Sable's Run With WWE
In the late 90s, WWE was headlined by Stone Cold Steve Austin, but there was one woman receiving some of the biggest reactions outside of the Texas Rattlesnake and that was Rena ‘Sable’ Mero. At one point, Sable became such an established box office draw that the USA network arranged to have her appear on their television programs such as ‘Pacific Blue’. With fame often comes ego, as her WWE run was full of backstage animosity that included the breakup of her marriage while also finding a new love along the way.
Sable’s Debut
Sable first signed with WWE after accompanying her then-husband, Marc Mero, to his contract signing. Vince McMahon and his fellow executives were so impressed with Sable and they offered her a contract too. Her on-screen debut took place at Wrestlemania XII where she accompanied Hunter Hurst Helmsley to the ring. Sable continued to accompany Triple H to ringside until she left to be the manager of her husband Marc Mero.
At Summerslam 1996, Marc Mero faced off with Goldust as he, along with Sable feuded with Goldust and his valet Marlena. Bruce Pritchard has spoken about Sable's first involvement in a feud and how a lesbian storyline between the two ladies was nixed.
“Vince actually got cold feet,” Bruce said. “We started it, and we started it with Marlena coming onto Sable. The idea behind that was the whole package that Goldust package of Goldust and Marlena — this androgynous couple. Both of them probably swing in and every way. “So it was started that way and Vince got cold feet. I don’t know if it was pressure from USA or if he just felt watching it that it was uncomfortable going there for whatever reason. But we had planned on going full-hilt.”
In November of 1996, she helped Mero become the WWE Intercontinental Champion but throughout 1997, Mero was out on the sidelines dealing with an injury. While appearing on her own, Sable's popularity steadily grew with every appearance. Throughout 1997, Sable cemented herself as WWE's number one sex symbol. Sable soon began to outshine WWE's first diva, Sunny. Bruce Pritchard discussed he animosity behind the scenes as Sable overtook Sunny as WWE's first lady.
[Sable] was the hottest thing and she was outselling Sunny. She did outsell Sunny and she was blowing her out of the water as far as merchandise sales and everything else. So all of a sudden, there is competition and there’s a new, hotter babe in town and you’ve got the one [Sunny] that has been here a few years and she’s not showing up on time, she’s not coherent a lot and all of that other good stuff. So now you’ve got the new model here. And Rena’s new, she’s, A), willing to do anything, and she’s up. And, by the way, the reaction she gets when she walks out there [is huge]. Yes.”
Marc Mero returned to WWE television in late 1997 with a new personality that incorporated a sense of jealously due to Sable’s newfound popularity. This led to a famous angle on RAW in December 1997, where Mero ordered Sable to accompany him to the ring, but Mero chose her outfit and made her wear a potato sack to cover up his wife. Defying her husband, she removed the potato sack to reveal a bikini in a memorable moment from the Attitude Era.
On the road to Wrestlemania XIV, Marc Mero and the artist formally known as Goldust rekindled their feud but this time, Sable was involved in physical altercations along with Goldust's new valet, Luna Vachon. On an episode of Monday Night RAW, Goldust and Mero had a match with Sable and Luna handcuffed on separate sides of the ring to keep them apart. Goldust would uncuff Luna, allowing her to attack Sable. This eventually led to a match at WrestleMania where Sable and Marc Mero defeated Goldust and Luna after Sable pinned Luna.
Upset with the loss, Luna challenged Sable to a rematch and wanting to embarrass her, she challenged Sable to an evening gown match at Unforgiven. Luna won the match at the pay-per-view after Marc Mero distracted Sable. Angry over the distraction which cost her the match, Sable challenged Mero to a match at Over the Edge, while delivering a kick to the groin and a Sable bomb to Mero. At Over the Edge, Mero defeated Sable which effectively ended their on-screen relationship.
Marc Mero introduced his new manager, the debuting Jacqueline. Sable and Jacqueline began an intense rivalry which led to a bikini contest between the pair at Fully Loaded 1998. After Sable unveiled herself with his handprints covering her breasts, the overwhelmingly positive reaction from the live crowd secured her as the clear winner. The next evening on Monday Night RAW, Vince McMahon overturned the decision and awarded the win to Jacqueline as Sable technically wasn’t wearing a bikini.
This led to Marc Mero and Jacqueline facing Sable and a mystery opponent, who later turned out to be Edge, in a mixed tag team match at Summerslam. Sable and Edge ultimately picked up the win at Madison Square Garden. On RAW, Sable and Jacqueline face each other with the reinstated WWE Women’s Championship on the line. Jackie picked up the victory when Mero held down Sable's legs as Jackie pinned her. After the match, Jacqueline cut off some of Sable's hair and would entwine it in her own hair.
A rematch was made for Survivor Series to conclude end their long rivalry where Sable pinned Jacqueline to capture the WWE Women’s Championship. The rivalry put Sable at the forefront of WWE, which also led to an appearance in Playboy magazine as a cover girl. Bruce Pritchard spoke about Sable appearing in Playboy on his podcast.
