When thinking of Sherri Martel what comes to mind? I’m sure most fans would remember her as the valet for wrestlers such as Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Harlem Heat, right? It’s quite the resume and would be expected to remember her in that manner. But, Sherri Martel was also an accomplished in-ring wrestler having won the AWA Women’s World Championship on four occasions and was also the WWF Women’s Champion from the summer of ’87 to October ’88.
Personally, I grew up watching Sherri as a manager for the wrestlers mentioned above and would always be shocked by her ability to take in-ring bumps. As a kid, I was mostly unaware of her accolades in-ring prior to her managerial run. Now as an adult, and with so much wrestling footage available, I find myself learning something new on a daily basis in the wrestling world.
I recently looked into a company called MAW. They ran out of the Midwest area and they have some notable talent such as CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Austin Aries, Mr. Anderson and others that came through the area. I was caught off guard to see that Sherri Martel competed for the company and was in a tables and ladders match.
It is July 23rd, 2000. MAW Summer Sizzler.
CM PUNK, JASON KRONAN & DAVE PRAZAK VS. BOBBY BAMBINO, DINO BAMBINO & SHERRI MARTEL — BEST TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS, TABLES & LADDERS
The rules of the match are that the first team to put their opponent through two tables will win the match. There are plenty of tables and ladders both in the ring and at ringside. Prazak comically came out to Shawn Michaels theme when Sherri sang it.
Sherri and the Bambino’s hit trio clotheslines to kickoff the bout. Sherri looks to be in great shape since she had been on WCW TV earlier in the year. It looks like they are starting off the match with traditional rules, which is something I’ve never liked. Dino backs Punk into a corner and delivers a kick. Punk avoids Dino and is monkey flipped out of the corner leading to a standoff. Punk taunts Sherri on the apron, who is ready to be tagged in. Sherri eye rakes Punk followed by chops in the corner. Sherri gives Punk a wedgie and allows the Bambino’s to strike Punk from the apron. Sherri spanks Punk into his corner and Kronan tags into the match to try his luck with Sherri. Kronan does some taunts, but is met with a strike and Sherri rams Kronan into the corner. Sherri slingshots Prazak into the ring from the apron. Sherri jams Prazak’s head while giving a wedgie. Sherri chops Prazak in the corner followed by a clothesline. Prazak collapses coming out of the corner and Sherri tries for a cover, but there are no pins in the match. Prazak bails to the floor, but is decked by Sherri. Prazak is put onto a table at ringside. Sherri tries to climb the ropes, but Punk and Kronan come over to start brawling. Thankfully, it looks like the match has fallen apart already. Dino dives off the top onto Kronan on the floor. Prazak runs away from Sherri and climbs a ladder in the ring. Sherri punches Prazak a few times. Sherri eye rakes Prazak. Prazak knocks Sherri off the ladder and she crashes through the table for the first fall!
Punk and Kronan work over Dino with a double clothesline as Sherri is checked on at ringside. Punk continues with a delayed vertical suplex on Dino. Kronan rams Dino into the corner as they’ve gone back to a structured match formula. Dino baseball slides a ladder into Prazak on the floor. Punk hits a fisherman suplex on Dino, but there’s no pin. Punk strikes Sherri on the apron a couple of times. Punk misses a splash in the corner and is over the middle rope where Dino leaps across the ring off the middle rope to leg drop Punk! That was actually pretty cool! All six competitors are brawling, again. Bobby head scissors Kronan into the corner and sets up a ladder. Bobby sends Kronan into the ladder and rams the ladder into Kronan’s face. Punk chokes Sherri on the floor while taunting the fans. Bobby drives Kronan down with a fisherman buster. Kronan powerbombs Bobby out of the corner. Kronan slams Dino and lays a ladder down. Kronan powerbombs Dino onto the ladder! Punk drives Bobby ribs first onto the ladder from a wheelbarrow position. Bobby catapults Punk into a ladder in the corner. Bobby dropkicks Punk coming off the ropes. Kronan tosses Dino into the ring post. Bobby misses a springboard moonsault attempt. Punk decks Sherri off the apron.
Kronan brings a table into the ring and Punk puts Dino onto the table. Punk heads to the top rope, but Sherri shakes the ropes to crotch Punk. Bobby hits a hurricanrana on Kronan and Sherri slams Punk off the top. Prazak is double teamed. by Bobby and Sherri. Sherri leg drops Prazak on the groin. Sherri elbow drops Prazak on the knee as Punk is laid onto a table on the floor. Prazak is sent head first into the table in the corner, and on a second attempt, Prazak crashes through the table. Dino leaps off the top and puts Punk through the table with a shooting star press to the floor! Holy crap that was quite the finish!
It was quite the visual to see Sherri falling off a ladder through a table for an indie company in the year 2000. My mind went to thinking of Sherri in the early 90’s WWF and I tried to wrap my head around seeing her at WrestleMania, and in a handful of years she’s crashing through tables. She was motivated to perform and the table bump proved that. It essentially took her out of the match from then on for the most part, but the bump alone was worth seeing her in this match. Also, I’ve not watched much of Dino Bambino, but he was a ton of fun here. The shooting star press to the floor through a table is one of the crazier spots in this era that I’ve seen.
This is also very early into CM Punk’s career and he wouldn’t really burst onto the indie scene for a couple more years. Dave Prazak is an underrated heel manager and his performance here was entertaining, too. Prazak came across like he had been watching Bobby Heenan tapes, and that’s all good.
Match Rating: ***1/4
You can watch the match on IWTV under the MAW tab.
Thanks for reading.