What did Marc Mero recently say about Sable?

During recent media appearances, Marc Mero reflected on his relationship with his ex-wife Sable with surprising maturity. He explicitly stated that he has forgiven her, holds zero grudges, and firmly believes she deserves an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

How popular was Sable during the Attitude Era?

Sable was one of the biggest female ratings and merchandise draws of the late 1990s. At the height of her popularity, she received crowd reactions comparable to Stone Cold Steve Austin and sold merchandise at a pace rivaling D-Generation X.

How did Sable first debut in the WWE?

Sable originally debuted in 1996 serving as the real-life wife and valet for Marc Mero. Although Mero was intended to be the main attraction, the crowds ignored his offensive flurries and were instantly hooked on Sable, transforming her into an accidental megastar.

Why did WWE use gimmick matches for Sable?

Sable was incredibly popular but lacked fundamental wrestling skills, making her a total trainwreck as an in-ring competitor. To mask her lack of ability, WWE frequently relied on smoke-and-mirrors tactics like evening gown and blindfold matches instead of traditional wrestling bouts.

When did Sable win the WWF Women's Championship?

Sable officially captured the WWF Women's Championship at the 1998 Survivor Series event by pinning Jacqueline. Her title victory occurred in a terrible match where her opponent had to work at a snail's pace just to keep everyone safe in the ring.

Marc Mero is right about Sable, and WWE needs to stop pretending otherwise

The ghost of the Attitude Era speaks

Wrestling history is written by the victors. In Stamford, the narrative gets rewritten to fit whatever corporate image Endeavor wants to project this quarter. But every once in a while, a ghost from the late nineties pops up to remind us of reality.

This week, that ghost is "Marvelous" Marc Mero. Remember him? He was the guy who fumbled the incredibly over Johnny B. Badd gimmick in WCW. He jumped ship, signed a massive guaranteed downside contract with Vince McMahon, and inadvertently introduced the world to the biggest female ratings draw of the Attitude Era.

Mero has been doing the media rounds lately, reflecting on his relationship with his ex-wife, Sable. The consensus from him is shockingly mature. He holds zero grudges. He completely forgives her. And most importantly, he flat-out states that she belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Honestly? The man is absolutely right. It is bordering on historical malpractice that Rena Lesnar does not have a cheap ring and a polite applause segment the night before WrestleMania.

The accidental megastar

Let's rewind to 1996. WCW was kicking the teeth out of the WWF in the Monday Night Wars. Vince McMahon was throwing money at anyone with boots. Mero debuted with a boxing routine, a Shooting Star Press, and his real-life wife walking him down the aisle.

Nobody cared about Mero. Seriously, go back and watch those raw feeds. The crowd was dead for his offensive flurry. But the cameramen kept panning to Sable. The audience was instantly hooked.

Within a year, Sable was getting Stone Cold Steve Austin-level pops. I am not exaggerating. When she walked out in that infamous potato sack during the jealousy angle, arenas literally shook. She was moving merchandise at a clip that rivaled D-Generation X.

Mero was rapidly reduced to a bitter, jealous mid-carder yelling at his wife to put on a robe. He feuded with Goldust over her honor, but the fans were purely there for the valet. It was art imitating life imitating art, and it made for fascinating television.

Brutal realities in the ring

But let's not view the past through rose-tinted glasses. We have to be brutally honest about the actual wrestling product. Sable was an atrocious professional wrestler.

When she actually had to step into the ring, it was a total trainwreck. Her matches with Luna Vachon were painfully smoke-and-mirrors. WWE had to mask her total lack of fundamentals with evening gown gimmicks, blindfold matches, and whatever the hell that weird mixed tag match at WrestleMania XIV was.

She had exactly one move that looked decent: a deeply unsafe, unassisted powerbomb. Sable actually won the WWF Women’s Championship at Survivor Series in 1998, pinning Jacqueline. It was a terrible match. Jacqueline had to work at a snail's pace just to make sure nobody got dropped on their head.

She held that belt for months, completely abandoning any pretense of being a fighting champion. She turned heel, demanded everyone call her the boss, and started cutting these painfully robotic, scripted promos.

When she finally dropped the title to Debra in an Evening Gown match, the ending was peak Attitude Era nonsense. Sable technically won by stripping Debra, but Shawn Michaels reversed the decision because Debra looked better. By that point, the crowd was actively tired of her massive ego trip.