“We were hot at the time and the product itself was hot and Rena was — good god, Sable that character [was] one of the most downloaded females in the world. Playboy as they often or at least did back in the day would often reach out to celebrities or other people who would appeal to their audience and make that offer, ‘would you pose nude for Playboy?’ They approached WWE about Sable and asked. There was even talk of doing the women of WWF and all that other stuff, but Playboy had approached us.”
During the peak of her popularity, tensions began to arise backstage as she regularly clashed with WWE Management. On ‘Grilling JR’, Jim Ross discussed Sable’s troubles along with her star power.
“{Sable was] absolutely a Bonafede star, gender aside, it didn’t make a damn bit of difference,” Ross said. “She earned and garnered the numbers every single time she stepped out on television. She got over. In two years, she was doing Playboy, T.V. guide, and they were selling. She was a star; she moved the needle on every venue she performed in. She did it all with no advanced training – 24 months. There’re people in NXT that have been there for 24 months that are still working hard to get called up or even get on the show. Her rise to that stardom is nothing short of incredible.”
“She listened to the wrong people,” Ross said. “You can look at it in a zillion ways. It comes back down to me as being egocentric. Every pro wrestler has a varying amount of insecurities and anxieties, every one of them. Some to a degree that it is counter productive, and some to a degree that motivates them to be great and stay great. But she got a little too big for her britches.”
“We were not going to release her. Not seeing Sable in a match, having her in a house show when she was there as an attraction, it was nice, but we didn’t have to have her. She was trying to ease out of the wrestling world to try her hand in a Hollywood thing. It’s every little girl’s dream. It didn’t come as a shock.”
As WWE Women’s Champion, Sable's attitude noticeably changed. After once again defeating Luna at Royal Rumble 1999, Sable established herself as a heel as she headed to Wrestlemania XV for a match against her troublesome fan Tori. The attitude shift was portrayed alongside real-life feelings backstage with Sable believing she was simply better than everyone else. During this timeframe, she also debuted a new catchphrase: “This is for all the women who want to be me and all the men who come to see me"
With her Playboy issue being the highest-grossing ever at the time, Sable began negotiations with WWE over her contract, but they couldn’t come to terms as her demands were reportedly unrealistic. Due to not coming to terms on a new contract, WWE arranged for Sable to lose the Women’s Championship to Debra in an evening gown match.
Following her departure from WWE, Sable made frequent appearances on television while also becoming the first woman from WWE to appear in Playboy as a cover girl twice in the same year.
Appearing as Rena Mero, she acted as the on-screen CEO for the short-lived XWF promotion.
Most notably during her time away, Sable filed a lawsuit against WWE citing sexual harassment and an unsafe working environment while seeking $110 million in damages. WWE and Sable settled out of court for a fee believed to be well below $110 million.
Sable Returns
After almost 4 years away from WWE, Sable returned to WWE television in April of 2003 and set her sights on the newest WWE Playboy cover girl, Torrie Wilson. This led to a bikini contest which Wilson won after revealing a second, slimmer bikini.
Sable later began an on-screen romance with Vince McMahon which in turn began a rivalry with Stephanie McMahon. The Sable, Stephanie rivalry felt familiar to the Stephanie, Trish Stratus feud from 2001. Both Trish and Sable were romantically involved with Mr. McMahon which didn’t please the billion-dollar princess.
With Stephanie disagreeing with their relationship, she would face Sable at Vengence 2003. During the match, Stephanie removed Sable's top and while the referee's back was turned helping Sable cover-up, A-Train appeared and attacked Stephanie, allowing Sable to earn the victory.
The following month at Summerslam, A-Train, with Sable, faced The Undertaker. After the Undertaker defeated A-Train, Sable confronted The Undertaker, but Stephanie came down to the ring and speared Sable. Sable continued to be in the corner of Vince McMahon and even accompanied him at No Mercy when McMahon defeated his daughter Stephanie in an ‘I Quit’ match.
Sable along with Torrie Wilson was announced as appearing in Playboy magazine together in 2004. Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie protested this decision made by Playboy owner Hugh Hefner, so a Playboy Evening Match was made between the two teams at WrestleMania XX with Sable and Wilson emerging victorious.
After Wrestlemania and the release of their Playboy issue, Sable became particularly jealous of Torrie Wilson's popularity and attacked her, leading to a massive brawl between the pair on Smackdown. Sable pinned Torrie Wilson in their match at the Great American Bash that year. Wilson ultimately gained revenge on Smackdown picking up a pinfall victory in their rematch. Sable only made a few more appearances for the company before departing for a final time.
While reflecting on Sable’s career in WWE, one could describe her run in the late 90s as iconic. Sable’s contributions were likely undervalued as it relates to bringing mainstream attention to Monday Night Raw and emerging as one of their most popular attractions.
Perhaps due to her well-documented ego, Sable doesn’t receive the recognition she deserves as being a true trailblazer for women during the Attitude Era, which is why she is worthy of a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
