-- Former ECW female Francine Fournier posted the following message on her MySpace page regarding Sherri Martel's passing:
Sherri Martel
I remember watching Sherri and just being in awe of her. She was so very talented and the more I watched her, the more I wanted to take what I'd had learned from watching her and apply it to my own character.
She was my main influence when I started my training. I looked up to her in so many different ways. I will never forget the night I finally met her. It was one of my first nights being backstage at the ECW arena. I was still training and I went up to Sherri and introduced myself to her. She told me that she was looking forward to working with me in ECW. She said she was glad I had long hair, because it looked better when the girls fought and had lots of hair to whip each other around with. She told me stories of her times on the road, which scared me a bit. I was so green and listening to her talk of her tails made me think "What am I doing here?". But come on, it was SHERRI! I was so excited to get to work with the woman that I wanted to be like.
That was the only time I ever met her. I never got to work with her. She left ECW and went to WCW after that. I was so sad. It would have been an honor to share the ring with such a lady.
I am booked on a convention in October and so was Sherri. I was excited when I heard she was going to be there. Now our meeting will never happen and I can never thank her for all the help she had given me.
Sherri, thank you so much for the years of entertainment you have given me and for all the knowledge that you passed onto me. I will never forget how great of an influence you were to me. God rest your soul.
Francine
-- Jim Ross had the following remembrance posted on WWE.com:
Tough, but with a heart of gold
By Jim Ross
Written: June 15, 2007
Sherri was tougher than a $2 steak, but had a heart of gold. Her genuine enthusiasm and love of the business was so evident when she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year.
Sherri could out-cuss, out-drink, and could whip most men’s backsides, as she came up the hard way in the business during the male-dominated days of the old wrestling territories. I have personally never seen a woman as physically tough and fearless as Sherri Martel. She enhanced the career of so many Superstars, including her “Boy Toy” Shawn Michaels, among others.
The Good Lord broke the mold when He created Sherri, and now He has the lady back. I hope Sherri takes it easy on the men folk up in Heaven. We are all going to miss her.
-- NWS promoter Dapper Johnny Falco (aka Joe Panzarino) issued the following statement after learning about the untimely passing of Sherri Martel:
Sherri worked for us on many occasions when it was one great night at the old convention hall in Wildwood NJ when Kahuna Moore booked a bout against Sherri and Debbie Combs. Our beloved Commissioner made it a Dog Collar Match (which Sherri was not too fond of). When Sherri was not too fond of something, she made sure everyone knew her feelings. Anyway, the bout ensued from the ring to the ringside chairs right out the entrance way to the arena, through the metal doors onto the Wildwood Boardwalk and back in again spilling everywhere, including on fans. When Sherri was done with the bout, she eyed the stage area out where management would sit and actually called me out. I, being the very quick thinking promoter at the time, pointed to somebody else and said "that's Joe Panzarino", and made a quick exit, not wanting to deal with the volatile Ms. Martel. Either way, a great bout and I believe we even brought it back.
Some time within the 6 to 8 months I spoke with Sherri about a potential booking, but was informed she was no longer doing in-ring activities, only managing. I thanked her and promised to stay in touch. Sherri was always one of those larger than life figures and when she walked into a room, you knew she was special. I'm sure she will be missed by all including one former employee of the company who was very close to her and our condolences go out to her as well.
A ten bill salute goes without question.
National Wrestling Superstars
Joe Panzarino (and Gino Moore)