Meanwhile, Mero tried to pivot to save his own career. He entered the infamous Brawl for All tournament, only to get absolutely starched by Steve Blackman. At the exact same time, Sable was posing for Playboy. Her first issue became one of the highest-selling magazines in the company's history. Jerry Lawler practically ruptured his vocal cords screaming about it on Monday Night Raw.

The disparity in their star power wasn't just a storyline anymore. It was a blindingly obvious reality that everyone in the locker room snickered about. Sable alienated the rest of the roster, treated the women's division like her personal backdrop, and ultimately left the company.

The lawsuit and the return

Her exit in 1999 was incredibly ugly. She sued the company for $110 million, citing unsafe working conditions and sexual harassment. She claimed the WWF wanted her to participate in lesbian storylines and expose herself on television.

She went on late-night talk shows and dragged Vince McMahon through the mud. In the insulated, unforgiving world of professional wrestling, that is usually a permanent death sentence. You do not sue the boss and expect to be welcomed back.

Except, she was. Because cash overrules everything in this sport.

Sable returned in 2003, kicking off an era that WWE desperately wants you to forget. She was slotted into a storyline as Vince McMahon's on-screen mistress. She feuded with Torrie Wilson, culminating in a deeply uncomfortable bikini contest at Judgment Day. Her second run lacked the explosive popularity of her peak. She was older, the audience had moved on to Trish Stratus, and the novelty had worn thin. She had a heatless program with Stephanie McMahon and quietly faded out.

The Brock Lesnar problem

During that second run, she met a freakishly athletic farm boy named Brock Lesnar. They married, moved to Saskatchewan, and vanished. That marriage is exactly why she is currently blacklisted from the Hall of Fame.

It is a political minefield. Lesnar is currently persona non grata in WWE corporate circles. Following the horrific Janel Grant lawsuit and the federal investigations into Vince McMahon, anyone closely associated with that era of toxic executive behavior has been quietly shuffled to the side.

Lesnar was heavily implicated in the legal filings. WWE completely erased him from the WWE 2K24 video game cover and scrapped his Royal Rumble plans. Inducting his wife right now? It would require acknowledging him. TKO public relations would rather swallow glass than deal with those press conference questions.

Taking the high road

Which brings us back to Marc Mero. His perspective on this is genuinely refreshing. Think about the massive ego hit this guy took over the last twenty years.

He brought his stunning wife into his workplace. She became infinitely more famous than him. She divorced him. She married the most terrifying heavyweight in combat sports history. Most ex-husbands would be doing bitter shoot interviews in a dingy hotel room, charging ten bucks a pop to trash her name.

Mero doesn't do that. He runs a motivational speaking non-profit. He travels to middle schools talking about making good choices and dealing with tragedy. When asked about his ex, he smiles, shrugs, and says she deserves her flowers.

He separates his personal pain from the business reality. If a guy who had his entire career eclipsed by his ex-wife can admit she belongs in the Hall of Fame, why can't the company that profited millions off her?

The Hall of Fame hypocrisy

Let's be serious about the actual Hall of Fame roster. The WWE Hall of Fame is not a legitimate museum of athletic excellence. It is a television show. It is a content property used to sell Peacock subscriptions.

Look at the absurdities currently enshrined:

Koko B. Ware for wearing a bird.
Donald Trump for shaving Vince's head.
Drew Carey for eliminating himself.

If the criteria for entry is "did you make the company money" and "were you famous," Sable clears the bar by a mile. She was arguably the second most recognizable face of the WWF during its most profitable boom period.

It is incredibly easy to rewrite history and pretend the Women's Evolution started with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. WWE loves pushing that sanitized corporate narrative, pretending the Diva era was just a stepping stone. But that ignores reality. The ratings quarters that Sable carried were undeniable. She paved the way for the company to realize women could be the main event draw, even if the presentation back then was wildly problematic by modern standards.

We are staring down the barrel of WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas in just a few weeks. The April card is stacked. We are gearing up for John Cena's farewell tour and whatever chaotic Bloodline match Cody Rhodes gets dragged into. The Hall of Fame class is being assembled right now.

It probably won't happen this year. The Lesnar heat is still too radioactive. The McMahon lawsuit is still too fresh. Endeavor doesn't want messy headlines about a historic sexual harassment lawsuit resurfacing just as they try to lock in new global streaming deals.

But eventually, the freeze-out has to end. Marc Mero is right. You cannot tell the true story of the Attitude Era without Sable. You can hate her in-ring work. You can cringe at the evening gown matches. But you cannot deny the deafening roar of those late-nineties crowds. Give her the ring.