the fall of 1998 over her main rival, Jacqueline and by 1999, she would leave on bad terms, filing a lawsuit against WWE for sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions. Though she would eventually return for a year in 2003, it was the initial run that made her the “original diva”, setting the tone and the type of woman WWE sought for their programming for much of the Diva years.
Many wrestlers and wrestling personalities build a Hall of Fame worthy career with years of training, touring, dealing with multiple promotions, injuries, ups and downs and multiple championship reigns. There are few names in the wrestling world who can claim to have made as much impact as Sable did in just three years. In fact, the Attitude Era was the perfect era for a woman like Sable to be successful.
In Closing
Sable didn’t have to be an extremely athletic and talented wrestler, which is today’s standard for both divisions. She benefitted from a very generous husband who supported her valet work and taught her the Sable Bomb that would launch her career to the next level. She became the featured female star of the WWF at the time when the WWF wanted to move to a PG-13 product, taking more risks with violence, language and sexuality to appeal to the 18-35 male demographic.
There will always be space for beauty and sex appeal in pro wrestling, and Sable was #1 for that during a time when there were very few, if not any, opportunities for women to be featured on wrestling programming. Sable is one of the women who broke that trend and brought women back on screen again. And, twenty-five years later, women are doing way more than posing for calendars in bikinis. They’re headlining Wrestlemania and wrestling in Hell in a Cell matches.
Sable played a part in making that happen and, for that, we are pleased to induct her into the LOP/WH Hall of Fame, Class of 2023
Career Accomplishments
- WWF Women’s Champion
- 2nd in PWI’s Woman of the Year Rankings, 1999
- Appearances at WrestleMania XIV, XV and XX
Lords of Pain.net/Wrestling Headlines.com welcomes Sable into the Hall of Fame class of 2023.
Related Links:Wrestling Headlines/LOP Hall of Fame 2022: Luna Vachon
The History of Canadian Professional Wrestling
